Lockdown diaries

 

 

 

I found myself in dire straits as the lockdown was announced in 2020. Thoughts of no office,  no yoga class, no shopping,  no vacations, no evening walks in the park , no meeting friends and family were extremely disappointing.  The outbreak of the virus had caused fear, panic in my family and we were confined to home. The initial days were filled with chaos - the fear-inducing videos and language on news channels and social media created a lot of anxiety.  We decided to turn a blind eye towards the ongoing pandemic and concentrate on how to adjust to the new norm of working from home while working at home. 

The initial days were fun-filled with food being in the spotlight. We collaborated to try new cuisines, surfed various cooking sites, connected with aunties and grannies to fetch traditional, forgotten recipes. Trying street food, authentic dishes, deserts of all sorts, induced a great sense of satisfaction.Team work at the kitchen kindled creativity and enthusiasm. While the daughter-dad duo learnt how to chop vegetables , I made papads, fryums and pickles. We all took turns to keep a watch on the squirrels and pigeons when the papads were being sun dried. And to our surprise , my mother-in-law came out of her comfort zone to try spaghettis and pasta!

What was exciting was we practised to turn off the screens and sat together on the floor to relish what we prepared! Needless to say, the best food is homemade and granny's recipes are unbeatable  :-)

Cooking had now become an interesting and integral part of our lives however cleaning the kitchen consumed a lot of time and effort. Initially, there was frustration when the maid communicated she had to take off adhering to the lockdown announced in the city. We took turns sweeping and mopping the floor, many thanks to our maid, I would never realise how satisfying cleaning the house could be. Playing retro numbers of bollywood, clicking photos and dancing with the broom, seeing Amogha learn how to use the mop was enjoyable and a fun family business.  The window panes, curtains, doors , lofts , wardrobes were all smiling wide that they got a makeover and were sparkly clean!

The school decided to go online and parks were closed, Amogha had no body to play with. We decided to try out traditional games such as ludo, snake and ladder, gilli danda, kho-kho, hopscotch, hide and seek. Amogha came up with new games such as human ludo, making shapes out of ice, passing the ice ball.  Having an open terrace gave a feel that we are entering a playground every evening. Amogha ditched her favourite t-shirt jeans, and tried to play with the full length indian skirt-blouse. Playing along with children and being silly along with them is the best stress buster.

Watching the birds return home at sunset, mimicking bird sounds, gazing at the moving clouds lying on the floor and waving goodbye to the aeroplanes evoked nostalgia. On one evening, we witnessed an OM shaped cloud formation and thanked mother earth for having bestowed upon us the awesome beauty of nature.

Weekends were turned into family movie times, preparing fresh chips , popcorns and lazing on the sofas glued to the television. We arranged art parties over the weekends allowing the whole family to plunge into a world of paints, oil pastels , colour pencils and sketch pens. It was very interesting to see Amogha taking the responsibility of organising the art party right from planning snacks and beverages , setting up space on the terrace, and spreading out the art supplies. Grandmothers and grandfathers embraced the artistic side of themselves and thoroughly enjoyed the art party.  

A considerable amount of time was spent taking care of our extended-family "The Garden". We preserved vegetable and fruit peels and learnt how to make manure, sowed vegetable seeds and waited curiously to see them grow. I feel elated to say , patience and perseverance are the two things our garden has taught us. 

Lockdown gave a new perspective to life, a beautiful life with family.

When there is anxiety prevailing around , fear haunting often and life seeming unpredictable, can we gather courage and make the best of life ? Why wait? Come on, pick up the phone, connect with dear and near ones , pick up a new hobby , lets polish our strengths and stay empowered !