Yeh toh bata, tera naam hain kya.

               Yuhaan Mhadesh Vanchanchan or sometimes Van-chavan-chavan. Shakespeare would have been so proud of you. You firmly do believe in 'What's in a name'. But, this is not for all names. You can pronounce Pooja, Shubha Aatu, Piya (Priya), Sannah, but have problems with your own, mine and Chhappa's name. More than Shakespeare saying 'What's in a name', 'Haanta' (hansa) saying 'What's your name' a 100 times is very irritating.

             What a sea change last 3 months has brought in your speech abilities. From absolutely nothing to some gibberish to some sporadic words here and there, your speech was mostly about screaming to the top of your voice. But, nowadays you sound like a 5th standard english medium marathi balbharti book. It had sentences like 'kamal, paani aan', 'chagan, khau kha'. Yours are no different. 2 worders like 'dadda utthu', 'kkkhhali buss', 'ubha matti'to more complex 3 worders like 'aai aat ye', 'mau paa de', 'aai AB laav'. Ofcourse there are times when you speak the old gibberish with yourself, but you are not far from adding grammar to your sentences. While going out, u always want to go to either 'D-maalt' or 'Jen-Daaldan' on our 'Bhrmm-Bhrmm'. When hungry your demands are restricted to 'Pav-bhaji', 'Pijja', 'Momo' 'Bhaat', 'Laassi'. Relations are your strong point. Aai, Dadda, Mau, Aaba, Aaji, Aajoba, Aatu, Taya, Di, Tai, Dada, everyone is called perfectly. Even the occassional Dudu Kaka, Kava kaka, Kabu find the right mention. Bhrmm-Bhrmm (scooter), Pum-pum (Car), Babbag (Truck/Tempo), Tlain, Buss seem to be your favourite vehicles. Accent in your 'Rs' and 'Ls' make Apple and Ball sound like exotic words. You can make us keep our mobiles aside by saying 'dadda, phone bupp' and shut down our singing by saying 'aai, tond bupp' You have started saying 'yes papa' and ' no papa' in response to 'Johny Johny'. You know your Humpty Dumpty as well and have started singing 'Dum Dum Diya Diya, Mausam Biya Biya with the most adorable Allah ever heard.

              If your speaking abilities are in the 2nd gear, your other activities are in the 4th. Your sleeping patterns have drastically changed since last month. You sleep till 9, then at around 3.30 -6.00 in the afternoon and then are wide awake even beyond 12 in the night. Your hunger has reduced a bit, ,maybe due to drinking lots of water due to the heat outside. But, you are not yet a complete nuisance regarding food although can be a headache sometimes. You do not wake up in the middle of the night anymore for milk and have completely forgotten bottles. 'cuppat dudu with bikki' is what you like now instead of 'batlit dudu'. We have a hard time from stopping Aaba from giving you 'gems' or 'amul cool', but he does find ways to spoil you somehow. 

              You are rediscovering your old toys, but have special liking to some cars and all ABCD games. Even on Youtube, to your Aai's dislike, you have forgotten Jingle Toons song and choose ABCD, Phonics, 1234 songs, besides watching your favourite 'Dhutt-Train'. (Last few weeks you have taken a special liking to Jhanvi Kapoor's song 'Nadiyon paar'). Your performance on '5 liitle monkeys' brings a smile to our faces and the way you and your aai sing the last part of 'nakavarchya ragala aushad kay' is a treat to watch. You know all the alphabets and numbers from 1to 20 (ononon is what you call 11). You can recognize all colours and many shapes. At home, your games are 'Ubba Matti, Pathi Udya, Brave boy, Ek paay-don paay'. You always want to go outside, be it at Aaba's place or Aatu's. The long walk at IC road where you now have started running is keeping your aai at tenterhooks. The garden though is your favourite. The swing, seesaw, duck come second best to the slide. It is difficult to take you off it. 

              Corona's 2nd wave is here and cases are increasing again. Butti kaka, Tungare aaji, Pradnya aatu and nimit kaka and many others have tested positive. Taya is in our building nowadays for her studies and has her meals with us and you do not let her go back. There are talks about lockdown or atleast more restrictions. I hope it gets over soon. I want you to join a playgroup from June. It is heart wrenching to see you knocking on the bedroom door when aai is taking a lecture inside. (You now can turn doorknobs with ease). I will love to drop you, your bag and your water bottle to school everyday on our Bhrmm-Bhrmm. When i will sit behind you on your bike, it will remind me of these days when you stand in front of me on my scooter counting the bus and trains, watching the kabus and 'MOOON'.

