Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Vaibhav Dwivedi] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see absolutely nothing. It’s known to be a little improbable to see with closed eyes. So, I open them again and the flickering lights reveal my home built TMM-3 time-machine (also known as The Fr@nk-e-nstein in common parlance). The carcasses of the previous two unused models, mutilated and ransacked to create their better sibling, lie collecting dust in the shadowy periphery of my room. With a limited time to waste, I eventually enter the TMM-3. I rotate the time dial and set it to year 2015, unscrew the booster lever, fix the rear-view mirror, and press the bright red ‘START RIDE’ button. ETA

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Diwakar Singh] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see my family, yes everyone–from mommy, papa, Amma (grandma), chacha, aunty... to two-months-old cousin sister... including my late grandpa... I’m approaching them one by one as if I’m having camera in my hand and filming them. Most of them look as they have some important work to finish. I make them pause and they are laughing when I click their pictures. Now I’m playing cricket with my childhood friends in a street. I’m fielding at square leg. Oh, now I’m attending maths class, sitting on the second last bench in my school classroom. Now I’m in my flat, lying on bed, and seeing

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Komal Sharma] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see chai stalls. We, my friends and I, would meet in the afternoon after lectures, most of the time we didn't go to lectures... we just came out of our homes to drink chai. From one stall to another, chal aaj Suresh Bhai, nahi Ganesh Bhai ke waha chairs hai. While drinking chai all sorts of speculations hit, the butt which claps when we jump, my ears developing ear muscles because of the piercings. College had been a struggle, it was a recent achievement to have found a space where I was happy. I'd like to see my chai gang again. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Prithvi M Prasanna] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see nothing, no major changes. Feels like my whole life was in preparing for this lockdown but the anxiety has infected everyone now (regardless of how healthy and successful one is). I am bound to see the consequences and multitude of ignorance real-time, losing rationality is the actual pandemic of our times. “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 than 100 words. With a horizontal-sized selfie, along with your city name... please mail to me at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Simarpreet Singh] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see myself in bed late even if the clock past 6 am I see myself soaking all the sunshine as I haven’t been able to do both from years since dad passed away so young and me being at work putting 80 hours a week beside my day trading carrier the burden of family business that I had finally I have some off my shoulder. Phone not constantly ringing, can hear birds chirping, I can finally read all those books I bought and never read, mom making my favorite food, it’s been ages we hardly talked, after dad gone she mostly asleep the

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Riya Wadhwani] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see us all lost. Not knowing if they are still there, questions and theories made up by ourselves. So worried but not being able to express. No patience left, thousands of regrets. Sleepless night, sore eyes, is this our demise? And if it is, I'm prepared. “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 than 100 words. With a horizontal-sized selfie, along with your city name... please mail to me at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Sandhra Tony] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see flowers and leaves, falling on an empty lane. Leaves and flowers, wondering if they are lost in a parallel universe, abandoned and forgotten by the world. I wish I could carefully place them on my palm and tell them they aren't lost but the world is in a dream that will be soon over and will wake up to a better morning. I see myself evincing a mixture of empathy, fear and gratefulness. I just hope when this is over and open my eyes, the world shall wake up from their dream too, letting the bird in the cage free. The voidness has

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Hyder Ali] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see there's life waiting for me on the dusty sands of a shrouded dreamland, lost on earth. The abandoned island, of the lake isle, the heart's on fire, the winds, rumbling, in the grievances of melancholy upon the rugged heat of the March sun The deary summers went alien, then faded skies of blue and faith , lay there me love, strangled and twisted upon the idle island, of the stories and legends marked the vessitudes of unrequited love, Of unconquered fate, of unwished desire, The sounds of whisper and the thoughts darker, darker than the night, upon the grudge of the echoing night's mantle

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Raj Kumar Sarkar] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see the excitement in my eyes as I blow away the tiny flames on a batman-shaped cake. I can hear the kite purring across the superman blue sky as my brother manoeuvres it with hands full of marks and scratches, like the ones I had on my knees and legs the first time I tried to ride a bicycle. I did not know what flying felt like, but I thought this is how it must be. You see, the future right now is like an empty black chart paper, and all I can see are the lines of my past scribbled on