Staying at home with one day merging into another, the mind just keeps jumping across memories, which I didn’t even know were relevant. When the lockdown was announced, the first person who came to my mind was a young woman I met maybe two months back in opd. A warm person, who complimented my handwriting. Of course I liked her immediately not just because she complimented me. In fact more often than not, compliments put me on guard. That’s because they don’t always mean what they say. Those who are quick to compliment are often also quick to complain. Their compliments are held as a power, you become obliged to please them lest they take away that compliment.

However, unlike those strategic compliments, her compliment was genuine. Her story too, which was moving from feeling guilty of not exercising to feeling guilty of not having enough time for her toddler to feeling grateful for her job where she devoted twelve hours of hard work. Once back from work, she has to “be present” with her kid. There was no way I can ask her to use those few precious moments to go out for walk or make a time-taking healthy meal.

So she strangely was the face which flashed when I heard about the lockdown and I felt how happy she can be now with her kid away from the pressure to please her employers.

There are many others travelling 2-4 hours each day, coming home only to sleep, not having anytime to think that this may not be the one and only life they want to spend.

We all have in some way or another passing most of our lives in a slumber, not having enough time to create beautiful memories and stories because what else is this where real life worth.

The way we have all shaken up and now wide awake, prioritising ourselves, our families, our friends and people; having death visibly around just makes us aware how valuable life is. Plus all the time to really “think”.

After this is all over (which it will be), I am dreading what would happen then. Would we all go back to our sleeps? Careless about our lives, about our kids? Would we lose perspective that there are other “man made” disasters which are killing us more than this virus, slowly but surely. How many deaths makes us scared? 2019 deaths due to air pollution in India was 1.2 million. We do not change our behaviour for that. What will be the mortality figure which will keep us awake?

Wont you miss this blue sky? Do we need to go back into a life of wasteful consumption? We don’t need to go into compete lockdown, but more of work from home, virtual schooling, zoom meetings…now we know we can!