CORONA MONOLOGUE (4) -By N P Samal

THE AFTERLIFE 

Know not if I am thinking oppositely or equally. But I believe there is life after death. No! Not spiritually. I am referring to the death of Corona. The virus will die, but we all will continue to live. Be assured! There is life after the death of the virus. Sooner or later. And the type of the life you will have will be the same as you had before the outbreak. You are not a politician and it is not a political election. There is no win or defeat. It is just biding a few-months' time idly in lock-down. So do not nurture a change in your mind. If you lived a lavish life, you will relive lavishly. If you lived a beggarly life, you will again be a beggar. A social will be a social again. An antisocial will be an antisocial again. And, for your kind information, everything is ever ready to throw their door open. Off-shop counters, spa's, beauty parlors, gyms, sports clubs, betting clubs, laughing clubs, water resorts, parks, film halls, hotels, restaurants, food stalls, pubs, dance bars, massage centers, and, of course, libraries, old-age homes, health clubs, training centers...And, excuse me, I am quite ignorant about the nomenclature of  antisocial bodies! Things, for sure, will exactly be the same as they were before. The qualities, the quantities...all as usual depending upon classes, castes, cultures, traditions, habits, customs, financial statuses, social strata, and, of course, age, education, and personal attitude. 

Corona cannot impact any change for a long run. The Virus has not come with a university syllabus to educate us. Nor has it come as an evangelist or 'developmentalist'. It is neither populist like the BJD in Odisha nor a racist like Hitler. Nor a brutal revolutionary like Pol Pot. It is simply a virus. It can cause only death or some financial shocks. But in no case, it is going to alter our ways and means of living. None will be inflicted with a change. Neither socials nor antisocials. Neither the honest nor the dishonest. Neither the good nor the evil...The Virus is so neutral. It is immobile of its own. Unless you pick it from its perch, it will remain in its dump, and decay and die. And before its death, it will never cause any loss baring a few deaths. 

Now, you must have reflected on your 'afterlife'. Well, as hinted above, your prospect of your new life may be the same as your life in retrospect, but may not necessarily be the same as that of others. It will be different from person to person, people to people. The fact is you have the same feathers or different feathers. You belong to predatory group or prey group...If you are a predator, you cannot feel happy being locked in. If you are a prey, you know, you must be afraid of the sunshine. And once you are out, your moneylenders, creditors, and bullies will any moment pounce upon you and catch you by the neck. Besides, you will also be subjected to other possible humiliations. Therefore, you will be wishing for this lock-down to continue. Nevertheless, you now sincerely wish for the death of Corona. But, surely at the same time, you will be wishing that before Corona dies, it kills all your predators ! 

Whatever, it is evangelical that there is life after death. And according to the status of your present life, your afterlife will have the same feathers, though not more developed feathers. Just pick your phone and ask your companions whether they are alive or dead...

-- N. P. SAMAL, POET, AUTHOR, ACADEMIC


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