CLAIMING THE NEW NORMAL

The auditorium at Ghalib Academy in central Delhi can accommodate 200 people. These days it has set its maximum limit to 50 in accordance with social distancing. One afternoon last week, the auditorium was empty with chairs marked with posters saying “Please do not sit here.” The institute has resumed its popular literary meet held every second Saturday of the month. Its first pandemic-era gathering took place in December to mark poet Mirza Ghalib’s birth anniversary.