WE, THE ISOLATIONISTS

During the lockdown, we asked Delhiites what they see when they close their eyes in selfisolation. Faiza Hashmi (left), video producer, 25, who spent the lockdown with parents in Hardoi, said, “I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see my home. Rays of sunset are dazzling upon my mother’s shoulder as she picks bougainvillea flowers from the scaffold of the gate. My father is done doing wazoo in the courtyard and calls my brothers emphatically to ensure they don’t miss maghrib namaz. And there I was standing at a distant balcony looking at them and thinking what if I had made it to home on time? May be that smile that was missing on their faces would have made a comeback.”

Abhishek Chaswal, ad writer, 45, who spent the lockdown with his wife, son and a dog in Saket, said, “I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see myself watching my facial hair grow like the plants in my balcony. Everything has slowed down so much I can almost feel them growing in slow motion. Don’t want to start hating the indoors too much because eventually an urbanite’s life is all about moving from one box to another. Reading quite a bit about the Hikikomoris of Japan as dystopian fiction unfolds the day in front of my eyes. What else can a man do but hope to grow as wise as one’s beard.”