The expression Trial by Fire, a test of one’s abilities to perform well under pressure alluding to the medieval practice of determining a person’s guilt by having him undergo an ordeal such as walking barefoot through a fire flashes through one’s mind in the ongoing ordeal of humanity across the world first to survive fatal consequence of the virus and next to stop its unabated spread by complying with the advisory to keep social distance from others, cover the mouth with face mask, avoid crowding, travel only if unavoidable, wash hands frequently with soap, use alcohol-based sanitiser for cleaning hands, stick to vegetarian food, maintain hygiene in living spaces, greet with folded hands (namaste) instead of handshake, drink safe water and so on, every one of these measures being not the part of daily life of a majority in the country’s population. Changing the all-too-familiar customary habits contrasting with any of the above measures, particularly by residents in cities with excessive density of population, is not the cup of tea as it were among the majority of even the literati, not to speak of the residents of slums, Mysuru too qualifying to face the trial by fire at present.
The example of Dharavi, known as Asia’s most populated slum in Mumbai, with a headcount more than that of Mysuru city, living in an area of about 620 acres leaves very little doubt about its residents complying with any of the above-mentioned measures being widely publicised in the country. Most families in the slum reportedly host five to eight members sharing a 10x10 sq.ft room, while WHO norm is 20 sq.ft area per person. The slum is said to be sitting on a time bomb.
