21 Din in Quarantine

First of all, I know that the lockdown has been extended to the 3rd of May, and the title should change. We now have Lockdown 2.0. But, who cares, this is my blog and I can have any title. Jokes apart, I wanted to write about my Lockdown Experiences starting from Janta Curfew (Indian version of Lockdown starters) to the 21-day Lockdown (the Main Course). But, there are always other people planning for the Aam Aadmi than the Aam Aadmi himself. After overcoming many hurdles (like getting up from the sofa or leaving the dishes in the sink), I got time to write in bits and pieces, and I hope this article reaches the conclusion it deserves.

We are in the midst of fighting a pandemic that is going out of hand in most of the countries. To date, it has affected 2+ Million people across the globe and increasing rapidly every hour. As we do not have any vaccine to contain it, people are asked to stay indoors and avoid gatherings/traveling. Frankly speaking, that’s the only way to contain the spread at least. This would also ensure that we do not overwhelm the medical facility in the country by bombarding them with multiple cases at a time.

Before the actual lockdown started, our company had already asked us to Work From Home, so that they could set up the infrastructure beforehand. Good move there, Media.net! It also gave us two options: Either be prepared for the lockdown, or Be Prepared For The Lockdown in CAPS. :) 

The moment this Work from Home was intimated from office and then our Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi Ji Declared the Lockdown (or was it our Chief Minister Shree Uddhav Thackeray - Chronology Samjh Nahi Aa Rahi), so many crazy ideas went through my mind. From binge-watching the shows that I have left in between (ex: Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn 99, or Suits), to catching up with friends from school, college, or previous companies, the plan was looking quite exciting. But, life and wife had some other plans for me which I was not aware of.

The first few days of the lockdown were great. Get up at the time you want, do the morning chores (first few days it was afternoon), switch on your laptop, and start your work. Easy and simple as that! As we had to stay indoors, we would go out once a week to purchase the veggies and other foodstuffs (most of the time either there were long queues for it or things were not available). But yeah, I was still excited about the plan I had.

Few days into the lockdown, my plans were far from getting started. Either I was doing “?? ?? ???” or “?? ?? ???” (Hindi words are introduced here to add drama). I started missing my desk, my friends, my colleagues, my acquaintances, and the waving/smiling faces whom I don’t know by names in office. Being at home, staring at your screen and not having anyone except your family around was getting boring. I started missing the fun, the gossip, the atmosphere, and the work culture (???? ????? ???) at the office. To divert my attention, I started reading the news (thanks to family WhatsApp group sharing ePaper every day), browsing through my Twitter feeds, watching people do weird acts on TikTok, laughing on a few good stories on Snapchat, and discovering many new great account and memes on Instagram. Wow! I am a social media freak; I am everywhere! Hehe

The news feed about the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuous rise in numbers, and the unavailability of essential items had a serious impact on my mental health. I started sharing news, articles, and personalized content about such things on various WhatsApp groups and on the messenger we use for official conversations at the office. At times I was also asked by people not to share such information, and I agree I should not be doing it, but that was the only way I had to de-stress myself. I tried speaking to a few close relatives, and thanks to them, I slowly started feeling normal. However, the other thing that had changed was my sleeping patterns. I wouldn’t sleep the entire night and would be awake till 5 in the morning. Insomnia had kicked in due to anxiety, and when I would wake up in the afternoon, I would feel tired. From wanting to binge-watch to not watching television; things were going out of my hand. I spoke to my wife. It is okay to speak up about such things. Everyone needs help or guidance. That’s how you learn in life. 

Isolation, social distancing, and from talking to so many people - to - talking to no one was taking a toll on my mental health. That’s is when Music, Memes, and Movies came to my rescue. I call them the M&Ms. I started listening to my favorites music, created new playlists of all the old songs that I liked, kept listening to them on the loop. One of my favorites was Tumhe Dil Lagi Bhool Jaani Padegi by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Mahn, I am in love with that song (and it is like you listen to one song so many times till you start hating it). We also watched a few new Bollywood movies, but I really liked the Web Series available on various OTT Apps. Some of my favorites are:

• FLAMES - Season 1 and Season 2
• TVF Tripling
• Kota Factory (Jeetu Sir is my Favorite) 
• Yeh Meri Family
• Panchayat
• What the Folks!
• Thinkistan
• The Aam Aadmi Family
• Little Things - Season 1 and Season 2
• Saw A Few Conversation with Dad videos, and they were hilarious

I know all the above are light-hearted family or easy-going shows. But, that’s what I need at this time. And believe me, they made me smile. :) 

Thanks to my brother, I got access to most of his OTT Apps and created my profile everywhere. Hehe. So discovering more such web series. Do recommend if you guys know of any good series.

Apart from Music and Movies, Memes at various social media platforms kept me entertained. From people making Dalgona Coffees on their Snapchat/Insta stories to they going into the kitchen for the first time and are on their way to greatness. From memes on Ramayana and Work from Home comic strips to watching some amazing videos on Facebook and Instagram. This was a discovering phase for me. It kept my mind distracted from what was happening around, and made me laugh. Also, I watched so many food blogging videos on Facebook and have started creating a list of places I need to visit when this pandemic is over.

I am feeling much better now. The stress and anxiety are moving out, but we still have a few more days left in Lockdown 2.0. It might extend a bit more looking at the current situation, but I am being positive (this has become the most negative word in 2020). 

Till then, be safe everyone! Stay Home, Stay Indoors, Stay Wherever You Are! 

Cheer!!

Altaf Akhai

Source: https://rasnatalkies.wordpress.com/2020/04/17/21-din-in-quarantine/