A Different View

Throughout 2020, I, as a photojournalist, was required to be out in the field almost daily, documenting the pandemic. I went about my work, all the while taking extreme care and precautions—sanitising myself thoroughly on reaching home before coming into contact with any other family member, keeping all my equipment and bags in one corner of the house and sanitising those daily too. My wife, a homemaker, hardly stepped out of the house as the pandemic raged on and my 17-year-old son stayed home too, preparing for his HSC board exams, due to begin on April 23. I had managed to escape the virus throughout, even after a two-day Goa trip I took in March 2021. I went through an RT-PCR test upon my arrival at the Mumbai airport on March 20 and tested negative. Nine days after my return, however, I felt something was amiss. I was feeling weak. I blamed the Mumbai heat. By April 1, I had a minor cough and cold that I took medication for after consulting my family physician. Next day, I felt better, but by that night my wife had high fever and body ache. My son, too, developed a fever by the afternoon of April 3. Though he recovered in a day’s time, my wife and I tested positive for Covid on April 8. And while I was experiencing mild weakness and loss of taste, my wife was battling severe cough and cold symptoms. Doctors advised home quarantine for both of us. We were worried about our quarantine period clashing with our son’s exam dates, but, thankfully, we should be able to return to our regular routines two days before his exams begin. I have been fortunate in that I have helpful neighbours, who, despite their busy schedules, ensured we had fresh, home-made food at all times and also brought to us any groceries or essentials we needed. Half the residents of my housing society happen to be journalists, so there has been a lot of awareness and cooperation. In fact, back in April 2020, our building was among the first in the city to be sealed by the BMC after five photojournalists in the complex tested Covid positive. I have done Covid-related shoots through the year, but experiencing the disease from the inside, rather than from behind the camera, has been very different. I have shot Covid patients, quarantine and vaccination centres from a distance, even photographed swab tests being conducted. But having survived the disease myself now, I think I might bring a little more perspective and a different angle when I get back in the field.