My Quarantine Diary (Day 13)

Day 13

Saturday 25th April, 2020 

6:30 PM

Dear Diary,

Today is the 13th day of my lockdown. It was a hectic day but still, I am in good living condition. As it’s just the day before my birthday. I went with my flatmates to buy groceries as we were left with very little of it and It will be difficult to survive another week with that. In Belgium, the virus is spreading so fast and we really don't know how the situation will be in upcoming weeks. The stocks are very limited in the supermarket.

I just now had a bath and will have a conversation with my parents and sister after a while. After a few hours, The Indian clock will strike at 12 and I will become another year older, wiser, and probably more grateful to the universe.

For me, my birthday is always very special, as it always gives me a chance to give thanks to the universe, to really reflect upon how well I am still alive to celebrate the day I was born. 

As I belong to a middle-class Bengali family, though we never celebrate our birthday in a grand way, still my parents always tried to make the day special for both of us, for me and my sister. See, now probably you have understood why my loneliness always makes me insane as when I came in this world, at that time too, I was not alone. 

I can remember that in my childhood during my birthday, my mother used to cook delicious chicken curry and we used to eat it with rice. Along with that, she used to cook a sweet dish, which we absolutely relished. It was a Bengali custom to cook ‘Payes’, sweet rice pudding for birthdays.

Tomorrow is Nana’s birthday too. Shall I call him and tell him that I want to wish Nana? No. I should not as he already decided that I am not qualified for that post.

My flatmates started baking a cake for me. How blessed I am!!