Tag: Coronavirus

Travelling Back to 2020

“It’s been 30 years since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,
what does the world look like?”

(I wrote this poem for the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society. I’m super happy and grateful to have received the Silver Award for my entry. A big thank you to the people who took out some of their precious time to read my poem and give me feedback on my writing; several drafts later, this is the final version that I submitted. Hope you enjoy reading it :))

I travelled back in time to 2020,
When I found that old, worn-out mask,
In the pocket of what used to be,
My favorite pair of jeans.
All faces veiled by those tiny pieces of cloth,
Only the eyes, subtly conveying human emotions,
Those vague interactions were much craved for,
When real faces were replaced by pixels on screens.


I travelled back in time to 2020,
As I left to tour the Earth,
Our beautiful, magnificent Earth,
Free of pollution and exploitation,
(Not just out of a lockdown this time)
After the solitary confinement from 30 years back,
We know better, about not missing a moment to live,
We’re aware now, of the uncertainty, even in the word certainty

I travelled back in time to 2020,
While returning home from a funeral,
Sharing grief! A very natural, basic right it seems.
Having so many shoulders to cry on,
Hugs and caresses, before the silence starts to shout,
It reminded me of what a privilege even that was,
Bidding adieu to a loved one,
Virtual condolences, without closure,
Without getting to hold on one last time, our beloved who’s
gone.


I travel back in time to 2020,
When news of traces of new viruses flashes,
Even years after the invisible demon has vanished,
Of course, we worry- “That’s how the last one started.”
With small pieces of news to a global pandemic within months
Thankfully, governments and people know better now.
And these pieces of news remain just that,
As they are early on banished.


I travel back in time to 2020,
Every time I see people, working together,
Excitement and apprehensions for a new day at work,
Visible on their faces. Reminds me,
Of how much we longed to dress up, walk to work,
During that long span of two years
When bedrooms became offices,
When jobs were lost,
When livelihoods were threatened
And many people survived on the bare minimum only


I travel back in time to 2020,
Whenever I look at my arm,
It reminds me of that mild pain,
Sweet pain, I’d say. It finally showed light,
At the end of what felt like an endless tunnel.
What started as a blame game,
Turned into a common victory,
Proving even the worst storms can be weathered, when nations
unite!


I travel back in time to 2020,
Even now. Three decades might be a long time,
Seemingly enough to forget those two years,
But so many instances, still take us back to the past.
Simply throwback to a very different, unusual time for some,
A montage of triggering, unsettling memories for others,
The virus; yes, a virus, left an impact,
An impact meant to last.
I travel back in time to 2020,
Just thinking, how lives were upturned,
Families, homes, uprooted
How the lockdown meant to save lives,
Became the reason for people battling against hunger.
Thinking, how a hospital bed,
Something as vital as the oxygen we breathe,
Became a scarce resource, a privilege.


I travel back in time to 2020,
When I see the new, reborn world.
Somewhat changed entirely, somewhat the same as before.
The new normal, from 30 years back, has paved its way to
today’s normal,
But so have the old ways, the pre-pandemic ways.
The smartest technologies we could have imagined,
Robots, of course, our intellectual kins,
Have made lives so easy,
But yet, having realized how greatly important the human element is,
It’s always the human heart that wins.
We see students, going to actual schools,
Sustainable lifestyles, habits,
That were born during the pandemic,
Continue to thrive!
With strengthened economies and societies,
I see a forever growing, evolving world,
Adapting, reflecting on the past,
Without compromising the present,
And with the future insight

The New Normal?

Contagious smiles or quivering lips,
Which said the unspoken,
Are now veiled behind masks.
Hand shakes with strong grips,
Are blocked by rubber sheaths
Which cover the tender fingers now,
For every single task.
                                                  
 Warm hugs are barred,
No visitor without a purpose
No shoulder to lean on,
Because of the vacant seat beside, 
Oh! Distancing is so hard.

School ceases to be an actual place
Computers have replaced buses, ironically,
 To ferry the virtual school to us,
Getting dressed up for work is lame
Anyway, they'll just be seeing your face.

Every day before hitting the sack,
I wonder if this is the new normal,
Because if it is,
Hey abnormal life, I want you back!

A bucket from a sea of feelings

27/3/2020

“It was made familiar to us like any other piece of news,

It kept growing day by day.

It felt unreal and unimaginable

Until we realized it was going to stay.”

The corona virus pandemic is growing as I write about it and it has brought everyone’s lives to a standstill. While we stay at home, quarantining, self isolating and distancing from each other, our minds are occupied, thinking of the uncertainty of the situation, thinking of the change which will set in after these times are gone and of how we can be prepared for such an epidemic in the future( or if at all we can be prepared ).

After the news of the 21 day lock down in India has come out, all I can think of is not what I’m going to do during these days but of what would happen after these 21 days. This lock down has surely made us take a pause in our lives, given us time to stop and think, and actually learn to value time. It has brought us from planning our lives around calendars to losing a count of the days in a week. In the hustle of our busy lives, all we wait for is a holiday, we often find excuses for not being able to take out time for our passions, our families, or for just looking around us; but now when life has come to a halt, when for once the clocks seem to have stopped and we’ve started engaging ourselves in new stuff, it never seems to fill the time. This is pretty evident when I, spend hours gazing at a kitten playing in my garden (well I would have done that anyway I guess) or when my dad watches old classics and documentaries on the television.

We used to seek time for the things we loved,
And now, we seek those lost interests for the time we have.

 A walk till the end of our colony gave us a view of the totally empty road outside, silent, deserted and for once relieved from the never ending movement. The data from countries which are hit harder keeps on giving us a reality check, so that we continue to remain serious about this issue, so that we are reminded that it is happening  and it may reach us. Due to the lock-down, the pollution levels all over the world have drastically reduced, it’s as though just like us, even the earth has gotten a break, it’s as though it was a way to give nature time to replenish itself. I wonder if after the passage of this difficult time, will we revert back to the original, will nothing change. Gray clouds and rain in my hometown seem to dampen an already slow week. I realize now, how we fail to acknowledge how important it is to stay connected to the people who matter to us, just because we are privileged to see them every day. Currently, playing games like psych or just video calling my friends brings such a huge smile on my face. It makes me learn to value the little things in life, which I hope to keep coming back to even after this phase passes. Let us all hope to defeat the invisible enemy attacking our world, stay inside, and stay safe.