Dear ryu, today is one of the most scariest day in my covid life. I woke up as usual and tried to schedule the boring day in life of a Online College student. the schedule went as follows , breakfast , class , sleep through rest of the class , lunch , repeat the above steps ( what did u expect, me reading??… not before exams!). I usually turn on the news to get the gist of what is happening outside. Since most of my day is free , I would draw to my hearts content and do some CAD drawings. it was at that time i got the news one of my favorite staff had unfortunately passed away due to Covid. The air felt heavier as i had recently contacted him about some work just 2 before this all happened. The guy was a legend he had undergone many social projects to clean our environment and has a un breakable place in our hearts. we had a online farewell as well as a offline one planed soon. He will forever live in our hears as a HERO. It was at that time i called all my friends and family and checked on how they were. My father to whom I talked about him was seriously shocked and I warned him to be cautious of his actions outside as he must go to office everyday. After all this sudden events , at night i prayed to all the people who lost their everything in this pandemic . It was then I realized that even when there is a pandemic or not everyone must take care of each other as a simple " HEY, How are you might save anyone from the worse circumstances" with a heavy heart and lonely night I bid you good night.
It was the time that Covid-19 started increasing from its fall . It was a fine morning. I woke up at 6:30 A.M and called my friend to play badminton. He gathered all other friends before I came to ground. We started to play around 7 in morning. After 2 hours of playing , the game has ended with a worn out shuttlecock and with a little fight for that shuttlecock.
One of my friend in the gang had his birthday on very next day. we planned for a dinner on his birthday. This planning goes for another half an hour. we all are dehydrated due to the hot summer. So, one by one my friends are returning to their homes. I reached my home around 10 A.M. The way in which I return to my home seems more quitter than usual. Birds and animals are constantly in a roam for quenching their thirst.
As time went, I finished my lunch around 2 pm and suddenly received messages from my friends to watch news channels. It was about the new curfew to be imposed on the upcoming weeks. Our plan for the dinner has cancelled on the day its made and my friend ,who has to give the treat became happy for escaping from giving treat.
May 20, 2021 Hi, This is swe, writing this on Mr.Bear ( my diary). It is one of the weekends when my Ma, Pa, and my Kutta ( Elder sis - Keerthi ) woke up in the middle of the World's frightening virus (COVID-19) with the hope of having a good day with some good news about decreasing number of COVID cases. It's like a hell to be confined inside four walls. So I and Kutta decided to go upstairs to get some fresh air. But Ma tried to stop us as there was a funeral in our neighbour's house. We both thought everything was well and good until we realized the impact of the virus. The day started with the news about the death of my neighbor's aunt who will always appreciate my skills in art. Our street was full of Hazmat-suited people. No one was aware that she was in ICU and died due to the virus. I was very sad that I am really gonna miss my Fan ( for my sketches). And obviously, Ma gonna miss her too, she was like a dearest friend of hers despite the age gap. We were advised to isolate ourselves and not be allowed to attend her funeral. But Mr. Bear, as you know that "Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action", I had this experience today. Everyone in our street was scared of whether they would get infected. But I can understand its human tendency. And no one stepped out of the house even for buying milk. Yes, it's true! One Death can easily change another person's behavior, sometimes as Humble and sometimes even to evil (sort of). Ending this day with the hope of getting some peace.
"Oh my god!", I thought, as I checked the time on my phone. It was 4 AM in the morning. I'd stayed awake the whole night watching "The Mindy Project", which has now become a routine ever since the lockdown started. I looked out my window and it was pitch black; even the streetlights were out. I spent the next hour waiting for the sun to rise and ended up falling asleep without my notice.
It was around 2 in the afternoon when I finally woke up. I quickly did my *cough cough* morning routine, as I got ready to spend the rest of the afternoon video-calling my friends via HouseParty, the latest app. Turns out, my friends aren't living any different lives either. Most of our conversation was filled with disappointed sighs and groans regarding the lockdown. To be completely frank, this has become my primary source of entertainment.
My sister asked me to play badminton with her in the evening. Since we aren't really allowed to leave our house, we ended up using the terrace to play. The once deserted terrace has now become the most happening spot during the evenings. Hearing the parrots chirping and feeding the crows gave me a feeling of fulfilment that staying in my room doing nothing couldn't. I would be lying if I told you that I didn't enjoy spending every evening on the terrace.
Before the whole pandemic started, we'd been so busy that we stopped appreciating the small things in life that actually brings immense joy. I don't know when this pandemic is going to end, but I'm hoping that the bonds I've made with people in the past couple months never end. Oh wait, it's almost 11 in the night - which means it's time to get ready to binge-watch "The Mindy Project" for the rest of the night!
I was feeling anxious when I woke up today. It wasn’t because I was lying sick in bed from COVID. It was because today we would find out the results of the American presidential election.
The whole day, I was in bed, watching the news. I never thought I’d be the type of person who watches the news every day, but the last few days have proven me wrong. I’ve been obsessively watching and reading every election-related piece of information I could get my hands on. And today was no different.
My friends and I would text each other whenever a state turned red or blue. We booed and made fun of the red states, vowed to never live there, and celebrated all the blue states. I could hear Tucker Carlson from the TV in the hall, droning about how the election was rigged. I had to put headphones on to drown out his annoying voice.
I think one of the best parts of today was the memes. I was laughing till I had tears in my eyes from all the tweets about the election.
But I was so tired. Being sick and staring at screens all day is not a good combination. Nothing could have dragged me away from my laptop, though. I wanted to be there when ‘IT’ happened. ‘IT’ being that trump loses and watching all the rednecks make baseless claims about how the election was rigged.
The whole world was anxiously waiting, and so was I. And then, it finally happened. BIDEN WON. The relief I felt! I think I even teared up.
Anyways, I came here to tell you the good news quickly. I‘m going back to celebrating with pizza and coke, which I absolutely can’t taste cause of COVID. It sucks to be me right now.
Dear Diary, I’m basically cooped up in my house for the past 3 months. Jesus, it’s getting exhausting! I genuinely thought I would be visiting Sam the day after I last stepped out, which would probably be around April 15? Yeah, April 15th. I feel like I’m slowly getting into this weird, unhealthy lifestyle. I wake up at 9:30am, eat my brunch at 12:00pm. I’ve been trying to urge my dad to take me out for a drive, hope that happens sometime soon. Kaushik called me up yesterday and spoke to me about all the plans we had for the summer. All has turned to dust now that this godforsaken pandemic hit us. I miss Abhinand, Isha, Roshni and Hema the most. We do talk a lot over video calls but it’s just not the same you know? I’ve been sitting alone for the past few days, my mind wanders into dark spaces where I fully feel my emotions, yet I have no shoulder to rest on. Makes me realize how important having a social life is. However hard it’s going, I’m really thankful that I’ve got a secure roof over my head and a wonderful family. Gotta appreciate the good things in life right? Alright, it’s time for brunch now. I hope we see the light again, soon!
Uneventful, just like any other day, I woke up detached, with literal zero interest in doing anything at all. I did wish for a happening like this pandemic to occur but never would've thought that life was going to be so monotonous, so boring that it practically drove me crazy every time I sat in front of my computer looking for anything interesting at all, to do. The first few months were an absolute blast which my introverted self loved but as the days kept progressing, EVEN I couldn't really take it.
My mother seems to really be enjoying this 'stay at home' kind of work because she is now getting to bring in an equal balance between her personal and professional work. My dad, on the other hand, is slightly starting to get a annoyed of the 'complete lockdown' situation because his business is slowly starting to take hits.
Amidst all of this as I had just fallen asleep in the afternoon, around 2pm, I received a conference call from Tushar and Ajay, my school friends, asking me to install this one online game called "Brawlhalla", because guess what, they were just as bored as I was, if not more. So the rest of the evening was spent by the three of us having a really nice break from reality and spending time in our little space playing the game and just catching up on everything. The game was AMAZING as well. Should maybe call some more of our friends soon to play with us as well huh? Let's see, it does sound really promising.
Anyway, glad today happened. Being really selfish here, but not going to lie, I wouldn't mind the lockdown staying for a little longer (^-^) Ashish
I'll tell briefly about my experience of a typical day in Lockdown. The first day after lockdown was annnounced, had returned to home after few months. Eventhough It was the pandemic that spreading all over the world, I was bit a happy person because the day they declared lockdown was the exam that was going to happen. The first day when i woke up , my home was filled with chatter and laughter of my siblings and neighbors.They were seem to more happier because we hadn't met together for months. They told that they thought there wouldn't be anything that make us to meet together. My elder sibling was bit sad because he was a final year student and he was really missed his final moments of the college days and his friends. He expected that the break would'nt be too long.My younger sister was straight opposite to my brother,as she was doing her sslc that time, she was the happiest person in our gang. We shared all the fun memories that happened in our college days. As I was a fresher that year , I shared how i adapted to the hostel environment and about my friends i had got.
While the conversation was going, my mom approached me with a cup full of coffee. She was too delighted to see us together. Even she heard all the talks and gossips while doing house works and replied with a sarcastic answers.Then we played a game called Ludo that was famous in the lockdown days. Me and my brother always used to cheat my sister and irritates her with our funny activities. She loves it too. Then came my favourite part of the day .
A place we used to play cricket was filled with my friends holding bats and balls. We we're playing with an eye watching outside for the cops who were searching for the crowd and punishing for hanging outside. It was a mixture of thrill and fun at that time. Then after finished playing, my mom was waiting with snack . But before that i got scolded for 15 minutes for going outside . Then me and my siblings were watched horror film ,which was seriously fun.
Date: 10th May,2020 Dear Diary, Life has changed a lot in the past few days, all I do is sleep, eat and put on weight. My sister is in her twelfth grade and the way she is dreading about her exams is a treat to watch everyday. As I have nothing to do literally nothing after all the difficulties I went through in school I deserve a short break. A short break I don’t know about that but there is so much time in life that I discovered rather than just attending classes and running behind marks, will never forget the last three years of my life.
I forgot how it is to spend time with family especially with my dad it looks like I haven't seen him over three years such a machine life we lead. So I make it a point everyday I sit with my dad and mum and we discuss something either its about our career, sometimes about what kind of life partner I want or sometimes we just talk about others but nonetheless I’m glad we are communicating spending time with each other.
Every weekend we go out for grocery shopping irrespective of whether we have anything to buy because for obvious reasons we atleast want to get out of our homes atleast for that. Today was the first day that I switched on the gas and tried making an omlette for myself and I failed. I started a new habit of reading something before I go to bed but I’m sure that won’t last longer but I’m glad I’m trying. Sometimes we all turn sad as my father’s work is not at a good state due to the pandemic reasons but atleast we are together with that I feel we can get through anything.
Ok then meet you tomorrow its time for dinner. I hope I’m alive tomorrow to write to you just kidding I will I guess there are lot more pages for me to fill up with my boring day routines. Ok bye for now.
I’m Arivazhagan M And I’m going to share my routine in Lockdown. Staying at home is not so easy as it may seem. Initially I was very excited to stay at home and spent my days with my friends and family. I used to binge watch movie and series in day and night . As days went on it started boring and I was so much frustrated to be inside the house for whole day. So I decided to spent time productively by learning new things and explore the ideas behind them. Everyday I used to wake up at 9.00 am , have my breakfast.I helped my mother in her works like assisting in cooking and going to market etc. I learnt some basics receipes from my mother . I also play games with my family like ludo, snake and ladder. I helped my brother in his homework. The most important thing I missed in this lockdown is playing Cricket .Since the initial period of lockdown there was strict restrictions to not step outside the house. But then I spent good times with my family and utilized the leisure time in my placement preparation works. Once there was slight freedom in the curfew , I gathered with my friends and returned to my normal activities. Despite all these difficult times , I learnt to stay positive and there are so much hobbies to keep us occupied in times of boredom.Stay optimistic and keep yourself busy in things which gives you inner satisfaction.
10 am I opened my eyes, i saw the rough sketches on the walls. I turned around and looked through the closed windows...I slowly rolled the drape away, the road was visible clearly , the sunrays hit over my cheekbones. Morning. I rolled over... continued staring the roof..didn't have the energy to get up from the bed. So I stayed like that for an hour. I could hear my mum rumbling things at home...just the sound tells me that I have to be outside now or it's death itself. Lol. I dragged my body out of bed...I backhugged her, she kissed me, I Hummed in response and then I did the morning routines. 12 am I did some kitchen works we argued on making rasam..I got upset..yes.I had lunch. It was time to binge watch. Though it didn't entertain me , I had nothing else to do. I have to kill time. So, yes series and anime were to escape reality. 6pm I got up from the recliner, bathed, had coffee, I started baking cupcakes today. I made miniature sized ones with vanilla frosting and sprinkles on the top. It was the first time the cake was properly baked after so many trials. I smiled. 8pm I made dinner. My parents were busy watching the television. I made 2 dosas and an omelette for myself, took them to my room, played friends and stuffed my mouth with food. I did the usual kitchen chores with music being played nonstop. 11pm I made the hall dark, put on the AC and sat to binge watch. It went on and on. My eyes were tired today but still I never stopped watching, hoping I could just go to sleep directly if they were too tired. 3am Hoping it would happen just like i imagined...i laid down on my bed, slowly..second by second..though I hated, my mind started to wander. I tried to push back these overflowing thoughts on my head,I kept pushing back,I could feel my pillow getting wet,I could barely breathe, at that moment I knew ..I failed again. Time passed, I was wondering what's wrong, then it struck it's just another normal day in quarantine.
It was also a normal day of lockdown. With not much work to do, waking up early was very easy back then. As usual, I woke up at 5 and stared the ceiling without any purpose. After a long run and playing badminton with my sister, me, my mom and my sister chit chatted while we watched the news like we people knew everything. I would start binge watching series at the exact same time when my college faculty starts the online class. Without realising the effects of not listening to class, I watched series to avoid thinking about the chaos around. The evenings were the best. At least they weren't as depressing as the daytime. We all would go to the terrace and discuss a lot about our future plans in studies and all. Well that wasn't exactly discussions. Those were just us expressing our desires to us as we didn't have much people around to talk. After some stargazing, we would finish the dinner watching the news and take a deep breath that our family survived the day without any major problem. After hearing my mom scolding me to go to sleep for the nth time, I would go to my room and crash in my bed not knowing how the next day would go. With several goals in my heart and not a slightest motivation in my mind, I woke up the next day willing to repeat the same routine.
Date: 17th May,2020 Dear Diary, Today I am going to convey what happened to me. As you know, we are currently in covid-19 lockdown and I am staying in my home. As I am in my home, I usually tend to wake up a bit late and then have breakfast. As it is lockdown mom has to do a lot of work with respect to household activities. I try to help her as far as possible in the activities like cleaning rooms, arranging utensils and likewise activities. After that we have lunch and watch some movies in order to have some distraction from these tough times. We also worship during afternoon for the well-being of everyone during these times. At evening, we have tea and generally I speak with my family and have some common feel-good discussions. I also take care of gardening and read books during the day for some sort of interest/hobby. I always hope that the news delivered during evening which tells the count on covid cases decrease. We also notice some news about how people help each other and feel good about humanity. There are also many instances where people are not getting food, proper shelter, and hospital beds in these tough times and I wish everything comes to normal soon. Then during night I help mom with dinner, and we arrange our home by doing household activities. We then go to sleep thinking and hoping that tomorrow things will be better. At last! Hope is one integral factor which keeps this world moving right now…
9th October 2020,Friday Dear Kino, It all began with a delightful voice of my little cousin, who woke me up. I was happy as well as surprised to see her after a week. Yeah, it’s just been a week. But I missed her a lot. It was a pure boredom without her. Every morning, I didn’t want to get up from my bed to repeat the same previous day like a robot in a factory. I wanted to go out of my house, take a walk, breathe some fresh air and see people. I feel joyous when my cousin is around. She finds me more interesting than any people in my house. My dad started a new book series this Monday. He is very committed to finish the book that he doesn’t find time to have a little fun. He is too stressed about job and lockdown. His only relief is reading books. My mom and sister, they do most of the house work and in the extra time they take rest and watch TV. Once in a blue moon, I play traditional games like pallankuli, dayakattai with my mom. Today she was very busy cleaning the kitchen. I also had another work to complete, an important task in the competition, that’s needs to be submitted within night. Me and my friend were working out, but couldn’t arrive at the solution. My team leader didn’t respond to our calls and messages. In the night, he finally contacted us and to our surprise he completed the task and was about to submit. This day was ups and downs. Also I spilled a lot from my heart to you. A remarkable day to commit to my memory.
As the day started usually with coffee. Lock down started the schedule which goes by watching TV and playing games in the mobile phones and enjoying the funny events with my cousins.. After certain time, I went to look after my schedule. Suddenly it consists of On-line classes. Online classes changed my mood from listening to the lecturer’s talk to watching fun videos,talking to the friends and the family during class hours just switching on the teams and get joined in the class and turning the camera on and off. I went to my mom who is busy with her cooking, asked her to make something spicy to eat,she prepared me bread omelette which was yum in taste. The second thought hit my mind was playing chess.But I later noticed that no one around me is capable of playing chess with me.After I played in online mode which became popular nowadays. Suddenly I lost game at the last moment by clock false. I accept that, and said a dialogue, it’s all in the game ya!. I pray with God to help me to overcome from the lockdown and bless me for my career.Finally I was very thankful to our OE mam to giving this opportunity to express our feelings and thoughts during COVID by this assignment.
April 29, 2020 I woke up at 9.00am and my mom made a nice coffee for me. After that me and my sister had a online classes, my class was so boring but my sister is serious in listening her class . After sometime I had my breakfast by listening my class. Afternoon I had my lunch and watched the new movie with my family members I asked my mother to make snacks for the evening she made bajji and hot tea .
At 5 pm myself and my sister went to playground near by our house in our Village .During covid the playground has helped our people to relax but unfortunately in April month they issued 144 but we have not bother it as usual we went to playground and played throwball , volleyball but around 6pm while we are playing police had came to rounds by seeing the police people in the ground rashed into there home, myself and sister also took a ran to our aunt's house which is behind the ground itself. The police announced that no-one should be gathered anywhere in the village so we back to our house.
