July 1, 2021, Commentary from after dinner

July 1, 2021, Commentary from after dinner: Frantic. Things change quickly. Even as the day begins normally, things can change. Today, on this stalled-monsoon day, some people truly showed that they knew what they were doing. These are people just going about doing their work and pitching in to do more. It started with a bondhu needing some support with a family member at a hospital. There was a need for COVID-19 tests, perhaps blood and eventually a room in the hospital. In most cases some of these tasks can get to be yet another source of stress for the family. Today, the volunteers kicked in and it was really impressive to see how quickly they were able to make the connections and were in a position to offer the support if that was needed. But it was not just them, one can see the willingness to support as needed amongst so many people. Devdas pitched in and was ready to step in. Then the needs shifted and a whole other community pitched in. As they have so many times, over and over again. Doctors. And it was their Day today and I felt grateful seeing again the success of community. This is the community that has always been there. The tradition of the “pada” the quintessential neighborhood. That is where the community spirit used to start, and this spirit has been tested over and over again as we, as a species, create crisis as individuals or as a whole community – we return to the community. “Shei purono pada.” That old neighborhood. As we have allowed ourselves to be atomized and prefer privacy over the clamor of companionship what we were losing is a support system. This has been partly resurrected by COVID-19. The irony lies in the fact that the isolation demanded by the “enemy” is precisely what reignited the spirit of community. COVID-19 wanted to divide and conquer, weaken us by separating us. Close contact can kill. But the need never went away. In fact the need intensified sprouting Zoom gatherings and virtual celebrations where community was reinvented, and it operated in some ways it used to before the pandemic crippled us. The importance of being with each other, to share the concerns, work as support groups all made sense when the entire World needed support. In that spirit, as I saw a month ago, yes just a month ago, how people came together to create the support systems. Some were made through organized professional groups such as NGOs. But others just sprouted from support from people across the World, like the Wake Angels operating in Calcutta. And they quickly realized that help can be offered in many ways and for many needs. There is no reason to restrict kindness. This is also what the doctors I know, across the World, are like. They are parts of the community first, and then they wear their professional badge deservedly proudly. Kindness happens in communities of people, not necessarily because there is some special characteristics of the person – living in a community generates a predilection to kindness and support. We give it and we know when to ask for it. So, the ask is always made without hesitation, because that is what people do in communities – they ask. And there is always some one who will respond. That moment of the response is a moment of peace. Someone I can fall back upon. It is not that frantic. Really. It is not. Just look around and you will find the people who you can trust and rely on. Serene. Not in a despondent way but remembering that in community lies the awkwardness of family, as reminded in the movie Ice Age, “We are family.”