March 22 2020.

 

Blissfully asleep in our imaginary,  cocoons of security, filled with all kinds of 'forms' to satisfy our never ending wants and needs, we suddenly woke up to a new reality, something straight out of the movies!

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Remember the movie which had Tom Hanks as hero, where the Somalian pirate who, after hijacking Tom's ship in the high seas, says "Now I am the captain of this ship."

 

The Corona virus, now sweeping across all continents, says "I am the captain your ship; I am the captain of the world now!"

 

It seems to say to us, designers: 'Hey, now that you have built enough tools to support digital, spatialized connection, and given that you have been championing imaginary connections without co-presence in physical space, here's a chance to walk your talk, apply your tools, and put the reality  of isolated people connecting through  digital screens to the test.' 

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To the world's politicians the virus gave them their report card: "(Y)our hospitals and health infrastructure are in a complete state of  disarray. It's time to honestly solve public health and ecological pollution-- and attend to the cleanliness of the world's rivers, oceans, forests and sky."

 

To the self and selfie obsessed digital tribes-people, it tell us: "Now you'll truly know what it means to be faceless with y(our) entire face being covered with a mask." We will re-learn how what gets communicated is communicated though our lips, cheeks, eyebrows, eyelashes and pupils too.

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To the world's yogis, nothing new-- they've learned to sit still, breathe deeply, raise the immunity and drive away the germs.

 

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To us musicians, we will be back to practicing  music for its primal function: as a spiritual cleansing  and ego cleansing ritual, i.e., music as a means to finding 'inner bliss' again and to remain in that state! And now, especially given that concerts have gone, can we focus on 'slowness', and not to use Music as a platform to project 'ego' based pyrotechnics.

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Our temples, mosques and churches,  lying empty, forces us architects and saints a re-'think'  .. It may be time to get back to nature worship!

 

The 'collective' pilgrimage is up for grabs, Varanasi's buzzing ghats and river line, usually teeming with both prayers and commerce, now runs  empty. Koh Phangan's moon light parties are empty.

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Therefore, the virus seems to asks us to see Reality as what it always is and was--  to find Divinity within, to find resilience within, as no external media constructions  can be a substitute for the inner journey into the world beyond ego and thought-- and to reflect upon our temporariness. 

 

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No amount of powerpoint slides showing economic 'growth' growing faster, cities expanding quicker, automobiles and technologies  getting faster can  change Nature's truth showing us our temporary-ness, our temporary occupation of our temporary bodies, our temporary presence on planet earth-- in short, our insignificance.

 

So, planet earth will continue to spin around and move along with its 4 seasons without the 'markets' and commerce, and Nature will reverse the effects of all the deforestation and electro magnetization that have been created through rapid urbanization and newer and newer technologies.

 

Surely She wants to take back her queendom from all those who have trespassed Her!

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