Suddenly one thing strike my mind that is tomorrow is my mother's birthday. I went to my sister and told that we should make her day happy .we taught to buy the cake but due to lockdown bakery shop are closed . So we decided to make a cake at our own but we don't have microven, yeast, egg, butterpaper to make cake. By referencing the youtube we got a hope that we can make cake with what we have . I went to the small shop in my village and brought some biscuits ,milk, chocolates. And we taught to gave her some flowers along with the cakes. So I went to my relatives garden and pluck so flower with me. We had our dinner at 9pm and my mom was tried so she moved to bed .
After my mom slept we went to kitchen and started to prepare the cake by seeing the video which we referred. We mixed all the stuff and kept on the gas stove. It would take 30 min to get prepared . We started playing and talking with our cousins whoa re near by my home. We are more excited for the cake after 30 we went to the kitchen and open the vessel unfortunately the cake had not ready ,we closed the vessel and waited. After sometimes we open the vessel and we hoped that the cake was ready, we fliped the cake into the plate .The cake came very well which we have not except itself . Already it's 11.30pm so we started decorating the cake with the chocolate and other stuffs .
April 30, 2020 At sharp 12am i took the cake and my sister took the flower and we both went to the bedroom. My mom was deep in sleep I went near to her and woke here she was so surprised that we don't know about cooking but we made a cake by ourselves. she was very happy and we tasted the cake, taste was so good and we also happy by seeing her happy. It is such a wonderful and a day which i will never forget in my lifetime.
Feb 02 2022 Hi minmini, It's dark all around, spider's on the wall and the place looks kinda haunted.All of a sudden someone patted my cheek and said "Don't panic the surgery is over, you are alright now! "my heart rate is raising I could hear the beep sound in ECG.I just woke up with venflons in my forearm, spirit smell all over the ward, green aprons and screens.yes, I'm in ICU ward.It was really hard for me to speak because of the anaesthetics they gave.Having a surgery(Appendicitis) done in the midst of the pandemic wasn't easy. Morning at 8.00 AM, we went to the hospital there I had abdominal examination and took the tests that the doctor prescribed me to take.He said that it's better to have a surgery as soon as possible, on the very same day he scheduled me a surgery at 6pm.Before surgery i wasn't allowed to have any intakes -food or water (Nil per oral).Only glucose were injected through IV (intravenous) the whole day. It's 4.45 pm, all the procedures for my surgery were completed.They transferred me to the wheel chair and to the fowler cot(hospital bed).They pushed the cot(has rotating wheels) to the operation theater, i was looking around the doctor's, nurse's and so on(nearly 6-8 members) .There they kept a stuff (kinda oxygen mask) on my face, after 30-60sec I lost my consciousness. Just i now I woke up and realized it was anaesthetics. My parents were waiting outside behind the glass window staring at me till I woke up.They were worried and just felt ok when i spoke some words with them.Atlast I am in a state of mind "let me experience and overcome this".Let's hope the immense pain we go through will heal soon. See u mini.
April 5 Dear Twinee, The day was good and not that much bad .The first day after lockdown was annnounced, had returned to home after few months. Eventhough It was the pandemic that spreading all over the world, I was bit a happy person because the day they declared lockdown was the exam that was going to happen.Staying at home is not so easy as it may seem. Initially I was very excited to stay at home and spent my days with my friends and family. I used to binge watch movie and series in day and night..I helped my mother in her works like assisting in cooking and going to shopping etc. I learnt some basics receipes from my mother.
After that we have lunch and watch some movies in order to have some distraction from these tough times.The most important thing I missed in this lockdown is playing kho kho.Since the initial period of lockdown there was strict restrictions to not step outside the house.I speak with my family and have some common feel-good discussions.
Then during night I help mom with dinner, and we arrange our home by doing household activities.Use lockdown to catch up on my sleep schedule. Getting a good night’s sleep also helped me to think more clearly and get better at tackling lockdown stress or anxiety. Despite all these difficult times , I learnt to stay positive and there are so much hobbies to keep us occupied in times of boredom.Nothing shakes the smiling heart..so keep smiling. Let me see you tomorrow Twinee!!
Dear diary, The day, the date, or the month doesn't matter any more. As long as this pandemic exists, all days are the same with the same routine and fears. I woke up to the sound of someone calling out names, as is the case almost everyday. It was my sister's class and my class starts in 20 minutes. I got ready quickly and came to the breakfast table to see the news reporting the number of death cases, which has increased to almost twice as much as last week. It's been over six months since I came to my cousin's place, and this is how the news goes everyday, without any hope or certainty.
After the classes got over, I along with my sister made fried rice and Manchurian for lunch, which turned out to be a complete disaster. The pan which we used for cooking Manchurian became unusable and this cost us the next couple of weeks of our cooking adventure.
Today, me and my cousin have been granted permission to go to the terrace, which is something we have been looking forward to for months now! We have almost forgotten how refreshing the breeze or the sunrays feel on our skin. We are looking forward to this little trip upstairs, which is the most we can manage for now.
Dear diary, I don’t know how much longer it’s going to stay this way. It’s been 3 months since they announced the first lockdown, and it’s only gotten worse. The news broadcast this morning announced that the toll has just crossed 100,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide. One hundred thousand! Isn’t that ridiculous? My guess would be that it would stay this way until August at the least. The internship I was hoping to do in July now looks like it’s not going to happen. I was eagerly looking forward to it, but I guess I’ll have to look for something else productive to keep myself occupied.
I thought it wouldn’t be too bad when we were first instructed to stay indoors, and it wasn’t for the first few weeks. But we’ve all got nothing else to talk about nor anything new and exciting to do together. It’s just the same routine everyday – eat, watch a movie, play some video games, the occasional squabble, sleep, repeat.
There is one thing to be excited about though – Father went out to get some medicine for my sister. It was the first time any of us had even stepped out of the home in months. Thrilled, I volunteered to be the next valiant person who would foray into the unknown for the family. I should have known better as I was met with unanimous disagreement, but I believe that day will come sooner than later.
This is Muppudathi. I am here to share my memories that happened during a day amidst lockdowns...
On September 01, 2020,
It was around 9 a.m, but still the day hadn't started for me. Staring at the slowly spinning fan with tears in my eyes, I was counting the number of days that I had been in home since the lockdown started. It was more than 5 months and it was still getting counted. It was such a long vacation with an unknown reopening date. As my home was very near to a school which was in the middle of the city, whenever the clock struck 7:30 a.m. in the morning, I started hearing some horn sounds of vehicles during normal days. But now, during pandemic, the atmosphere was so calm with some chirping sounds of birds. In the middle of this peaceful scenario, I could hear a siren sound of ambulance which was definitely not going to be a good news. This sound made my eyes to fill with tears. I woke up from my bed and the day started with a prayer as a request to the supreme power to help those who were suffering during this pandemic. Then I got refreshed and had my breakfast with my family (including my mom, dad & elder sister). We had some good conversations that put a smile on my face. Then I got engaged with my online classes. I had some doubts in my core subjects. My elder sister, who was also pursuing final year in Engineering, helped me to clear my doubts. Then after having my lunch, I watched a movie with my family. After the movie ends, my mom went to clean the kitchen and my dad started reading newspaper. My dad loves to keep himself updated. During the pandemic situation, he continuously followed the news about the vaccine trials each and everyday and as I am pursuing biomedical engineering, we would always have topics like how did the virus get mutated, what will be the effect of it in future...etc to discuss during our free time. My dad always stresses me to read books and newspaper because he strongly believes that one can improve his knowledge only by searching and reading about the related concepts. As a good boy, to obey my dad's advice, I took the newspaper in my hands. Within a couple of minutes, I finished my reading part and placed the newspaper back on the table. My dad asked me with a burst of laugh, "Did you just count the number of pages in it". I replied with a smile that I had just read the sports page. And then l went to play chess with my sister. She is so brilliant and even after playing a series of six to seven games, I couldn't even able to win a single one. I admitted my defeat. And then we decided to play badminton at the free space which is at the back of our home. I am pretty good in playing badminton and now it was my turn to taste some victory. We played for an hour and then we returned back to home to have some snacks. Our mom made some hot Vaada and tea. Slowly, the climate gets changed and it started raining. It was such a pleasant evening with a hot tea and a chill climate. I saw a little bird which was trying to fly high even though the climate was not so favorable. This made me to realize a great thing that even though the condition was worse due to this Covid-19, we should be optimistic to handle this situation like the little bird. With a smile in my face and with a hope in my heart, I stared at the little bird which was flying high in the sky.
Dear Diary, Do not be confused if today’s entry seems a lot similar to yesterday’s. This is because the lockdown has forced me into a routine. I woke up in the morning and walked into the kitchen. My mom was in a hurry, making dosas for everyone. Her hair was in a mess, tied into a loose bun as she was pouring oil onto the dosa and quickly switching it to the other side. I quietly grabbed a plate as soon as she called my name and patiently waited by her side to get my dosa. I sat at the table where my father and sister seemed to be in a deep conversation about the rising Covid cases. I quietly listened to the conversation. I had a few dosas and it wasn’t until I heard my phone pinging that I realized I had to attend my online classes. In a hurry, I walked into my room and opened my laptop on the desk. I sat in the same spot for around 3 hours listening to the different lectures. I could hear my mother preparing lunch and my sister attending her office calls often in silence except for the rare authoritative suggestions. I was eventually given a break for lunch and I helped my mom, along with my sister to set up the table. My father was back from the office for lunch and we all sat down and got interested in an animated conversation about everything from college to politics. I spent the afternoon playing pubg at my friends’ house. As I walked into the house, my mother and sister sat at the two ends of the couch quietly watching the news, and I could feel the tension in the air. I realized they had fought about something and I made myself some coffee before joining them and asking about their distress. Within a few minutes, they seemed to have resolved their conflict and ganged up on me. A few hours later, my sister, excitedly walked into my room wanting to try out a new recipe she had found. We spent the evening making a different type of noodles, while she spoke about the difficulties she had been facing due to her office work. After having the noodles we had prepared, I took my dog out for a walk and spent an hour playing with him. Once I came home, I spent time with my mom while she was rearranging the kitchen. Since it's a Saturday, today was family movie night. My sister and I spent a long time trying to convince each other to watch the movie we liked until my father stepped in and suggested we watch a comedy-based movie today. The movie ended a few minutes ago and I wanted to let you know how my day had been. Now, I better get ready for bed! Yours, Dhayananth
Dear Kai, The nights have gotten quieter than usual. I’m hallucinating of the construction drills even at this time, at 3am. But all that's heard is an occasional ambulance. The houses look ghostly, I’m worried I can no longer sense breaths from inside. "As the city falls asleep, More hearts into a rhythm; A raise a drop a raise a drop - How significant for the proof of life." This is supposed to be the time to retire from the world, assessing our worries and getting stronger, why does it feel ironic now, as if the world is breaking at this time. I’d pretend to hear sobs now of someone sitting in some hospital corner. Wasn’t this the time meant only for travellers out in the world, looking at the city lights and capturing photos of lights and reflections and smiles. "Amidst the soft snores get prominent the secrets of night The catastrophe unending taking its turns The muffled sobs there, there and there Clenching pain, held by new found belief Sliver of hope by long forgotten promises A wish - the last wish they say Life perishing in flickers, can it be undone? They stare into the lights, the city lights As they blur out into ethereal. They chant the prayers to be heard; Raw souls, they're humans." As tough it is for the doctors, having Gods of death on their shoulder with prayers whispered to them. When humans are seen akin to Gods, how do they take it, the responsibility of life, the thin light to a peaceful home. "The harbingers of life - Venerated with the hands of God They grasp onto threads of mortals. Some say it's resurrection, As piece by piece they knit back time; Their hearts that hear the pleas Give them the fortitude After all, they are humans too." It would be dawn soon. The darkness though says otherwise. I’d love hearing the buzz of the night travelling back in time, and the lights decorated in the pine trees during different seasons. "Lulled by the soft lights of the dawn, As the sorrows subside with the darkest hour Slowly steadily with sleep's approach; We yearn for the day where night city lights felt only beautiful."
Dear Diary, Before starting off my day i should say that my "home" is not in India. I did my schooling in Dubai and came to Chennai to do my College, specailly to study in CEG Which never actually happened due to covid. So due to covid restrictions i am not able to able to get back home in Dubai and i currently stay in my native which is a small town. But dont understimate when i say its a village i have enjoyed this place more than Dubai because i have a lot of friends in here. During my school days i used to come here once in a year for my vacation and would enjoy so much. So my day here starts at PM not AM Since my parents are not here i am more than a free bird here. After i wakeup i go thorough all the availabe social apps in my phone and by the time lunch time arrives. I have a stomach full without doing a single job and i see in the news that people from states of india who came to tamilnadu for work starving and getting back to thier hometown just by walk and sometimes miserable that we sit in cozy room and enjoy food while people outside have nowhere to go, at that time i felt really grateful of what i have. I have a seprate room in the first floor of our house, its quite a big house.So my friends start arriving in the afternoon and by around 3 pm there 15 to 20 people in my room. Since its covid none of my friends have college and due to restrictions outside we all decided on ganging up at one place. We have carrom board, UNO cards, card games and its a lot of fun. Till 7 pm there is so much fun and at 7 we send one guy to buy tea outside , its fun task because you have to come back without getting caught by the police.This time i think what would be the condition of the street vendors i wonder what would have happened to them only if there are people in the streets they can get their daily wage i felt very bad how Covid hit the lower middle class and poor people real hard. So after having tea we all start small chitchats and some start using their mobile phones so lathargically it goes till 9pm. Its dinner time and evryone leaves to their homes and once i finish my dinner another routine starts for me , now it is my cousins this our native and neither do my cousins have college so all of my 7 cousins are here and we live here . After dinner we all assemble at the hall and start board games and even parents join us its a lot more fun so during this Lockdown i got time to mingle so much with my family. I. got to see what reality lies between families and understood one thing that what we see outside is never the truth a lot more is burried under. So we laugh have fun till 12pm or some times more. And after all this laughter i feel exhuausted and sometimes feel bad that how people die from covid outside and what crisis their family would undergo and once again very very grateful to my god and thank him. One more important thing Covid gave me was i got to know about and get closer to my religion and i thanked my god atleast twice a day for what was given to me. Everyone go to their room and now is the "Me" time for me . I start watching movies, series and go on and on till 4 am maybe 5 . And whan i scroll down social apps all i see is increasing number of Covid cases and i also see that people recovered from Covid also kept increasing which gave me a great positive intent that someday everything would come to an end and i could go back to college with my friends and live a normal life. Now you get to know why i wake up at 12pm and more, its not only the movies or my mobile phone its also my mind who keeps thinking about a lot of issues which eventually cant be resolved by me but hoping one day the world will be a better place to live. So this is my typical day in Lockdown and i dont know how covid was for a lot more people around the world but for me it was such a enjoyable time where i connected a lot with my family and friends. And i understood a lot of emotions,laughter,envy,friendship because i during school i never had the chance to encounter nor to understand any these emotions
Dear MARS, I am sharing my experience about the Covid Time what are the circumstances I went through. In March 2020, I got very low marks is every subject Assessment, I was feeling sad at that moment, Then Covid Pandemic entered, Government announced holiday I am happy to hear that news. My inner went joy to peak level. I went to my hometown, Tuticorin where I lived in quarters surrounded by my many buildings. At the Covid Time, my friends also returned to their houses. Then, my friends and I together enjoyed the lockdown by playing online games like PUBG, Among Us in the terrace of the building. Usually I wake at 6’o clock and I go for jogging in the ground where I had seen many people walking in the roadside weared masks due to the fear of Covid. I was affected by cold and fever and I thought of myself that I got Covid positive and so I avoided roaming outside and didn't left my house for 7 days. In the situation, I felt like there were many people who went through lot of problem like my father who went to his office with precautions and bit afraid of Covid. That thought made me in sorrow. Despite thinking about sorrow all the time, I have lots of time to watch anime and also watch serials with my mother in my home. In my house there is unlimited wi-fi connectivity so I downloaded my movies and enjoyed my sick days. My friends and I together played cricket in the school ground side We were always ready to run from the police when we saw police in pandemic situation while we are roaming and playing. One time, Police seen we are playing so we jumped off near the school wall and went to friend’s house and escaped from the situation and our quarters member also warned us not to play so we changed our game from cricket to playing cards in the terrace of the building with my friends. In Covid Time, Online Classes also went on and I just muted my audio in the phone and sleep or watch TV in that time. Despite missing my College days in Covid Time, I was able to spent time with my family members and friends.
It's like the same day I am going through for the past one year. I think, I must have been struck in a never ending loop. Almost identical to yesterday's routine, I woke up at 8am, brushed my teeth and went through with the newspaper. At 9am, my online class started. Turning on my PC in which Professor lectures and keeping it aside and having my breakfast became like a routine. For my surprise the professor who took Java programming subject left the meeting before the class time ended. After 12pm, I took a shower and had my lunch. Short naps has been one of my favourite. My bike is all dusty as I don't use it these days. It is parked in the same location as I have been struck in the same 10*12 room. As usual I watched today's 6pm news where they announced daily death counts. After seeing those counts, I felt somewhat relaxed and thanked the god for saving me and my family. For those who loop on the same day, the clock's tick sound also feels like a bang!! After 6:30pm, I started watching webseries and had my dinner at 9pm. I am on my bed right now knowing the loop will continue next day. See you soon my dear Kiyotaka. Goodnight
Today I want to confess a thing about me. I have messed up. I messed my brain. I think this started from the lockdown.
The lockdown started happily. In fact it is going good till now. I really enjoy the days. I enjoy this online class without attending it. I enjoy the online exams without reading for it. And I really doesn't feel bad for it. Also I am not here to complaint about how I miss my friends, college or outside life. May be I am a typical introvert who doesn't miss these things. And I also don't worry about this.
All I worry about is this news. It is "Yesterdays death count is four thousand and something and todays death count is three thousand and something". It is a good news right? Actually I should be happy right? But I am not. Even this news didn't bother me much. What bothers me is my mental health.
