BENGALURU: Bewildering. Unbelievable. Overwhelming. Is this a bad dream? Will we ever wake up to our safe normal world? Unlikely, for now. It is all so surreal. Coronavirus, novel at that, is not something that can be taken lightly. But being at home 24/7 can make one act uncharacteristically. You look for some humour to keep your paranoia at bay. And the jokes and memes are going more viral than the virus itself.
As someone said, the jokes have reached worrying numbers. Looks like we are in the middle of a ‘pundemic’!But is it OK to smile or laugh in the times of COVID? Will people take offence? And ours is a country with the highest per capita opinion. But don’t doctors say that laughter is the best medicine?
If somebody had told me a couple of months ago that schools and shops would be closed and the globe would be under a lockdown (a new term I learnt) and that I would be working from home, I would have laughed.
My life has shrunk to my house... the four walls...the wall between me and the outside world. So I am following social distancing nicely. And I am constantly washing my hands. I didn’t know how many times I was touching my face till health experts told me and I stopped doing so. The precautions are life-saving and we all must follow.
The day (which day? can’t tell) begins. I wake up and dreamily look through the window, leaves look greener, I hear sounds of new birds, not just the raucous crowing of pigeons or crows.I get off the bed with a start thinking I am late for the living room. I call it the living room because that is where I live these days.
It’s not just the size and speed of what is happening that’s dizzying. Everything is topsy-turvy. You don’t know which day or date it is... today is yesterday but tomorrow is today! I finish my daily chores and then talk to my laptop! For, I am scared I will forget the sound of my voice. Living alone, like WFH, is not easy.
I always told myself I would do spring cleaning whenever I had time. Now I have all the time in the world... I am yet to start on this mission.My thoughts wander. I wonder why life has become so complicated. I try to be positive. But being positive is a no-no these days.No cash, so I go to the bank. I have dust allergy and I sneeze. I get the full attention of the entire staff. This is the first time that it has happened in the last 15 years.
I am ready by 6pm with fingers poised on the keyboard... for WFH of course (my first stint). I wait and wait for work to flow. One hour later, both the mouse and I am tired. But then the avalanche starts. Working, working non-stop...
Hopefully all this will end (I don’t mean work!) , that is what powerful brains are saying ... that the virus will eventually vanish. As a caution, they even say that it may reappear. Hope the coronavirus is reading this while ignoring the last word of caution.I am so fed up that when all this is over, I will take some leave and stay in office!