Life in the 21-day lock down isn’t as bad it’s made out to be, in fact it brings in more gratitude

It was scary when I first got to hear about this new virus that had spread from Wuhan in China and had started spreading across the world. Sometime around February end or March first week is when the reality sunk in that ‘this new virus’ called as the novel Coronavirus is here to stay. It had by then caused immense damage and loss of lives in many countries in Europe and slowly had seeped into India.

It was only a matter of time when India would be in a lock down or quarantine mode, and that happened from March 23^rd onward where all of us were asked to stay in our homes, for our safety and well-being  for a 21-day period. No one can get out unless you want to buy essential commodities like groceries or medicines. This is the new norm almost everywhere in the world, and definitely it’s not easy to accept but the question to be asked is- Is it that bad a situation as it’s made out to be?

Personally, this lock-down period has changed my perspective about many things, is helping me become a better person and has bought in a sense of gratitude that was somewhat missing to a large extent earlier, along with some disappointments and frustrations.

Growing up, I have always taken it for granted that if I am at home, Amma would make food for us and we can enjoy her tasty food. But never have I helped her that much, which could be attributed to the fact that maids were around so things got done without too much effort from my side. I should have helped her more and generally helped in maintaining the house (which I did when I stayed in the flat in Whitefield for the past 2 years with friends or when I go and stay with Varun and Charanya).

Somehow, that feeling of helping out never came in my mind too often when I was at home. But this 21-day lock down has changed that too a large extent. I am helping with the household chores as much as possible. I help in brooming, mopping the common area where all of us generally sit along with helping out with washing clothes and ensuring that clothes from each washroom gets collected and gets washed on a daily basis. And generally be more receptive to help out wherever it's possible. 

My gratitude towards the relentless, tireless work the maids do on a daily basis has increased a lot in this period. We have been thought never to look down upon them and definitely my respect for them has gone up now, as it’s not easy to do all the household chores along with managing our professional commitments. And the tireless way in which Amma cooks some delicious meals must be specially appreciated too, more so in the current situation.

The daily exercise routine I used to follow with my personal trainer, Suresh is still continuing even in this period where I can’t do personal under his supervision. It’s his goodwill that he shares a personally curated workout routine everyday such that I can manage to do all the exercises without too much difficulty. In times like this his small acts of kindness where he sends a message daily pushes me to do the workout with dedication and stay healthy and active. 

On a personal front this period of lock down has made me even more determined to complete studying for whatever remaining SAP certifications I want to complete in the next few weeks. This time has given me the opportunity to study with Appa, who just makes even the most boring topics so relevant and interesting by giving real-life corporate examples. So far, it has been great as I have made very good progress and I target to get one certification in my kitty before my birthday in June! Thanks to Appa and his brand of teaching!

For someone like me who lives and breathes Cricket, this period and what lies ahead of us with no sporting activity is extremely distressing and bothering. I can’t still believe that there may be no cricket for the next 3-6 months or longer, which is  something that I have to completely  get used to.

Many of you may say it’s a good thing in a way as there was too much cricket being played in recent times leading to a cricket overdose etc and that these small things shouldn’t matter much when you look at the bigger picture of the damage that COVID-19 is causing. But this issue hits me and many others who write about the beautiful game pretty hard. Again, here I am thankful that CricWizz.com, a relatively new website approached me to become an online editor.

So even in this period of lull and doom, I am able to stay in touch with the sport I love and can ‘not live without. There are other ways I feel good about this situation is that it gives me time to rethink my writing in this space once things get back to normal. Probably this forced break would help me improve creatively and help me rejuvenate myself.

And I am trying to get in different perspectives and angles of the sport by reading lot of articles and watching many shows/documentaries on the sport like the one on Amazon Prime called  The Test- A new era in Australia’s cricket, Cricket’s Greatest  on Star Sports Select and Memorable Masterstrokes on Sony Six. I have read many books on Cricket and many autobiographies but I have made it a conscious decision to focus on documentaries and specials on players in this time where there is no live cricket. 

They not only enrich my knowledge about a certain player but also helps me reconnect with the game truly from a fan’s perspective (as when I write one needs to put on the analyst hat and not only write like a cricket fan). The telecast of some iconic games of India in World Cups is refreshing to watch but I personally wish they show the replay of the 2005 and 2006 Ashes series.Those were memorable series worth watching ball by ball. 

It would be pure gold to witness that drama and see those players in action again! Probably even the 2007 World Cup as most us couldn’t watch the games live completely as the games started very late at night in India. This would be the right time to telecast that tournament as well.

Just a few days before the Janta Curfew that was followed by this national lock-down we are all in the middle of, AR Rahman quietly slipped in his latest offering, or gift ’99 songs’. The joy of discovering an ARR album is an experience in itself. Me and my brother Varun often have varied choices for the  favorite song of the album and it changes on a daily basis! So, I would suggest everyone to give this album a hearing, and for now here are two of my favorites from the album:

What surprised me or shocked me is the kind of Tweets I see posted since the lock-down was announced. People really don’t know what to do with this extra time, and not being able to go out of home is adding to their frustrations.

But it’s pretty simple- if you wanted to spend quality time with your family, start something new (be it cooking, reading a book, learn a new course etc) this is the time to do it. I personally don’t look at it as being caged or jailed, there’s so much to do and now with abundance of time, people should try something that they had  put on the back burner all this while for various reasons.

The world is reeling under the invisible enemy- Coronavirus. We need to remain positive and stay healthy and safe. It’s a situation no one has and will probably never experience before in our lifetimes. But personally I feel doing things that give you joy shouldn’t be pushed aside and this is the time to unearth skills that you never knew existed!!