Why am I getting upset on seeing lower number of death cases? Am I becoming a sadist or a psychopath? Am I suffering from social personality disorder? Does this lockdown changed me or revealed my true identity? Should I consult anybody regarding this?
I don't know what is yet to happen. Hope I wont become anything worse.
I’m R. Ragava Raja. I was 19 years old in 2020. My father used to go to work and returns in the evening. My mum is a home maker. I would spend most of the time with her. My brother stays in the hostel for pursuing his doctorate. I would play with my friends, from my school throughout Sundays. Since all of them would be available. On occasionally during Sundays, we would visit our relatives.
Dear Diary,
The lockdown was started on March 24,2020. After the announcement of the lockdown, I felt happy. I was a day scholar in the university. So, no need to travel to college. The full lockdown was imposed due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. My parents and I was unable to get basic wants fulfilled properly, the shops were closed. I’ve spent a few months without any productivity in my life.
During the third semester, I started to attend an online class. It was a new experience in my life. I’ve felt difficult to understand the mathematics. My typical day looked like as I settled into a lockdown routine.
About 7 a.m.: Getting up I’m bad at getting up, especially without a morning lecture to force me out from under the covers.
10 a.m.: Breakfast It is the only thing that can transform me into a functioning human.
11 a.m.: Tea break With a cup of milk, I make my way into the study room to being attending classes.
12:30 p.m.: Lunch After being in ‘focus mode’ all morning, lunch is a great time to relax.
4:30 p.m.: Playing I used to play online games, I’ve started during the lockdown and got addicted towards it.
8:00 p.m.: Dinner The lockdown has been a great time to test out new recipes and perfect old ones.
8:30 p.m.: Film I have a listing of films, friends tell me I should have watched, but I’ve completed the list.
10:30 p.m.: Sleeping Getting an excellent night’s sleep also helped me to think more clearly and get better at tackling stress.
My brother commented to me, “This is the period that never returns in your life again; try to impart something". After his advice, I had started learning useful courses to uplift my career. My involvement in graphic design was good, I mastered creating logo’s making templates for books and packaging design. My mother would like me to go around, to experience the world. Since I feel shy, I don’t love to wander anywhere.
The most unforgettable time in my life was my neighbour who died due to suffocation caused by corona. As, it took the lives of many.
I felt lonely after my brother moved back to continue his studies. My friends around me would head to school or college. I experienced difficult these two months. As classes started on Nov 17,2021 was the first day to offline session after a long gap. There was a sudden rise, in Corona cases the lockdown was announced on Jan 2022.I think so it would be the last lockdown in my life.
I felt happy that I’ve made a slighter productive during the lockdown.
August 8,2021 Dear Diary, I am sharing my lockdown experience that taught me a lesson. The pandemic has been really hard for me and I am still struggling to go through it everyday. I have had anxiety disorder and severe depression for the past few months. In the beginning, it was really hard for me when I had to spend every day at home with the uncertainty and fear of Covid-19. I was not able to reach out to anyone, although my family has been extremely supportive. I remember spending night after being sleep deprived, and going through constant anxiety attacks and panic attacks. It felt like this pandemic is the end of the world. I was scared, frustrated and even sometimes I felt numb.And I still remember how everything is changing from day to day. It felt like we were in a completely different world and we had no idea what was happening around us.
To me, my education was impacted the most by the pandemic. Colleges were shut down ,learning was only through online classes and exams were cancelled. It took a while to get used to the new norm. I have to admit that I was eager to do online classes in the beginning. As I looked forward to waking up later and got to work in a very comfortable place, not having to deal with traffic. However, my attitude towards online class declined incredibly after a few weeks. Bad internet, lack of motivation, procrastinating became the source of my frustrations. My place of resting and working were no longer separated which I once thought to be a good thing.It was hard for me to finish work and understand what was going on in my lessons. I was ecstatic when I was allowed back into college in the first week of this year as I was getting fed up with being at home. Everyone was excited to see each other (with social distancing) especially with the stress of A-levels. However, this excitement was short-lived when a close friend of mine tested positive and my time in college didn’t even last three days. Due to me being in the same area with this friend, I had to return home immediately and isolate myself in my room for two weeks. Thankfully I tested negative in the end .
As the world now starts to come on track again, it is important to understand and realise the life lessons which the period of lockdown has given us.No matter how awful situations may become, there is always a way out of it. Hope, and the feeling of togetherness in our hearts can give us immense strength to fight any enemy in any form. Thank you,
The coronavirus has taken over. It has taken over the world, taken over my country, taken over my town, and has taken over my life. It’s only soon before it takes over my own body. I mean, it’s already infected 1,61,344 people today. The number keeps multiplying every day. Who knows before I contribute to that number?
My friend called me via phone (my daily unset alarm) and asked me to join the online class. My college life almost ended up sleeping in front of the laptop and mobile screens. As it is rightly said, man plans, God laughs. All my plans to enjoy college life ended in vain. As the class goes by, I usually get freshened up and have my breakfast. The only horror in online classes is that you never know when the staff will call your name and ask questions, to which all my friends reply by putting "Mic problem ma’am/sir" messages in the meeting chat. Aren’t we brilliant, Sky?
Being under lockdown, the option of letting our hair grow wild and free is open. My mom scolded me for growing my hair like an Amazon Forest, to which I gave an excuse that no saloons were open by then. She went to the extreme and decided to trim my hair by herself. Shocked right? Me either. After watching the full video of how to trim hair on YouTube, she started her adventure as a hairdresser, with me as the victim.
Evenings are for chatting and mocking with friends. Earlier it was a "Juice Heaven" shop; now it has become an online group video call. Nothing has changed our love and friendship. The only difference between today and yesterday is my poorly trimmed, easily mockable hairstyle. At times, we used to play online games like Among Us, Stumble Guys, and Ludo, but most of the time we used to share our horrible and funny online class moments.
Today’s (technically yesterday's) dinner was pongal. Raabiya (my sister) and I never liked pongal. She skipped her dinner, whereas I had some. At midnight, we were both hungry and decided to make white sauce pasta. Madras Samayal (A YouTube Channel), the saviour, guided us on how to cook white sauce pasta. YouTube should really promote these kinds of videos rather than the "How to trim hair" kinds of videos. We noted the ingredients, and it took nearly an hour to find out which ingredient was in which box on the shelf. We deployed all our cooking skills and cooked the dish. To our surprise, our dish came out really well, and with a full tummy, here I am with you, Sky.
People say that a man begins to die when he ceases to expect anything from tomorrow, and honestly, I think I’m dying. See you if I’m mentally alive. Until then, bye.
Today happened to be one of the precious days in my life that I will cherish forever. This was not my usual lockdown days where I would be simply wasting my time not knowing what to do. As the government had announced in the news the other day that from today onwards all the covid restrictions will be relaxed I was very excited. It was finally time for me to go out and breathe some fresh air.
I had called all my friends the previous night and we had some amazing plans for today. Since we had planned to play cricket at the ground I had to wake up very early today. I thought it would be quite difficult to get up so early in the morning as I usually woke up pretty late during my lockdown days. But quite surprisingly the excitement of meeting my friends after a very long time got me motivated and I woke up very early, even before my alarm rang.
I reached the ground around 6:00 AM and I was very astonished to see my friends assembled there even before I came. This was very unusual for me as I would be the first person to reach the ground.
All my friends had completely different looks. All of them were rugged looking with a thick beard and very long hair that they had grown during the lockdown. I happened to be the only person who still looked the same without any beard. To be honest, I was quite jealous of them. But I tried to pacify myself by saying “Looks don’t matter but skills do”. So I decided to put all my cricketing skills to the test. Everyone was awestruck by my all-round abilities with both bat and ball. Even though I had not wielded my willow for nearly 4 months I never seemed to have lost touch with, the game.
All in all, it was a great game of cricket and the 3 hours that I spent at the ground seemed like just a few minutes passing by. It is quite customary for us to go drink some fresh juice after any game. So we all headed to our regular juice shop “ Juice Heaven “, as the name suggests it is indeed a heaven for juice lovers like us. After drinking the juice we chit-chatted for some time and left the place. It was finally time to say goodbye to all my friends. This was the hardest part of the day as I had to return to my home to continue with my mundane activities. When I look back at my lockdown days these 4 hours that I spent with my friends will be one of the most exciting times in my life when I was very joyful. This day holds a special place in my heart. -Surya Narayanan P
Hi Diary, Today is one of the scariest and happiest days in my covid life. I woke up as usual after recovering from sickness with a couple of days of quarantine and tried to schedule the dull day in the life of a student of the covid batch. The schedule went as usual during a lockdown. After a couple of days of a gap I started to attend the online classes as usual but here is the twist when I was sick I gave covid test in the hospital two days back, and the result came out to be covid positive at 9.30 a.m. I was happy and unhappy at that moment. As u know I feel fell sometime and rise again the same situation happened here. I was afraid of seeing my family because it was a covid second wave where we used to hear bad news about thousands of people passing away and being affected severely. one of my relations passed away due to covid in 1st wave. As I am from a joint family, all of my family members were afraid of my health condition. My mom and dad both were aged and diabetes patients so I raised the question myself that will they be affected....??If so they get severe symptoms..???But I didn't give my mind to take control of myself by raising these negative questions. The good thing I was done for my family was when I observed my mild symptom on the first day itself I started quarantining myself so that my family would be safe even if I was feeling better within a couple of days. Immediately I sent messages to my lecturers stating that I was unable to attend the classes due to quarantine even though I had all possibilities and good health conditions to attend the class. My doctor advised me to be on quarantine for ten days since it was a mild symptom and completely alright in a week. So I decided to go back to following the routine of the past 2 days. At 11 a.m., I recharged sun nxt and hotstar accounts. Downloaded many movies and games and started enjoying that moment. At 12.00 p.m. I played assassin's creed 2 and completed two stages within half an hour, I felt like a miracle and questioned myself how I completed it within a short period of time. On one side my dad didn't react to the message from the hospital and on the opposite, my mom was afraid of my health and worshiping all gods she knew but she didn't know that I was enjoying those moments. My mom served fresh juice every ninety minutes to keep me hydrated and healthy. She prepared chicken curry with steamed rice at 1.00 p.m. to provide enough proteins and carbs to keep me healthy and recover soon. And she served me drumstick leaves soup and provided pepper rasam with hot steamed rice for dinner. But finally, I enjoyed this day without online classes, escaping from assignments and tasting delicious and healthy lunch and supper, watching web series and playing games on PC, Watching Mr.Nags and jumpcuts on youtube, etc...I didn't feel stressed on that day after started enjoying the moments. Even now I was thinking what if all days will be like this in future..??LOL!! But one thing I recalled was dad's usual advice " If we try to escape from our work today then we will face the consequences n times than we enjoyed those moments ".
Today is just another day. Days have blended. There exists no yesterday, today, or tomorrow. It's all just a blur of day and night occurring infinitely in a single day.
As usual, I sat through classes half listening and half asleep. I started something new today though. I have never had the patience to read novels but all of a sudden, out of the blue, I had this desire to start reading novels. Today my novel, the first book of the Siva Trilogy, arrived. I started reading and I almost completed a quarter of it. Looking at the pace at which I am reading, I am worried that I would be spending a lot on just buying books each month. I was skeptical at first but I am sure that I will not fall out of the habit of reading, unlike my other impulsive aspirations. Now I can add one more activity to the phrase "Eat sleep repeat". Eat Sleep Read Repeat. I just so badly hope that I retain this.
Coming to what's happening outside my little world, people have become just numbers and each day is getting worse and worse. There are only numbers and graphs all over the news channels. So many people who lived on daily wages or temporary jobs are all losing their livelihood. It's all a constant reminder of how lucky and blessed my family and I are. Also, young people from my generation are just so inspiring. They do so many good deeds. Even if they are on a small scale, they are still making a huge difference. I hope I find something to be helpful to someone outside.
So, yeah, this is all for today. I will be meeting you soon with something more interesting. Until then, it's me, Vibushita, signing off. Good night!
Dear Diary, This past days were traumatic, India is in total lockdown because of corona virus, so, I'm forced to stay in my hostel room, against my will, until the third of May. I miss going out with my friends , to parties, and even classes. However I'm going to do what I need to do, if I want to the corona virus out of here. This country is wholeheartedly locked down, with all the schools closed people needing to maintain social distances from one another while walking or going to the supermarket. However , on a positive note people are starting to wash themselves more often than their hands. Talking about school, my school decided to conduct online lessons for like three semesters, until this all blows down, anyways, my day in quarantine starts at 8 AM when I wake up and prepare myself for the first online lesson at 8:30 AM, when the first four lessons are done, at 12 PM. I have 45 minutes break, then the other lessons begins at 1:10 PM till 4:45 PM, a total 8 to 9 hours a day. So my day in quarantine was not that interesting ,but I get through it.
Dear Diary, Little backstory during 1st lockdown holidays my brother and myself decided to visit my grandmother's sister, Who lived in an isolated hill station. But unknowingly to us lockdown came and we got stuck there. Anyways the weather there was okay and she cooked very fine food, So we loved being there. As usual, I woke up at 6 A.M with my two little friends jack and sparrow, My dogs. I played with my dogs for a few minutes and then we went for a short walk to see the work going on our farm and plucked a few sweet fresh mangoes to eat on the way. Then after reaching home, I washed my dogs, Cause they always play around the sprinkler on our farm and always get dirty after that I fed them their meal, as usual again making a mess again I towelled them after that I went to have my breakfast while simultaneously attending the online class. After finishing the day, Luckily I had only morning class for that day. I went to check on the pups, I was like hey that's my sandals you are happily chewing. Jack tore my sandal while the sparrow was long sleeping. My friends called to get online to play some valorant. Yea it was my favourite hobby. After a solid 5 hours of gameplay, It was evening had a cup of tea and watched the sunset. All things were going smoothly had dinner with my dogs, and suddenly all of the neighbours' dogs and mine as well started to bark in a weird way. We were confused, it was pitch black outside. A few of our relatives who lived down the hill came rushing to our house shouting "Yaanai vandu iruku" which means "elephant has come". Since it was peek harvesting time the pheromones that trees release attracts the elephants. To protect our profit we went on full-scale war against the elephants. My uncle threw loads of firecrackers to scare it, Nope it didn't budge an inch. My brave uncle decided to light up a cracker very close to it, surprised and in utter shock, the elephant just ran away. While it ran away the whole ground us shock like the scene from Jurrasic park. Pheww, what a day it was. We returned to the house and slept in fear that whole night.
It’s been a day since my little cousin arrived at my home as his parents were affected by COVID and were admitted to the hospital for isolation. He was just 5 years old but had a mature and strong mind. He was sleeping with my mother. But he woke up early, and my mother sent him to wake me as it was already 9 am. He tried his level best to wake me up. After few minutes of his hard work, I woke up. My mother gave me scoldings like "you’re little cousin is awake and you are so lazy". It was the very first time he had been with us since leaving his parents. It was my first time taking care of a little one for days. I believe that new memories were created and will be created during the upcoming days. My brother and I were dusting the old stuff just to find some toys for him to play with. Surprisingly, we came across our old stuff, and recalling those old memories was the best part. During lunch time, we all sat on the floor in a circle with the dishes in the centre. My mother started to serve everyone and made my little cousin eat on his own. It was his first time, and happily he didn’t mess it up much. After a heavy lunch, we all had a small nap, which became a part of our daily routine. Then the evening came. My father suggested an idea of making a kite and flying it. My cousin became excited, and we all started to check YouTube videos on how to make a kite. After an hour of struggle, we came up with a kite-like thing. We all went to the terrace to check whether our kite was flying or not. It was super fun and we all forgot about the negative situation existing around us. Then we came down and started to watch the news to get some updates, and it lasted for about 5 minutes only. My cousin wanted to watch the Pogo channel. So we switched to that. Later, we started to talk about what we could have for dinner. And after a debate, we arrived at the conclusion of having chapathi and tomato fry, which is my favorite. Then there was some chit-chat on the balcony. Then we all went to sleep. I was thinking about my cousin's mindset during this time. Staying in a new place without his parents nearby was so difficult under these circumstances. I wanted to take care of him as if I were his mother and not let him feel lonely or missed. I am looking for another day to have more fun with him. Good night !! That's it for today, see you tomorrow !
Throughout these covid days I have learnt to better manage my work-life balance.I had been able to complete a handful of certified courses by Princeton University,Google,IBM and Standford through coursera platform on topics related to software development,data structures and algorithms,Artificial Intelligence which have given me enough expertise to go through with an virtual-online internship and training from J.P.Morgan and NIST (govt. of India) .
With a major focus on upcoming campus placements apart from keeping my GPA up I work rigorously on my problem solving skills by implementing advanced data structures and algorithms on competitive programming problems on online coding platforms while keeping myself motivated by watching vlogs of seniors who were successful with respect to their career path.
As I fast track through my career goals , I still manage to take other recreational classes such as online yoga classes.I also learn cooking from my family which helps me cook healthy and tasty dishes .The yoga classes have helped me to relax.I help my parents with household chores such as cleaning,washing dishes and my sister with her homework on Math,Physics and Computer Science.My family frequently has video conferences with distant relatives to stay in touch during these tough times.I hope these tough times come to an end soon though.
