HYDERABAD : I thought this quarantine was a blessing in disguise, giving me time to focus on myself. I brought out the faux architect in me and drew out plans on Project Niru. I cleaned, read, worked, worked out, cooked, even whisked my way through a Dalgona Coffee, only to find myself as exhausted as the cheap T-shirt I bought at Numaish after it battled its way through the punches of the washing machine.
My lockdown started a few days earlier than the rest of the country, thanks to my paranoid father. At the time I thought it was just his overly-suspicious behavior in action, but on the quiet evening of March 22 when Prime Minister Modi was to address the nation – the seed of panic that was sowed in my temporal lobe started to grow strong roots. If I locked up all my panic in a shelf; then I have enough time to actually become all the things I write in my LinkedIn profile. I could watch my way through ‘epic’ Oscar winning movies instead of re- watching the same ‘trashy’ Bollywood movies. I could finally work out. I could finally organise my over pouring cupboards. I could finally learn to make round rotis, crips dosas and frothy Dalgona coffee.
So I started, only to stop after just four days because I was exhausted. The Oscar winning movies weren’t half as fun as the trashy bollywood ones and Dalgona coffee gave me a tennis elbow.Suddenly, I couldn’t help but wonder: Why was there so much social and emotional pressure to DO something and to BE someone during this lockdown? Don’t get me wrong. I am in no way encouraging you to not get out of bed, and play video games with no account of what time of the day it is.
If you are finally doing that online course, inally cooking for your kids, finally catching up with your buddies that’s great! But pause that online course, turn off the stove, end the video call and ask yourself; Are our brains so tuned to living in a hurry that we are addicted to keeping busy? Doing nothing is so much harder than you think it is. During this lockdown, don’t make the mistake of locking your brain down. Toss your phone aside. Go to your terrace/balcony. Enjoy the company of a sunset or a starry night. Because the first step to being a better version of ourselves is to know ourselves.- Nirupama Chandra, copywriter, blogger and an ice cream enthusiast