Virus

Arpan is not my best friend. And this write up is not about him anyway. It is more about me and this overbearing fear which has taken the shape of somewhat of a psychosis in me.

It was a lazy afternoon when a friend of mine informed me on Gtalk that Arpan has contracted Swine flu. Now there have been occasions when I have addressed him as a swine but him having this dreaded flu seemed as impossible to me as pigs having wings! (Funny that was the only simile which suggested itself in my head). Arpan is a nice guy, and so full of life, always jumping up and down. The clown in the class, cracking jokes at all times.

It is quite impossible for me to think that such a person would be ill. And the fact that someone I know has got the disease makes me uneasy. Makes it seem like the virus is closer than I think it is. First the news and the net told it was in Mexico. That is so far away I felt safe. The cases in Mumbai and Pune were reported and still I felt safe. There was a slight trepidation in my heart when the cases in Kolkata were being reported. But there was an ostrich emotion in me which said, “It cannot happen to me or anyone I know”. And then, this. To confirm that the news was a rumour I called Arpan, hoping to have a good laugh at it, only to hear that he was in that terrible place called the I.D. Hospital, Beleghata.

It is a government hospital, another one of those things I am so scared of. Leave alone the disease, the very thought that I would have to stay in a government hospital Would kill me. What is scarier is the fact that no matter how much money I can spend I have no option but to go to that government hospital. Like a dungeon’s stories became legends, similarly government hospitals in our times. And it seems closer and closer still.

I am scared. I am scared to touch my eye mouth on the road. Unconsciously my handkerchief covers my nose when in a public place. Yes, I have started using a handkerchief. I am scared to rub my eyes thinking there might be virus. Goodness gracious I am scared to breathe. When I sit down to watch a movie in a theatre I am apprehensive of my neighbor. When I am looking at a book in a shop I wonder who has turned these pages before me. I wish the currency notes could be sterilized. I shudder at the thought of going shopping. This fear is not healthy, and I cannot afford to fall sick now.

Yes, Arpan is a nice guy and it is terrible to think he is confined in a ward with stray dogs having easy access. (Or was that a joke he was cracking?). I just pray to God he is fit as a fiddle soon and released from the hospital.

p.s. I request everyone who is reading this to please pray for my friend.