25th April 2021, It has been 3 days since me and my father were diagnosed with covid. We are currently in quarantine at home. My younger brother is solely looking after both of us, isolated in two different rooms, and I am very proud of him for handling the situation with great composure. An NGO was very kind enough to provide home-cooked food to affected families including us, this gesture by them touched me deeply in the present situation where people are being very opportunistic and greedy. Also, I feel like day by day my health is deteriorating and I am coughing a lot recently. Checking my oximeter 3 times a day has become a part of my daily routine now. I feel too tired to even get out of my bed. The tablets I have consumed in the past 3 days are surely greater than the tablets I have consumed in my lifetime. The situation outside is not good either, chaos has taken over. The second wave is much more contagious and deadly, people are left stranded outside the hospitals due to the unavailability of beds. The number of covid patients is increasing exponentially with people ready to give all their wealth to just get beds and an oxygen supply, how ironic! Death is predominant in the older generation, some people are losing their close ones in quick succession and they don't even have time to grieve and carry out the burial for the former. It is quite pitiful and depressing to hear such news. On the other hand, people who aren't yet affected are using ample free time to improve their skills, and physique or follow their passion. I believe most people during lockdown found their true passion and spent time on things they truly love. Everyone got to know each other deeper and better. Even though I was sick, reconnecting with old friends, playing online games, and watching all available series and movies was very diverting and fun. I hope in the future, lockdown days come again just without any misery and hardships where people rediscover themselves
Dear Anna, It's day 300. You might think I would have gotten used to this 'new normal' by now. But no, I have not. Everyday it is getting worse. The noise in my head grows louder and louder. And my depression gets worse with each passing day. Mom says it will get better if I smile more and do things I enjoy. But my dear Anna, I stopped enjoying doing things I love. Reading feels like a burden to me. And wearing masks suffocates me. I think this is my threshold. I feel like I can't handle more than this. And that I am fragile. I feel like I may break down at any time. I even understand why mom does not understand me. She is old and doesn't know much about mental health. But why does no one understand me? Even my siblings? I lost my hope. I feel like this will never end. I am scared of this deadly disease. I fear thinking who I am going to lose next. I hate feeling uncertain and hopeless. Maybe this is a dream and the reality is way worse than this. If it is, I never want to wake up. Maybe I am better than I think. Maybe. Or maybe not.
PS: this entry says a lot more about me than the past 299 entries.
18th June 2020 I’m feeling very guilty. I couldn’t literally write down how bad I feel of my selfishness. My dear diary, you may not know the reason behind my guilt because I didn’t write it down since I was very lazy on that day. I guess it was 15 days back. It was a perfectly fine day (I guess it was 3rd of June,2020) and as I woke up my mom was already busy in her kitchen. Actually, it was very late that morning and my father was too late to me. I was scrolling down my phone as usual and my father finally decided to get off from his bed. My mother welcomed us with a perfect soup to build immune against Covid. This spicy soup which was too hot to drink literally gave a blissful morning. Then we sat down with our lockdown partner ‘TV’. The day was going well until we all came to know that our tenant was affected by covid. They were quarantined and we all were advised not to get in contact with them. The day which started peacefully was then surrounded by fear. I had a strong wish that they should recover back as soon as possible. But ‘The Fear’ the Virus gave didn’t allow me to even care to help them. But my mom was so kind enough to help them throughout the 15 days, in spite of my objections. I didn’t even bother to talk to my mom after that day. But today (15 days after that incident) our tenant is completely sound and safe and is healthy enough to walk out and talk to my mom. Her tears of gratitude made me feel how Kind my mother was. I said Sorry to my mom. But she was least bothered about it and was talking to me as if nothing happened (since she didn’t care about my im-matured behaviour).This day made me feel that ‘No matter what, being good to people in their needy times is a wonderful legacy to leave behind’. (Will endeavour to enter my day-to-day entries hereafter. Bye for now!)
It was the time when each one of us spent almost every hour in mobile, tv and laptops, the time when scientists were struggling to fight against the deadly virus, the time when many countries faced economic crisis. The whole world has come to a standstill, and the reason is the pandemic COVID-19. All of a sudden, it seems we are a part of a horror movie. Its all started when the government of India imposed the first lockdown on 25 March 2020, Wednesday.
At the beginning, it took time to get used to learning from home but after a while I got used to the changes. I was really sad I wouldn’t be seeing my friends every day but I was still able to talk to them by calling and texting. After the rules of staying at home finally loosened, I finally got a chance to visit my native place, Sivakasi.
On the early morning of 2 November 2020 I started my trip from my home by car. It was a long day travel of about 9 hrs. It was raining , a pleasant climate with gentle breeze. Believe me, it was feast for the eyes to see the nature from inside a moving car. The rain and the music made my travel even more exciting . I remembered the days I spent with my friends in college. At 8 AM we stopped for breakfast, when I got out of the car I felt wonderful to breathe the air riped with pleasant, dewy petrichor along with the sweet smell of mogra. The smell of that lovely scent was mesmerizing! Finally I reached my native place at 1 PM I was overwhelmed with happiness on seeing my relatives eagerly waiting for my arrival after a long gap of 11 months. I spent my next 10 days there joyfully with my family. That was a one time experience that I would never forget. (Venantius Egwin I 2019104042)
It was on 10th March I guess, the Tamil Nadu Govt declared Holiday for all schools and colleges due to Covid 19 pandemic. Just after the holiday was declared I was in chill mode, I spent the first few days like there was no college ever after. I watched a lot of Youtube videos. I also restarted playing Computer which I didn't do for a very long time. For a week I and my brother were alone at home. Only after the lockdown was declared by our state,my mom and dad stayed at home. I am not a tutor. I love teaching! I taught my brother who just got his 9th std results and got 10th std books. My mom didn't want to keep him idle, so she asked me to look after his studies especially Social Science. It sounds bit weird but I restarted playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 where we drive trucks across the Europe-I love that game as I love travelling and I love roads. I really missed the restaurant food , it had been more than a month since I ate only homemade food. My parents didn’t allow to eat outside food starting from 10th March .For years, I had consistently been able to manage myself alone at home. At least making dosas if there is batter at home, sandwiches, egg etc. Since quarantine started my urge to explore more food increased and also my urge to cook and eat as well. So within a short time, I tried out many dishes- Chily Potato, Chapati, Potato curry, Egg roast, Paneer, Egg noodles etc. Parallely our online classes had started and daily I used to attend classes and doing assignments. I also started watching lot of travel videos and things like that but since pandemic, all bloggers are like corona! corona! so I partly avoided many channels. I am not a movie maniac. I rarely watch films. But with constant pressure from my brother, my parents took 30 days free trial for Amazon Prime. So we watch one film every day.Days went suddenly I was suffered by severe fever. So I made myself isolated. Self-Quarantine days are one of the rare time I had ever got. It may not be the best moment ever, but it is enough to make an impact in my life that I will never forget.Finally I was happy enough to stay at home. Certainly, these moments will stay in my heart and thus I decided to document this. It has been a long time since 4 of my family are together for such a long time. - Selva Saranya S M (2019115091)
It was the day after I got swayed away from my college due to this green-colored virus. I opened my eyes from an oscillating night sleep, and peeped through the bus window. It was around 6:30 in the morning with a warm, not-so-burning sun and a mild breeze that made me look out of the windows only to get my eyes blessed by the giant mountain ranges, the elegant paddy fields that hinted my arrival to my hometown - "MARTHANDAM" Fast forwarding to me reaching the streets of my home. Pushing the door and stepping inside, my dad looks up from his newspaper and gives me a smile that shows a huge sense of relief upon my safe arrival followed by my mom and I exchanging shy yet comforting smiles. As they both return to their daily routine, I subconsciously climb the stairs whose steps and turns I've memorized. Reaching the doors of my caven, I push it open only to be hit with a stench of dust that makes me grab the broomsticks and give it a quick sweep. Satisfied with the results, I head to my bathroom and wash away the remnants of sleepiness left in me as I wash my hair. Stepping out of the bathroom, I fall flat on my not-so-hard bed as I gaze out through my windows into random nothingness, filled with a sense of peace. Breaking the peace, my stomach rumbles forcing me to get out of the comforts of my caven. As I head downstairs, the smell of fish fry swipes me off my feet and the taste of it pushes my mind into a whirl of memories of me eating the tasteless hostel food. After eating to my heart’s content unworried about my stomach becoming bloated, I head uphill to end the day by visiting relatives after relatives. Waking up the next day to pure chaos as we start with online classes for the first time. As, we - my classmates, myself, and even our professors struggle with the so-called "ZOOM"; we find moments of laughter, as we snap pictures of our friends when they accidentally turn their cameras ON, as we hear random mothers scolding their sons/daughters. The fun stops here, as we enter the official first day of online classes with professors having mastered the zoom app in a day and me failing to master the act of not sleeping in classes despite so many years leading me to get caught by my dad that leaves me in embarrassment. The embarrassment stops me from getting downstairs in the following days, as I fall into a lazy routine of joining the zoom classes after 6 AM bed coffee, switching OFF the camera, and falling asleep only to be awakened by my friends to give attendance when it's taken followed by direct lunch at 2 PM with endless hours of scrolling whatever app my phone harbors. Opposite to my lazy routine, my mom's routine looked super active as she found new hobbies every day with different things she came across on the apps she scrolled unlike me who just scrolled through. Despite being confined within the same house, it seemed as though we were confined to our own selves. But, one day my dad broke through that confinement and pointed out how I hadn't bathed for a week. This was even more embarrassing than the previous incident but didn't stop me from getting downstairs instead pushed me to question myself, and how self-destructing my routine was. Like, a light in the dark my friend messaged me leading to us creating a spiritual group, where we made a routine of praying every Saturday, and sharing bible parts we read and that was my first breakthrough to my lazy routine. This breakthrough eventually lead to many, as I started playing outdoor games with my cousins every day followed by a dump into waters that improved my year’s old rusted swimming where new bonds were formed. We tried to make up for all the boring routines via video calls, celebrating birthdays over virtual platforms, and sending gifts. Now, let's conclude my lockdown experience with something I realized through it "Eventually, everything becomes a routine; make the best out of it before it does." - ANSILIN VINCY W, IT 2019115015
Dear Diary, When the Sun dawned upon a discontent world each day, it simultaneously and unfalteringly dawned upon me too that the lackluster iteration of life amidst the ascendancy of an unprecedented pandemic was in itself a privilege worth acknowledging. Although I'd given in to the tantalizing temptation of leisure initially, I had , eventually managed to adhere to a routine that galvanized me spiritually, physically and emotionally. My mornings always began with a humble prayer, offered for God - to mitigate the penury that struck people without warning and to protect me from the agonizing thorns of hardships. Assisting my mom in making meals through out the day was a therapeutic, fulfilling hobby that not only invigorated our bond but also ignited a liking for a newly found passion in me. A quick shower post breakfast signified the closure of my morning routine. Prior to lunch, I always whiled away my time completing miscellaneous tasks online , often pertaining to college. I ensured that I stayed in touch with my loved ones afar, which posed to be a refreshing oasis of solace and strength as the monstrosity of the pandemic pressed in. Evenings were spent playing badminton with my neighbor, we simply basked in the ecstasy that such an ordinary activity had brought us. A good portion of my day was spent in making arrangements for alleviating the plethora of constraints that had tumbled along the way of the unfortunate. Dinner being a family affair was a non-negotiable feature of a pandemic day in our lives; managing to pose as a platform where our thoughts, emotions and world news were exchanged. Before sleep stole me each night, I whispered a word of gratitude to God for having shielded me and my loved ones every day from a misery I doubted we could withstand. Although my days mirrored each other every day, I had learnt upon reflection that a new lesson could be learnt every day - if only I was willing to look hard enough for it.
It's been a month now since the pandemic made me stay indoors and prevented me from driving my bike or car. Finally, today I got a reason to go for a drive but unfortunately it is to the hospital. My father is suffering from an eye infection, so i had to accompany him to the eye hospital at Velachery. I was excited and at the same time worried to step out of the house and experience the new atmosphere that the pandemic has left behind. The hospital is approx. 12kms from my house. I was shocked to see the deserted roads and shops of Velachery which is always a jam packed area. I captured this image in my phone since it is one of the rarest sight that one can observe. The drive which usually takes 45mins just took 20mins. We were interrogated by the police at 2 places and we had to show the appointment message to him to allow us to travel. At the hospital, people had to follow social distancing and other COVID norms which I have been seeing in the news for the past 1 month. Only today I got to experience them. Circles were drawn in the floor to avoid people crowding in queues and people were allowed to only sit at alternative chairs. Only those who had normal body temperature were allowed inside the hospital. Finally, on our way back to home we were once again interrogated by the police and we had to show the medical receipt to allow us go. So much have changed in this one month and I am worried if the pre- COVID world can be brought back ever. -Kasi Viswanathan S,2019105546
My day in quarantine starts at 8.15 when i wake up and rush myself for the first online class at 08.30. and the class continues upto 4 , between which i have have my breakfast, lunch, a coffee and a few hours of mobile games and everything. With the colleges and every other public places closed, people won't have the chance to gather in groups. Things have become quite challenging and life's not same anymore. These past days were traumatic. The country is in a total Lockdown because of the Coronavirus, so I’m forced to stay at home, against my will. I miss going out with my friends and roaming around the campus, kotturpuram, spending time in Spartans room and outer college stage performances as I was a part of college's official variety team. However, I have got no other choice rather than staying at bed and thinking about all this. So just to distract myself, I help my mother with the household chores and then i help my sister with her studies. Only good time I have in a day is while I play with my kittens and their family has grown big from 2 cats to 6 now. Then i watch a lot of anime. And I'll wrap around my day at 3.00 am. So, my day in quarantine is not that interesting, but I was getting through it.
I’m Varun M And I’m going to share my lockdown routine. First, I never spent so much time at home .I am a very reserved person and have very few friends. So This Lockdown was my new experience. I used to watch all types of movies and series. Due to the restrictions, I was not able to go to the ground for playing and not met any of my friends for months. It was very stressful to me. Later I spent my time with my family and neighbors. I helped my mom in cooking like chopping the vegetables ,washed the dishes and We have meals together. I played most of the indoor games with my neighbors. In the evening time , I chitchat with my mother and played Cards with my relatives. I also tried some lockdown receipes and share with my neighbors. Our neighbors also share a receipe and we did a lot of new experiment in cooking. I have gained a lot of friends in lockdown period . I also spent my time in a productive way . I also worked on my health and fitness.I spent some time doing meditation. I utilized time in my placement preparation works. My brother helped in my studies and taught me some ideas. I able to understand the importance of socializing, spent time with family.. Above all these times , I learnt to stay positive .Stay optimistic and keep yourself busy in things which gives you inner satisfaction.
Even though I'm not active with you for a while, my loneliness has reached upto an extreme level which made me to return to you by sharing the memories I created during the COVID lockdown to reduce the loneliness.
It's been three months the lockdown has been implemented, I think during the second lockdown, I realised that my routine, lifestyle and sleep cycle has change a lot. During those days, I was mostly alone but in other times I spent my days with my parents and neighbours by playing Pallanguzhi and cards. We used to cook foods and organize a dinner party and chit chat during the weekends over the rooftop for a couple of months. Before the lockdown, I wasn't close with them and thanks to the lockdown for making this change.
Even though I won't roam much, this lockdown doesn't bother me much. But the things I missed out during the lockdown was the foods made in the restaurants and obviously the cinema theatres which is been a companion since my sixth standard as I began to go alone to the cinemas.
And my days has been passing like a passing clouds and the sun rising in the morning and dawning in the evening. It is been moving normal by watching TV, attending online classes, and so on.
During the evening, I used to walk on the rooftop to reduce my mental stress and for some physical exercises. And during some days, I play cricket with the kids in the neighborhood colony.
The things I learnt during the lockdown was cooking , other regional and international languages by watching movies and attending classes. I lost about 25kgs during the lockdown which was the most valuable thing I did in the lockdown
I didn't even think that my college life will be in a four wall for a year. For expecting good results, i lost my college life where I'm suppose to blossom memories.
Overall, this lockdown is one of the great experiences which is not quite interesting for me. I learnt to stay happy, expressing positive vibes and to be alone. I realised and used my time properly during the lockdown.
Lockdown is a very crucial time, you’re almost caged into the walls of your home with no connect from the world outside whatsoever and this is when staying indoor can get the best of you. It's been three months the lockdown has been implemented, I think during the second lockdown, I realised that my routine, lifestyle and sleep cycle has change a lot. During those days, I was mostly alone but in other times I spent my days with my parents and neighbours by playing Cricket and cards. We used to cook foods and organize a dinner party and chit chat during the weekends over the rooftop for a couple of months. Before the lockdown, I wasn't close with them and thanks to the lockdown for making this change. I used to watch all types of movies and series. I helped my mom in cooking like chopping the vegetables ,washed the dishes and We have meals together. I played most of the indoor games with my neighbors.
My friend called me via phone (my daily unset alarm) and asked me to join the online class. My college life almost ended up sleeping in front of the laptop and mobile screens. As it is rightly said, man plans, God laughs. All my plans to enjoy college life ended in vain. As the class goes by, I usually get freshened up and have my breakfast. The only horror in online classes is that you never know when the staff will call your name and ask questions, to which all my friends reply by putting "Mic problem ma’am/sir" messages in the meeting chat. Evenings are for chatting and mocking with friends. Earlier it was a "Juice Heaven" shop; now it has become an online group video call. Nothing has changed our love and friendship. The only difference between today and yesterday is my poorly trimmed, easily mockable hairstyle. At times, we used to play online games like Among Us, Stumble Guys, and Ludo, but most of the time we used to share our horrible and funny online class moments. Above all these times , I learnt to stay positive .Stay optimistic and keep yourself busy in things which gives you inner satisfaction.
Dear ryu,
ReplyDeletetoday is one of the most scariest day in my covid life. I woke up as usual and tried to schedule the boring day in life of a Online College student. the schedule went as follows , breakfast , class , sleep through rest of the class , lunch , repeat the above steps ( what did u expect, me reading??… not before exams!). I usually turn on the news to get the gist of what is happening outside. Since most of my day is free , I would draw to my hearts content and do some CAD drawings. it was at that time i got the news one of my favorite staff had unfortunately passed away due to Covid. The air felt heavier as i had recently contacted him about some work just 2 before this all happened.
The guy was a legend he had undergone many social projects to clean our environment and has a un breakable place in our hearts. we had a online farewell as well as a offline one planed soon. He will forever live in our hears as a HERO. It was at that time i called all my friends and family and checked on how they were.
My father to whom I talked about him was seriously shocked and I warned him to be cautious of his actions outside as he must go to office everyday. After all this sudden events , at night i prayed to all the people who lost their everything in this pandemic .
It was then I realized that even when there is a pandemic or not everyone must take care of each other as a simple " HEY, How are you might save anyone from the worse circumstances"
with a heavy heart and lonely night I bid you good night.
