A month into the Lockdown

With the outbreak of of the Covid 19 virus in the country, India imposed a lockdown on the movement of all citizens from 25th March, 2020. West Bengal had placed a similar lockdown in the state from a few days beforehand. This was something which each of us needed to get accustomed to, at every level. It needed each one of us to discard our notions of ‘normalcy’, and embrace a new life. I don’t live with my parents, but as my parents aren’t in their best of health and not too good with online things, I chose to go back to stay with them in this period. And, my father was watching Mahabharata on DD, twice daily. I repeat, TWICE 😐.

While the stay was anything but perfect, there were certain bits which really made me nostalgic and other bits which helped me rearrange my otherwise overly hectic life. I fixed my meal times, and was endlessly thankful to my job allowing me to work from home. I realized how badly my body had needed the physical rest, and a break from going out in the heat, rain, humidity, the daily two way travel of almost three hours in crowded public transport or overpriced cab services. It felt like life had suddenly been put on a slow motion roll, and I always had a lot of time even after doing everything. For a change, after so many years, I didn’t need to constantly be on the go.

And I went back to the simplest of things to find joy and solace 🙂

1. I finally attempted a doodle, and contemplated how life would have been if I was a doodle artist 😬

2. I added feta, which was the only remaining cheese in my pantry then, to almost everything and pretended that legumes are the new meat 😭. We all learnt that even going to the market is a luxury, and had to make do with ingredients at hand. Fresh produce was scarce for us, as we didn’t go out at all and depended solely on local vendors coming to our streets to sell vegetables and fish. This coincided with and fuelled my decision to consume less meat for environmental reasons, and some pretty great dishes were rustled up 😃.

3. I washed my hands whenever I was bored, till the skin came off, literally and then slathered some hand creams to feel fancy 👏🏽

4. I strolled around the house in tattered sandals, after a rejuvinating siesta 😎. This was the only time I stepped out of the house, as there would be no other humans around, though I remained inside the main gate of my housing complex. This became a routine and a rather healthy one which I hoped to continue. During these walks I would observe the most mundane of things and be fascinated by them.

5. And, I watched my favourite lilies grow ♥️

With all the uncertainty in the world, it was holding on to the basics which helped us stay afloat this far. Let us all hope and pray that the world is healthy soon again 🙂