Little Break

It has been a month since the lockdown began and in these 31 days, I feel like life has been on rewind just like when I was 12 years old. From being a sales professional who used to have travel plans for every week to being a kid who gets up in the morning craving for mom’s cooked paratha. From being an irresponsible brother who never used to call his siblings to being a one that plays badminton and ludo every day with them. From running a rat race where every day you compete with rest of the world to taking a walk on the terrace every evening, having a cup of dalgona and embracing the beauty of nature. It feels like I have entered the era of nineties where we still have family dinners together and nobody is scrolling their phones down. Thanks to the government for not having 4G in J&K. In last 10 years this the longest I have been with my family and It has made me realize so much time has passed and so much things been missed in last one decade. I have become an uncle but my nieces don’t know much about me. In these lost years they have grown so fast. For me it was just yesterday that I was holding her in my hands and today she wants to learn all about the universe. I have missed playing with them. Telling them stories about my childhood. but it’s never too late, for something especially when it comes to family. 

Other than that, in this last one month something unusual happened, I have come in touch with quite a few people who have not been in my contact from quite a while. I believe this lockdown has made me to value the relationships. Somewhere deep down the human connect which was missing in me is coming back. It has given me time to do some introspection. With the metro city lifestyle, we don’t try to look back. We don’t wait to pick what is left. Always moving forward thinking we will get better than this on the way so why to waste time just move forward. This quarantine with my loved ones is helping me to put breaks for a while and take a look around to pick what was left. In some ways in this lockdown I am living the lost years of my life.

Standing on the terrace the clear view of the mountains made me contemplate what we have done to Earth. We got so confined with the idea of modern society that stopped caring for the nature around us. We became too self-centred with this progressive lifestyle that we never bothered about the environment. Standing there also made me realize that maybe this was a much-needed break to heal the wounded as well. Maybe it’s time to realize our mistake that on the name of development we are messing with the laws of nature. Maybe it’s time to stop the destruction and start preserving what is left. So, I started with the first step, a simple one, looking at my mother who was watering the plants, I picked up the mug and started watering them too. And believe me I felt happy. Happy that I could do give something back in return. That activity somehow built a connect with those plants and now I water them every evening. Looking at them & having a sense of gratitude towards the mother Earth.

It's rightly said that life has its own perspective, on one end some relationships are coming to an end in the world and on the other end there are some new beginnings as well. It is sad what is happening outside but somehow, it’s us who are responsible for the chaos around. And now we have to decide what kind of future we want for us and for the coming generations. The one having green and blues or the one where everything is grey.

 Meanwhile let us enjoy this interval in life. You never know when we will get this time back in our lives with our loved ones. The so-called little break.