Quarantine cleansing

Lockdown disrupted my regime of taking a walk every day in the evening. Listlessly, I resumed the routine by having a brisk walk in the front courtyard of my home but felt constrained. Instinctively one day I went to the and found that the neighborhood rooftops teemed with life. Many families were at their respective terraces playing badminton, doing yoga, aerobics, jogging, reading books or sitting leisurely, listening to the flute. It was a sight to behold -- positivity and passion prevailed in a time of uncertainty.

Earlier, when I would occasionally visit the terrace to get it cleaned, the rooftops looked barren with not a soul in sight. Now rooftops were alive, agog with life, thriving in a fettered festivity of mankind. They had become windows to connect to the rest of the neighborhood while maintaining social distancing. Children sat on the wall edge, laughing and talking, some flying kites. I felt like I was reliving my childhood days. Nostalgia gripped me as I recollected how we would sleep on rooftops along with cousins at our grandparents' home during summer vacation on traditional woven charpai (cots). The giggles of children brought me back to present as I pondered over how lockdown had changed our lives.

We managed without malls and multiplexes, dining out and designer dresses, diamonds or domestic help. Rather, we had the time to stand and stare at the beauties of nature. I had never noticed how a flock of birds perched regularly on our tall and towering Christmas tree, chirping lively as if in conversation.

In the beginning, I was anxious and apprehensive, worrying about how I would manage household drudgery without domestic help, but soon we all started working together congenially. Purging of old files, sorting through photos, delving into storage trunk, the wonderment at some of the things found there. I also shed a few kilos I failed to lose even after regular walks. My fears proved false and stillness transformed into serenity. The epiphany dawned that cost of living is not much, it is one's lifestyle that costs one to fume and fret.

True, coronavirus is real and so is its threat, the fact remains that this phase of life would remain frozen in our mind. But let us hope faith prevails over fear and once this mess is over, we emerge healthier after having cleansed our cluttered lifestyles and march towards a brighter renaissance!