A Boundless Fear Gripped Me: How the Other Half Lived in the Pandemic's Shadow

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences on the lives of many across the globe; however, it was the most vulnerable sections of the population who disproportionately bore its searing impacts. This is the story of people, largely women, caught in the maelstrom of that crisis, left suddenly alone to cope with unemployment, debt, hunger, ill health, impoverishment, disability, homelessness and the death of loved ones. The lockdown that was imposed with a four-hour notice pushed the working poor into an abyss from which they could not emerge. Conversations with the residents of Delhi's shanty towns and shelter homes revealed the multi-layered nature of the challenges they faced and the terrible inadequacies and inequalities that marked institutional response. Yet, if pain, anxiety, fear and hopelessness came through in the words spoken, so too did a rare fortitude and wisdom to craft strategies of survival. This is a moment of intimate recall; a moment that India cannot afford to forget.