The Impossibility Of Exhaling While My Homeland Gasps For Breath
Our post-vaccinated reality has become a cruel irony.
Early this year, I saw my hopes for a better, healthier 2021 mercilessly crushed into the ground as Covid wantonly blazed through America, especially California, where I live.
In contrast, India, my homeland, seemed to be faring much better. Case counts were well below the 10k mark, people were able to socialize and life was pretty much returning to a pre-pandemic normal.
It felt a bit odd, this stark difference after nearly a year of shared fears and restrained lifestyles. Yet, I took comfort in knowing my family and friends there were doing well, and everyone was healthy and safe.
As vaccinations picked up, the promise of a summer where I could finally see my parents after what would be almost 2.5 years of separation, started to seem more near reality rather than the delusional daydream it had long felt like.
We made plans and we felt pretty certain those plans would work out.
Life, of course, laughs in these moments when we feel we’ve got it all covered.
As we finally begin to return to normal here, India has gone from a ‘pandemic — what pandemic?’ state to a dystopian reality that screams its…
