The COVID-19 Pandemic has threatened, and in a way, shattered the mirage of the supremacy of human beings. It has put an adagio note to the allegro beat of human life. In many ways, it has forced humanity to rethink the various facets of life and, most importantly, has brought back the somewhat forgotten nostalgic memory of home. The challenging reality of the difficulty of fighting the pandemic has led to a flight of humanity to the security of one's home. The quest for greener pastures had led many from the security and familiarity of their homes to the uncertainty and novelty of urban jungles. The adrenaline of this new environment was perceived as a beautiful alternative to the past's mundane routine. This quest may have led to the detachment from the umbilical cord that once nourished us, but now humanity regains consciousness that it can only find real security and comfort in the womb it once existed. This womb is the home. The mass exodus of the diaspora towards whatever they called their home buttresses this fact.

The notion of a home, however, bears a broader connotation. To understand this, we could perhaps take the help of the concept of 'deterritorialization' by Deleuze and Guattari in their magnum opus Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. We can think about different social systems as geological formations. Practices and norms develop over time and become striated rock formations where sediment (in the form of norms, values, meaning) becomes solidified in place. Deterritorialization is an act that tears down these striated systems and produces a smooth space. Deterritorialization occurs when there is a termination of social, cultural, and political practices from their native places. This may happen on account of outright coercion or subtle evolutionary factors. This is how the practices that gave life meaning are lost. 

This concept of deterritorialization is rich and could lend itself to many spheres, be it political, social, individual, etc. Perhaps these could be divided into three core spheres affecting our personhood. They are individuality, family, and religion (by no means are these three exhaustive). It would not be an overstatement to say that the pace and the demands of modern society have distanced or deterritorialized us from our fundamental territories of home. 

As an individual, every person is unique and distinct. This person possesses great wealth within his/her being, which places an imperative on him/her to 'know oneself.' This invitation of self-discovery is the clarion call placed by both eastern and western philosophical traditions. This process demands a conscious, time-bound, and inward-looking gaze. Family is a 'territory' through which each individual emerges. The paramount importance of family cannot be downplayed. Each one cherishes the fond memories that form the inherent part of his/her mind—finally, religion. For every believer, God or the divine forms the internal source of strength and refuge. A person can tread through the route of life by rooting oneself into whatever he/she calls God or the divine. Religion has been the source of reaching out to this power. Sadly, owing to the limitless demands of work and society, these self-introspective, familial, and religious dimensions have gotten deterritorialized. There is observed subtle and progressive amnesia about the necessity and significance of these territories we once called our abode and our home. Perhaps economics and drudgery of life may not be the preferred choice but certainly have become an accepted one, which has contributed towards this deterritorialization from the three key spheres. 

Given this movement from the old to the new, there is still a lack felt. The detachment from the past has not yielded fruitful assimilation into the present. There is an absence felt of the sense of belonging and a presence of an unfulfilling void. Deleuze and Guattari further speak of 'reterritorialization' as a process that follows deterritorialization, which is employed to establish the takeover. This is done by replacing the older symbols with the new ones. Some would argue that true reterritorialization would need the restoration of the lost good—a suggestive towards going back to what was, involving desertion of the present. However, I contend that it may also be understood as an incorporation of the rich past into the present. This suggests not deserting but remodeling of the present by incorporating and prioritizing the former good, for a fruitful and balanced future. 

This pandemic has served as a reminder of the significance of our roots and our home. It has afforded us the time to look back to what we once called our home. It has brought us to an appreciation of our forgotten homes. Many have found meaning in God and religion and have regained a sense of meaningful piety. Many have found happiness in familial relationships. So many have rediscovered the beauty of spending time with oneself and found joy in it. A reterritorialization seems to be happening. May these realizations forever be ingrained in our hearts, even when we move past this pandemic. May we treasure our homes always.

(Published on The Goan Everyday, June 20, 2022)