PEACE
April 15 2021
ReplyDeleteIt was the time that Covid-19 started increasing from its fall . It was a fine morning. I woke up at 6:30 A.M and called my friend to play badminton. He gathered all other friends before I came to ground. We started to play around 7 in morning. After 2 hours of playing , the game has ended with a worn out shuttlecock and with a little fight for that shuttlecock.
One of my friend in the gang had his birthday on very next day. we planned for a dinner on his birthday. This planning goes for another half an hour. we all are dehydrated due to the hot summer. So, one by one my friends are returning to their homes. I reached my home around 10 A.M. The way in which I return to my home seems more quitter than usual. Birds and animals are constantly in a roam for quenching their thirst.
As time went, I finished my lunch around 2 pm and suddenly received messages from my friends to watch news channels. It was about the new curfew to be imposed on the upcoming weeks. Our plan for the dinner has cancelled on the day its made and my friend ,who has to give the treat became happy for escaping from giving treat.
May 20, 2021
ReplyDeleteHi,
This is swe, writing this on Mr.Bear ( my diary). It is one of the weekends when my Ma, Pa, and my Kutta ( Elder sis - Keerthi ) woke up in the middle of the World's frightening virus (COVID-19) with the hope of having a good day with some good news about decreasing number of COVID cases.
It's like a hell to be confined inside four walls. So I and Kutta decided to go upstairs to get some fresh air. But Ma tried to stop us as there was a funeral in our neighbour's house. We both thought everything was well and good until we realized the impact of the virus. The day started with the news about the death of my neighbor's aunt who will always appreciate my skills in art.
Our street was full of Hazmat-suited people. No one was aware that she was in ICU and died due to the virus. I was very sad that I am really gonna miss my Fan ( for my sketches). And obviously, Ma gonna miss her too, she was like a dearest friend of hers despite the age gap. We were advised to isolate ourselves and not be allowed to attend her funeral.
But Mr. Bear, as you know that "Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action", I had this experience today. Everyone in our street was scared of whether they would get infected. But I can understand its human tendency. And no one stepped out of the house even for buying milk.
Yes, it's true! One Death can easily change another person's behavior, sometimes as Humble and sometimes even to evil (sort of). Ending this day with the hope of getting some peace.
With Hope,
Swe
Date: 4th May, 2020
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
"Oh my god!", I thought, as I checked the time on my phone. It was 4 AM in the morning. I'd stayed awake the whole night watching "The Mindy Project", which has now become a routine ever since the lockdown started. I looked out my window and it was pitch black; even the streetlights were out. I spent the next hour waiting for the sun to rise and ended up falling asleep without my notice.
It was around 2 in the afternoon when I finally woke up. I quickly did my *cough cough* morning routine, as I got ready to spend the rest of the afternoon video-calling my friends via HouseParty, the latest app. Turns out, my friends aren't living any different lives either. Most of our conversation was filled with disappointed sighs and groans regarding the lockdown. To be completely frank, this has become my primary source of entertainment.
My sister asked me to play badminton with her in the evening. Since we aren't really allowed to leave our house, we ended up using the terrace to play. The once deserted terrace has now become the most happening spot during the evenings. Hearing the parrots chirping and feeding the crows gave me a feeling of fulfilment that staying in my room doing nothing couldn't. I would be lying if I told you that I didn't enjoy spending every evening on the terrace.
Before the whole pandemic started, we'd been so busy that we stopped appreciating the small things in life that actually brings immense joy. I don't know when this pandemic is going to end, but I'm hoping that the bonds I've made with people in the past couple months never end. Oh wait, it's almost 11 in the night - which means it's time to get ready to binge-watch "The Mindy Project" for the rest of the night!
With a longing for a simpler future,
Abhinand G
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNovember 3th 2020
ReplyDeleteTuesday
Dear Diary,
I was feeling anxious when I woke up today. It wasn’t because I was lying sick in bed from COVID. It was because today we would find out the results of the American presidential election.
The whole day, I was in bed, watching the news. I never thought I’d be the type of person who watches the news every day, but the last few days have proven me wrong. I’ve been obsessively watching and reading every election-related piece of information I could get my hands on. And today was no different.
My friends and I would text each other whenever a state turned red or blue. We booed and made fun of the red states, vowed to never live there, and celebrated all the blue states. I could hear Tucker Carlson from the TV in the hall, droning about how the election was rigged. I had to put headphones on to drown out his annoying voice.
I think one of the best parts of today was the memes. I was laughing till I had tears in my eyes from all the tweets about the election.
But I was so tired. Being sick and staring at screens all day is not a good combination. Nothing could have dragged me away from my laptop, though. I wanted to be there when ‘IT’ happened. ‘IT’ being that trump loses and watching all the rednecks make baseless claims about how the election was rigged.
The whole world was anxiously waiting, and so was I. And then, it finally happened. BIDEN WON. The relief I felt! I think I even teared up.
Anyways, I came here to tell you the good news quickly. I‘m going back to celebrating with pizza and coke, which I absolutely can’t taste cause of COVID. It sucks to be me right now.
Isha
23/05/2020
ReplyDeleteTuesday, 10:00am
Dear Diary,
I’m basically cooped up in my house for the past 3 months. Jesus, it’s getting exhausting! I genuinely thought I would be visiting Sam the day after I last stepped out, which would probably be around April 15? Yeah, April 15th. I feel like I’m slowly getting into this weird, unhealthy lifestyle. I wake up at 9:30am, eat my brunch at 12:00pm. I’ve been trying to urge my dad to take me out for a drive, hope that happens sometime soon. Kaushik called me up yesterday and spoke to me about all the plans we had for the summer. All has turned to dust now that this godforsaken pandemic hit us. I miss Abhinand, Isha, Roshni and Hema the most. We do talk a lot over video calls but it’s just not the same you know? I’ve been sitting alone for the past few days, my mind wanders into dark spaces where I fully feel my emotions, yet I have no shoulder to rest on. Makes me realize how important having a social life is. However hard it’s going, I’m really thankful that I’ve got a secure roof over my head and a wonderful family. Gotta appreciate the good things in life right? Alright, it’s time for brunch now. I hope we see the light again, soon!
Write to you tomorrow!
Yours Lovingly,
Roch :)
22nd August 2020
ReplyDeleteSaturday
Uneventful, just like any other day, I woke up detached, with literal zero interest in doing anything at all. I did wish for a happening like this pandemic to occur but never would've thought that life was going to be so monotonous, so boring that it practically drove me crazy every time I sat in front of my computer looking for anything interesting at all, to do. The first few months were an absolute blast which my introverted self loved but as the days kept progressing, EVEN I couldn't really take it.
My mother seems to really be enjoying this 'stay at home' kind of work because she is now getting to bring in an equal balance between her personal and professional work. My dad, on the other hand, is slightly starting to get a annoyed of the 'complete lockdown' situation because his business is slowly starting to take hits.
Amidst all of this as I had just fallen asleep in the afternoon, around 2pm, I received a conference call from Tushar and Ajay, my school friends, asking me to install this one online game called "Brawlhalla", because guess what, they were just as bored as I was, if not more. So the rest of the evening was spent by the three of us having a really nice break from reality and spending time in our little space playing the game and just catching up on everything. The game was AMAZING as well. Should maybe call some more of our friends soon to play with us as well huh? Let's see, it does sound really promising.
Anyway, glad today happened.
Being really selfish here, but not going to lie, I wouldn't mind the lockdown staying for a little longer (^-^)
Ashish
Dear Diary,
ReplyDeleteI'll tell briefly about my experience of a typical day in Lockdown. The first day after lockdown was annnounced, had returned to home after few months. Eventhough It was the pandemic that spreading all over the world, I was bit a happy person because the day they declared lockdown was the exam that was going to happen. The first day when i woke up , my home was filled with chatter and laughter of my siblings and neighbors.They were seem to more happier because we hadn't met together for months. They told that they thought there wouldn't be anything that make us to meet together. My elder sibling was bit sad because he was a final year student and he was really missed his final moments of the college days and his friends. He expected that the break would'nt be too long.My younger sister was straight opposite to my brother,as she was doing her sslc that time, she was the happiest person in our gang. We shared all the fun memories that happened in our college days. As I was a fresher that year , I shared how i adapted to the hostel environment and about my friends i had got.
While the conversation was going, my mom approached me with a cup full of coffee. She was too delighted to see us together. Even she heard all the talks and gossips while doing house works and replied with a sarcastic answers.Then we played a game called Ludo that was famous in the lockdown days. Me and my brother always used to cheat my sister and irritates her with our funny activities. She loves it too. Then came my favourite part of the day .
A place we used to play cricket was filled with my friends holding bats and balls. We we're playing with an eye watching outside for the cops who were searching for the crowd and punishing for hanging outside. It was a mixture of thrill and fun at that time. Then after finished playing, my mom was waiting with snack . But before that i got scolded for 15 minutes for going outside . Then me and my siblings were watched horror film ,which was seriously fun.
Giritharan
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDate: 10th May,2020
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
Life has changed a lot in the past few days, all I do is sleep, eat and put on weight. My sister is in her twelfth grade and the way she is dreading about her exams is a treat to watch everyday. As I have nothing to do literally nothing after all the difficulties I went through in school I deserve a short break. A short break I don’t know about that but there is so much time in life that I discovered rather than just attending classes and running behind marks, will never forget the last three years of my life.
I forgot how it is to spend time with family especially with my dad it looks like I haven't seen him over three years such a machine life we lead. So I make it a point everyday I sit with my dad and mum and we discuss something either its about our career, sometimes about what kind of life partner I want or sometimes we just talk about others but nonetheless I’m glad we are communicating spending time with each other.
Every weekend we go out for grocery shopping irrespective of whether we have anything to buy because for obvious reasons we atleast want to get out of our homes atleast for that. Today was the first day that I switched on the gas and tried making an omlette for myself and I failed. I started a new habit of reading something before I go to bed but I’m sure that won’t last longer but I’m glad I’m trying. Sometimes we all turn sad as my father’s work is not at a good state due to the pandemic reasons but atleast we are together with that I feel we can get through anything.
Ok then meet you tomorrow its time for dinner. I hope I’m alive tomorrow to write to you just kidding I will I guess there are lot more pages for me to fill up with my boring day routines. Ok bye for now.
Aalia
I’m Arivazhagan M And I’m going to share my routine in Lockdown.
ReplyDeleteStaying at home is not so easy as it may seem. Initially I was very excited to stay at home and spent my days with my friends and family. I used to binge watch movie and series in day and night . As days went on it started boring and I was so much frustrated to be inside the house for whole day. So I decided to spent time productively by learning new things and explore the ideas behind them. Everyday I used to wake up at 9.00 am , have my breakfast.I helped my mother in her works like assisting in cooking and going to market etc. I learnt some basics receipes from my mother . I also play games with my family like ludo, snake and ladder. I helped my brother in his homework.
The most important thing I missed in this lockdown is playing Cricket .Since the initial period of lockdown there was strict restrictions to not step outside the house. But then I spent good times with my family and utilized the leisure time in my placement preparation works. Once there was slight freedom in the curfew , I gathered with my friends and returned to my normal activities.
Despite all these difficult times , I learnt to stay positive and there are so much hobbies to keep us occupied in times of boredom.Stay optimistic and keep yourself busy in things which gives you inner satisfaction.
23rd of August,2021
ReplyDeleteDear diary,
10 am
I opened my eyes, i saw the rough sketches on the walls. I turned around and looked through the closed windows...I slowly rolled the drape away, the road was visible clearly , the sunrays hit over my cheekbones. Morning. I rolled over... continued staring the roof..didn't have the energy to get up from the bed. So I stayed like that for an hour. I could hear my mum rumbling things at home...just the sound tells me that I have to be outside now or it's death itself. Lol. I dragged my body out of bed...I backhugged her, she kissed me, I Hummed in response and then I did the morning routines.
12 am
I did some kitchen works we argued on making rasam..I got upset..yes.I had lunch. It was time to binge watch. Though it didn't entertain me , I had nothing else to do. I have to kill time. So, yes series and anime were to escape reality.
6pm
I got up from the recliner, bathed, had coffee, I started baking cupcakes today. I made miniature sized ones with vanilla frosting and sprinkles on the top. It was the first time the cake was properly baked after so many trials. I smiled.
8pm
I made dinner. My parents were busy watching the television. I made 2 dosas and an omelette for myself, took them to my room, played friends and stuffed my mouth with food.
I did the usual kitchen chores with music being played nonstop.
11pm
I made the hall dark, put on the AC and sat to binge watch. It went on and on. My eyes were tired today but still I never stopped watching, hoping I could just go to sleep directly if they were too tired.
3am
Hoping it would happen just like i imagined...i laid down on my bed, slowly..second by second..though I hated, my mind started to wander. I tried to push back these overflowing thoughts on my head,I kept pushing back,I could feel my pillow getting wet,I could barely breathe, at that moment I knew ..I failed again. Time passed, I was wondering what's wrong, then it struck it's just another normal day in quarantine.
-Sill
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAugust 9, 2021
ReplyDeleteIt was also a normal day of lockdown. With not much work to do, waking up early was very easy back then. As usual, I woke up at 5 and stared the ceiling without any purpose. After a long run and playing badminton with my sister, me, my mom and my sister chit chatted while we watched the news like we people knew everything. I would start binge watching series at the exact same time when my college faculty starts the online class. Without realising the effects of not listening to class, I watched series to avoid thinking about the chaos around. The evenings were the best. At least they weren't as depressing as the daytime. We all would go to the terrace and discuss a lot about our future plans in studies and all. Well that wasn't exactly discussions. Those were just us expressing our desires to us as we didn't have much people around to talk. After some stargazing, we would finish the dinner watching the news and take a deep breath that our family survived the day without any major problem. After hearing my mom scolding me to go to sleep for the nth time, I would go to my room and crash in my bed not knowing how the next day would go. With several goals in my heart and not a slightest motivation in my mind, I woke up the next day willing to repeat the same routine.
Date: 17th May,2020
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
Today I am going to convey what happened to me. As you know, we are currently in covid-19 lockdown and I am staying in my home. As I am in my home, I usually tend to wake up a bit late and then have breakfast. As it is lockdown mom has to do a lot of work with respect to household activities. I try to help her as far as possible in the activities like cleaning rooms, arranging utensils and likewise activities. After that we have lunch and watch some movies in order to have some distraction from these tough times. We also worship during afternoon for the well-being of everyone during these times. At evening, we have tea and generally I speak with my family and have some common feel-good discussions. I also take care of gardening and read books during the day for some sort of interest/hobby. I always hope that the news delivered during evening which tells the count on covid cases decrease. We also notice some news about how people help each other and feel good about humanity. There are also many instances where people are not getting food, proper
shelter, and hospital beds in these tough times and I wish everything comes to normal soon. Then during night I help mom with dinner, and we arrange our home by doing household activities. We then go to sleep thinking and hoping that tomorrow things will be better. At last! Hope is one integral factor which keeps this world moving right now…
9th October 2020,Friday
ReplyDeleteDear Kino,
It all began with a delightful voice of my little cousin, who woke me up. I was happy as well as surprised to see her after a week. Yeah, it’s just been a week. But I missed her a lot. It was a pure boredom without her. Every morning, I didn’t want to get up from my bed to repeat the same previous day like a robot in a factory. I wanted to go out of my house, take a walk, breathe some fresh air and see people. I feel joyous when my cousin is around. She finds me more interesting than any people in my house. My dad started a new book series this Monday. He is very committed to finish the book that he doesn’t find time to have a little fun. He is too stressed about job and lockdown. His only relief is reading books. My mom and sister, they do most of the house work and in the extra time they take rest and watch TV. Once in a blue moon, I play traditional games like pallankuli, dayakattai with my mom. Today she was very busy cleaning the kitchen.
I also had another work to complete, an important task in the competition, that’s needs to be submitted within night. Me and my friend were working out, but couldn’t arrive at the solution. My team leader didn’t respond to our calls and messages. In the night, he finally contacted us and to our surprise he completed the task and was about to submit. This day was ups and downs. Also I spilled a lot from my heart to you. A remarkable day to commit to my memory.
ReplyDeleteAs the day started usually with coffee. Lock down started the schedule which goes by watching TV and playing games in the mobile phones and enjoying the funny events with my cousins.. After certain time, I went to look after my schedule. Suddenly it consists of On-line classes. Online classes changed my mood from listening to the lecturer’s talk to watching fun videos,talking to the friends and the family during class hours just switching on the teams and get joined in the class and turning the camera on and off.
I went to my mom who is busy with her cooking, asked her to make something spicy to eat,she prepared me bread omelette which was yum in taste. The second thought hit my mind was playing chess.But I later noticed that no one around me is capable of playing chess with me.After I played in online mode which became popular nowadays. Suddenly I lost game at the last moment by clock false. I accept that, and said a dialogue, it’s all in the game ya!.
I pray with God to help me to overcome from the lockdown and bless me for my career.Finally I was very thankful to our OE mam to giving this opportunity to express our feelings and thoughts during COVID by this assignment.
April 29, 2020
ReplyDeleteI woke up at 9.00am and my mom made a nice coffee for me. After that me and my sister had a online classes, my class was so boring but my sister is serious in listening her class . After sometime I had my breakfast by listening my class. Afternoon I had my lunch and watched the new movie with my family members I asked my mother to make snacks for the evening she made bajji and hot tea .
At 5 pm myself and my sister went to playground near by our house in our Village .During covid the playground has helped our people to relax but unfortunately in April month they issued 144 but we have not bother it as usual we went to playground and played throwball , volleyball but around 6pm while we are playing police had came to rounds by seeing the police people in the ground rashed into there home, myself and sister also took a ran to our aunt's house which is behind the ground itself. The police announced that no-one should be gathered anywhere in the village so we back to our house.
Suddenly one thing strike my mind that is tomorrow is my mother's birthday. I went to my sister and told that we should make her day happy .we taught to buy the cake but due to lockdown bakery shop are closed . So we decided to make a cake at our own but we don't have microven, yeast, egg, butterpaper to make cake. By referencing the youtube we got a hope that we can make cake with what we have . I went to the small shop in my village and brought some biscuits ,milk, chocolates. And we taught to gave her some flowers along with the cakes. So I went to my relatives garden and pluck so flower with me. We had our dinner at 9pm and my mom was tried so she moved to bed .
