Bye, Bye 2020 — We won't miss you!

I can't remember a time in recent decades when humanity collectively hated a year this badly! I am posting this on the last day of the year, yet I hardly have any confidence that today would be a normal day, such has been this year, that the phrase “anything can happen” has scared me like never before.

The damage caused by the pandemic due to Corona Virus — COVID-19 will be remembered for a long time to come, the mind boggles when you look at the numbers. Millions infected worldwide, millions dead, there is just no glossing over the fact that we lost a large portion of our species this year, that is no small feat for a virus in the 21st century.

If you look at what has happened in 2020, it is incredible that the year has just fallen short of a full-fledged war or an alien invasion on its list of accolades.

To name only some of the things that happened this year,

The year had Australia’s bush fires, Giant Volcanic Eruptions, Multiple Earthquakes, Multiple Cyclones in both Eastern and Western coasts of India, Not to mention Floods in multiple states, Murder hornets in the US, Locusts attack in Indian Sub Continent.

The list of not-natural disasters is huge as well, US presidential drama, Pakistan Airline crash, Protests and Violence in multiple countries, Terrorist attacks, India-China border clashes, Many celebrities committing.

If anything that could go wrong, it did go wrong in 2020.

It is clear that we have managed to forget so much about this year, blocked it in our minds or just ignored it against the constant threat of the virus. When in a normal year, any one of those incidents would have been the global talking point.

This year has taught us is the fact that we are indeed tiny in this Cosmos and have absolutely no control over what happens, we do like to tell us we have mastered all but that is hardly true.

An astronaut once said the world looks a lot smaller once you are in space, you forget all borders and countries.

We must learn to value our time here. I hope humanity as a whole takes into account 2020 when making future decisions on what is essential & what is not. Building a sustainable future for our species has to be the most critical item on the agenda, 2020 has just given a compelling reason for everyone to not kick the can to the next year any longer.

The world has a whole needs to take bold steps, Invest more in education, healthcare, technology, transportation, business. Better and efficient manufacturing, supply chain, etc. Invest more in the sciences and research.

The mental impact of this year, the constant anxiety has not been helpful to anyone. You would not be human to feel it, see it around you. Everyone I know survived this year in two of the most affected cities in India, Mumbai & Pune. Every one of us has said goodbye to at least one person they have known in there life, a neighbour, a colleague, a friend and so on. It has not been easy.

Human beings are a social species, we have to socialise to remain sane. This year challenged the notion of being together, being present when your own needs you the most. We were under lockdown, not able to see our loved ones in hospitals, not able to say goodbye, not able to socialise. Basically just not able to be Human.

I doubt anyone has got through this year without any mental scar. The mental toll of a year like 2020 is not quantifiable. We survived one 2020, let us hope this is the only one, at least in this century.

Bye Bye 2020, we won't miss you!