We’re 3 weeks into a partial lockdown or what some prefer to call a circuit breaker. Schools and most work premises are closed, no dine-ins are allowed, malls are deserted except for supermarkets and even McDonald’s have been ordered shut. Whether these measures ease next week is still an uncertainty as the light at the end of the tunnel remains pretty dim.

Today, the streets look post-apocalyptic with majority of shops shuttered and foot patrols of safe distancing ambassadors omnipresent; everyone wearing a mask makes the scene even more surreal. With more than half the world’s population having sheltered in place for the past 2 months, it is unimaginable that nature could have brought life to a standstill in modern times.

This may well be Mother Nature’s way of re-staking its claim on the planet after decades of mistreatment. Pollution levels have reduced and wildlife have enjoyed a resurgence. In cities, the bustling crowds have gone, reducing metropolises to tranquil urban scapes. Perhaps such an unprecedented shift in way of life will give rise to a new norm where we can finally roll back the years of human destruction.