After my mom slept we went to kitchen and started to prepare the cake by seeing the video which we referred. We mixed all the stuff and kept on the gas stove. It would take 30 min to get prepared . We started playing and talking with our cousins whoa re near by my home. We are more excited for the cake after 30 we went to the kitchen and open the vessel unfortunately the cake had not ready ,we closed the vessel and waited. After sometimes we open the vessel and we hoped that the cake was ready, we fliped the cake into the plate .The cake came very well which we have not except itself . Already it's 11.30pm so we started decorating the cake with the chocolate and other stuffs .
April 30, 2020
At sharp 12am i took the cake and my sister took the flower and we both went to the bedroom. My mom was deep in sleep I went near to her and woke here she was so surprised that we don't know about cooking but we made a cake by ourselves. she was very happy and we tasted the cake, taste was so good and we also happy by seeing her happy. It is such a wonderful and a day which i will never forget in my lifetime.
Feb 02 2022
ReplyDeleteHi minmini,
It's dark all around, spider's on the wall and the place looks kinda haunted.All of a sudden someone patted my cheek and said "Don't panic the surgery is over, you are alright now! "my heart rate is raising I could hear the beep sound in ECG.I just woke up with venflons in my forearm, spirit smell all over the ward, green aprons and screens.yes, I'm in ICU ward.It was really hard for me to speak because of the anaesthetics they gave.Having a surgery(Appendicitis) done in the midst of the pandemic wasn't easy.
Morning at 8.00 AM, we went to the hospital there I had abdominal examination and took the tests that the doctor prescribed me to take.He said that it's better to have a surgery as soon as possible, on the very same day he scheduled me a surgery at 6pm.Before surgery i wasn't allowed to have any intakes -food or water (Nil per oral).Only glucose were injected through IV (intravenous) the whole day. It's 4.45 pm, all the procedures for my surgery were completed.They transferred me to the wheel chair and to the fowler cot(hospital bed).They pushed the cot(has rotating wheels) to the operation theater, i was looking around the doctor's, nurse's and so on(nearly 6-8 members) .There they kept a stuff (kinda oxygen mask) on my face, after 30-60sec I lost my consciousness.
Just i now I woke up and realized it was anaesthetics. My parents were waiting outside behind the glass window staring at me till I woke up.They were worried and just felt ok when i spoke some words with them.Atlast I am in a state of mind "let me experience and overcome this".Let's hope the immense pain we go through will heal soon.
See u mini.
April 5
ReplyDeleteDear Twinee,
The day was good and not that much bad .The first day after lockdown was annnounced, had returned to home after few months. Eventhough It was the pandemic that spreading all over the world, I was bit a happy person because the day they declared lockdown was the exam that was going to happen.Staying at home is not so easy as it may seem. Initially I was very excited to stay at home and spent my days with my friends and family. I used to binge watch movie and series in day and night..I helped my mother in her works like assisting in cooking and going to shopping etc. I learnt some basics receipes from my mother.
After that we have lunch and watch some movies in order to have some distraction from these tough times.The most important thing I missed in this lockdown is playing kho kho.Since the initial period of lockdown there was strict restrictions to not step outside the house.I speak with my family and have some common feel-good discussions.
Then during night I help mom with dinner, and we arrange our home by doing household activities.Use lockdown to catch up on my sleep schedule. Getting a good night’s sleep also helped me to think more clearly and get better at tackling lockdown stress or anxiety.
Despite all these difficult times , I learnt to stay positive and there are so much hobbies to keep us occupied in times of boredom.Nothing shakes the smiling heart..so keep smiling.
Let me see you tomorrow Twinee!!
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ReplyDelete16 Sept 2020
ReplyDeleteTuesday
Dear diary,
The day, the date, or the month doesn't matter any more. As long as this pandemic exists, all days are the same with the same routine and fears. I woke up to the sound of someone calling out names, as is the case almost everyday. It was my sister's class and my class starts in 20 minutes. I got ready quickly and came to the breakfast table to see the news reporting the number of death cases, which has increased to almost twice as much as last week. It's been over six months since I came to my cousin's place, and this is how the news goes everyday, without any hope or certainty.
After the classes got over, I along with my sister made fried rice and Manchurian for lunch, which turned out to be a complete disaster. The pan which we used for cooking Manchurian became unusable and this cost us the next couple of weeks of our cooking adventure.
Today, me and my cousin have been granted permission to go to the terrace, which is something we have been looking forward to for months now! We have almost forgotten how refreshing the breeze or the sunrays feel on our skin. We are looking forward to this little trip upstairs, which is the most we can manage for now.
Dear diary,
ReplyDeleteI don’t know how much longer it’s going to stay this way. It’s been 3 months since they announced the first lockdown, and it’s only gotten worse. The news broadcast this morning announced that the toll has just crossed 100,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide. One hundred thousand! Isn’t that ridiculous? My guess would be that it would stay this way until August at the least. The internship I was hoping to do in July now looks like it’s not going to happen. I was eagerly looking forward to it, but I guess I’ll have to look for something else productive to keep myself occupied.
I thought it wouldn’t be too bad when we were first instructed to stay indoors, and it wasn’t for the first few weeks. But we’ve all got nothing else to talk about nor anything new and exciting to do together. It’s just the same routine everyday – eat, watch a movie, play some video games, the occasional squabble, sleep, repeat.
There is one thing to be excited about though – Father went out to get some medicine for my sister. It was the first time any of us had even stepped out of the home in months. Thrilled, I volunteered to be the next valiant person who would foray into the unknown for the family. I should have known better as I was met with unanimous disagreement, but I believe that day will come sooner than later.
This is Muppudathi. I am here to share my memories that happened during a day amidst lockdowns...
ReplyDeleteOn September 01, 2020,
It was around 9 a.m, but still the day hadn't started for me. Staring at the slowly spinning fan with tears in my eyes, I was counting the number of days that I had been in home since the lockdown started. It was more than 5 months and it was still getting counted. It was such a long vacation with an unknown reopening date. As my home was very near to a school which was in the middle of the city, whenever the clock struck 7:30 a.m. in the morning, I started hearing some horn sounds of vehicles during normal days. But now, during pandemic, the atmosphere was so calm with some chirping sounds of birds. In the middle of this peaceful scenario, I could hear a siren sound of ambulance which was definitely not going to be a good news. This sound made my eyes to fill with tears. I woke up from my bed and the day started with a prayer as a request to the supreme power to help those who were suffering during this pandemic. Then I got refreshed and had my breakfast with my family (including my mom, dad & elder sister). We had some good conversations that put a smile on my face. Then I got engaged with my online classes. I had some doubts in my core subjects. My elder sister, who was also pursuing final year in Engineering, helped me to clear my doubts. Then after having my lunch, I watched a movie with my family. After the movie ends, my mom went to clean the kitchen and my dad started reading newspaper. My dad loves to keep himself updated. During the pandemic situation, he continuously followed the news about the vaccine trials each and everyday and as I am pursuing biomedical engineering, we would always have topics like how did the virus get mutated, what will be the effect of it in future...etc to discuss during our free time. My dad always stresses me to read books and newspaper because he strongly believes that one can improve his knowledge only by searching and reading about the related concepts. As a good boy, to obey my dad's advice, I took the newspaper in my hands. Within a couple of minutes, I finished my reading part and placed the newspaper back on the table. My dad asked me with a burst of laugh, "Did you just count the number of pages in it". I replied with a smile that I had just read the sports page. And then l went to play chess with my sister. She is so brilliant and even after playing a series of six to seven games, I couldn't even able to win a single one. I admitted my defeat. And then we decided to play badminton at the free space which is at the back of our home. I am pretty good in playing badminton and now it was my turn to taste some victory. We played for an hour and then we returned back to home to have some snacks. Our mom made some hot Vaada and tea. Slowly, the climate gets changed and it started raining. It was such a pleasant evening with a hot tea and a chill climate. I saw a little bird which was trying to fly high even though the climate was not so favorable. This made me to realize a great thing that even though the condition was worse due to this Covid-19, we should be optimistic to handle this situation like the little bird. With a smile in my face and with a hope in my heart, I stared at the little bird which was flying high in the sky.
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ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
ReplyDeleteDo not be confused if today’s entry seems a lot similar to yesterday’s. This is because the lockdown has forced me into a routine. I woke up in the morning and walked into the kitchen. My mom was in a hurry, making dosas for everyone. Her hair was in a mess, tied into a loose bun as she was pouring oil onto the dosa and quickly switching it to the other side. I quietly grabbed a plate as soon as she called my name and patiently waited by her side to get my dosa. I sat at the table where my father and sister seemed to be in a deep conversation about the rising Covid cases. I quietly listened to the conversation. I had a few dosas and it wasn’t until I heard my phone pinging that I realized I had to attend my online classes. In a hurry, I walked into my room and opened my laptop on the desk. I sat in the same spot for around 3 hours listening to the different lectures.
I could hear my mother preparing lunch and my sister attending her office calls often in silence except for the rare authoritative suggestions. I was eventually given a break for lunch and I helped my mom, along with my sister to set up the table.
My father was back from the office for lunch and we all sat down and got interested in an animated conversation about everything from college to politics. I spent the afternoon playing pubg at my friends’ house. As I walked into the house, my mother and sister sat at the two ends of the couch quietly watching the news, and I could feel the tension in the air.
I realized they had fought about something and I made myself some coffee before joining them and asking about their distress. Within a few minutes, they seemed to have resolved their conflict and ganged up on me.
A few hours later, my sister, excitedly walked into my room wanting to try out a new recipe she had found. We spent the evening making a different type of noodles, while she spoke about the difficulties she had been facing due to her office work. After having the noodles we had prepared, I took my dog out for a walk and spent an hour playing with him. Once I came home, I spent time with my mom while she was rearranging the kitchen.
Since it's a Saturday, today was family movie night. My sister and I spent a long time trying to convince each other to watch the movie we liked until my father stepped in and suggested we watch a comedy-based movie today. The movie ended a few minutes ago and I wanted to let you know how my day had been. Now, I better get ready for bed!
Yours,
Dhayananth
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Kai,
ReplyDeleteThe nights have gotten quieter than usual. I’m hallucinating of the construction drills even at this time, at 3am. But all that's heard is an occasional ambulance. The houses look ghostly, I’m worried I can no longer sense breaths from inside.
"As the city falls asleep,
More hearts into a rhythm;
A raise a drop a raise a drop -
How significant for the proof of life."
This is supposed to be the time to retire from the world, assessing our worries and getting stronger, why does it feel ironic now, as if the world is breaking at this time. I’d pretend to hear sobs now of someone sitting in some hospital corner. Wasn’t this the time meant only for travellers out in the world, looking at the city lights and capturing photos of lights and reflections and smiles.
"Amidst the soft snores get prominent the secrets of night
The catastrophe unending taking its turns
The muffled sobs there, there and there
Clenching pain, held by new found belief
Sliver of hope by long forgotten promises
A wish - the last wish they say
Life perishing in flickers, can it be undone?
They stare into the lights, the city lights
As they blur out into ethereal.
They chant the prayers to be heard;
Raw souls, they're humans."
As tough it is for the doctors, having Gods of death on their shoulder with prayers whispered to them. When humans are seen akin to Gods, how do they take it, the responsibility of life, the thin light to a peaceful home.
"The harbingers of life -
Venerated with the hands of God
They grasp onto threads of mortals.
Some say it's resurrection,
As piece by piece they knit back time;
Their hearts that hear the pleas
Give them the fortitude
After all, they are humans too."
It would be dawn soon. The darkness though says otherwise. I’d love hearing the buzz of the night travelling back in time, and the lights decorated in the pine trees during different seasons.
"Lulled by the soft lights of the dawn,
As the sorrows subside with the darkest hour
Slowly steadily with sleep's approach;
We yearn for the day where night city lights felt only beautiful."
Harisha
Dear Diary,
ReplyDeleteBefore starting off my day i should say that my "home" is not in India. I did my schooling in Dubai and came to Chennai to do my College, specailly to study in CEG Which never actually happened due to covid. So due to covid restrictions i am not able to able to get back home in Dubai and i currently stay in my native which is a small town. But dont understimate when i say its a village i have enjoyed this place more than Dubai because i have a lot of friends in here. During my school days i used to come here once in a year for my vacation and would enjoy so much. So my day here starts at PM not AM Since my parents are not here i am more than a free bird here. After i wakeup i go thorough all the availabe social apps in my phone and by the time lunch time arrives. I have a stomach full without doing a single job and i see in the news that people from states of india who came to tamilnadu for work starving and getting back to thier hometown just by walk and sometimes miserable that we sit in cozy room and enjoy food while people outside have nowhere to go, at that time i felt really grateful of what i have. I have a seprate room in the first floor of our house, its quite a big house.So my friends start arriving in the afternoon and by around 3 pm there 15 to 20 people in my room. Since its covid none of my friends have college and due to restrictions outside we all decided on ganging up at one place. We have carrom board, UNO cards, card games and its a lot of fun. Till 7 pm there is so much fun and at 7 we send one guy to buy tea outside , its fun task because you have to come back without getting caught by the police.This time i think what would be the condition of the street vendors i wonder what would have happened to them only if there are people in the streets they can get their daily wage i felt very bad how Covid hit the lower middle class and poor people real hard. So after having tea we all start small chitchats and some start using their mobile phones so lathargically it goes till 9pm. Its dinner time and evryone leaves to their homes and once i finish my dinner another routine starts for me , now it is my cousins this our native and neither do my cousins have college so all of my 7 cousins are here and we live here . After dinner we all assemble at the hall and start board games and even parents join us its a lot more fun so during this Lockdown i got time to mingle so much with my family. I. got to see what reality lies between families and understood one thing that what we see outside is never the truth a lot more is burried under. So we laugh have fun till 12pm or some times more. And after all this laughter i feel exhuausted and sometimes feel bad that how people die from covid outside and what crisis their family would undergo and once again very very grateful to my god and thank him. One more important thing Covid gave me was i got to know about and get closer to my religion and i thanked my god atleast twice a day for what was given to me. Everyone go to their room and now is the "Me" time for me . I start watching movies, series and go on and on till 4 am maybe 5 . And whan i scroll down social apps all i see is increasing number of Covid cases and i also see that people recovered from Covid also kept increasing which gave me a great positive intent that someday everything would come to an end and i could go back to college with my friends and live a normal life. Now you get to know why i wake up at 12pm and more, its not only the movies or my mobile phone its also my mind who keeps thinking about a lot of issues which eventually cant be resolved by me but hoping one day the world will be a better place to live. So this is my typical day in Lockdown and i dont know how covid was for a lot more people around the world but for me it was such a enjoyable time where i connected a lot with my family and friends. And i understood a lot of emotions,laughter,envy,friendship because i during school i never had the chance to encounter nor to understand any these emotions
Dear MARS,
ReplyDeleteI am sharing my experience about the Covid Time what are the circumstances I went through. In March 2020, I got very low marks is every subject Assessment, I was feeling sad at that moment, Then Covid Pandemic entered, Government announced holiday I am happy to hear that news. My inner went joy to peak level.
I went to my hometown, Tuticorin where I lived in quarters surrounded by my many buildings. At the Covid Time, my friends also returned to their houses. Then, my friends and I together enjoyed the lockdown by playing online games like PUBG, Among Us in the terrace of the building. Usually I wake at 6’o clock and I go for jogging in the ground where I had seen many people walking in the roadside weared masks due to the fear of Covid. I was affected by cold and fever and I thought of myself that I got Covid positive and so I avoided roaming outside and didn't left my house for 7 days. In the situation, I felt like there were many people who went through lot of problem like my father who went to his office with precautions and bit afraid of Covid. That thought made me in sorrow. Despite thinking about sorrow all the time, I have lots of time to watch anime and also watch serials with my mother in my home. In my house there is unlimited wi-fi connectivity so I downloaded my movies and enjoyed my sick days. My friends and I together played cricket in the school ground side We were always ready to run from the police when we saw police in pandemic situation while we are roaming and playing. One time, Police seen we are playing so we jumped off near the school wall and went to friend’s house and escaped from the situation and our quarters member also warned us not to play so we changed our game from cricket to playing cards in the terrace of the building with my friends. In Covid Time, Online Classes also went on and I just muted my audio in the phone and sleep or watch TV in that time. Despite missing my College days in Covid Time, I was able to spent time with my family members and friends.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAashish Ahshan A S, October 7 2022, at 10:50pm.
ReplyDeleteMay 1, 2021
Dear Kiyotaka,
It's like the same day I am going through for the past one year. I think, I must have been struck in a never ending loop. Almost identical to yesterday's routine, I woke up at 8am, brushed my teeth and went through with the newspaper.
At 9am, my online class started. Turning on my PC in which Professor lectures and keeping it aside and having my breakfast became like a routine. For my surprise the professor who took Java programming subject left the meeting before the class time ended.
After 12pm, I took a shower and had my lunch. Short naps has been one of my favourite. My bike is all dusty as I don't use it these days. It is parked in the same location as I have been struck in the same 10*12 room.
As usual I watched today's 6pm news where they announced daily death counts. After seeing those counts, I felt somewhat relaxed and thanked the god for saving me and my family.
For those who loop on the same day, the clock's tick sound also feels like a bang!! After 6:30pm, I started watching webseries and had my dinner at 9pm. I am on my bed right now knowing the loop will continue next day.
See you soon my dear Kiyotaka.
Goodnight
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
ReplyDeleteToday I want to confess a thing about me. I have messed up. I messed my brain. I think this started from the lockdown.
The lockdown started happily. In fact it is going good till now. I really enjoy the days. I enjoy this online class without attending it. I enjoy the online exams without reading for it. And I really doesn't feel bad for it. Also I am not here to complaint about how I miss my friends, college or outside life. May be I am a typical introvert who doesn't miss these things. And I also don't worry about this.
