Exploring My Mind!

I was on a vacation of 3 days at Guhagar, Ratnagiri to break the fatigue of the routine work life. Every year I’ve been assigning a four-day media fast because I always believed that excessive media use is not good for us physically, mentally, or emotionally. Finally, my vacation ended on 16^th March 2020 and it was early morning when I was returning back to Mumbai. After I reached home, I was in a rush to catch my routine train and finish up household chores to reach the office on time. My phone rang and there were 250 messages. I assumed the maximum will be the commercial message! Blady telecom companies! And rest will be “Good Morning! messages on WhatsApp. After a while, again my phone vibrated and this time I actually checked my phone. Ohh! Freck! Boss’s name displayed on the screen!

Boss- Hey Roshni! Are you back to Mumbai?

Me – Yeah!

Boss – Work from home today. I will call and discuss it.

Me – Sure.”

Come to think of it, I wonder what’s going on. Boss really could read my mind. And I had a smile on my face as it eliminated my commute time i.e 3hrs of average roundtrip.

As I sat down, I was about to take a sip of my coffee and start reading the messages and emails. I fumbled the mug, coffee spilling all over when I read

The Hindu e-Newspaper: “As world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, the Union Health Ministry on Sunday said there were 110 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India. Reports from States, however, put the figure of persons testing positive for COVID-19 at 123.Ten persons have so far been discharged after treatment. Globally more than 162,000 are infected and over 6,000 have died”

Email from a lawyer stating “The advisory issued by Delhi High Court and other forum regarding listing and hearing of matters due to COVID-19 outbreak. Only very urgent matters are to be heard in coming weeks in order to avoid further spread of the corona virus”

Travel Advisory by Government of India of Health & FW for Additional Travel Advisory for Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

When I finished reading the emails and messages, I revealed it was not that boss has read my mind but it was I who missed reading news during vacation. I realized that we have reached the outbreak and COVID-19 has spread across the World, infecting thousands, killing thousands and keeping a population of 60 million people in lockdown. So far, I’ve been lucky, I’m not sick. My family is with me and not sick either. I immediately contacted other family members, friends, a colleague in Mumbai and all around India and out of India check in with them, asking how they’re doing. They sign off “Stay safe Stay Home”.

Everything twisted suddenly over a weekend, after the announcement on 24^th March 2020 of the local outbreak and 3 weeks total lockdown for all 1.3Bilion Indians. With four hours notice, India’s Prime Minister announced that no one could leave home for 21 days — the most severe step taken anywhere in the war against the coronavirus.

Initially, after the outbreak and before the lockdown, the work continued, with the necessary precautions. Being at home usually does not mean doing work. Mumbai apartments can be small, so it is difficult to work from home when your partner or family is also there. Children at home assume that a parent at home is for them, not for work. 

While staying home to combat the spread of COVID-19 is something of a privilege, however, I’m multitasking at all times right now and it’s exhausting. Everyone needs to be fed, everyone needs to be entertained and everyone needs to stay on some type of schedule. I might start getting up at six a.m. to have three hours alone to do work before they get up.

On the work front, it is amazing how the quarantine really does change your life. I recalled the thoughts were once the technology was thought to be the death knell of human social interaction, it is now bringing us together under quarantine. All of us are now pivoting to virtual social gatherings. A lot of meetings are now taking place on Zoom, a videoconferencing app.

Also some of these challenges have led to bonding moments. I was most stressed that I’ve probably ever been, and there’s no place to go. I was tired and sat down to rest. I was patiently observing my son - he was fully occupied with his highest form of research, playing. Children have the amazing ability to spread their hope, their zest for life and their ability to adapt to change with ease. They are the urge to live. We have so much to learn from them! They live each moment intensely as if it were your last. And what if something happens to me due to this unprecedented event of Cornovirus? It was that moment I made my mind to going back to being a little more like children and tick off the highest ranked item on my bucket list! Those dishes and those errands I was in such a rush to get to will be there waiting. Tomorrow is another day. Today is the day. Savor the moments that today alone brings. Understand that tomorrow is not guaranteed, so why fret over it? We don’t get to stay on this crazy/wonderful planet forever and the greatest pleasure can be found in the most mundane of activities. 

It was the first time I dragged all family members at living room to dance with me and it felt really special. With due respect to Sooraj Barjatya’s emotions in his film “Hum Saath – Sath Hai” wherein he mimeographed a famous saying by Le Motte that “A family who eats together, stays together”. I slightly modified it by making a family exercise ritual because I strongly believe “A family who eats and workout together, get stronger together”.   As a bonus, exercise with family does double duty as quality time - no small consideration given our jam-packed schedules. I took these creative ideas to turn every day into an opportunity to get fit and have fun together. I tuned my guitar and reconnected with my music teacher. 

On a reflective note, I want to say there is no ‘correct time’ for the dream to materialize. Also, there are no specific attempts at creative problem solving, but when the problems did get solved, typically that happened when the atmosphere was conducive to out-of-the-box thinking. So yes, some attempt at creative thinking would be useful.

By staying home I am doing my bit in protecting the vulnerable people in my neighborhood and community who are at risk for the severe form of COVID-19, on the other hand, I am exploring my mind to rescue my family from obesity and sedentary lifestyle. When I look back at the Great Quarantine of 2020, it may be hard to believe all these things actually happened as I’m living through historic events now.