There is a flip side to the lockdown due to Coronavirus. The biggest gain from the lockdown is the unprecedented burst of creativity this has unleashed, opines Soumya. An exclusive for Different Truths.

We are all sick and tired of the lockdown, and to keep depression at bay have believed theories about how this is a hoax, a conspiracy, a Malthusian correction, fear mongering rumor, anti-Muslim propaganda, Chinese ploy to capture the world, opportunity for a new world order, BJPs evil plot to win the next election, nature’s way of rejuvenation and many more such placebos. We find evidence to support our ideas from some juxtaposing of facts and conjectures, but know in our hearts that this is all bunk, and the world has been irredeemably hit by a major catastrophe that is probably the worst setback people alive today have seen.

The one positive that people point out is that the environment is rejuvenated, pollution is gone, clear skies and waters are back, wild animals have returned to the cities, and this is absolutely correct. But at what price?

The one positive that people point out is that the environment is rejuvenated, pollution is gone, clear skies and waters are back, wild animals have returned to the cities, and this is absolutely correct. But at what price? Would you be happy to return to the pre-industrialised world of the eighteenth century with the clean air and water and do without the internal combustion engine and mass produced goods? The tradeoff may be too high.

So are the experiences all negative? Have we gained nothing positive from all of this? Not really.

The biggest gain from the lockdown is the unprecedented burst of creativity this has unleashed.

Forced to stay away from the mind numbing drudgery of the workplace and the soul killing necessity of socialising, we are left to our own resources to occupy our minds and satisfy our souls. And we have responded in uniquely creative ways.

First of all, all these theories about how all this is a hoax, or a conspiracy, are clear results of this creative energy.

Then the numerous cures and prevention theories are results of similar creative efforts.

The greatest spurt has been of course in the memes, jokes, satires, parodies, spoofs, cartoons, videos, songs, rhymes, limericks, a veritably outpouring of humour. The social media is abuzz.

The greatest spurt has been of course in the memes, jokes, satires, parodies,

spoofs, cartoons, videos, songs, rhymes, limericks, a veritably outpouring of humour. The social media is abuzz. Idle minds are working overtime producing jokes.

Every song in the hit parade in every genre of music has their Covid parody. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Roger and Hammerstein, Bob Dylan, Mary Poppins, Tagore, Nazrul, Ghazal, Baul, Bollywood, Tollywood, Jazz, Country, Folk, Rap — nothing is left out.

A side effect of that is hidden talents of the musical and thespian varieties have come to the fore. All wannabe singers have brushed up their art and are recording parodies for social media, and wannabe actors are recording skits and dissipating them into the virtual world. A veritable explosion of creativity.

Then there is cooking. With domestic help, home delivery, restaurants all unavailable, people have started cooking from scratch, for survival as well as letting their creative juices flow, and to add variety to their meals with limited resources, as well as kill time.

Then there is cooking. With domestic help, home delivery, restaurants all unavailable, people have started cooking from scratch, for survival as well as letting their creative juices flow, and to add variety to their meals with limited resources, as well as kill time. As a result a plethora of master chefs have been discovered, from the most surprising, unpromising and unusual quarters.

Then again, there are the artists. Sketch pads, canvasses, paintbrushes, watercolours have come out of dusty wrappings, and whether cartoon, sketch or painting, the creative juices are working overtime and the results adorn the social media.

Photographers and videographers too, whether with camera or cell phones, shoot from their bal

conies or in their interiors and unleash the results on the virtual world.

This has also given rise to an ancillary talent, the new found models. Whether sari challenge or no makeup week, this new creativity is a regular menace.

Everybody and their uncle have plumbed the depths of their creative souls and there is an explosion of prose, poetry and everything in between.

Then, finally it is the writers. Everybody and their uncle have plumbed the depths of their creative souls and there is an explosion of prose, poetry and everything in between.

Like everything else, Shakespeare started this trend with King Lear written during a quarantine, and ever since, would be wordsmiths have been trying to keep up the tradition.

Lawyers, accountants, bankers, clerks, economists and engineers, promoters and pornographers, auditors and aviators, undertakers and underwriters have all started flourishing the pen, and rattling the keyboards

Lawyers, accountants, bankers, clerks, economists and engineers, promoters and pornographers, auditors and aviators, undertakers and underwriters have all started flourishing the pen, and rattling the keyboards, and their creative outpourings, some startlingly good, have created a glut in the market.

But the climax was reached when a venerable bureaucrat, known for his marathon obscure noting on his files, which even the best journalists and industrial espionage agents failed to decipher, leave alone ordinary mortals; started to write romantic poetry. This is when we knew that for all its woes, for this volcanic eruption of creativity alone, Corona may be excused.

Photo from the Internet