As you grow to a boy learning languages in school and a man impressing people with your articulate speech, i will be still see in you the little 'Haan' saying the most endearing version of 'Nay Nay No No' and 'Solly'.

 

He was a jolly good fellow

            Weird, Sceptic, Critic, Inquisitive, No-nonsense, Called spade a spade, To your face,  Dutiful, Tarak-mehta fan, liked being alone, maintaned relations but not too involved, very few friends, loved aai, adored you. Seems a lot like I am talking about myself. But, I am talking about a person who was like a Sun amongst Kelekars. He stood alone, but shone the brightest. The heat was unbearable for some and gave warmth to some others. He was my favourite Kelekar. I called him Kaks, your aai called him Kaka, Bhai to Mah-aaji and aajoba, and Bhai-aajoba to your Kelekar cousins. Unfortunately, you were not able to call him with the word i wanted you to address him with - KAKOJA.

           I dont exactly remember our first interaction, but I took an immediate liking to him because he was 'not fake'. He was a bit weird like his brother having similar traits - discipline, OCD habits, clock-watcher, train-travels, stubborn to a fault. He was special to me as his residence in Dahisar was the first thing that brought your Aai and me closer during our initial pre-marriage chat. And he became more special when his unfortunate illness landed him in the hospital and by this time u must have realized that once a close one lands up in hospital, i suddenly lose my clarke kent look and fly away in a red cape. Aai fell in love with that and the rest is history. (There is a shev puri story here, but u need to ask your aai about it)

         Kaka stayed in Gomant nagar, dahisar west. That made him a regular co-passenger in our car during our return journey from Vagdevi. Being close to our home, he occasionally visited us. Before your birth, it was to learn about operating a smartphone and later, he came to watch you play. Smartphone was his life. He had hundreds of questions and aai had the patience to answer all of them. Watching Tipre or Tarak (only for 30 minutes), listening to songs (only 10 at a time) and playing carrom. Doing these 3 things on his phone made him love his phone. But the marketing calls, the marketing and bank sms, notifications and lot of forwards on whattsapp pissed him off.

          He had a special relation with aai. People called your aai his 'poski'. Teaching her, pinching her (janghol), guiding her to topping school exams, giving her extra pocket money, calling her on exact time on fixed time like clockwork when she was in Milwaukee. She was the link between him and other Kelekars. She understood him better than others and he respected her word more than others'. He had broken his rules for her and attended an evening party at our house. Just for her sake, he came all the way to China gate where we celebrated his 75th birthday. And just for his Poski, he visited you in the hospital when you were born, which he had done for no other grandchildren of his.

           He had a special relationship with you as well. From staying at a distance initially, to coming closer and then to holding you took a long time. But, then as you two became comfortable with each other, he played with you for hours. He was always on the watch, lest you fall from the sofa, sometimes irking Aai. You were quite fond of him too and the last 5 months of togethernesss made the bond much stronger.

           The last 5 months..... Covid lockdown was announced by the government with strict regulations and i decided that kaka should not stay alone. I discussed with aai. She talked with him and in the next hour, i was at his doorstep to bring him to our place. I never had thought the ride on my scooter with him and his bag will end up in another ride in an ambulance in next few months. His home was his soulmate for last few decades and he must have left it hoping it to be a matter of a few days or weeks. Those downtrodden walls never saw him back. 

         After a little hesitance initially, he tried to blend in, became a part of our daily routine. He was there awake to say you good morning when you woke up and made it a point to say good night when aai took you to your bed. He played various games with you with the ball and toys.He cared for you, rather was quite afraid that you will fall from the edge of the sofa. He was of immense help to aai to look after you, since rohini mavshi was not coming during the covid times. He had started humming your jingle toons songs and the song 'shubham karoti' will always bring back his memories. You may never recollect the old, thin, toothless image of your Kakoja wearing that blue lungi and white sadra, but trust me, wherever he is, he will never forget those little hands and little legs which gave him joy of a lifetime in just 5 months. 

