Our corona diary.

[Text and photo by Khushi Mehta]

I close my eyes in self isolation from corona… and I see a beautiful smile on a rickshaw walla’s face, I see a sense of contentment in farmer’s eyes. I see a balloon hawker holding a bunch of colourful balloon at a beach with his sparkling smile. And, I am holding a balloon in one hand and my favourite cotton candy in other hand sitting right beside my dear husband under a coconut tree, by the beach, and laughing out loud at my husband’s jokes and we both are watching the beautiful waves and breathing the fresh sea air. And as I open my eyes I see the standstill world stuck in one place. I see people preoccupied with immense pain. Still smiling. But not a sparkling one. Not even a half-hearted smile. I mostly see my 2000 sqft 2BHK north, south, east, west wall, lights, ceiling fans, curtains and I feel stalled, dull… not in any kind of alarming way, it’s just where I’m. I ask few questions to myself, that how much greater, finer, am I than I was yesterday? Have I fulfilled my possibilities, made the most of my potentialities? When people ask me how I’m doing, I say I am doing well. But masks are exhausting and uncomfortable. And ultimately unsustainable. At some point we want to rip them off. Well, life picked up speed, and then most of it was gone, made you breathless, really.

“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.