The year 2020 that was not . Cynicism, negativism or realism?

I have been surmising and reflecting in the wee hours of 2021. How can we describe year 2020 in one word? I asked this question not only to my friends from my generation but also from Next-Gen in the universities and colleges. Here are some illustrative feedback:

Most Common description-Unprecedented, Unforgettable, Unbelievable, Unreal, Horrific, Challenging , Entangled.

Not so common description: Harrowing, Chaotic, Subversive, Exhaustive, Surreal , Limbo, Stifling, Nightmare, Bewildering, Transformative, Tumultuous, Speechless, Traumatic, Hallucinated, Forgettable. Smart Description-Hellacious, Apocalyptic, Omnishambles, Anthro-pause. Innovative description : Super-spreader, Ever-unfolding, Game-Changer, New-normal, Existential-crisis, Soul-breaking. IT-Smart Description: Mute, Control+Z, Delete, Error404, Bin, Quit, Pause, Formatting. Cricket-Fan Description : Runout, Stumped, Dropped, LBW

I failed to find my own one word, however I have the phrases. For me, 2020 was war between mighty humanity and tiny virus . The weapon used by humanity is a needle and a syringe. The weapon used by virus was the clubs on its membrane that got friendly with enemy's ( human) cells and then started guerrilla war. It was high-voltage electro-viral shock given en mass to all human species on the earth.

We saw worldwide economic depression, recession and reversals. Climate-related disasters continued unabated globally. Pervading social unrest, fraudulent behaviour of heads of the states, perennial political conflicts in various parts of the world. Nothing , nothing absolutely nothing stopped , not even terrorists attacks, kidnapping, murders, racism, religious wars, dogged nationalism. What stopped were activities that come under 'lock-down', whatever it means.

We did call it 'planetary crisis' of pandemic. Really? Is our planet the habitat only for humans? Did COVID affect flora and fauna? We even did not dare to raise such questions, leave alone caring for non-human species. It was war within the humans.

But such reflection itself gives all of us reasons to be optimist. I see optimism emerging from the campus of the Educational Institutes. Because the students are raising such critical questions.

NextGen watched pandemic from their 'lockdown' homes and on their screens. Youth are the hopes of tomorrow. They can lay foundations for a new era of sustainable development, peace, and cooperation. Because they are asking right questions. And not just masking the questions, washing-off the crisis and needling for the solutions.

I see that happening through our flagship project Smart Campus Cloud Network . For me the 2020 was what we see in our journey sketched in the video included in this News Letter.

Happy New Decade of Action.