Our corona diary.

[Text and photo by Premi Carr]

I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona… and I see myself mentally preparing for a return to ‘normality’. But then I open my eyes and ask if that’s ever going to happen. Because things will be irrevocably changed. Loved ones lost, businesses failed and maybe some things changed for the better.

Four weeks of staying at home… Cooking (dosais and other treats), reading (Bastard of Istanbul) and dreaming about visiting Turkey and in the beginning happy for this unexpected reprieve from the daily grind.

But till now it hasn’t ended. Because in the beginning we didn’t believe, here in Italy, that we would be affected seriously. How wrong we were.

And now when I speak to friends in India, in the US and in the UK, I feel a tight knot of worry. Because I hear the same lack of conviction in their voices. No one believes that they are vulnerable, that their simple choice of staying home can protect themselves and others.

Please, please, please stay home.

“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.