Lockdown diaries - Part 2

If you haven’t read out Part-1, do so by clicking here.

Coming to my personal experience of the lockdown.

Mid march, we were sipping our favourite Irani chai during office tea break

discussing corona of course. However, we did not know that this would be

our last Irani chai and we won’t get this for a long time in near future.

Maybe, we would have savoured it more if we knew.

Work from home started and we were told the next 2 weeks are very crucial.

Then the same thing was told again after completion of 2 weeks. And again

after completion of 2 weeks. We got the message that we are in for a long haul here.

Initially I was elated to work from home. I always wanted to be amidst natural

light and air. I hated the enclosed cubicle spaces with artificial lights. But I didn’t

know God would listen to me and grant me my wish in such a generous way.

Initially I thought lockdown meant a lot of free time and a lot of entertainment.

Also, As an introvert, I was not at all feeling anxious about lockdown.

Initially lots of efforts and time went in consuming food and digital content. 

I realized after a few days that this is not appropriate for overall well being. 

Some adjustments were done and some are still in progress. I am not feeling

guilty however feeling good that I am able to make adjustments and flex my

will power for my own good. 

I also  realized that, with work from home, it is business as usual for me

with added insecurities. Economy started to decline and so were our

company profits. 

I realized that man is a social animal and can’t be forced to be passive for long. 

We started getting invites for video calls, meets, online games, housie game

and what not.

I realized,  one is not allowed to sit idle in today’s connected world. 

While I was given the responsibility for getting the groceries for home,

it was such a strange experience. It felt criminal to step out of home.

I was not looking into the eyes of people outside and was always in a rush

to get the stuff and come back home. At night, there will only be dogs on the

streets but not cars and vehicles at which they can bark

I tried to follow a routine so that I don’t mingle office hours and family hours.

I finally started to learn the story of Mahabharat via tv - two episodes a day. I

started watching the Breaking Bad series as well. 

I was anticipating that there was a lot of free time available now, but as it curtailed,

I was hardly getting any free time. Following was allocation during weekdays

2 hours - Mahabharata 

1 hour - Breaking Bad

8 hours - Office work + Lunch

8.5 hours - Sleep

1 hour exercise + breakfast 

.5 hour dinner 

1 hour - News 

2 hour -Household chores, groceries, whatsapp games, Ludo , relatives and family calls. 

As of today, lockdown is extended for another 15 days till 17th May.

Looks like 2020 will go as a quarantine year. May we all come out of

it physically and mentally healthy to move on with life.

Lockdown Diaries - Part 1

Its 1st may 2020. 

Popularly known as Labour day or Maharashtra day or May Day and observed as holiday
in major parts of India.But this year, 1st May is very different for 1.3 billion Indian citizens.
They are locked down in their homes for over 37 days now courtesy novel coronavirus.

A virus which is manufactured in China and  imported in India from all over the world.
I still remember the first cast detected in india and the reaction over it.
Yes, it will come to india and spread. But little did we know the draconian measures
which will have to be taken up to contain the spread. Little we knew that we would be
locked down in our homes and we will be devoid of our fundamental right to move. 

What followed was no less than a thriller movie. Every day there are new announcements
and rules coming from government agencies. Every day there are new restrictions being
placed from housing societies to national level.

First, cinemas were shut, then swimming pools and parks. Then they shut down the foreign
travel (inbound and outbound), then railways and roadways. 

Everything came to standstill. Janta curfew was initiated by the PM to give a trailer of what to
expect next. 

21 days lockdown followed by 19 days lockdown. 

During the lockdown, a lot of thoughts and realizations surfaced. Interesting things started to happen
all around. Interesting times ! As my mom said, in her life span of 70 years she hasn’t witnessed such
a scenario. Her most innocent and curious question was - How the hell they can put locks on
TEMPLES? Her daily routine of 4 hours got disturbed.

No Maids were allowed to come home. This was one of the major shockers for all the households.

It followed the usual chain starting from denial to negotiation to acceptance and finally making peace
with it. 

The restrictions were such an equalizer,  from rich to poor, all were now seen at the same level.

The boundary of the middle and upper class seems to fade out. There was no more FOMO
(fear of missing out), because there was no one outside to make you feel so.

Introverts were elated with the idea of lockdown, as that meant no social gatherings and awkward
conversations. No formal get together and boredom which entailed. 

No newspapers allowed to be delivered, and learned to live with epaper.
No morning walks or evening walks. No more sitting at the LMD square and observing people
going around.

There were so many stories of people getting stuck. My niece got stuck in hyderabad.
My bachelor colleagues stuck in Pune with no tiffin service and cooks available.
Friends got stuck in their sasural and mayka. Labourers got stuck and couldn’t move to their home
town.

People started to embrace face masks as an essential clothing item and maintained 1 hand distance
with others. No handshakes.  

Teachers started to take online classes on video conferencing apps. Netflix, Prime, hotstar and
several OTT subscriptions increased. 

Sensex and Nifty tanked 25% within 2 weeks.

Changes happening all around and here I was trying to make sense of it all.
I will cover my personal journey amid lockdown in the next part. Stay tuned.