Barely a month ago, we were in our office, blissfully unaware of how completely the world was going to turn around in a few days. At that point, Covid-19 was still a distant threat and it seemed that India was being spared the worst of it. However, the Janta Curfew and nationwide lockdown followed in quick succession and suddenly the things we had always taken for granted, have become luxuries.
Just a month back, we couldn't have imagined our lives without our house helps to cook and clean for us, without the routine of leaving for office, the morning or night walks that we always kept putting off for the next day. But now, we are all at home, with family if we are lucky, and managing on ourselves and also spending time in doing things we like to do. In fact, even though this is imposed, it has been a journey in a sense. A retreat to be exact.
The idea of this post is to reflect upon this journey that we are making, this retreat into our selves. While the heart longs to be free, there is also this strange sense of relaxation. While for the first few days I did miss office a lot, I settled into the new routine as well. In fact I have noticed that I am much more productive nowadays. By 9:30 everyday I am ready for office after having breakfast. I work hard the entire day, sometimes late into the evening, breaking only for lunch in between. And then we have dinner together while watching TV.
Between all this and the additional household chores that we are splitting between the two of us, we still manage to find time for our various interests. VJ is doing a lot of photography around the house and even holding free-of-cost sessions for Lightroom. I am writing a bit and also taking care of my plants much more than I used to when was going out for work.
And also there's a sense of peace that I would have loved, if there wasn't this unease about Covid-19 lurking somewhere at the back of our minds. Of course there's this constant worry about family, friends, and our loved ones. Another aspect that bothers me is that towards the end of the day, sometimes mood darkens a bit. I do miss going to meet my parents and my sister and having friends over in the evening.
To tell you the truth, I also miss office a little. There are so many people you get to interact with and at that time you don't realize it, but you tend to miss all those casual greetings and smiles.
There are so many things you realize about yourself once you get some time to "do nothing". One aspect that I have realized is that I am quite a hard working person. And the amount of work I am doing now-a-days, managing to stick to a routine despite there being no such compulsion, and trying to stay positive and upbeat about everything, talking to friends every day - there's so much that I never thought I was capable of doing, but am able to do.
However, there's also a new found respect for our previous freedom, which we never appreciated earlier. We never thought that it would be a virus that would make us realize the worth of all that we took for granted. The entire world is reeling right now, and often when I talk to my friends, the conversation veers towards how all this is going to impact the economy. However, we assure ourselves that with new problems come new opportunities, and that once all this is over, there will be several new beginnings.
This inward journey has been quite revealing actually. And though I hope and pray that all of us come out of this situation in good health and well-being, I do realize that this pandemic is teaching us some really important lessons about ourselves and life in general. It would do us good to remember this time once we are over it.
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