         For your aai, it was a devastating loss, taking a toll on her physical and emotional health. Crying did not stop for days together and still happens occasionally. (Every chance she cried when she read this blog for the first time). She blamed herself for his death. Every small thing reminded her of him. Things went from bad to worse and she had to take the help of a psychologist. 

         You know i dont cry when someone dies. Bringing kaka to our place was my decision. I never treated him like a guest. Those 5 months, he was like a father to me. I took care of his breakfast, his lunch, his evening snack and his dinner. His medicines, his biscuits, his chocolates, his occasional craving for sweets. We had even booked a ground floor flat on rent for him to shift close to us forever. I did everything i could to keep him happy..... till i became the carrier of his death.

         5 months he was locked in our house with us. It was his first experience of a family, a belonging, affection in decades. He never complained, He never gave us any trouble. He was emotionally strong till his brother-in-law's death took a toll on his health. But, he recuperated from it and was coming back to normalcy. And then covid struck us. I wish i had not got him tested. I wish i had not admitted him in the hospital. I wish i had done something to save from the torture of those IV, injections, medicines and ventilators. I wish i was there by his bedside when he was going through all this. I wish a man who led a lonely life, did not die a lonely death.

             I wish i had not brought him home on my scooter that day.

      

Kuch Hua kya? Abhi toh Nahi....

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Why I met Your Mother ?

               Social media is where losers go to feel important. Now that you are also on it, you know about the plethora of unwanted forwards and messages sent by some people with nothing worthwhile to do. Since the advent of whatsapp and facebook, i have seen a steady rise in messages glorifying 'Housewife' or what they rather call a 'Homemaker'. Hopefully, your generation will not have that concept. I may be completely wrong, but i think the modern housewife is a lady who has wasted her education, buried her ambition and now finds an excuse in taking pride to work for her family. Some of them have 2-3 maids helping them out, shop online, a mother in law helping them, but still they will try to prove to the world that they are an oppressed lot. My mother, my sister, my mavshis, my aatya, my mother-in-law all of them have broken this stereotype. They have successfully excelled in their jobs, while managing their homes with aplomb.
            And ofcourse, there is your mother. She will love to stay at home, but there is no better teacher in Ecole Mondiale. She will love to not to cook at all, but her dishes are finger licking good. She will love to forget about household chores, but u cant find a dirty spot once she is done cleaning. She will love someone else to take care of you so that she can rest a bit, but she ends up doing everything for you due to her strong maternal instincts. She will love to be the 'Pooja' of Vagdevi, but she plays the role of wife, mother, teacher, daughter, daughter-in-law with great finesse.
            I have changed her over years. Rather, she has changed a lot for me. Eating habits, some personal habits, job, television shows, behaviour, relations. In the last 10 years, she has been drastically influenced by me. But, have i changed because of her?
           'Jo dikhta hain, woh bikta hain' is the rule of this world. People around us see that i cook, i go to buy vegetables, do shopping from D-mart, will have no second thoughts to go run an errand, and also teach in classes to earn a living. Well, I am the hero, according to everyone around us. But, actually she is the director, producer, the entire support staff which makes this hero look good.
           She works in her school for 8 hours, sometimes 9, with all the office politics, handling the bosses, colleagues, students, parents. I work for barely 4-5 hours a day, with absolutely none of the above headache. I barely have to listen to any chatter from my colleagues or any parent or even my relatives. Her ears get cooked up with all sorts of nonsense. I cook to show off my skills. She cooks with love. When, i look after you, i have Aaji-Aaba and Rohini Mavshi actually doing all the work. She handles you single handedly through the whole evening till you sleep at night. She went through all those tests, treatments, pills and injections and your first word was 'Dadda'. She will call even my relatives to wish them on occassions and when i reluctantly take the call, people talk about what a nice person I am. She never gets the credit she deserves. And i appreciate noone but myself.
          8 years ago, when i was going through a rough proffesional patch, she was my emotional support. Now that, Covid 19 has tied all my earnings, she is my financial support. I am proud to say that it is my wife's salary that has helped us sail through these rough times. She bought financial stability in our life by introducing savings in mutual funds (My ego almost stopped her from doing that). She brought discipline in accounts by making me file my yearly tax returns. She is trying to push me into following my passion of acting.
         So, doesn't she have any flaws. Many. I could write a novel on those. But, they are nothing compared to her endearing qualities. She is the bridge between me and my parents. She is the balance between me and her relatives. She doesnt cringe on filthy habits. She laughs on my silliest jokes. She appreciates my writing, my poetry. She loves my acting. She devours my cooking. I wish one day, i can tell her what she means to me. Her smile makes me happy. Her touch makes me alive. She makes me feel special. I was living; She became the reason of my existence. I was a normal mortal; She made me a better person. I was a simple man; She made me a good human. The Universe had a plan to make me believe in love.
         And that son, is Why I Met Your Mother
      

Uparwala jab bhi deta.....

