The last travel chapter from 2020….
The pandemic was teaching us new things every day. Economic crisis was seen before, job losses were not that rare in the Western World. Even massive population getting sick due to an unknown wave of infection was recorded before in human history. I think the corona pandemic taught mankind a very cruel lesson which was by and large new – how to live alone!
My first
trip to Germany went smooth, I had got an apartment to share. I received a lot
of help from my new company and my manager – many things which could have gone
wrong were falling in its place. The only thing that was bothering me – and I
am sure many of us – was the continuously growing mistrust in social life and
the increasing seclusion and loneliness. Aloneness is very different from
loneliness – the former one you choose on your own will, and it can be
fulfilling and needed at times. But loneliness is pathetic, it is bitter, and
it is a curse. We are humans and not animals. We have developed trust for
thousands of years. This very structure of trust and cohabitation came under
threat by the strong dilemma of who was infected and who could infect me and
how could I keep myself uninfected.
I woke up
early on that Saturday. I had to travel the day after. Mother was longing to go
back to India; the moment she heard I am traveling, she asked me, “So the
flights are back to normal? Please put me in an Air India flight and send me
home.” In her eyes I could see the words she had not spoken, “I do not want to
stay longer in a place away from my home – my home which had been part of my life.” I
could not say much except to console her stating that we needed someone to be
with her during the travel. Otherwise, it would not be easy.
She was
consoled and I gave her assurance that I would do all I could to get her safely
back to India. It was indeed the toughest time of my life and, for her, it was a
nightmare every single day. I remember she had looked at me with her broad and
expressive eyes for a moment or two, and then turned to the window by the side of her bed – only to
catch a glimpse of the next flight that was starting to fly from Copenhagen.
The travel next
day was an eye-opener and another step to understand the changed world. It was understanding trauma and adversity of people and trying to make the best use of a situation when many factors are out of the hand. Every
newspaper was having a headline with a numerical figure – be it the number of deaths,
or the number of patients admitted to the hospital, or the number of patients
admitted to the Intensive Care. We all were thinking about the bare minimum
that life needs, and that is – to live and let live.
I must
mention that I have not travelled much in my life. While many of my friends
fail to count the number of places they have not visited, I fail in
exactly the opposite way. In my life (then 39 years old) I have hardly been to
10 cities. Of course, many were covered from the airports!
But before the airport experience: for the first time I saw a near-empty train station and an empty train. There were no wildfires, no earthquakes, no flooding, no tornedos, no heatwaves, no military attacks, no tsunamis – pure fear had put people indoors. Street after street were empty, restaurants were going bankrupt, cultural activities were reduced, shopping malls were almost close. If there was anything happening, that was an unending fight for survival. Mankind had to fight until the last breath to defeat this disease. I had once been to the restaurant just besides the Lund Central Station. It served Burgers and Chips. A bunch of young people would make the food and serve. The place would be buzzing with people during the Sunday afternoons. But on that day the shutter was down, the meat was not brought in, the potatoes were still inside the freezer and the salads were still fresh, but only at the supermarket. Such tiny businesses were gasping out of economic stress, and thereby trying to inhale fast - but the air inhaled was never sufficient.
At the airport most of the shops were closed and there was a horrible sense of fear and anxiety in the faces of the people I could see around. Most of the youngsters and employees of the garment outlets were staying home, hoping to get back to work someday. The once-bustling corridors and alleys were just kept clean and in order – someday life would return, and then, everything should be like before. A Christmas Tree caught my attention! Of course, mankind should not forget the festivities - no matter what circumstances arise.
The flight
was hardly 30% filled. I tried to do some reading but was constantly distracted
by the visuals I had seen at the airport. No one was worried about trendy and
designer clothes, no one was worried about selling them. There were no salesman
and saleswoman, at the same time, there were no customers. Therefore, there was
no need for keeping the shops opened. If life were to end from the face of the
earth, what would then be the purpose of decorating it with clothes and
ornamenting it with jewelleries? Alarming! This meant – at the time of catastrophe,
nothing matters; no clothes, no ornaments, no money survives after life
perishes.
This was the same Copenhagen Airport which had seen me grow over the years. Year 2006 was when I had first set my foot on this Airport. It was -12 degrees outside, and I had felt as if I had stepped into a paradise. Everything was so well maintained, everything was so beautifully decorated, everything was so perfect. The perfection and neatness were still there – but there was hardly anyone to see them. Will humanity return to its normal self? Will Copenhagen airport be the same again!
The flight
took off with a handful of passengers and I kept asking myself the difficult
questions. As a dear friend keeps telling me, ‘The best flight journey is when
you fall asleep after take-off and wake up just before landing.’ The same
happened to me that day. I was lost in my thoughts which took me to the
wonderfully crafted world of dreams – I could even talk to my father in my dreams.
He was checking on my health and talking economy, politics, and social topics. I
had told him, “Papa, thank God you are not here! Human civilization is going
through one of its worst crises. What will happen to the daughters if I fall
ill during this pandemic?” Father had smiled and said, “Now you know what a
father must go through! To become a father is not easy. You must be responsible,
alert, and caring. But my son, do not worry, I am there with you always. I have
seen devastations in my life, I have seen earthquakes and floods – we humans
endure and survive and ultimately move on.”
Once after
reaching Munich, it was first a series of phone calls. Back in Sweden, all of
them were worried. The journey was fine. I still remember it was getting cold
in the night. I was hungry. There was only one single Falafel-cum-Doner shop
open at Terminal 2 of the Munich airport. It was just about time to close that
counter when I could manage to grab one Donor for my dinner. The United Nations
World Food Program had just got the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2020 – the
world had not seen a single day of food shortage during the entire period of
the pandemic. It was phenomenal.
While
eating, I had closed my eyes and was thinking of those words of my father –
we humans endure and survive and ultimately move on!
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