Lockdown Lessons

I let the winter haze comfort me through my window, letting the clock snooze for those extra five minutes. I let the summer sunshine bright through my window, letting the beads of sweat run down my face. I let the droplets of the monsoon rain hit my windowpane, letting them wash away my sorrows.

In the past five months that I’ve been confined in my home by the prevailing pandemic, I have learnt a lot of things, understood a lot of things, and reflected upon a lot of things.

I learnt that I can cook to satiate my hunger.

I learnt the importance of the people around me, my relationships and my loved ones.

I understood the significance of family and mom because when I was away at work, she took care of me and the house, and I’m now my own caretaker.

I understood that being lazy can ruin my day.

I understood the importance of having a dedicated workspace and a high-speed internet, which I took the most advantage of.

I reflected upon all the good and happy times that I had with the people I loved.

I reflected upon how grateful I was for having a roof over my head, food on my plate thrice a day or more on some days and a healthy life.

All of us have suffered in a way or two. Some, because they are in a familiar, yet unfamiliar city, away from their families and their support system that they lean on. Some because they were laid off from their jobs owing to the ongoing pandemic and crashing economy. And some because they lost their loved ones to the virus who came uninvited to our houses.

These unprecedented times have taught us a lot. It taught us the importance of staying calm and having patience. It taught us how the future is so unpredictable that we will have to go about one day at a time and try to live in the present.

But while all of this has happened or is still happening, it has made us strong and gave us the courage to fight the odds. It has instilled a sense of hope that all of this will soon be over. A sense of hope that the fruits of our sufferings will be sweeter than ever. A sense of hope that the new normal would be as good as the old one. A sense of hope that we would breathe fresh air without the masks on and that day is not too far away. A sense of hope that travelling would get safer and we would be home for Diwali with our loved ones to celebrate love, life and happiness.

While most countries are opening up, economies climbing back up and people making the new normal their normal, the Indian Government and Ministry of Home Affairs announced the phase 3.0 of unlocking while still taking necessary precautions to curb the spread of the virus. And now it’s in our hands to be cautious of our actions and follow the rules and regulations laid upon us to make this space safe and clean for ourselves and others.

Because you and I have hoped for all of this to be over soon - and that soon might become a distant reality if we aren’t mindful of our actions - let’s stand together to make our country safe, better and happy. Shall we?