New Delhi | Crematories are so full of bodies, it’s as if a war just happened. Fires burn around the clock. Many places are holding mass cremations, dozens at a time, and at night, in certain areas of New Delhi, the sky glows.

Sickness and death are everywhere. Dozens of houses in my neighbourhood have sick people. One of my colleagues is sick. One of my son’s teachers is sick. The neighbour two doors down, to the right of us: sick. Two doors to the left: sick.