Lockdown

 This lockdown has disrupted the normal rhythm of our life. However, there are quite a few ways in which I feel it has actually positively impacted our family and given us a few lessons to reflect on, long term!

a) I now know how to cook most of my favourite dishes. I appreciate the effort that goes into most of these recipes and what substitutions can be made without drastically altering the taste of the original dish.

b) We discovered how audiobooks can be an easier way to get your young person out-of-the-way for half-hours together by ensuring he has a productive pastime to engage in, while improving his listening and concentration skills at the same time. (The additional and purely accidental fallout was utter tranquility at home, equivalent to a week's worth of pranayam benefits!)

c) I discovered how web series are evidently a superlative and mesmerising form of moronic and hackneyed Bollywood films. 

d) My son and I got to spend quality art-and-music time together, learning some classics (the Beatles!) and spending quality time together. (We had a new excuse to revisit childhood favourites without being considered juvenile in our taste!)

e) Junior and I learned that baking is an amazing way to learn life skills as well as polish our basic arithmetic skills! (Who knew that the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon can make or break a recipe?!)

f) We found that the world of flora and fauna is a less controversial and infinitely more wondrous realm relative to human society in general. 

g) A tiny backyard proved to be an asset as a mini-outlet into the extended outdoors,as it indicated the passage of seasons, doubled up as a hairdressers' saloon, a washing day area plus an area to get your daily dose of Vitamin D and sit with a book in the afternoon to destress.

i) Who knew one could look forward everyday to a hectic 30 min odd PE session with a handsome, twinkle-eyed curly haired Mr Wicks, which involved getting down and dirty on the carpet (literally!) with endless squats, mountain climbers and ab crunches? Exercising had never been so fun until Junior collapsed in fits of giggles over how little flexibility his mother possessed in moves that came easily to him!

Irrfan

I know not this gorge of grief that fetters me
Rising and ebbing, an indigo sea
No name can I grant this unknown love
That scars and mars all I thought I have

Poor I am now, bereft of all you did give
Now you are absent, I know you did live
Lingering lonely in a labyrinth of laments
Pleading for alms of your words and moments

Coronavirus

The C-word is on everyone's mind now, here or elsewhere, all over the world. Airlines are suffering unprecedented losses, people are hoarding dry food, hand sanitisers and toilet paper like never before, schools are counting days before an enforced closure takes effect, daily commuters are wrapping masks and hankies around their faces, supermarkets struggle to keep up with mass purchases, public events are randomly cancelled and a conversation cannot be sustained for more than 5 minutes before the virus steals the limelight.

So, as a mother of a schoolgoing child and an employee herself in the same school, how am I dealing with this crisis of sorts?

a) By remaining calm. We cannot buy every single thing online, particularly perishables like vegetables, fruits and dairy. We do need to step out of the house every now and then and do our groceries in the usual manner.

b) Cultivating a sense of humour about the scenario at large. If I can't resolve the problem, maybe I shouldn't contribute to it in any way, at least? I have had parents squabbling and overreacting to simple responses and jokes in Whatsapp groups. Really! At this age?


In between:
Fed up of all the conspiracy stories circulating on social media right now.We are already living in fear. Who wants to know the graphic details?
Update:
Now that Boris Johnson, the PM, and Prince Charles has contracted the virus too, things are not looking good for the country at large. Wondering which way this will go...will the people take heart from the fact that he might survive it or will they be in despair at the possibility that anyone might be infected now?