On Feeling Guilty for Being Privileged Enough to Not Face the Worst of Coronavirus
When coronavirus exploded in our country, it brought with it a shift—an upheaval of socio-economic functioning for the sake of social distancing. But while the most I had to give up was Instagram-documented dinners, bear hugging my friends, gym workouts, the fear and panic created by the indefinite lockdowns threatened far greater losses for too many others. Huddled in my cozy nest of middle-class privilege, I pored over articles of underpaid, underfed migrant workers threatened by suicide and starvation, with a cup of Dalgona coffee in hand. I got paid my monthly pocket money, clicking on a keyboard from the comfort of my couch, while reading stories of struggling freelancers facing job losses and evictions due to failure to pay rent. Even as Instagram influencers desperately tried to make jhadu pocha into a latest fitness trend , I shared house duties with my mother and my sister.All these factors should’ve made me breathe a sigh of relief. But in reality, every br...