Building oneself up is best way out of pandemic
The pandemic has had global consequences and its ripple effects are there for all to see. People have been relegated to remain within the confines of their homes. It is a rare privilege to have homes wherein you can continue to have the semblance of normalcy by being able to do things you would otherwise do.
For instance, some of us can continue working on our laptops. Of course, the stillness of the office may be missing, the children could be running amok all over the house while you continue to don a business suit and look serious over a Skype call. Nevertheless, work trudges along. The stability of a pay cheque is more or less intact for now.
Home-cooked food is freshly served. The countless hours of getting sweat-soaked in the kitchen aside, at least most of us continue to keep our bellies full. Some of us even have the luxury of ‘working out’ from home. Not comparable to the parks in the city, but our bricklined terraces provide fertile ground for ample stretching and jumping.
My grandfather was known to find humour in the darkest of situations. Like him, I begin to see the hilarity of it all.
Our household, like many others, has blossomed into a full-time bakery. Stealing the limelight from our talented cook, the women of the house have invaded his kitchen space. With two trained senior women, and one budding, the grimy dishes have increased manifold. The kitchen has also become home to ego battles wherein one witnesses chopping and dicing contests, exotic dishes versus traditional ones, and usually ends with ‘my way or the highway!’
Moreover, with lack of activity, and more feasting, the family members have fallen prey to all kinds of joint aches and pains. I cannot agree more when the cook ruefully claims that the quarantine has seen some people losing weight, while others have gotten busy throwing their weight around.
This quarantine has given some of us sufficient time to exercise our creative abilities and hone our skills. For some, time has become a luxury, especially solitary time for reflecting. However, these may be small failings as compared to people who have had to see the brutal face of this pandemic. Not being able to bid a loved one goodbye, not knowing how to put the next meal on the table, not knowing how far to walk to get home are some of the harsh realities humanity has witnessed in the past few weeks.
So even if the lockdown feels burdensome at times, it is imperative to remind ourselves that the battles we face are temporary and insignificant. At the end of the day, one’s heart is full with gratitude for the family’s company, for the quality time with children and for the million unaccounted things that we have nonchalantly dismissed.
For the trivialities of life that magnify in tough times, for the helplessness in not being able to contribute in big ways when the world needs it, for the moments when uncertainty seems larger than life, I find refuge in grandfather’s life philosophy of constant building oneself up, through whichever ways we know best. It could be humour, cooking, reading or writing. That is how humanity lives on. Quoting a popular couplet that says it all:
“Hain dafan mujh mein kitni raunakein na poochh
Har baar ujarhke basta raha Woh shehar hoon main...”
MY GRANDFATHER FOUND HUMOUR IN THE DARKEST OF SITUATIONS. LIKE HIM, I HAVE BEGUN TO SEE THE HILARITY OF IT ALL