So, the lockdown is across India and not just a few states which is good. What I gathered from the Telangana government directives about the lockdown was that everyone ought to stay at home which makes sense. But what about emergencies - you can go. Also any purchases to be made between 6 am and 7 pm. There will be a curfew from 7 pm to 6 am in the morning. We did hear that not too many people thought this was serious enough and started smiling about and soon videos started appearing of the police whacking a few errant people on the road.
For someone like me who sits in my hometown and in my own home it's easy to sit at home but for someone who lives in another city as a paying guest or in a hostel and who suddenly finds that the paying guest and hostel owners have asked them to vacate and on top of it find that buses, trains etc are cancelled, its life on the roads. It's bloody tough. Or a migrant labourer from UP, Odisha wise site is just shut down and has no way to return home. Imagine how they must be exploited in this situation. I wonder if things could have been done differently.
Anyway, the time had come to get some essential commodities like rice and stuff so I set out. Anjali asked me to wear a mask but then they said only those who are sick need to wear a mask. She also gave me a sanitiser which was good. Off I went hoping to bump into some cops on the road. the roads were empty save some ambulances rushing past. Funnily, I never saw so many ambulances on the road as I did today. I don't think the density of ambulances has gone up, just that there's no other vehicle there.
At SR Nagar Police Station I could see some 200-300 strong crowd of youngsters. I wondered if some mishap had happened, some outbreak, or whatever. Why were there so many milling about on a 'Stay at home' day? Someone told me they were all these evicted students who needed a pass to go back home. Whoa! Someone should have thought of this - 300 kids milling around!
Ratnadeep Super Market had a protocol which was good. The guard at the gate let in one person at a time - he had a sanitiser which he used to clean the door handle, gave it to us when we were to enter. However, once you were inside people started milling about again. I think they had ten people at a time. The first thing that I saw were empty shelves - no Kellogs, no rice, no veggies, no fruits - it was like some dystopian movie. I remembered pictures I saw from Italy, USA and said, man, you're here! I got one lemon and two pieces of ginger for my morning drink, some other stuff, including expensive basmati rice. At the counter, the girls wore masks and gloves and offered to handle the merchandise and load it into my bag. Hmm, rather depressing. The girls said they did not know when they would get fresh stocks. Out at the car, the kids were all over the car, spraying all sorts of viruses I am sure so I took out my sanitiser and moved on, a sad sigh escaping me.
On the way, I saw Polimeraa and stopped to check if they have any potatoes and onions, basic survival kit. Yoohoo, they seemed to be well-stocked. Again a queue, but again people bunching up. I told them to stay apart and they smiled embarrassedly and stood apart from me - they still stood in a bunch. What to do. Anyway, this chap was well stocked so I got what I wanted. only thing he says the card machine does not work. I hate these things - paid cash and got out. But glad that these guys are open from 6 am and they seem pretty well stocked with everything - veggies and fruits especially.
Back home I worried about where the virus might be lurking and did all kinds of things to sanitise myself and my merchandise - washing, cleaning, separating - until I could do no more. But still...! Anyway job done, I settled down to call my pals and they depressed me further with their depressing tales and I stopped calling.
The one creative thing for the day was singing a song that Pankaj requested - the be song I know fully to sing. I heard this on my father's old records and liked the sound of it, wrote down the lyrics and learned to sing. All before the time of YouTube and Google. So I recorded myself singing it and sent it to him and a few other friends who might appreciate it. Some did. Chatted with Vijay about our cricket story), Krishna (about life in Madras), Choudary (who was getting a dining table made), Vardha (who told me to use Dettol to disinfect), Sanjay (who told how his business is stressed in te US but we had a laugh about Love in the Times of Corona - more on that later), Nisha (about life in general), Peddakka (not to panic), Chitra (happy anniversary) and Sunil Jyoti (what's up in Jabalpur). Some called me, some I called.
Finished reading Joseph Conrad's 'The Nigger of Narcissus' today. Edited 15 pages of my novella on our University team's exploits. Now all set to watch 'Yes Man' on Netflix. Anjali took time off studying for the first time in all these days. Shobhs was busy with her work nursing a sore throat. Funnily, the medical shops in SR Nagar were shut. Wonder why?
Not too bad for Day 1. Hope I don't have to go out again for a week. Looking forward to 'Yes Man'.
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| Empty roads |
Anyway, the time had come to get some essential commodities like rice and stuff so I set out. Anjali asked me to wear a mask but then they said only those who are sick need to wear a mask. She also gave me a sanitiser which was good. Off I went hoping to bump into some cops on the road. the roads were empty save some ambulances rushing past. Funnily, I never saw so many ambulances on the road as I did today. I don't think the density of ambulances has gone up, just that there's no other vehicle there.
At SR Nagar Police Station I could see some 200-300 strong crowd of youngsters. I wondered if some mishap had happened, some outbreak, or whatever. Why were there so many milling about on a 'Stay at home' day? Someone told me they were all these evicted students who needed a pass to go back home. Whoa! Someone should have thought of this - 300 kids milling around!
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| Empty shelves :) |
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| Anjali's clay art today - Title - Quarantine Clay |
Back home I worried about where the virus might be lurking and did all kinds of things to sanitise myself and my merchandise - washing, cleaning, separating - until I could do no more. But still...! Anyway job done, I settled down to call my pals and they depressed me further with their depressing tales and I stopped calling.
The one creative thing for the day was singing a song that Pankaj requested - the be song I know fully to sing. I heard this on my father's old records and liked the sound of it, wrote down the lyrics and learned to sing. All before the time of YouTube and Google. So I recorded myself singing it and sent it to him and a few other friends who might appreciate it. Some did. Chatted with Vijay about our cricket story), Krishna (about life in Madras), Choudary (who was getting a dining table made), Vardha (who told me to use Dettol to disinfect), Sanjay (who told how his business is stressed in te US but we had a laugh about Love in the Times of Corona - more on that later), Nisha (about life in general), Peddakka (not to panic), Chitra (happy anniversary) and Sunil Jyoti (what's up in Jabalpur). Some called me, some I called.
Finished reading Joseph Conrad's 'The Nigger of Narcissus' today. Edited 15 pages of my novella on our University team's exploits. Now all set to watch 'Yes Man' on Netflix. Anjali took time off studying for the first time in all these days. Shobhs was busy with her work nursing a sore throat. Funnily, the medical shops in SR Nagar were shut. Wonder why?
Not too bad for Day 1. Hope I don't have to go out again for a week. Looking forward to 'Yes Man'.
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