             "LIFE is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans".
2020 was such a year. We had our own plans and life had its own. Taking you to goa along with aaba-aaji, going on a small vacation in aai's spring break, long drive to pune, celebrating my birthday, celebrating kaka's 80th birthday, grand party of aajoba's 75th birthday, training you for drinking milk by cup, potty training, enjoying the rains in june....... The list seems never ending. But Corona threw a spanner in the plans of the whole world.
              The first ominous sign was Pushpa mavshi's passing away. It was a big blow for Dah-aaji and all of us were a bit disturbed by it. As we were grappling back with our life, Rohini mavshi's mother passed away. I did not know that lady, but her death was a much bigger blow for us than my mavshi's death. Rohini mavshi had to go to her native place for the last rites and our life was completely  a mayhem. Aaba, aajoba, mahaaji, dahaaji, everyone pitched it, but the routine was disturbed and aai's training plans had gone awry.
             She returned after 3 weeks and as soon as we thought that things were turning back to normal, the corona pandemic crippled the world. I have already talked about it all in 'Ruki Ruki si Zindagi'. The lockdown, online lectures, quarantine, masks, everything was manageable. But, what was making your aai more irritated was the over dependence on aaba-aaji, due to no maids. You stayed downstairs a lot. Dah-Aaji's nagging care and Aaba's spoiling ways was increasing her frustration every passing day.
             As she was trying to adjust to the circumstances, another blow hit her. And this was a much harder blow. She was overlooked for the position of 'head of department' of science in her school. She was a very obvious choice for the post, but politics deprived her from what she rightfully deserved. Anticipating the post, she had refused a job offer from another school and made a lot of future plans. But, she was sidelined and a newcomer was made HOD. It was a very difficult pill to digest and it may take a long time to completely recover from this blow. Calls from her colleagues sounded like condolence calls. Behaviour of her departing colleagues and her Head of Secondary rubbed salt on her wounds. Wounds heal, but this whole thing may have left a deep scar on your mother's heart.
          By this time, Mumbai was becoming the hotspot for corona patients. Nearly 1000-1500 cases daily in Mumbai. Our municipal ward was lucky to have the lowest numbers, but the danger was coming closer. Closer will be an understatement, when one from the Karde family on the 3rd floor was detected positive. There was a fear of getting quarantined, but luckily only their flat was quarantined. That patient was taken to a hospital and we had a containment board put near our building gate. The terrace and the compound was off limits and thus you were confined to the four walls of our or aaba's place. In about 3-4 days, Mr. karde called me informing about his father's ill health. He was taken to a hospital by the BMC and the next day, we were told that he was no more.
           As corona was lurking around, we atleast were happy that noone in our families and extended families were infected. That was till we heard about the news of Sunil Kaka, Shekhar kaka's father showing symptoms of Corona. He was taken to Hinduja hospital and then to KEM. Shekhar kaka had a torrid time fighting his battles alone and we were feeling helpless locked in our homes. 3 days later, when we were showing aajoba his 75th birthday's specially made video, the sad news were delivered. Sunil kaka could not survive Corona. 2 days later, Shekhar kaka and Shaila aaji also tested positive for Corona. At the time of writing, they were taking treatment in home  quarantine.
