Lockdown Day 16

Today is the sixteenth day of the lockdown. Perhaps by now, people are getting used to remaining stuck inside their houses. No outings, no shopping, no movies, no dining out at favorite restaurants, no morning walks, no evening walks, no visiting the friends just to chit-chat over a cup of coffee, nothing of that sort for the time being.

Time seems to have reversed hundreds of years when the needs were limited, there were no mechanized means of conveyance and people mostly stayed at their homes. At present even basic needs like getting vegetables, provisions, etc are hard to get by. I had been trying to order some rations on an online delivery app. But for the past many days it was showing no delivery slots available. With hardly any rations left at home, I was getting a bit anxious. Today when the app accepted my order to be delivered in three days, I was exhilarated as if I had struck a jackpot! Only till a few days ago, we were spoilt for choice, visiting malls and rejecting the best of goods in top-class showrooms. Now even getting a few packets of simple glucose biscuits is a novelty! Such is the silent power of nature.

On the office front, we had two video conferences for two hours each today. Though much business can't be transacted through these virtual conferences, they give us a feeling that everything is normal! I had never craved in my life for going to the office!

Smartphones are making life a bit more agreeable in these days of lockdown when the drudgery of being incarcerated in your house is trying to beat your senses out of you. The endless content on youtube or other channels gives a welcome respite from boredom. Today while surfing YouTube, I found a video of a very old Punjabi song, which I had last listened on the radio some forty years back and was not able to find it anywhere to date. I was ecstatic with joy at this little yet momentous discovery. Sometimes, little things give you immense joy in distressing times. The song is, "Munda Mile Na Mere Haan Da..." I hope and pray that as I have found joy in this little discovery of a long lost piece of music, the humankind gets immense joy and freedom with the earliest finding of a vaccine for Corona. Amen!