All I worry about is this news. It is "Yesterdays death count is four thousand and something and todays death count is three thousand and something". It is a good news right? Actually I should be happy right? But I am not. Even this news didn't bother me much. What bothers me is my mental health.
Why am I getting upset on seeing lower number of death cases? Am I becoming a sadist or a psychopath? Am I suffering from social personality disorder? Does this lockdown changed me or revealed my true identity? Should I consult anybody regarding this?
I don't know what is yet to happen. Hope I wont become anything worse.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI’m R. Ragava Raja. I was 19 years old in 2020. My father used to go to work and returns in the evening. My mum is a home maker. I would spend most of the time with her. My brother stays in the hostel for pursuing his doctorate. I would play with my friends, from my school throughout Sundays. Since all of them would be available. On occasionally during Sundays, we would visit our relatives.
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
The lockdown was started on March 24,2020. After the announcement of the lockdown, I felt happy. I was a day scholar in the university. So, no need to travel to college. The full lockdown was imposed due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. My parents and I was unable to get basic wants fulfilled properly, the shops were closed. I’ve spent a few months without any productivity in my life.
During the third semester, I started to attend an online class. It was a new experience in my life. I’ve felt difficult to understand the mathematics. My typical day looked like as I settled into a lockdown routine.
About 7 a.m.: Getting up
I’m bad at getting up, especially without a morning lecture to force me out from under the covers.
10 a.m.: Breakfast
It is the only thing that can transform me into a functioning human.
11 a.m.: Tea break
With a cup of milk, I make my way into the study room to being attending classes.
12:30 p.m.: Lunch
After being in ‘focus mode’ all morning, lunch is a great time to relax.
4:30 p.m.: Playing
I used to play online games, I’ve started during the lockdown and got addicted towards it.
8:00 p.m.: Dinner
The lockdown has been a great time to test out new recipes and perfect old ones.
8:30 p.m.: Film
I have a listing of films, friends tell me I should have watched, but I’ve completed the list.
10:30 p.m.: Sleeping
Getting an excellent night’s sleep also helped me to think more clearly and get better at tackling stress.
My brother commented to me, “This is the period that never returns in your life again; try to impart something". After his advice, I had started learning useful courses to uplift my career. My involvement in graphic design was good, I mastered creating logo’s making templates for books and packaging design. My mother would like me to go around, to experience the world. Since I feel shy, I don’t love to wander anywhere.
The most unforgettable time in my life was my neighbour who died due to suffocation caused by corona. As, it took the lives of many.
I felt lonely after my brother moved back to continue his studies. My friends around me would head to school or college. I experienced difficult these two months. As classes started on Nov 17,2021 was the first day to offline session after a long gap. There was a sudden rise, in Corona cases the lockdown was announced on Jan 2022.I think so it would be the last lockdown in my life.
I felt happy that I’ve made a slighter productive during the lockdown.
Thank you,
August 8,2021
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
I am sharing my lockdown experience that taught me a lesson.
The pandemic has been really hard for me and I am still struggling to go through it everyday. I have had anxiety disorder and severe depression for the past few months. In the beginning, it was really hard for me when I had to spend every day at home with the uncertainty and fear of Covid-19. I was not able to reach out to anyone, although my family has been extremely supportive. I remember spending night after being sleep deprived, and going through constant anxiety attacks and panic attacks. It felt like this pandemic is the end of the world. I was scared, frustrated and even sometimes I felt numb.And I still remember how everything is changing from day to day. It felt like we were in a completely different world and we had no idea what was happening around us.
To me, my education was impacted the most by the pandemic. Colleges were shut down ,learning was only through online classes and exams were cancelled. It took a while to get used to the new norm. I have to admit that I was eager to do online classes in the beginning. As I looked forward to waking up later and got to work in a very comfortable place, not having to deal with traffic. However, my attitude towards online class declined incredibly after a few weeks. Bad internet, lack of motivation, procrastinating became the source of my frustrations. My place of resting and working were no longer separated which I once thought to be a good thing.It was hard for me to finish work and understand what was going on in my lessons. I was ecstatic when I was allowed back into college in the first week of this year as I was getting fed up with being at home. Everyone was excited to see each other (with social distancing) especially with the stress of A-levels. However, this excitement was short-lived when a close friend of mine tested positive and my time in college didn’t even last three days. Due to me being in the same area with this friend, I had to return home immediately and isolate myself in my room for two weeks. Thankfully I tested negative in the end .
As the world now starts to come on track again, it is important to understand and realise the life lessons which the period of lockdown has given us.No matter how awful situations may become, there is always a way out of it. Hope, and the feeling of togetherness in our hearts can give us immense strength to fight any enemy in any form.
Thank you,
October 31, 2021 – 3 am,
ReplyDeleteDear Sky,
The coronavirus has taken over. It has taken over the world, taken over my country, taken over my town, and has taken over my life. It’s only soon before it takes over my own body. I mean, it’s already infected 1,61,344 people today. The number keeps multiplying every day. Who knows before I contribute to that number?
My friend called me via phone (my daily unset alarm) and asked me to join the online class. My college life almost ended up sleeping in front of the laptop and mobile screens. As it is rightly said, man plans, God laughs. All my plans to enjoy college life ended in vain. As the class goes by, I usually get freshened up and have my breakfast. The only horror in online classes is that you never know when the staff will call your name and ask questions, to which all my friends reply by putting "Mic problem ma’am/sir" messages in the meeting chat. Aren’t we brilliant, Sky?
Being under lockdown, the option of letting our hair grow wild and free is open. My mom scolded me for growing my hair like an Amazon Forest, to which I gave an excuse that no saloons were open by then. She went to the extreme and decided to trim my hair by herself. Shocked right? Me either. After watching the full video of how to trim hair on YouTube, she started her adventure as a hairdresser, with me as the victim.
Evenings are for chatting and mocking with friends. Earlier it was a "Juice Heaven" shop; now it has become an online group video call. Nothing has changed our love and friendship. The only difference between today and yesterday is my poorly trimmed, easily mockable hairstyle. At times, we used to play online games like Among Us, Stumble Guys, and Ludo, but most of the time we used to share our horrible and funny online class moments.
Today’s (technically yesterday's) dinner was pongal. Raabiya (my sister) and I never liked pongal. She skipped her dinner, whereas I had some. At midnight, we were both hungry and decided to make white sauce pasta. Madras Samayal (A YouTube Channel), the saviour, guided us on how to cook white sauce pasta. YouTube should really promote these kinds of videos rather than the "How to trim hair" kinds of videos. We noted the ingredients, and it took nearly an hour to find out which ingredient was in which box on the shelf. We deployed all our cooking skills and cooked the dish. To our surprise, our dish came out really well, and with a full tummy, here I am with you, Sky.
People say that a man begins to die when he ceases to expect anything from tomorrow, and honestly, I think I’m dying. See you if I’m mentally alive. Until then, bye.
Good night, Sky.
Date : Oct 31 -2021
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
Today happened to be one of the precious days in my life that I will cherish forever. This was not my usual lockdown days where I would be simply wasting my time not knowing what to do. As the government had announced in the news the other day that from today onwards all the covid restrictions will be relaxed I was very excited. It was finally time for me to go out and breathe some fresh air.
I had called all my friends the previous night and we had some amazing plans for today. Since we had planned to play cricket at the ground I had to wake up very early today. I thought it would be quite difficult to get up so early in the morning as I usually woke up pretty late during my lockdown days. But quite surprisingly the excitement of meeting my friends after a very long time got me motivated and I woke up very early, even before my alarm rang.
I reached the ground around 6:00 AM and I was very astonished to see my friends assembled there even before I came. This was very unusual for me as I would be the first person to reach the ground.
All my friends had completely different looks. All of them were rugged looking with a thick beard and very long hair that they had grown during the lockdown. I happened to be the only person who still looked the same without any beard. To be honest, I was quite jealous of them. But I tried to pacify myself by saying “Looks don’t matter but skills do”. So I decided to put all my cricketing skills to the test. Everyone was awestruck by my all-round abilities with both bat and ball. Even though I had not wielded my willow for nearly 4 months I never seemed to have lost touch with, the game.
All in all, it was a great game of cricket and the 3 hours that I spent at the ground seemed like just a few minutes passing by. It is quite customary for us to go drink some fresh juice after any game. So we all headed to our regular juice shop “ Juice Heaven “, as the name suggests it is indeed a heaven for juice lovers like us. After drinking the juice we chit-chatted for some time and left the place. It was finally time to say goodbye to all my friends. This was the hardest part of the day as I had to return to my home to continue with my mundane activities.
When I look back at my lockdown days these 4 hours that I spent with my friends will be one of the most exciting times in my life when I was very joyful. This day holds a special place in my heart.
-Surya Narayanan P
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSuriya A
ReplyDeleteMay 7, 2021
Friday
9.30 p.m.
Hi Diary,
Today is one of the scariest and happiest days in my covid life. I woke up as usual after recovering from sickness with a couple of days of quarantine and tried to schedule the dull day in the life of a student of the covid batch. The schedule went as usual during a lockdown. After a couple of days of a gap I started to attend the online classes as usual but here is the twist when I was sick I gave covid test in the hospital two days back, and the result came out to be covid positive at 9.30 a.m.
I was happy and unhappy at that moment. As u know I feel fell sometime and rise again the same situation happened here. I was afraid of seeing my family because it was a covid second wave where we used to hear bad news about thousands of people passing away and being affected severely. one of my relations passed away due to covid in 1st wave. As I am from a joint family, all of my family members were afraid of my health condition. My mom and dad both were aged and diabetes patients so I raised the question myself that will they be affected....??If so they get severe symptoms..???But I didn't give my mind to take control of myself by raising these negative questions.
The good thing I was done for my family was when I observed my mild symptom on the first day itself I started quarantining myself so that my family would be safe even if I was feeling better within a couple of days. Immediately I sent messages to my lecturers stating that I was unable to attend the classes due to quarantine even though I had all possibilities and good health conditions to attend the class. My doctor advised me to be on quarantine for ten days since it was a mild symptom and completely alright in a week. So I decided to go back to following the routine of the past 2 days. At 11 a.m., I recharged sun nxt and hotstar accounts. Downloaded many movies and games and started enjoying that moment. At 12.00 p.m. I played assassin's creed 2 and completed two stages within half an hour, I felt like a miracle and questioned myself how I completed it within a short period of time. On one side my dad didn't react to the message from the hospital and on the opposite, my mom was afraid of my health and worshiping all gods she knew but she didn't know that I was enjoying those moments.
My mom served fresh juice every ninety minutes to keep me hydrated and healthy. She prepared chicken curry with steamed rice at 1.00 p.m. to provide enough proteins and carbs to keep me healthy and recover soon. And she served me drumstick leaves soup and provided pepper rasam with hot steamed rice for dinner.
But finally, I enjoyed this day without online classes, escaping from assignments and tasting delicious and healthy lunch and supper, watching web series and playing games on PC, Watching Mr.Nags and jumpcuts on youtube, etc...I didn't feel stressed on that day after started enjoying the moments.
Even now I was thinking what if all days will be like this in future..??LOL!!
But one thing I recalled was dad's usual advice " If we try to escape from our work today then we will face the consequences n times than we enjoyed those moments ".
Mental Peace..!!
Good Night diary
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
ReplyDeleteToday is just another day. Days have blended. There exists no yesterday, today, or tomorrow. It's all just a blur of day and night occurring infinitely in a single day.
As usual, I sat through classes half listening and half asleep. I started something new today though. I have never had the patience to read novels but all of a sudden, out of the blue, I had this desire to start reading novels. Today my novel, the first book of the Siva Trilogy, arrived. I started reading and I almost completed a quarter of it. Looking at the pace at which I am reading, I am worried that I would be spending a lot on just buying books each month. I was skeptical at first but I am sure that I will not fall out of the habit of reading, unlike my other impulsive aspirations. Now I can add one more activity to the phrase "Eat sleep repeat". Eat Sleep Read Repeat. I just so badly hope that I retain this.
Coming to what's happening outside my little world, people have become just numbers and each day is getting worse and worse. There are only numbers and graphs all over the news channels. So many people who lived on daily wages or temporary jobs are all losing their livelihood. It's all a constant reminder of how lucky and blessed my family and I are. Also, young people from my generation are just so inspiring. They do so many good deeds. Even if they are on a small scale, they are still making a huge difference. I hope I find something to be helpful to someone outside.
So, yeah, this is all for today. I will be meeting you soon with something more interesting. Until then, it's me, Vibushita, signing off. Good night!
Dear Diary,
ReplyDeleteThis past days were traumatic, India is in total lockdown because of corona virus, so, I'm forced to stay in my hostel room, against my will, until the third of May. I miss going out with my friends , to parties, and even classes. However I'm going to do what I need to do, if I want to the corona virus out of here.
This country is wholeheartedly locked down, with all the schools closed people needing to maintain social distances from one another while walking or going to the supermarket. However , on a positive note people are starting to wash themselves more often than their hands.
Talking about school, my school decided to conduct online lessons for like three semesters, until this all blows down, anyways, my day in quarantine starts at 8 AM when I wake up and prepare myself for the first online lesson at 8:30 AM, when the first four lessons are done, at 12 PM. I have 45 minutes break, then the other lessons begins at 1:10 PM till 4:45 PM, a total 8 to 9 hours a day.
So my day in quarantine was not that interesting ,but I get through it.
Thanks
Dear Diary,
ReplyDeleteLittle backstory during 1st lockdown holidays my brother and myself decided to visit my grandmother's sister, Who lived in an isolated hill station. But unknowingly to us lockdown came and we got stuck there.
Anyways the weather there was okay and she cooked very fine food, So we loved being there. As usual, I woke up at 6 A.M with my two little friends jack and sparrow, My dogs. I played with my dogs for a few minutes and then we went for a short walk to see the work going on our farm and plucked a few sweet fresh mangoes to eat on the way. Then after reaching home, I washed my dogs, Cause they always play around the sprinkler on our farm and always get dirty after that I fed them their meal, as usual again making a mess again I towelled them after that I went to have my breakfast while simultaneously attending the online class. After finishing the day, Luckily I had only morning class for that day. I went to check on the pups, I was like hey that's my sandals you are happily chewing. Jack tore my sandal while the sparrow was long sleeping. My friends called to get online to play some valorant. Yea it was my favourite hobby. After a solid 5 hours of gameplay, It was evening had a cup of tea and watched the sunset. All things were going smoothly had dinner with my dogs, and suddenly all of the neighbours' dogs and mine as well started to bark in a weird way. We were confused, it was pitch black outside. A few of our relatives who lived down the hill came rushing to our house shouting "Yaanai vandu iruku" which means "elephant has come". Since it was peek harvesting time the pheromones that trees release attracts the elephants. To protect our profit we went on full-scale war against the elephants. My uncle threw loads of firecrackers to scare it, Nope it didn't budge an inch. My brave uncle decided to light up a cracker very close to it, surprised and in utter shock, the elephant just ran away. While it ran away the whole ground us shock like the scene from Jurrasic park. Pheww, what a day it was. We returned to the house and slept in fear that whole night.
ReplyDelete29th of June, 2021
It’s been a day since my little cousin arrived at my home as his parents were affected by COVID and were admitted to the hospital for isolation. He was just 5 years old but had a mature and strong mind. He was sleeping with my mother. But he woke up early, and my mother sent him to wake me as it was already 9 am. He tried his level best to wake me up. After few minutes of his hard work, I woke up. My mother gave me scoldings like "you’re little cousin is awake and you are so lazy". It was the very first time he had been with us since leaving his parents. It was my first time taking care of a little one for days. I believe that new memories were created and will be created during the upcoming days. My brother and I were dusting the old stuff just to find some toys for him to play with. Surprisingly, we came across our old stuff, and recalling those old memories was the best part. During lunch time, we all sat on the floor in a circle with the dishes in the centre. My mother started to serve everyone and made my little cousin eat on his own. It was his first time, and happily he didn’t mess it up much. After a heavy lunch, we all had a small nap, which became a part of our daily routine. Then the evening came. My father suggested an idea of making a kite and flying it. My cousin became excited, and we all started to check YouTube videos on how to make a kite. After an hour of struggle, we came up with a kite-like thing. We all went to the terrace to check whether our kite was flying or not. It was super fun and we all forgot about the negative situation existing around us. Then we came down and started to watch the news to get some updates, and it lasted for about 5 minutes only. My cousin wanted to watch the Pogo channel. So we switched to that. Later, we started to talk about what we could have for dinner. And after a debate, we arrived at the conclusion of having chapathi and tomato fry, which is my favorite. Then there was some chit-chat on the balcony. Then we all went to sleep. I was thinking about my cousin's mindset during this time. Staying in a new place without his parents nearby was so difficult under these circumstances. I wanted to take care of him as if I were his mother and not let him feel lonely or missed. I am looking for another day to have more fun with him. Good night !! That's it for today, see you tomorrow !
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ReplyDeleteApril 2021
ReplyDeleteThroughout these covid days I have learnt to better manage my work-life balance.I had been able to complete a handful of certified courses by Princeton University,Google,IBM and Standford through coursera platform on topics related to software development,data structures and algorithms,Artificial Intelligence which have given me enough expertise to go through with an virtual-online internship and training from J.P.Morgan and NIST (govt. of India) .
With a major focus on upcoming campus placements apart from keeping my GPA up I work rigorously on my problem solving skills by implementing advanced data structures and algorithms on competitive programming problems on online coding platforms while keeping myself motivated by watching vlogs of seniors who were successful with respect to their career path.
As I fast track through my career goals , I still manage to take other recreational classes such as online yoga classes.I also learn cooking from my family which helps me cook healthy and tasty dishes .The yoga classes have helped me to relax.I help my parents with household chores such as cleaning,washing dishes and my sister with her homework on Math,Physics and Computer Science.My family frequently has video conferences with distant relatives to stay in touch during these tough times.I hope these tough times come to an end soon though.