          Some nights are sweet dreams. Some nights are nightmares. We may remember the bad ones more than the good ones. But the night of 1st June is something which has become a story to tell. A horror story. The happiness of Aajoba's birthday turned into sorrow with Sunil kaka's news and as we still trying to come to terms with it, it turned into a shock when we heard a loud thud in the hall. As we ran outside, we say Kakoja sprawled on the floor, unconscious,  breathing like a horse, pupils up, bleeding forearms. We were frightened. We called his name, put an onion under his nose, splashed water on his face, all to no avail. I called Pragati hospital, but they refused to send a doctor. I went downstairs and requested the hospital to send wardboys and a stretcher with me. As we came upstairs, i asked aaba-aaji to stay with aai. With the help of saurabh kaka, me and the 2 wardboys carried kakoja to the gate of the hospital. His oxygen was checked and they refused admission due to suspected corona. We were contemplating our next step, called few doctors and were about to take a decision. By that time, kakoja had woken up from his slumber and regained consciousness. He was able to sit in my car. We later got him bandaged, checked his vitals and he seemed so fit that he actually walked the 4 storeys till our home without support. We stayed awake the rest of the night, rather morning, since we had returned at 2 am.
           The next day he was perfectly normal. But the day after that something felt amiss. He was behaving weirdly since afternoon. By evening, the confused behaviour increased and by bed time, he was completely delirious. He was not aware of his surroundings and had lost his muscle and nervous control significantly. We tried to get him admitted during the night, but he was adamant about not going anywhere. It was one of the worst nights of our life. Aai and me stayed awake the whole night and we had to keep you at Aaba's place.
           The next morning, we forced him to come to the hospital to meet a doctor. The journey downstairs, the walk to the hospital, the travel to the diagnostic centre, the travel back, meeting the doctor, getting admitted, the wheelchair, getting in and out of the car, crossing the road. I could write all these in just 2 lines, but on that day those were the most punishing 2 hours of our life. And if that was not enough, it was raining heavily to add to our troubles.
           We had survived the wrath of cyclone 'Nisarg', but the 2 days of kakoja's hospital stay was more like a whirlwind. His shifting to ICU, the rude RMO, the non-cooperative doctor, the MRI test, the ambulance travel, the unnecessary interference of aajoba, nagging suggestions of Dah-aaji, Kakoja's anger and reluctance to stay in the hospital, everything was taking a toll on me and aai. We had to keep you with aaba-aaji a lot and thanks to aatu and aaryaa tai, we were not worried about you. Kakoja has come home. He is fine, but still not 100%. He sleeps a lot and is a little groggy.
         Why I am telling you all this? You are my son. And if you have my genes, you will always ahve the composure to carry on in tough times. Bad things happen to everyone, but how you deal with it will make you a better person. See the good in everything.
          Aai did not become the HOD. Now she will have less burden on her shoulders and more time for you. She will not be hesitant anymore to pounce on a good job offer. Lockdown and quarantine has given us lot of time to be with our families, to understand ourselves, to develop a hobby, to cook a new dish. Death is never good, but a relief that Sunil Kaka did not suffer for long. Kakoja's illness made him do all the medical tests he would not have done voluntarily. These difficult times have made me a realize that I am more stronger person inside and I am ready to face any calamity head on.
         Ruhaan, Remember Always. Tough times dont last. Tough people do.

