Mar 11th 2020, 9:30 AM - It's exactly 2 weeks back but feels like such a long time ago. I left home to head to my office. As I was walking down the road, I noticed a few people wearing masks but the roads were lined up with busy morning traffic as usual. I came across news about a person visiting Bangalore from US who was tested Covid19 positive. It was news of concern but I didn't realize the huge changes that would happen in a span of 2 weeks. Anyway, coming back to that morning, I booked an Uber and was waiting for the cab to arrive at my pickup spot. After around 15 minutes of wait time, the cab arrived. Amidst the continuous honking, I heard the music playing from the cab driver's earphones and I recognized the tune instantly - "thooliyile aada vandha" from Chinna Thambi. "OMG, how long has it been since I heard this album! Must be at least a couple of decades", I wondered. The magic of Illayaraaja just took me to the memorable times of the 80s and I was tapping my legs happily. The songs from the album played one after another in Kannada. Language doesn't matter when there is nostalgia and soulful music. For a change, I actually enjoyed the whole trip without bothering about the traffic, honking, irresponsible driving etc. I reached my office, attended a meeting and then returned home in the afternoon.
From that afternoon, I haven't stepped out of my apartment, except for a couple of visits to the supermarket next door. These 2 weeks seem like a month and March seems to be never-ending - 6 more days to go. Amidst the panic and chaos, I try to push myself to see the positive side of things and keep myself occupied with productive activities.
My immediate family members are with me but I'm concerned about the well-being of my other family members living in different cities and countries.
I start off my day on a positive note, practice Yoga for 40-45 minutes, cook breakfast and lunch, sit down to focus on my work, have lunch, play with my daughter for some time, back to kitchen to make a quick evening snack and then dinner. There are enough and more work to focus on within my home, now that we have asked our house-help not to come. Doing dishes 3-4 times a day, folding clothes, putting the washed clothes out for drying, sweeping, mopping and the list goes on. By the end of the day, I'm extremely tired, both mentally and physically. I'm grateful that I have a roof to live under, enough supplies to cook and eat healthy meals. But there are also times when I'm worried about what's happening all over the world and quite concerned when things would return to normal.
I also question myself, "What's normal? Were we leading normal lives before?"
Maybe, Mother Earth wanted a break from us humans. Maybe, she is telling us, "Enna aattam aadineenga ellaarum? konjam adangunga".
To be continued.