Is The Old Normal The End Of An Era?

This thought has been bothering for quite sometime, and got refurbished, post going through R.Sukumar’s editorial on The Hindustan Times. This was where he mentioned that it’d be a falsity to presume that things have returned to normal, while the truth is that, they clearly haven’t. 

My prognosis can best be explained via this post and anecdotes from our daily lives. During old times, whenever an electrician was summoned for mending broken switches,  one would just dial up his number. Yet, as of now, you’d probably be considering a thousand ways before letting anyone inside your house, and in case the electrician isn’t pretty much hands on with digital payments, you gotta make sure that the cash is handed over properly (considering there would be a balance amount), doubly ensuring that the exchange is devoid of bacteria and germs. What follows is the procedure of sanitising and disinfecting. Once. Twice. May thrice. 

If analysed correctly, then we’d note that this practice of disinfecting and sanitising basically calls for a hygienic environment and also helps in lessening the chances of contracting diseases. 

All said and done, the question now, with all the anticipations and expert opinions kept in mind, are there any chances of things resuming back to normal? Would things be ever materialising to people moving back to their offices, and actually having conversations near water filters, that would help in their relaxations?

Well, possibly likely scenarios are far from true given  the current circumstances, and this isn’t essentially a post that is intended at scaring folks, but just a mere attempt at relooking at things. I can’t calculate the number of times I’ve had uttered statements like ‘just that being normal is exhausting’ or ‘normal is boring, monotonous and mundane.’

Now, as I sit back by my desk, contemplating the same, I think and whisper to myself that at what cost can things be deemed normal? Is that too much of an ask? If true, then is the old normal the end of a new era altogether?