Thought of getting the views of kids...the ones most affected by the pandemic lock down and also the ones who are most flexible in adjusting to these unknown times.
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My exams had just ended when Covid 19 first hit Pune, when the cases soared higher and higher, dad and mom decided that not only would it be safer to go to nana Nani’s place in Bhopal, but also, it would be like a vacation for us all, so we packed stuff as per a ten day trip, I even packed my 10th grade books (thank god I did) and we set of to Bhopal in our car., we were two days into our ‘vacation’ when our PM announced a 21 days lockdown, and we were stuck!
Bhopal is a different world all together, everyone there is always happy and optimistic, every day, every hour there would be speakers blaring songs like- “Coronavirus ko tata bye bye boliye!!” in the most cheerful voices I have ever heard. Their sound could be heard all through the green, gently rolling hills of Bhopal, somehow even though the optimism was a little over the top, the music calmed me. Our school had started online classes first on Zoom, then on Microsoft Teams, after a while, all this technology got too overwhelming, the only satisfaction I ever got from these classes was when I saw the familiar faces of my classmates… Bhopal wasn’t very serious about lockdown, we would still see cars outside our balcony, there would still be fruit sellers shouting “Aam!! Kele!!” on top of their voices. For them, life seemed to be going on as usual.
After 21 days of lockdown and another extra week at Bhopal, we again piled up in our car, this time with at least 8 more bags filled with new glass cups, namkeen and chutney (courtesy of Nani).
When we reached Pune, I couldn’t believe it was the same place I grew up in… The streets which were filled with laughing and talking people at 7 pm, was now quiet. The markets that were always filled with so many people, had “closed”. But I was pretty confident that my society, the one I had known for more than half my life would be as colorful and cheerful as it had always been. But on entering the gates, I was proved wrong, instead of seeing kids playing on the ground below our building we just saw a plain and still ground. The footpaths where joggers would jog and people would cycle was empty.
When we reached Pune, I couldn’t believe it was the same place I grew up in… The streets which were filled with laughing and talking people at 7 pm, was now quiet. The markets that were always filled with so many people, had “closed”. But I was pretty confident that my society, the one I had known for more than half my life would be as colorful and cheerful as it had always been. But on entering the gates, I was proved wrong, instead of seeing kids playing on the ground below our building we just saw a plain and still ground. The footpaths where joggers would jog and people would cycle was empty.
A day after we arrived, we learnt that Pune had been taking various measures to control the virus outbreak and our society had put up many strict rules of their own. It was a little sad to see Pune look so ‘abandoned’, and there were hints that this was going to continue for another month or two.
My 7 year old brother, was at first pretty happy to be home, he had missed his kingdom of toys, and was glad to have it back, for the first two days, while I looked at the sidewalk where my friends and I would walk with an air of melancholy, he became oblivious to the world and immersed himself in Lego, nerf guns and Hot Wheels. But after two days, he announced that he was going to his best friend’s house to play. My parents stopped him. When he was explained the fact that he could not go outside because of the Virus, he rushed to his bedroom window, which stood opposite to the window of his best friend, he called his best friend, who also rushed to his window… They talked for about 20 minutes, I heard my brother go – “Yaar, what has this Coronavirus done!”
My 7 year old brother, was at first pretty happy to be home, he had missed his kingdom of toys, and was glad to have it back, for the first two days, while I looked at the sidewalk where my friends and I would walk with an air of melancholy, he became oblivious to the world and immersed himself in Lego, nerf guns and Hot Wheels. But after two days, he announced that he was going to his best friend’s house to play. My parents stopped him. When he was explained the fact that he could not go outside because of the Virus, he rushed to his bedroom window, which stood opposite to the window of his best friend, he called his best friend, who also rushed to his window… They talked for about 20 minutes, I heard my brother go – “Yaar, what has this Coronavirus done!”
I, thought about this for a while, I think, that the question that my 7-year-old brother asked his 7-year-old best friend was the question that is in everyone’s hearts today. Coronavirus has affected every single life, in one way or another. All I know, is that it has changed our world. But for now, every time I look at the bare streets of my society, I hum the tune of “Coronavirus ko tata bye bye boliye!!”
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