Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Ifrah Rehman] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see myself winning a battle, one day at a time. Away from all that humdrum and worldly noise where, if you trip and fall, you had no time to dress your wound and attend to its needs, where you had superficial challenges to beat every next hour, I have been given this time to take that inward journey,to retrospect and to learn about those wounds that needed attention, that needed healing. I close my eyes and I see those abruptly placed bandages disappearing, giving me a glimpse of a recovered soul. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Aishwarya Diwakar Rahi] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see a shiny string entwined in my fingers that sails a kite. It waves, flutters and cuts through the twilight to touch the moon. The kite is only so close that it sees Shakir’s sorrows but cannot feel them, and only so far away that it barely touches Meer’s vahshat and junoon. Miles away, I feel what being moon is. I soon realize that I am swooning and pull the string falling from the sky towards the ground. The ball of reshami threads, the moon, keeps on waning. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Amarkant Thakur] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see A gaze over my shoulder That studies everything, I create or think Or say or do or plan to do. This gaze is awkwardly familiar, lacking certainty - Despite that, it’s deeply involved. It sees not light but miasma. It keeps me sufficiently ‘distanced from society’ And nudges me in the stoic company of Dostoyevsky, Tagore, Camus and Ghalib. As I look across their shoulders, Whispering dream-syllables, My eyes meet the gaze fleetingly and I feel a little more acquainted with myself. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in my self-isolation from Corona... and I see...” Not more

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Rigzen Wangmo] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see Love, long gone, has returned home. Sits across the table, shimmering like never before. Brought back with her a mockingbird and a firefly. I see the streets have extended into its own garden. A garden where stars and hope grows. Beyond it lay a tranquil spring sky and I’ve learnt that every ordinary thing has a bit of truth to it. And one should always be prepared for what lies beneath the vast sky. Hidden. Unsolved. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in my self-isolation from

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Parneet Shergill] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see piles of unattended files at work... of matters which were “Most urgent”, “Immediate”, “Time-bound”! Time, however, stands still – the urgency is reduced to static. No morning rush – no missed deadlines and yet the world moves! Conflicted feelings creep in all the time - of despair at being left out as friends are out there contributing, and relief that one is home and keeping the family away from the infection. The books I wanted to read or re-read, continue to wait in the corner to be dusted, picked and read amidst the extended uncertainty. Days pass with the hope that

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Chahat Khattar] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see my noisy joint family around me. A few people are on their phone, while kids are busy with their own plays and lives. The family heads are watching the news, and the rest are trying to make sense of it all. And, amid all this, I'm waiting for the panic to settle down and reach an equilibrium where we all can collectively introspect and pray, and find the voices that have been buried for long. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in my self-isolation from