City Series – Lopamudra in Tinsukia , Assam, We the Isolationists (313th Corona Diary)

City Series – Lopamudra in Tinsukia , Assam, We the Isolationists (313th Corona Diary)

City Series – Lopamudra in Tinsukia , Assam, We the Isolationists (313th Corona Diary)

Our corona diary.

[Text and photo by Lopamudra]

I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see the long road leading to the gate number 4 of Arts Faculty, North Campus. They stand still today and the road somehow looks longer. I see the thousand of faces that I have looked at in protests but could never muster enough courage to go up and talk to; the faces, some of which will now be a tribute to the bygone days of struggle. We didn’t know each other; what we knew was that we’re all people, condemned to the same fate. When we left for our homes, no one told us it would be this long, this long before we can again see those colorful placards with “AAZADI” written on them flying against the blue of the sky, this long before we see those clenched fists going up in the air with the rhythm of the dafli in the background. And alas! We came home, We came home abandoning the only roads that taught us to mourn the death of a Kashmiri woman’s husband, we came home abandoning the walls of the campus which has “Grammen-Students” (Students-Farmers) proudly inscribed in red on their connecting junctures, we came home abandoning a struggle that was meant to be fought by us, our Broken Voices and our unconquerable spirits.

I open my eyes and find myself sitting under the dim light of our drawing room with my mother shouting at me on the top of her voice, telling me how huge an embarrassment I am. I clench my fists in anger and silently go on muttering slurs. I walk into the next room, she keeps on sweeping the farthest corner of our drawing room as her silhouette draws itself against the yellow of the wall. Dad turns on the TV, there are 1300 new positive cases in the country. I pray for the well being of those unknown faces.

“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.