The Covid19 lockdown has entered the phase 5 with more relaxation than restrictions, so I thought of penning (or keying?) down my experience and not-so-serious-thoughts…

We all knew by the beginning of March that India will go for a lockdown in some form or the other, though I must confess that neither I nor my friends thought a complete lockdown of the whole country as big as India is possible!! Then, on the 20^th March the Prime Minister addressed the nation at his favourite time slot of 8:00 PM and urged the citizens not only to follow a self imposed one day lockdown on Sunday 22^nd March but to come out to their balconies/ rooftops/ doorsteps to clank the bell in solidarity with the doctors, nurses, policemen et al who are at the forefront in fighting the pandemic. There were doubting Thomas’ who thought it will be a utter failure as Indians known for indiscipline specially in adhering to govt directives (traffic violation is a glaring example). However, surprisingly, people stayed home on a Sunday… came out on their balconies and rooftops to clank the bells, blow conch shells and sing songs like Vande Mataram and Saare Jahan Se Acchha Hindustan Hamara. The only sore point was the sporadic incidence of over enthusiastic people coming out on the streets to do a parade of sort.

I had predicted to my family and friends on Sunday itself that the 14 hour self imposed lockdown is the precursor to the longer version. I thought like others that it will happen from the following week but Prime Minister believes in surprising the citizens with such announcements (e.g. Demonetization) and called for a nationwide complete lockdown of 21 days starting 25^th March 00:00 hours once again at his favourite time slot of 8:00 PM giving no time to the people to buy and board up for the long haul.

Anyways I am not here to look and point out the flaws in the decision making of the govt. though in hindsight it seems that there should have been a time gap of 7-10 days to allow not just the migrant labourer but a large number of people who got stuck at distant places because of the suddenness of the lockdown, to go back to their homes.

The RWA of the Residential Complex where we stay in Hyderabad had banned entry of all e-commerce deliveries, the maids and drivers from the beginning of March itself. Now they imposed ban on people moving out as well with exception to essential services, medical emergencies and pet walking. The last one was a great relief for me and Rolf who being a high pedigree dog refuses to poop inside the complex and necessarily walks quite a distance away from it to find a secluded place to do the job.

As I had anticipated, the lockdown measures were like the Chinese Whispers… the messages or instructions announced by the higher authorities got twisted or did not percolate down to the last man guarding the gate/ barricade. The first such experience was when on 25^th March I took Rolf out for morning walk, one of the guard of our complex came and asked me to turn back as walking is not allowed. Luckily for me, I had the detailed guideline issued by the Covid19 Team and therefore I told him that pet walking is definitely allowed as an exception. He was not convinced and complained to his supervisor who met me at the main gate to stop me from going out. I showed him the guidelines and told him in clear terms that I will be going out twice a day (morning & evening) and he is free to complain to whomsoever he wishes. I also gave him details of my apartment. I did not face any further resistance which may be because the guards including the supervisors were suitably made aware of the guidelines. In later days I came across many instances of highhandedness of the beat police at the road barricades because of lack of clarity in communication, as narrated by friends who being in essential services had to traverse every day.

We as individuals living inside a gated community were more or less insulated from the happenings outside. The welfare association had arranged vendors for fruits, vegetables, eggs and chicken to deliver twice a week besides the community store that opened through the day to cater to the demands of the residents. In addition to the above they tied up with Apollo Pharmacy to deliver medicines and during the subsequent phases of lockdown they arranged for bakery and other sweet-n-savory items as well. So, in reality, we were better off in the lockdown with everything available to us in the convenience of the residential complex.

However, the situation was not so good for people staying in non-gated community residential apartments, for they faced huge inconvenience in the initial days even for the essential items including medicines. My son living alone in Bengaluru (his flat mate left as the lockdown started) faced issues with getting medicines as well as vegetables and chicken. For few days he literally survived on dal-chawal, Maggi noodles and oats. His medicine requirement was arranged by my wife through her friends in Bengaluru. However, the whole experience made him self sufficient in managing the household while working from home. His only complaint was that he did not get time to stock up on beers!!

