From the RabindraSangeet to Metal, change made by Quarantine

Hi everyone, 

 

I am back again to consume 3-4 minutes of your precious time. Some of you (that means only my husband) wanted me to write about my 14-days quarantine experience. So here it is:

 

I was put in quarantine twice so far. The first one was in the middle of March when I went back home. It was the initial stage when the COVID situation started becoming worse in India. That time it was fun, simply because I was going home. The moment I stepped inside the house and asked my parents to maintain a safe distance from me for the next 14 days, my mother started crying, she was 200% sure that I was infected. It took me a few days to make my mother understand the concept of ‘quarantine’. She used to think that if someone is in quarantine means that the person ‘must’ be infected. Honestly, with the joy of being home after 7/8 months, I could not constrain myself in a single room all the time. But, whenever I came out of my so-called ‘quarantine-room’, I made sure to keep at least ‘my height’ (don't try to guess it, it is a very cute prime) distance with people. I was not at all bored during that time. 

 

After spending more than three months, it was time for me to come back to Bhopal, where I work. Once again, I had to stay in quarantine for another 14 days, and here the real fun comes. This time, I was almost concealed in a room, of course with an attached toilet. I could go out of the room only once a day and that was for a daily health checkup. Foods, snacks, tea, almost everything was served at the doorstep. I felt like a privileged prisoner. The initial 7 days went very smoothly. There was a bunch of backlogs at work and I used to work most of the time. After a week or so, I started feeling alone, there was no one to talk, obviously, I could call my parents or husband or any friend any time, but no one was there to talk face-to-face. I felt that the need to see and talk to a person in real space and time is extremely human. I wish that a full-digital life never becomes a reality! The few human-being I used to see near to me were the Doctor and the staff who served food. I tried my best to keep myself happy and sane, kept myself busy with work most of the time. I could also steal a few hours in a day for yoga, which really kept me refreshed. Still…!, if you are in the same room for several days, after a few days it starts becoming difficult, especially in these unsure times. You start feeling out of the world. At times it becomes so difficult, that you start making lots of nuisance.  

 

To get out of my restlessness, I started making random conversation with the caterer, ‘Bhaia Kaise ho, Ghar me bibi bachhe Kaise Hain? Idhar market main Lonka ka price kitna hain? Aloo zyada mahenga ho gya hain kya? (kyun ki khane main aloo dhundne ke liye microscope ka zarurat tha)’ In fact, the Doctor started making PJ to make us happy. When I had really nothing to do, got tired of work, I used to call the reception to ask ‘Bhaiya, aj khane main kya milega? Doctor, aya kya aj?’ Right in those times, one of my friends told me about Lenskart, because I had to buy a new spec. I got to know about this wonderful feature of their site: Basically, they record a 3D image of your face, and you can virtually (life was anyways virtual, so why not!) try all the spec, sunglasses they have. It was super fun. So, every day I used to put some lipstick, Kajol, and opened Lenskart site, mainly to check how do I look in different stylish sunglasses. It was so entertaining.

 

I also watched a lot of movies on Amazon, Netflix, and also tons of YouTube videos. Some of them were really good. My life was so dull, that I also watched clippings of Deb Da's Paglu movie and danced with ‘Paglu dance, dance…’.

 

Then someone (guess who!) advised me that I should use this time in a more fruitful manner and that this is a good time to plan the future moves. I dully followed that and prepared my speech for the eve when I will receive Pulitzer Prize for blogging. I also prepared to sing on the stage of CokeStudio. But the most interesting thing that happened to me was that I started listening to Metal. Before this my YouTube auto playlist was mostly full of Rabindra-Sangeet. I could have never thought of listening to Metal, but, yeah, quarantine made this impossible (or improbable!) thing to happen. I also did a bit of research on how to buy some land on the moon and mars, seeing how fucked-up the situation on earth is! 

 

Things that made me go!

I actually have a few good friends here; whose quarantine period was over by that time. They used to come near my window to say ‘hi’ every day. Love you guys. Apart from this, my work (though sometimes, I got really tired of that), daily yoga practice, and my family and friends helped me to go through this period. Now, I am out of prison, perhaps another one is waiting, who knows! 

The glow of the setting sun spreads the hope for a better tomorrow. Sunset taken from my quarantine room's window.

This time is very uncertain, all of us afraid of getting infected, worried about what tomorrow has in store for us! Being in quarantine or self-isolation is prone to unbearable. Every day, there is at least one news in the newspaper stating that families of Doctors, nurses, or themselves, COVID patients, and their family, even if someone in quarantine or in self-isolation, are being harassed by their neighbors (I went through this as well!). Please, don't do this! Who knows, maybe tomorrow you will be in the same situation, so don't lose your humanity. Harassing someone is not a vaccine, instead, wear masks properly, wash hands frequently, maintain a safe distance, but come more closer to hearts.  

Stay away, stay safe.

P.S.: If you were/are also in quarantine, you can share your story with us in the comment box below.