Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Shelvi Chikara] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see the crazy child in me finally settled with the man I like. I see myself making bed for two and wrapping myself in the blanket saying I am the egg roll which will lead him to ordering an egg roll. We will look at each other and see the patchwork of stories that made us into who we are. There will be fights to keep the lights on and off and there will be laughing in the middle of sex kind of day(s). It will be not just pyaar waala weekend but pyaar waala life. “We the Isolationists” series urges

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Aliki Koutsomitopoulou] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see my mother in our home in a far far away city of the South. I smell her perfume and I want to hug her. Out of the window, the mountain is green and it goes down into the sea. I would go out and have a cold coffee on the central square, feeling the sun on my face. My whole life I have been fighting. I will fight once again. Soon I will be back, there, in the South. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Alessandra Pirisi] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see... the sea. I get shivers down my spine. It’s a quiet day. The sun is out, but the sky is partly covered with dark clouds.The horizon line is clear. I can hear the sound of the waves. If I take a deep breath, I can smell the sea. I close my eyes and I see people dancing and I'm among them. I feel my body moving. My dancing body. “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 Shirali Raina] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see nothing. I am perturbed. No, wait! the nothingness beneath my lids has started to dissolve into randomly floating black specks. It is becoming lighter now. For some strange reason, I think of Dal Lake back home. I see the floating lotus leaves. But not a single lotus. Surprisingly, the water looks slimy. Now I see the gurgling sweet water of Chasmashahi. I am splashing around with my friends. We are clicking pictures. Ah, it is there, the photo from the eighties that I posted on Facebook... of my friends posing by the Jhelum. The faded water looks serene. I have

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Aosang Jamir] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see the little boy laden down with a big blue water tumbler on his head from that evening. I wonder how many trips to the pond for him to make before he can finally read a Tom Sawyer and how many of such water tumblers equal a dinner plate and just how much of it shall rob the unparalleled joys of his springtime? Maybe after we get through all these, I will see him again. I am in my study now, I shall write a letter to Richard. “Love train" by The O’ Jays plays from the living room. “We the Isolationists” series urges

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Simran Gauba] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see myself going back two years in time. The hustle and bustle at a metro station and two teen souls trying to make distance work. Tears, smiles, hugs and so much more. Time stopped as they bid goodbyes, last, as it seemed. I open my eyes I reach a rare sight in New Delhi. An empty metro station with no noise. Two not-so teen souls no longer trying, no longer crying, walk away as distance is much better, physically in these times and emotionally this time. “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Alexandra Lattek] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see my feeling of how the magical, ethereal light of the Côte d’Azur evokes this unique lightness of being which automatically occurs when sipping your morning coffee and taking a bite of this buttery Pain au Chocolat at sun-soaked Place Garibaldi in Nice... I smell the scent of lemons while strolling through the cobbled streets of Menton, the pearl of the French Riviera, with its yellow and orange houses, reaching Boulevard Garavan, which reveals this breathtaking view on the azure blue ocean and the French Alps in the backdrop... a source of happiness in times of #corona “We the Isolationists” series urges

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Agatha Grace Pradhan] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see My colony’s old playground My pals and me running and swinging and sliding all day round I see the face of my lover how in the dark of December He held me in his arms how in the growing dusk we kissed and whispered promises of love I open my eyes, I am here alone The sky has shed It’s crystal blue, The wind’s roar frightens fallen bakul buds they run, scatter let out wilted cries pregnant clouds moan rain shall come any moment now And I gaze And I pray This shower rinses Our souls Our scars And Our sins “We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Maria Faraz] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona... and I see myself wondering why I've never found the time before to notice the owl family living in my banyan tree, the steel-armoured beetle that guards its home under a rock, the hornbill couple that flies in spirals around the Jacaranda, deep in love, the slant of the golden light through the Ashoka trees. We take so much forgranted, we focus on the wrong things, we move too fast in a directionless world. I want to feel the crunch of the figs under my feet, watch a mango bug crawl slowly across my garden table and listen to bird song all afternoon long.... “We