Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Sarah Ansari] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona... and I see myself lost in another world, in a world where my longings have finally died a sweet death on the arrival of my long lost lover. It is a place where my mind has always wandered long before this isolation. Here, I see myself lying on the fresh green grass with my lover and watching all the sunsets we didn't watch together. As all the suns leave I see the dark reality dawning upon me... another failed dream it seems! And there I am again, lying on the grassland, alone as I've always been but a bit closer to myself from within

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Mudasir Iqbal] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see happiness every where; gloomy and charming. I see the spring dancing on the branches of apple trees, I see the tingling rays of sun playing on the peaks of the Himalayas... sometimes-here, sometimes-there, I see the little tiny buds sprouting in ecstasy. I see every little entity of nature lost in some magical trance. When the wandering wind crossed by the windowsill, I asked her, "Why are you so happy?" She replied merrily, "No more danger from men." “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Manish Trivedi] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see her, everything is normal. I am into a brand new relationship and we've said I love you to each other. My parents know her and now I can't see her indefinitely. But probably we have long conversations in virtual space, virtual movie dates, and handwritten letters that we will exchange post-lockdown and I think being stuck in a situation while being quarantined can inspire creativity. We are just doing whatever we can to get that sweet, sweet serotonin. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Sanya Sethi] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see myself trying to decipher the meaningless chatter of wild pigeons while Chughtai's Masooma lights a cigarette and takes three large drags. I come back to her and secondhandedly watch her sixteen-year-old living breathing daughter, skipping rope with her young friends. I take a deep breath and contemplate how I always underestimate the concept of 'maktub' or destiny, while million others live their lives based on its unquestionable existence. “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

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Ansar Manzoor] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see lockdown within a lockdown. Bullets fly birds chirp. Blood pours from clouds rain watches. I wake up every morning to hear about yet another communication blackout and self-isolation turns into forced isolation. With no communication to the outside world, I tune into novels, writing, tv shows, films, food, roaming from one room to another, staring at the neighborhood, and waiting for the bombardment of beep-beep notifications on my phone. I think we Kashmiris are specialists in the matter of lockdowns. Can I add that to my resume? “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Nilofar] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see myself. Not self-obsessed, just on an eternal quest to find myself. 26 years of being trapped in this body. But who am I? Is it possible to still not know? Must I necessarily find myself? Must I do that in one lifetime ? I start with the easy things. What are the most regular parameters of human identification? Gender? Religion? Ethnicity? Nationality? Occupation? But how does one stick to an absolute answer to each of the above? What a boring way to live life if you ask me. My life is like a movie. I am the producer, director, crew and lead actor. Everyone else is just passing by.

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Digvijay Singh] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see all the major and minor chords of life on this planet. I see the things we take for granted. All the memories from childhood flash on the screen and remind me of the good old days. I see mom and dad, brothers, my family and neighborhood. I see the big smile of my beloved and her eyes.I hear the laughter of my friends. I realise how small we are when I see the helplessness but I wish for things to get better, that's what I see. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Mahima Devda] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see myself taking my mum's place, doing the household chores, holding the family together. As I close my eyes to relax, I look inside my soul and embrace and love and accept all my strength and weaknesses I had completely forgotten about in this worldly rush. Now when I close my eyes I see only myself, exploring myself through every angle. “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

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Tapaswinee Mitra] I close my eyes in self isolation from corona... and I see my room in Delhi, which I had left hurriedly on 13th March, very excited then to go back home. I had thought I would be back after 15 days, by 31st March, but its 5th May now. I think of my lover in Srinagar, struggling each day with a poor 2G connection, to send a text to me. I remember them telling me that they had survived a longer lockdown, which had lasted for 7 months. They try to tell me daily, with the kind of hope only a Kashmiri can muster up, that we will get through this eventually. With