There are many positive outcomes from this lockdown as well… I sharpened my culinary skills through cooking up many traditional dishes giving them my personal twists. I mastered the art of making Bengali Aamer Mishti Aachar (Sweet Mango Pickle Bengali style). Tried my hands (successfully) in making Bedmi Puri-Aloo and other vegetarian delicacies that were liked by my (veggie) wife!!

However, the most positive outcome of the lockdown is getting over my addiction of Chetana Churan (the combination of Rajnigandha and Zafrani patti No.120). The addiction happened 3 decades back when for a very short period I had taken up field sales position where the sales reps would be having this concoction in between the sales call and/or after every cup of tea/ meal. 8-10 hours in the market negotiating with the shopkeeper not just on the number of items to stock but the discount and other schemes was really frustrating and this concoction worked out to be a great healer, even better than cigarettes which I had given up in one shot a few years earlier. I have tried to bunk it earlier too but the easy availability and the job stress would invariably dilute my resolve. When the lockdown happened, I had stock to last me for a week or 10 days at best. I prepared myself mentally to accept the inevitable and slowly started reducing the intake quantity as well as frequency. So, finally when the last bit was consumed, I simply threw the container that was part of my life for many years. It is not that I did not feel the talab for it but resisted the urge with my legendary “Will Power” or resolve. Another point that acted in favour of giving it up is the source of procurement…. I wasn’t too convinced about the hygiene of the shop or its owner(s). It is now over 2 months without the Chetana Churan and I am convinced that the addiction is finally over.

Animal Instinct is something you need to experience to fully understand. During the morning walks with Rolf, he used walk close to 2 km wandering through the lanes as if he owned them. The street dogs would bark at us initially but the snobbery of Rolf made them realize it was futile. A few of them would come to me for petting wagging their tails but a mere look from Rolf would chase them away. However, a couple of days into the lockdown, suddenly Rolf would go out of the complex barely few hundred meters, do his job and turn back for home immediately. Initially I was worried that he wasn’t keeping well but the dogs have a god gifted strategy to tell their hooman parents if they are unwell… they stop eating. However, in this case, his appetite was strong and there was nothing in his movement to suggest otherwise. He was due for vaccination as well as de-worming April and May respectively, so I waited for the relaxation of rules to take him to the vet which finally happened in the first week of May. The Vet also said that it could be psychological… the absence of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic may have psyched him because health wise he is doing well for his age.

The day I took Rolf to the Vet, I also visited the dog grooming parlor – Scoopy Scrub to give him a much needed bath and a hair trimming. It was a hot, humid day and I realized it was very taxing on him but once done, he actually felt nice and relieved. The usual bounce was back in his stride…

As I write this, we are inching closer to the Unlockdown 1.0 wherein the places of worship, malls and most other shops will open for business. The Govt as well as Private Offices will function at 100% capacity and the RWA’s are advised to open their gates for the maids, drivers and other workers. When the lockdown happened, the country had only 500 confirmed cases of Covid19 and now when it is being rescinded, the numbers are at staggering 200000+!!!

It’s a catch22 situation, if the lockdown continues; there will be serious repercussions on the economy which as it is has taken quite a beating; on the other hand, the opening up of the lockdown poses serious health issues for all as even to this day, the Covid19 virus remains a mystery… how and what circumstances it spreads is still baffling the medical community.

Interestingly, many of the tech companies have already decided to allow its employees to WFH till end of the year 2020. In my wife’s organization, a poll was taken amongst the employees and overwhelmingly people have voted for WFH statuesque. Those who can afford to work from home are likely to continue with self imposed lockdown. The most affected sectors will be the travel and hospitality, the automotives, the retail business as people would only be interested in spending on the essentials and postpone their holiday plans, new vehicle purchase or go for the trendy clothes and accessories. Another sector to get affected will be the unorganized retail sector where the main issue with consumer will be state of hygiene of the vendor.

We have covered almost half of 2020 wherein the country has faced the pandemic of Covid19, the fury of Amphan cyclone, the earthquakes in Delhi and the cyclone Nisarga is making landfall on the western coast of the country. What next… the monsoon havoc… the flooding of the plains???

I wish I am in the midst of a long nightmare and when I wake up tomorrow all these are gone and A NEW DAWN BECKONS US…