When the
prime minister announced a nationwide lock-down in March 2020, I panicked. The apprehension
of being locked inside the four walls of our modest apartment, drove me crazy. My
wife and I were concerned about life without maid and inability to go shopping
for essentials supplies. Luckily, life got organised thanks to a group of young
and not so young families, who came forward to support the senior citizens of
our residential complex with all help.
Three
months later, we feel quite used to this new way of life. However, the absence
of friends and family members feel suffocating as one needs to unwind
sometimes. Absence of small pleasure of life like watching an occasional movie
or eating out, leisurely strolls in a shopping mall, dropping in at a friend’s
house without notice, made life a bit frustrating.
We do not
step out of our apartment these days except to collect our supplies which are
delivered at the reception at the ground floor. The lifts are normally empty.
Occasionally, I do meet another neighbour, properly masked and gloved like
me. We nod silently at each other and stand at two diagonal corners of the
lift. The idea of measuring the distance did occur to me to ensure it was at
least six feet. However, I invariably forget to carry a measuring tape during
my occasional jaunts outside the apartment.
By the way,
there are several daring residents in our complex whose bravery and valour match that of the president of the world’s
mightiest country. They do not wear any mask. I politely refuse to share the
lift with them. There are cautious
neighbours also, who
use their elbows to activate the lift. I tried it once but gave up because the
lift buttons are placed so low that I need to bend down considerably and end up
hurting my back. Moreover, nobody can accuse me of being lean and slim; - my
bloated elbow fall on half a dozen buttons, slowing down my ascends and
descends. I carry a small piece of paper torn from the day’s newspaper and use
it as a buffer between my finger and the button. I dispose of the paper after
my sojourn. It’s working fine.
The neighbourhood
supermarket delivers things as ordered, well almost. A few items from the
shopping list are always missing. My queries are normally shrugged off by
delivery personnel with a nonchalant response, - out of stock. One evening as I went down to the reception
area to collect my grocery, I found the delivery man with his mask hanging under
his chin. His defended his action and explained it was suffocating to wear the
mask all the time in this summer heat. Well, he did have a valid point but
rules are rules. He immediately put the mask back on.
However,
things went out of control as Operation Unlock began. The safe distance (I hate
the term social distancing) rules were openly flouted. As offices opened people
were in a hurry to board the limited number of buses on the roads. TV’s showed
the crowd jostling with each other to get inside. Nobody looked worried and
many did not wear masks of any kind.
No wonder
there has been a spike in the number of cases and the state has been forced to
reimpose restrictions at badly affected areas. The state has no other options.
Neither do we.
Kolkata, 10
July 2020
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