It's sad, but it's true. Our attention spans have become as fickle as grey clouds that promise to burst open but then disappear without any rain. Think of the time during the lockdown when the country's migrants faced a brick wall in an urban milieu. There was a gamut of emotions that people expressed then, struck by images of their trudge back home on foot. Where are those emotions now? Why did that prick on our collective consciousness not burst our bubble? These answers will come from within. But that won't happen if we treat those migrants like forgotten memories of a short, meaningless romance. The conversation around their crisis needs to keep moving.

Ashutosh Pathak has taken that step with an animated film he's made, called Tasveer. It's only four minutes long. But it still jolts the consciousness of those whose empathy towards the problem had started receding. Pathak employs the trope of an amorphous everyday man who narrates not just his own voice, but also that of the nation. This person changes from someone who's inquisitive about the crisis, to being shameful, to making a promise that he — and we — will be flag-bearers of change towards a more equal and just society. Pathak tells us, "The simple act of kindness has become a pop image. But it's complex learning."