New Delhi: Renowned poet, writer and film-maker Gulzar, 85, took to social media Saturday to urge public compliance with the national lockdown in place since Wednesday to check the Covid-19 pandemic.
Posted to Facebook, Gulzar makes a personal, spoken appeal, accompanied by the message, “Stay home, stay safe”. In characteristic Gulzar style, the appeal starts with a couplet: “Waqt rehta nahi kahin tik kar, iski aadat bhi aadmi si hai (time stays on its toes, just like human beings)”.
“Aap ruk jaiye, yeh waqt bhi nikal jayega (you stop, this time will pass too),” he adds.
He then launches into an appeal that calls on people to follow the lockdown in larger public interest.
“Doston, bada sakht waqt aan pada hai, hamein isse guzarna hoga, balki dua kijiye ki yeh waqt jaldi se guzar jaaye (friends, we are facing a tough time, we will have to get through it… let’s pray it passes soon),” he says.
For these testing times to pass, he adds, it is important for people to hold themselves back and remain under the lockdown.
The lockdown, he says, is being followed across the world. “One must think before stepping out of their home, and head back inside,” he adds.
As of Sunday, the post had 1,300 reactions, all of them comprising “like” and “love”.
Also Read: ‘Relying on kindness of people’ — India’s disabled bear the brunt of Covid-19 lockdown
Celebrities urge lockdown
Many celebrities, including from the film industry, have come forward to promote PM Modi’s call for a 21-day national lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus.
These include singer Lata Mangeshkar, 90, and actor Amitabh Bachchan, 77. A voice appeal posed to the Twitter account of veteran actor Dilip Kumar, 97, featured actor Saira Banu, 75, his wife, requesting people to stay home and save lives.
नमस्कार.हर बात की एक सीमा होती है.पूरे विश्वमें कोरोना से हाहाकार मचा हुआ है. हमारे प्रधानमंत्री जी ,महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री जी लगातार कह रहे हैं की घरसे बाहर ना निकलें, यही कोरोना रोकने का सबसे प्रभावशाली उपाय है,फिर भी ना जाने लोग इस बात को क्यों नहीं समझ रहे हैं?
— Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) March 24, 2020
Dilip Kumar Saira Banu #CoronavirusLockdown #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/uM4u3SeX9U
— Dilip Kumar (@TheDilipKumar) March 26, 2020
T 3481 -" समझ गया दिल ये भी अब तो समझाने से
लड़ी जाएगी ये लड़ाई अब आशियाने से
मिलकर नहीं अलग अलग लड़ना है हमें
मैं लड़ता अपने तुम लड़ो अपने ठिकाने से
घर में हो तुम इसे क़ैद न समझो मेरे यार
कट जाएंगे दिन ये तेरे मेरे मुस्कुराने से "
~ ef v pic.twitter.com/ZFncWrwa8W— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 25, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 26,000 lives worldwide, including 25 in India. In the absence of a clear preventive drug, social distancing is believed to be key to stalling its spread.
Also Read: Covid doesn’t deserve the levels of panic we’re seeing in India, certainly not this lockdown