From singing group songs themed “Corona Bhaag Jao” (Get out Coronavirus) to burning effigies of the Covid-19 infection to escape its wrath, Indians have taken unusual methods to spread awareness or ward off the “evil Coronavirus” – which is being treated more or less like a wicked persona in the country.
‘Go Corona Go’ Prayer Meet
A video that’s gaining huge popularity on social media showed Federal Junior Minister for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale chanting slogans such as “Go Corona Go” along with Chinese Consul General Tang Guocai and a group of Buddhist monks in India’s Mumbai.
CORONA GO ah 😥😥OMG. I can't understand this! How virus will go by saying like this #coronago #gocorona funniest pic.twitter.com/6rEvLvCiXI
— sunil kumar (@iamsksunilkumar) March 11, 2020
The group members, holding placards at the prayer meeting organised at the Gateway of India, apparently shot the clip on 20 February, leaving netizens in a fit of laughter.
“It can also [be made to ] go by showing it black flags. We boycott Corona,” commented one user.
Women Sing Songs to Ward off “Evil”
Another video clip that’s gaining attention on social media was that of a group of women singing hymns to shoo away the Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh. The first few lines of the song go, “Coronavirus, please leave lndia as it's none of your business to stay here”. The song's title is “Corona Bhaag Jao” (Coronavirus, leave India).
It happens only in India ...Corona bhaag ja ....Enjoy ! pic.twitter.com/sNuedX4kIt
— Ritesh (@Riteshranjan72) March 7, 2020
The video shows women dressed in traditional attire, clapping enthusiastically to the beats of the song.
“WOW ! Imagine, the chant has a particular frequency that can kill the virus when done repeatedly....Freaking unreal right?” commented a Twitter user.
Coronavirus Effigy Burnt in Maharashtra
On the eve of Holi in India, people in Maharashtra erected an effigy of the Coronavirus and burnt it – a symbolic act to end the spread of the infection in the country, instead of burning logs, as per traditional practise a day before the festival of colours.
“lol this is funny but true. We know how to stay happy in the face of crisis,” a netizen opined.
#WATCH Mumbai: An effigy based on the theme of #CoronaVirus that was put up in Worli was burned as a part of Holika Dahan, a ritual that takes on the eve of #Holi festival. (09.03.2020) pic.twitter.com/1qUKvl1erd
— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2020
The meeting was in violation of the government's advisory to avoid mass gatherings to contain the menace of Coronavirus.
Telangana Ministers Eat Chicken on Stage
In a bid to dispel the myth around Coronavirus – that it spreads through the consumption of chicken - a few ministers in Telangana state organised a chicken eating fest and ate chicken right on stage. A few Indian ascetics remarked that these minsters angered the Coronavirus by openly challenging it through meat-eating, as the epidemic was a result of the pain and suffering of animals slaughtered for food.
""Telangana ministers angered it
— #Save DEMOCRACY (@DoctorSaab_sk) March 3, 2020
By eating chicken publicly "" 🙄🙄🙄#TRS #KTR #chicken pic.twitter.com/X76UpnPOH9
Meanwhile, India has launched an evacuation plan from several countries in the wake of outbreaks of the deadly infection, to return Indian nationals and nationals of other countries. So far, New Delhi has evacuated 948 passengers from Covid-19 affected countries, of which 48 people were from countries such as the Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal and South Africa.
