On 16 April 2020, I completed a month of remote working. As I continue to practice spatial distancing and occupy myself with some indoor activities, I have grown nostalgic of some experiences that I used to enjoy before the Covid-19 epidemic. Experiences that I never thought I would have to live without. Or at least wasn't prepared to live without for such a long stretch.
Here they are in no order.
- Watching a movie in a packed theatre and sometimes getting so absorbed in it that I pay no attention to anything else (even my phone or my mom sitting next to me)
- Going for a solo walk or just strolling through the busy streets near my house while running errands in between and observing people carry on with their own tasks
- Going for an unrestrained bike/car ride with some music on to enjoy the feeling of moving faster (despite the threats)
- Travelling to work in a local train (which I took up back in January) that for more than two decades was an activity that made me anxious and exhausted but still made me feel like a part of something, a collective group, a herd
- Going to a restaurant with friends or family to have a complete meal and getting lost in the food and conversations
- Catching up with friends and replenishing the feeling of belonging
- Travelling to farther places to de-stress after weeks of hectic schedule at work (my Bengaluru trip earlier in 2020 is going to go down as very special in my personal history)
- Staying at a resort and enjoying the comforts of a laid-back holiday characterised by borderline decadence.
Some or all of these may sound like thoughts of a privileged person. It's not that I do not understand the gravity of the coronavirus situation where healthcare professionals, law enforcement, and essential service workers are putting their life on the line for the sake of the greater good. I also understand that the essentials - food, shelter, internet - that I am enjoying may look like privileges to those without some of them.
But hiding these feelings wouldn't have been right either. They had to be recorded. TN.
