Quarantine Diaries

  Today I came across this headline - "Japan appoints ‘Minister of Loneliness’ after suicide rates increase for first time in 11 years"! Initially I felt that it was some fake news, but on veracity of that news I so wished I was born in Japan! At least someone is bothering to acknowledge and address the issue of loneliness. To be honest, pandemic has made feeling of loneliness a recurrent one. It is as if this unannounced visitor has decided to stay forever. The more you try to come out of it, the more it drags you down towards itself. News of lockdowns, makes me all the more anxious and triggers the unending memories of lockdown and hopelessness creeps in. Trust me it becomes difficult to even breathe with these thoughts in mind. Pandemic is gloomy and it is real. You really don't know what happens next. You don't get to see people you really treasure and cherish very frequently. Communication through phone or video calls doesn't replace actual human touch. And t...

No pandemic is good. It results in huge loss in terms of jobs, economy and life. It halts everything. People are thrown out of their jobs, people are thrown in poverty, people become penniless, people become homeless. No, pandemic is good. For those few privileged ones, pandemic is indeed good or so do they try to portray. They finally get a break from their otherwise nerve-wrenching tight schedules. They don’t have to stick on those strict deadlines. It is a much needed & deserved break from otherwise fast paced lives. Families are together, cooking & munching, playing & “spending” time together. So many “happy” realisations – like importance of family, people around, privileges and what not. So, pandemic is good. No pandemic is good, especially for those who are “extroverts”, “party animals” & “social butterflies”. They went crazy to adapt to those strict lockdowns. They were even ready to risk their lives, have cane-marks on their butts but somehow get some fresh...

मंदिर   वही   बनायेंगे   पर   कागज   नाही   देखायेंगे  , राशन   पानी   मँगोंगे   तो   हम   टिड्डी   कि   बिर्याणी   खिला येंगे , जॉब   कि   बात   करते   तो   हम   अँप्लिकेशन   बॅन   कारवायेंगे , परत्रकारिता   मागोंगे   तो   हम   राफेल   राफेल   उडयेंगे भूक   प्यास   शिक्षा   कि   बात   करोगे   तो   हम    चीन   चीन   चिल्लायेंगे! मंदिर   वही   बनायेंगे   पर   कागज   नाही   देखायेंगे  , क्या   हालत   कर   रखी   है   अपनी   सरंजामी   कि ,  हम   तो   शवो   को   भी   जिंदा   जलाएंगे आप   राम   राम   चिल्लाओगे   वो   कारसेवक   लायेंगे , आप   समानता   मँगोंगे   वो   जाती   व्यवस्था   दिखायेंगे , आप   हॉस्पिटल   मँगोंगे  ...

Half Year?   Two-quarters? 6 months? Whatever you call or howsoever you say, we are already in mid-2020 and that is enough to please us. 2020 so far has been one of the challenging years we all ever had. So far it has been a roller-coaster ride. Till first three months business was as usual, life was normal and for the remaining three months business was itself struggling to survive and so was life. Now, everything is upside down. Free movement at your own will, little things like sipping tea at your favourite tea-stall, standing on your favourite bridge, experiencing happenings in your city, meeting up your family, friends etc. etc. All these have now become things of past. Everything has changed; nothing is as it was before. Thanks to the pandemic and what not! 30.06.2020 i.e. today, gave an opportunity to reflect back on how 2020 as a year had been so far to me. So I decided to take a stock of things at the back drop of this pandemic and half year ended on 30 th Ju...

It said that every “obstacle” that you face, brings hidden “opportunity” for you. So true it is! When we were busy living our fast-paced lives, we all faced “obstacle” in the form of “lockdown”. Corona pandemic reduced our pace of life drastically. It was as if a fast running car was brought to halt suddenly due to unforeseen pothole or speed-breaker on the smooth road. Initially everyone was overwhelmed by the unprecedented situation. Concept of “lockdown” was new, so was “mandatory work-from-home”. It took weeks to digest the overall happenings around and to adapt to those. Needless to say everyone went through emotional rollercoaster – happy, anxious, sad, overwhelmed, depressed, fearful and what not. I am not exception to this. I too went through all this. From struggling to put simple time-table to fulfilling additional responsibilities at home, every single thing was challenging and mentally taxing. However, it was the same time that afforded me opportunity to sit bac...

है राम तेरी भूमि में सब लोग कमजोर खड़े है, सरहदों पे भी तेरे नाम के चर्चे है!!  क्या बताये हालत-ए-वतन, यहाँ तो बस गरीब ही शोषित है,  बाकि तो सब पकवान और क्वारंटाइन challenge में विलीन है!!  राम भूमि की तरफ तो ये सारे शोषित चल पड़े,  न जाने कितनी लंका दिल में लेके वापस आ पड़े!!  शायद तुम बस एक समाज के लिये हो  बाकि तो बस एक माया है,   तुम्हारे नाम का सब कुछ बन गया  पर उसमे तुम्हरी छाया कहा है ? देखिये प्रभु आप की दरवाजे पर खड़ी है आप की वानर सेना,  पर क्या करे इस सेना ने कोई यूनिफार्म नहीं पहना!! कम से कम अपने भक्तो का तो ख़याल रखना, अपने एजेंट लोगो को बोलना  इस भक्त का कोई सामान / या हिसाब गिरवी मत रखना !! अगर तुम हो तो इन लोगो को समझा देना, की कैसे तुम राम बने,  रामराज्य आने से पहले कितने जनाजे उठे!! --  म्हसोबा --