Summary of Corona Says - Vishnu S Rai

 "CORONA SAYS"

Vishnu S Rai (1951-) was educated in India, Nepal, and the UK. He taught English at Tribhuvan University for three decades and retired as Professor of English Language Education. Rai writes both in English and Nepali. He has written stories Martyrs & Other Stories (English), play Realities (English), travelogues Nau Dandapari (Nepali), and a novel Paheli (Nepali). 

But above all he is a poet and he has published Sudama (a semi epic in Nepali), Jeevan (a collection of poems in Nepali), Vagabond Verses (a collection of poems in English), and Tritiyaki joon (a collection of songs and gazals in Nepali, and his English poems are taught in Nepal and abroad. Rai is known as a poet of human emotions. 

 

The poem, Corona Says, written on the theme of the present world crisis Corona and its devastating impact on human life, is an indirect satire on man's conduct and attitude. It views COVID – 19 as the by-product of man's treatment to nature that has created a devastating result in humans' history. Due to this pandemic, people are seen sanitising the environment everywhere, every time … and all the time. 

 

An epidemic is a widespread disease that affects many people in a population whereas pandemic is a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population. Coronavirus is considered as one of the unforgettable threats of the twenty-first century. This disease has snatched the lives of people at a very high level. People in the world are panic-stricken and living their life in mental fear. Every pandemic is a type of epidemic. The only difference is that pandemic spreads at a higher geographical area. A large portion of population is affected. The deadliest pandemic in the world history was The Black Death (1346 – 1353 A.D.). It was responsible for the death of about one third of the world population. It spread throughout Europe quickly. 

The speaker in Corona Says addresses to the human civilisation (so called rational beings), and denies the imposed blame that it is entirely responsible for the death of millions of people, plus the ruining of world economy. 

Oh man,

Stop cursing me

And listen.

I didn’t come here

Of my own free will.

The disease clarifies that it hasn't come to the earth on his own free will. Instead, he was invited. Speaker further alerts humans that he has been here to take revenge of what they (human beings) have done to the mother nature, to give her a little rest and to make human realize that they are not the almighty and the earth is the common habitat for all living creatures. Corona blames that because of humans’ ill deeds and selfish nature, the earth and its people have faced numerous problems of diseases. Their so-called egos and wars have snatched the lives of many people. He asks to do the calculation of dead people that have been invited by humans' war.

 

In the fourth stanza of the poem, the speaker (Coronavirus) speaks about various positive changes that has occurred on the earth after his visit. He states that because of its arrival, environment pollution has been minimised. Likewise, nature has become dust-free resulting the air to become afresh. In addition to this, humans have learnt to use natural resources properly as their egos have been transferred into fear. 

Don’t blame me.

I just wanted to show you

How clean the blue sky looks

Without dust and smoke.

I wanted you to realise

How caged animals feel

In a zoo.

 

Corona as a speaker makes the human realise that the Earth belongs to all the creatures not just the humans. He reminds the human saying that the mother (Earth) isn't their property alone. He claims that the earth belongs to other creatures apart from humans. The speaker makes fun of the person, and mocks them for calling themselves "the crown of creation." The speaker tells this person that they're not actually aware of everything. For instance, they don't know about those who "fly in the sky" or "live in the ocean." Because of humans’ endeavour there appear to be many problems. Humans are ruining the blue sky with their "dust and smoke." They also treat other people as "caged animals" and "slaves."

 

In the final lines, the speaker gives the person a warning: if they don't change their ways, there will be trouble that could push civilization all the way back to "cave time." The speaker ensures his departure from this planet. But warns humans about future circumstances. He informs about his fellows who are similar to him. He says that one day he will depart from the planet but if humans don't get rid of their inflated egos, they (fellows) will come too. In that critical situation, humans will be back to the caves as before (the stone age). That will be the worst situation for humans.

 

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