Editorial: Living to tell the tale in the New Year

Chennai

It is said that truth is a bitter pill to swallow. And it’s best we get it right out of the way before we move on with the rest of our lives. So here goes. The fact we are still here, having completed a year since the emergence of the most debilitating health crisis in recent memory, stands testament to the resilience of the human spirit. But as a restaurateur from New Orleans succinctly captured in a commentary, “We’re still here, but we’re not fine.”

It would be wishful thinking, if everybody waking up on Friday, across 24-odd time zones globally, could start the New Year with a clean slate. But that is not to be. For billions, transitioning into 2021 entails carrying forward baggage from the year that went by, which we can hopefully unload somewhere down the year. And one must say – it’s quite a heavy load. For starters, how does the workforce deal with a continuing year of Work From Home in 2021? Will children be able to adjust to more months of virtual school? What will a homemaker do for respite? Never before have the haves and have-nots been so clearly defined as those with the means to sequester themselves in workspaces within homes, and those who have to fight for space at the dining table.

But that still does not help those working in businesses that require real-time, face-to-face human intervention. Entire sectors such as hospitality, travel and tourism that might have banked on the run-up to the New Year to revive their fortunes, are waking up this morning, realising what might have been the most profitable seasons of the year has sailed past them, due to restrictions on public gatherings. Their workers step into 2021 with trepidation – knowing that in the absence of economic relief, they might as well shut shop.

Things aren’t different on the employment scene, which will not turn overnight. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said November 2020 was the second consecutive month of contraction in the number of people employed – 0.1 per cent in October, and 0.9 per cent in November. The economic revival witnessed as lockdowns were pulled out, had tapered again as per CMIE’s Consumer Pyramids Household Survey which includes the organised and unorganised sectors. The report also compared employment levels, which in November 2020 stood at 393.6 mn, 2.4 per cent lower than from a year ago in November 2019.

For their children, the concerns of parents since the pandemic began included lack of physical activity, excessive screen time, unhealthy diets, social isolation and depression. In Tamil Nadu, administrators have been ping-ponging the idea of conducting Board Exams for months now, with the school education minister KA Sengottaiyan saying earlier this week that dates would be announced soon. This in a year, where all students spent their school hours glued to screens. How much of that translates into actual learning is anyone’s guess.

The survivors of the pandemic in India, who await a vaccine in 2021 shoulder a huge responsibility – towards 1.48 lakh people who succumbed to the virus in 2020. The norms of basic hygiene that were re-introduced to us last year, will continue through this year.

At some point during 2021 a greater semblance of normalcy will return. It will be reminiscent of pre-pandemic times – you might hug that friend of yours, share a sip of a drink from the same glass, dance in a room full of strangers, pass the popcorn in the multiplex, or take a vacation at a seaside resort. And you might just not take these things for granted in 2021. Our hopes for the New Year are summed up in the words of Morgan Freeman’s Ellis Redding from The Shawshank Redemption, “It’s the excitement only a free man can feel, at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope.”