It was all about resilience

Services have resumed at Hotel Vasanth in Ghatkoper West with 50 per cent capacity. File pic

The year began with all of us hailing and ushering in the decade with plenty of expectation and promise. By then, unbeknownst to most of us, in an unheard corner of China - Wuhan - a virus had begun to wreak havoc on its population as a fast-spreading threat loomed large. So aggressive was its impact that it managed to even tag the year 2019 to its name, as last year rolled into the next.

By March 2020, most of the world had sat up to take notice - afraid, shaken and unprepared - it watched in disbelief, often like mute spectators, as the rampaging virus crossed borders and boundaries, striking in its path the rich and the poor, the known celebrity and faceless migrant labourer.

Our city too began to feel the ripples of this worldwide pandemic. As we packed up our working lives from offices to retreat to the confines of our homes, we had to grudgingly and uncomfortably, adjust to learn a new way of life - the Work From Home (WFH) phenomenon. Nothing was ever going to be the same.

Gradually, apart from the massive impact on human life looking for succour in a health system that was brought to its knees, the pandemic also exposed its other ugly side - the economic fallout. The arts and cultural spaces, and F&B establishments bore the brunt and how. Early on into the lockdown, we had to bid goodbye to platforms like Junoon, one of the most promising, innovative avenues to support performing arts and train professionals in the field. By July, horror stories were everywhere about standalone eateries, theatre spaces, art galleries and even museums worrying about their fate.

I recall Shernaz Patel's words back in August, of the spadework that would be needed going ahead. The respected theatre practitioner said, "We've got a mountain to climb. This year shouldn't be counted at all. Hopefully, the next will be better, but it won't be easy to rebuild what we've lost." Strong words, about an industry that has always had to swim against the tide. When theatre venues were allowed to reopen, owners were still not on firm ground, grappling to find financial backing to cover new costs that cropped up with santisation and other SOPs that had to be implemented. But they ensured that the show would go on.

Restaurants and art galleries began limping back into this new, uncharted normal; it was heartening to see how many of them found new ways and innovative ideas to bring back patrons. New spaces opened due to distress selling in the real estate market, an insider told us. Almost every week since November, we've heard of at least one new restaurant opening its doors. That's a good sign of a changing climate.

Sadly, as we write this, museums still remain shuttered. Strange and unfortunate, considering they are one of the most convenient venues to practise social distancing due to its sheer size and planned sections. Still, their online itineraries deserve a laal salaam for packing in all the good that's housed inside these citadels of culture.

As the city slowly walked away from the numbing hangover of an omnipresent pandemic, bibliophiles were shaken by the news of a fire inside one of the city's most loved spaces - Kitab Khana. The damage to books, and the property can be accounted for, but the loss for Bombaywallahs, already hit hard by a cruel year, was visible in countless posts and tributes to the bookshop. It was definitely reassuring to see that the city had a soul that cared for a reading space that had met with tragedy. The good news is that the owners hope to reopen the space in March, around the store's anniversary. Close on the heels, another bookstore, Trilogy, reopened, and Bandra's book lovers did a little jig.

Thankfully, there was a warm send-off gift for the city too, with the UNESCO Award of Merit for Malabari Memorial Hall at Gamdevi's Seva Sadan in early December. It was a beautiful salute to decades of tireless welfare work that was routed to lesser-privileged girls and women in the city.

As we ploughed through this year, one realisation emerged - that this pandemic has time and again, taught us to savour the small joys, but above all, remind us to dig deeper to rely on our resilience, because boy, we're going to need it in huge doses in the New Year, perhaps, even more than the much-awaited vaccine.

Here's raising a toast to that collective community spirit, Bombaywallahs with the hope that 2021 is kinder.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana

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