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.