Swaminathan Navinashok
2019115126
25th April 2021,
ReplyDeleteIt has been 3 days since me and my father were diagnosed with covid. We are currently in quarantine at home. My younger brother is solely looking after both of us, isolated in two different rooms, and I am very proud of him for handling the situation with great composure. An NGO was very kind enough to provide home-cooked food to affected families including us, this gesture by them touched me deeply in the present situation where people are being very opportunistic and greedy.
Also, I feel like day by day my health is deteriorating and I am coughing a lot recently. Checking my oximeter 3 times a day has become a part of my daily routine now. I feel too tired to even get out of my bed. The tablets I have consumed in the past 3 days are surely greater than the tablets I have consumed in my lifetime. The situation outside is not good either, chaos has taken over. The second wave is much more contagious and deadly, people are left stranded outside the hospitals due to the unavailability of beds. The number of covid patients is increasing exponentially with people ready to give all their wealth to just get beds and an oxygen supply, how ironic! Death is predominant in the older generation, some people are losing their close ones in quick succession and they don't even have time to grieve and carry out the burial for the former. It is quite pitiful and depressing to hear such news. On the other hand, people who aren't yet affected are using ample free time to improve their skills, and physique or follow their passion. I believe most people during lockdown found their true passion and spent time on things they truly love. Everyone got to know each other deeper and better. Even though I was sick, reconnecting with old friends, playing online games, and watching all available series and movies was very diverting and fun. I hope in the future, lockdown days come again just without any misery and hardships where people rediscover themselves
January 10, 2020
ReplyDeleteFriday
Dear Anna,
It's day 300. You might think I would have gotten used to this 'new normal' by now. But no, I have not. Everyday it is getting worse. The noise in my head grows louder and louder. And my depression gets worse with each passing day. Mom says it will get better if I smile more and do things I enjoy. But my dear Anna, I stopped enjoying doing things I love. Reading feels like a burden to me. And wearing masks suffocates me. I think this is my threshold. I feel like I can't handle more than this. And that I am fragile. I feel like I may break down at any time. I even understand why mom does not understand me. She is old and doesn't know much about mental health. But why does no one understand me? Even my siblings?
I lost my hope. I feel like this will never end. I am scared of this deadly disease. I fear thinking who I am going to lose next. I hate feeling uncertain and hopeless. Maybe this is a dream and the reality is way worse than this. If it is, I never want to wake up. Maybe I am better than I think. Maybe. Or maybe not.
PS: this entry says a lot more about me than the past 299 entries.
Hopeless,
Steffi
18th June 2020
ReplyDeleteI’m feeling very guilty. I couldn’t literally write down how bad I feel of my selfishness. My dear diary, you may not know the reason behind my guilt because I didn’t write it down since I was very lazy on that day. I guess it was 15 days back.
It was a perfectly fine day (I guess it was 3rd of June,2020) and as I woke up my mom was already busy in her kitchen. Actually, it was very late that morning and my father was too late to me. I was scrolling down my phone as usual and my father finally decided to get off from his bed. My mother welcomed us with a perfect soup to build immune against Covid. This spicy soup which was too hot to drink literally gave a blissful morning. Then we sat down with our lockdown partner ‘TV’. The day was going well until we all came to know that our tenant was affected by covid. They were quarantined and we all were advised not to get in contact with them. The day which started peacefully was then surrounded by fear. I had a strong wish that they should recover back as soon as possible. But ‘The Fear’ the Virus gave didn’t allow me to even care to help them. But my mom was so kind enough to help them throughout the 15 days, in spite of my objections. I didn’t even bother to talk to my mom after that day.
But today (15 days after that incident) our tenant is completely sound and safe and is healthy enough to walk out and talk to my mom. Her tears of gratitude made me feel how Kind my mother was. I said Sorry to my mom. But she was least bothered about it and was talking to me as if nothing happened (since she didn’t care about my im-matured behaviour).This day made me feel that ‘No matter what, being good to people in their needy times is a wonderful legacy to leave behind’.
(Will endeavour to enter my day-to-day entries hereafter. Bye for now!)
(RS Swetha
2019104039)
It was the time when each one of us spent almost every hour in mobile, tv and laptops, the time when scientists were struggling to fight against the deadly virus, the time when many countries faced economic crisis. The whole world has come to a standstill, and the reason is the pandemic COVID-19. All of a sudden, it seems we are a part of a horror movie. Its all started when the government of India imposed the first lockdown on 25 March 2020, Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning, it took time to get used to learning from home but after a while I got used to the changes. I was really sad I wouldn’t be seeing my friends every day but I was still able to talk to them by calling and texting. After the rules of staying at home finally loosened, I finally got a chance to visit my native place, Sivakasi.
On the early morning of 2 November 2020 I started my trip from my home by car. It was a long day travel of about 9 hrs. It was raining , a pleasant climate with gentle breeze. Believe me, it was feast for the eyes to see the nature from inside a moving car. The rain and the music made my travel even more exciting . I remembered the days I spent with my friends in college. At 8 AM we stopped for breakfast, when I got out of the car I felt wonderful to breathe the air riped with pleasant, dewy petrichor along with the sweet smell of mogra. The smell of that lovely scent was mesmerizing!
Finally I reached my native place at 1 PM I was overwhelmed with happiness on seeing my relatives eagerly waiting for my arrival after a long gap of 11 months. I spent my next 10 days there joyfully with my family. That was a one time experience that I would never forget.
(Venantius Egwin I
2019104042)
It was on 10th March I guess, the Tamil Nadu Govt declared Holiday for all schools and colleges due to Covid 19 pandemic. Just after the holiday was declared I was in chill mode, I spent the first few days like there was no college ever after. I watched a lot of Youtube videos. I also restarted playing Computer which I didn't do for a very long time. For a week I and my brother were alone at home. Only after the lockdown was declared by our state,my mom and dad stayed at home. I am not a tutor. I love teaching! I taught my brother who just got his 9th std results and got 10th std books. My mom didn't want to keep him idle, so she asked me to look after his studies especially Social Science. It sounds bit weird but I restarted playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 where we drive trucks across the Europe-I love that game as I love travelling and I love roads.
ReplyDeleteI really missed the restaurant food , it had been more than a month since I ate only homemade food. My parents didn’t allow to eat outside food starting from 10th March .For years, I had consistently been able to manage myself alone at home. At least making dosas if there is batter at home, sandwiches, egg etc. Since quarantine started my urge to explore more food increased and also my urge to cook and eat as well. So within a short time, I tried out many dishes- Chily Potato, Chapati, Potato curry, Egg roast, Paneer, Egg noodles etc.
Parallely our online classes had started and daily I used to attend classes and doing assignments. I also started watching lot of travel videos and things like that but since pandemic, all bloggers are like corona! corona! so I partly avoided many channels. I am not a movie maniac. I rarely watch films. But with constant pressure from my brother, my parents took 30 days free trial for Amazon Prime. So we watch one film every day.Days went suddenly I was suffered by severe fever. So I made myself isolated. Self-Quarantine days are one of the rare time I had ever got. It may not be the best moment ever, but it is enough to make an impact in my life that I will never forget.Finally I was happy enough to stay at home. Certainly, these moments will stay in my heart and thus I decided to document this. It has been a long time since 4 of my family are together for such a long time.
- Selva Saranya S M
(2019115091)
It was the day after I got swayed away from my college due to this green-colored virus. I opened my eyes from an oscillating night sleep, and peeped through the bus window.
ReplyDeleteIt was around 6:30 in the morning with a warm, not-so-burning sun and a mild breeze that made me look out of the windows only to get my eyes blessed by the giant mountain ranges, the elegant paddy fields that hinted my arrival to my hometown - "MARTHANDAM"
Fast forwarding to me reaching the streets of my home. Pushing the door and stepping inside, my dad looks up from his newspaper and gives me a smile that shows a huge sense of relief upon my safe arrival followed by my mom and I exchanging shy yet comforting smiles. As they both return to their daily routine, I subconsciously climb the stairs whose steps and turns I've memorized. Reaching the doors of my caven, I push it open only to be hit with a stench of dust that makes me grab the broomsticks and give it a quick sweep. Satisfied with the results, I head to my bathroom and wash away the remnants of sleepiness left in me as I wash my hair. Stepping out of the bathroom, I fall flat on my not-so-hard bed as I gaze out through my windows into random nothingness, filled with a sense of peace.
Breaking the peace, my stomach rumbles forcing me to get out of the comforts of my caven. As I head downstairs, the smell of fish fry swipes me off my feet and the taste of it pushes my mind into a whirl of memories of me eating the tasteless hostel food. After eating to my heart’s content unworried about my stomach becoming bloated, I head uphill to end the day by visiting relatives after relatives.
Waking up the next day to pure chaos as we start with online classes for the first time. As, we - my classmates, myself, and even our professors struggle with the so-called "ZOOM"; we find moments of laughter, as we snap pictures of our friends when they accidentally turn their cameras ON, as we hear random mothers scolding their sons/daughters.
The fun stops here, as we enter the official first day of online classes with professors having mastered the zoom app in a day and me failing to master the act of not sleeping in classes despite so many years leading me to get caught by my dad that leaves me in embarrassment.
The embarrassment stops me from getting downstairs in the following days, as I fall into a lazy routine of joining the zoom classes after 6 AM bed coffee, switching OFF the camera, and falling asleep only to be awakened by my friends to give attendance when it's taken followed by direct lunch at 2 PM with endless hours of scrolling whatever app my phone harbors.
Opposite to my lazy routine, my mom's routine looked super active as she found new hobbies every day with different things she came across on the apps she scrolled unlike me who just scrolled through. Despite being confined within the same house, it seemed as though we were confined to our own selves. But, one day my dad broke through that confinement and pointed out how I hadn't bathed for a week. This was even more embarrassing than the previous incident but didn't stop me from getting downstairs instead pushed me to question myself, and how self-destructing my routine was. Like, a light in the dark my friend messaged me leading to us creating a spiritual group, where we made a routine of praying every Saturday, and sharing bible parts we read and that was my first breakthrough to my lazy routine.
This breakthrough eventually lead to many, as I started playing outdoor games with my cousins every day followed by a dump into waters that improved my year’s old rusted swimming where new bonds were formed. We tried to make up for all the boring routines via video calls, celebrating birthdays over virtual platforms, and sending gifts.
Now, let's conclude my lockdown experience with something I realized through it "Eventually, everything becomes a routine; make the best out of it before it does."
- ANSILIN VINCY W, IT 2019115015
30/04/2020
ReplyDeleteDear Diary,
When the Sun dawned upon a discontent world each day, it simultaneously and unfalteringly dawned upon me too that the lackluster iteration of life amidst the ascendancy of an unprecedented pandemic was in itself a privilege worth acknowledging. Although I'd given in to the tantalizing temptation of leisure initially, I had , eventually managed to adhere to a routine that galvanized me spiritually, physically and emotionally.
My mornings always began with a humble prayer, offered for God - to mitigate the penury that struck people without warning and to protect me from the agonizing thorns of hardships. Assisting my mom in making meals through out the day was a therapeutic, fulfilling hobby that not only invigorated our bond but also ignited a liking for a newly found passion in me. A quick shower post breakfast signified the closure of my morning routine. Prior to lunch, I always whiled away my time completing miscellaneous tasks online , often pertaining to college. I ensured that I stayed in touch with my loved ones afar, which posed to be a refreshing oasis of solace and strength as the monstrosity of the pandemic pressed in. Evenings were spent playing badminton with my neighbor, we simply basked in the ecstasy that such an ordinary activity had brought us. A good portion of my day was spent in making arrangements for alleviating the plethora of constraints that had tumbled along the way of the unfortunate. Dinner being a family affair was a non-negotiable feature of a pandemic day in our lives; managing to pose as a platform where our thoughts, emotions and world news were exchanged.
Before sleep stole me each night, I whispered a word of gratitude to God for having shielded me and my loved ones every day from a misery I doubted we could withstand. Although my days mirrored each other every day, I had learnt upon reflection that a new lesson could be learnt every day - if only I was willing to look hard enough for it.
- Mohammed Noohu
It's been a month now since the pandemic made me stay indoors and prevented me from driving my bike or car. Finally, today I got a reason to go for a drive but unfortunately it is to the hospital. My father is suffering from an eye infection, so i had to accompany him to the eye hospital at Velachery. I was excited and at the same time worried to step out of the house and experience the new atmosphere that the pandemic has left behind. The hospital is approx. 12kms from my house. I was shocked to see the deserted roads and shops of Velachery which is always a jam packed area. I captured this image in my phone since it is one of the rarest sight that one can observe. The drive which usually takes 45mins just took 20mins. We were interrogated by the police at 2 places and we had to show the appointment message to him to allow us to travel. At the hospital, people had to follow social distancing and other COVID norms which I have been seeing in the news for the past 1 month. Only today I got to experience them. Circles were drawn in the floor to avoid people crowding in queues and people were allowed to only sit at alternative chairs. Only those who had normal body temperature were allowed inside the hospital. Finally, on our way back to home we were once again interrogated by the police and we had to show the medical receipt to allow us go. So much have changed in this one month and I am worried if the pre- COVID world can be brought back ever.
ReplyDelete-Kasi Viswanathan S,2019105546
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ReplyDeleteDear diary,
ReplyDeleteMy day in quarantine starts at 8.15 when i wake up and rush myself for the first online class at 08.30. and the class continues upto 4 , between which i have have my breakfast, lunch, a coffee and a few hours of mobile games and everything. With the colleges and every other public places closed, people won't have the chance to gather in groups. Things have become quite challenging and life's not same anymore. These past days were traumatic. The country is in a total Lockdown because of the Coronavirus, so I’m forced to stay at home, against my will. I miss going out with my friends and roaming around the campus, kotturpuram, spending time in Spartans room and outer college stage performances as I was a part of college's official variety team. However, I have got no other choice rather than staying at bed and thinking about all this. So just to distract myself, I help my mother with the household chores and then i help my sister with her studies. Only good time I have in a day is while I play with my kittens and their family has grown big from 2 cats to 6 now. Then i watch a lot of anime. And I'll wrap around my day at 3.00 am.
So, my day in quarantine is not that interesting, but I was getting through it.
I’m Varun M And I’m going to share my lockdown routine.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I never spent so much time at home .I am a very reserved person and have very few friends. So This Lockdown was my new experience. I used to watch all types of movies and series. Due to the restrictions, I was not able to go to the ground for playing and not met any of my friends for months. It was very stressful to me. Later I spent my time with my family and neighbors. I helped my mom in cooking like chopping the vegetables ,washed the dishes and We have meals together. I played most of the indoor games with my neighbors. In the evening time , I chitchat with my mother and played Cards with my relatives. I also tried some lockdown receipes and share with my neighbors. Our neighbors also share a receipe and we did a lot of new experiment in cooking. I have gained a lot of friends in lockdown period .
I also spent my time in a productive way . I also worked on my health and fitness.I spent some time doing meditation. I utilized time in my placement preparation works. My brother helped in my studies and taught me some ideas. I able to understand the importance of socializing, spent time with family..
Above all these times , I learnt to stay positive .Stay optimistic and keep yourself busy in things which gives you inner satisfaction.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Legion,
DeleteEven though I'm not active with you for a while, my loneliness has reached upto an extreme level which made me to return to you by sharing the memories I created during the COVID lockdown to reduce the loneliness.
It's been three months the lockdown has been implemented, I think during the second lockdown, I realised that my routine, lifestyle and sleep cycle has change a lot. During those days, I was mostly alone but in other times I spent my days with my parents and neighbours by playing Pallanguzhi and cards. We used to cook foods and organize a dinner party and chit chat during the weekends over the rooftop for a couple of months. Before the lockdown, I wasn't close with them and thanks to the lockdown for making this change.
Even though I won't roam much, this lockdown doesn't bother me much. But the things I missed out during the lockdown was the foods made in the restaurants and obviously the cinema theatres which is been a companion since my sixth standard as I began to go alone to the cinemas.
And my days has been passing like a passing clouds and the sun rising in the morning and dawning in the evening. It is been moving normal by watching TV, attending online classes, and so on.
During the evening, I used to walk on the rooftop to reduce my mental stress and for some physical exercises. And during some days, I play cricket with the kids in the neighborhood colony.
The things I learnt during the lockdown was cooking , other regional and international languages by watching movies and attending classes. I lost about 25kgs during the lockdown which was the most valuable thing I did in the lockdown
I didn't even think that my college life will be in a four wall for a year. For expecting good results, i lost my college life where I'm suppose to blossom memories.
Overall, this lockdown is one of the great experiences which is not quite interesting for me. I learnt to stay happy, expressing positive vibes and to be alone. I realised and used my time properly during the lockdown.
Lockdown is a very crucial time, you’re almost caged into the walls of your home with no connect from the world outside whatsoever and this is when staying indoor can get the best of you.
ReplyDeleteIt's been three months the lockdown has been implemented, I think during the second lockdown, I realised that my routine, lifestyle and sleep cycle has change a lot. During those days, I was mostly alone but in other times I spent my days with my parents and neighbours by playing Cricket and cards. We used to cook foods and organize a dinner party and chit chat during the weekends over the rooftop for a couple of months. Before the lockdown, I wasn't close with them and thanks to the lockdown for making this change. I used to watch all types of movies and series. I helped my mom in cooking like chopping the vegetables ,washed the dishes and We have meals together. I played most of the indoor games with my neighbors.
My friend called me via phone (my daily unset alarm) and asked me to join the online class. My college life almost ended up sleeping in front of the laptop and mobile screens. As it is rightly said, man plans, God laughs. All my plans to enjoy college life ended in vain. As the class goes by, I usually get freshened up and have my breakfast. The only horror in online classes is that you never know when the staff will call your name and ask questions, to which all my friends reply by putting "Mic problem ma’am/sir" messages in the meeting chat.
Evenings are for chatting and mocking with friends. Earlier it was a "Juice Heaven" shop; now it has become an online group video call. Nothing has changed our love and friendship. The only difference between today and yesterday is my poorly trimmed, easily mockable hairstyle. At times, we used to play online games like Among Us, Stumble Guys, and Ludo, but most of the time we used to share our horrible and funny online class moments.
Above all these times , I learnt to stay positive .Stay optimistic and keep yourself busy in things which gives you inner satisfaction.