Yeh wada raha....

      'Life begins at 40' and yesterday i turned ONE. I am loving the way your and my life is intertwined. I always will be your age with a 39 year headstart, call that a 39 year experience. Last year, on May9th, my 40th birthday, i made many promises to my self, birthday resolutions. The annual gym resolution almost never materialised till i joined a gym in January and went there for 2 days or maybe 3. Making NEET notes for 32 chapters is almost done. I have already completed 3 pages of the 1st chapter. I have never been a man to honour his resolutions or the promises i make. But, i kept a promise i had made to you and myself together. Last year on 9th May, i started writing a blog. Had tried it many times before. But this one was going to tell our story. This one for you to cherish. This one was supposed to be my gift to you when you grow up to understand this. So, i continued writing. And in an year, wrote 23 posts, this one being the 24th. These were supposed to be memories which were going to make me and aai smile 20 years later, but it is having the same effect even today when we read some old posts.
     Your presence has made my every day special and that includes my birthday. Last year, we had cut a pastry at midnight. Aai could not arrange that due to the corona restrictions. Rather, she is very wary of giving me any surprises on my birthday as i have made a fiasco of such efforts before and have hurt her emotions in doing so. She always goes overboard in her efforts to make my birthday a memorable event, but then circumstances and me always plot in some way to put a roadblock to it. Aai who had promised me a breakfast of Upma, landed up giving me bread-omlette, with another promise of giving upma the next day, when she was forced to prepare sabudana khichadi due to sankashti. (Her omlette became a bhurji and her khichdi had stale peanut smell). BICHARI is the only word for her. This year, corona has made everyone to sit at home and party inside the confines of your walls. So, going to BBC or Aaple Samadhan was out of question. Luckily, BBC has started parcel service. So we ordered lot of punjabi food for the first time since lockdown. Aatu, Aarya tai and Aadya tai were staying downstairs. They prepared a biscuit cake, on which i made some decorations to make it a visual delight. I had bought another ice-cream cake too. Cold-drinks, punjabi food, biryani, cake, icecream, aaba-aaji, kakoja, aatu and her girls and us. If someone happens to see any video of the party at a later date, there will be no inkling of any lockdown restrictions whatsover.
     Last year, my first blog was about my birthday and the second was about 'mother's day'. This year they are just one day apart. But, unlike last year, aai didn't want to celebrate it and i agreed with her reasoning. We both are against these days propogated by card and gift companies. A 'mother' cannot be celebrated in a day and if that mother is your aai, then a lifetime wont be enough.
     The last year has been great. I have started working in one more class (fusion). Aai got a raise at work. The year was good in terms of work, money, health and happiness, Touch Wood!. And then there were you. Watching you grow up was the best thing that happened last year. You can now say 'Dadda'. Though you call every other thing 'Dadda', when you point me out as 'Dadda', it make me beam with joy. From yesterday, you started saying aai, rather a funny squeak which sounds like 'aai. But whenever you say that, the emotions on aai's face are worth capturing on camera. Last year, when i was cutting the cake, you were barely able to hold your head with support, completely unaware of what is happening around you. This year, you were playing around, shouting, clapping and trying to eat the cake before it was cut. And then, next year will be my birthday again where you will be singing 'happy birthday' with everyone else. Till then, keep making memories. Till then, i will write about it in this blog. Till then.....

Ruki Ruki si Zindagi.....

       Long time no see. Last time i wrote on this blog was 22nd Feb. There is so much happeing everyday in our lives, in this world and especially with you, that i can write almost daily. But, then what happened that i did not write a single word in more than 70 days. Actually, 'NOTHING' happened. Rather, i will say one virus stopped all the happenings in the world. The world is at a standstill. The world is in coma, waiting to resuscitate. The world is in Lockdown. We are living a time which can be called as ना भूतो ना भविष्यती.
      2020 is a cursed year. Myans had predicted about the end of the world in 2012. They missed their calculations by 8 years. It all started with Pushpa mavshi's death. A few days later, aai was in school and u were playing with rohini mavshi, when aaba called me downstairs. Rohini mavshi's husband had called. Her mother was no more. She had to go. And so she went, went for a long time. Longer than we expected. Mah-aaji and Aajoba came down to help us with you, with a eye on the calendar. There is no doubt that they love you. They do everything possible to give you they same love they gave all the other grandkids. But, their age is becoming a hindrance. But, even then, whenever aajoba's strict regime and mah-aaji's mobile phone gave them some time, they were a great help. Alas, their exit strategy was in place and rohini mavshi's delay in coming back was making them restless.
     She came back. They went home. Life was back to routine. Plans were being made for Aai's spring break in March. When all this was happening, a man in Wuhan, China happened to eat a bat. And the rest is History. One of the darkest chapter in History.
      Corona or Covid 19 started in Wuhan China. A highly communicable disease which spread by touch, droplet infection and even formite borne with symptoms like normal cough & cold ranging all the way to pneumonia-like symptoms. China, especially Wuhan region, bore the initial brunt. Lakhs of cases with thousands of deaths. The world which was wary initially was caught completely unprepared. It spread like wildfire. America, Iran, Italy, Spain, France were the worst affected. India had a slow start, but quickly the numbers have increased. Maharashtra and Mumbai are the worst hit. Right now, the world has 3.3 million cases and 2,35,000 deaths. India has 35,000 cases and about 1100 deaths.
        In my lifetime, I have seen the world getting concerned about cancer, AIDS, Sars, bird flu, ebola. But, this was the first time a disease has affected each and every person without actually getting contaminated with the virus. Most countries are in lockdown including India. India's first case was detected on 30th Jan. Maharashtra's first was confirmed on 9th March. Mumbai was in lockdown since 20thMarch, though schools were closed since the 13th. Modi announced a Junta curfew on 22nd March which also included the act of clapping together at 5 pm for the workers of essential services. U joined the whole nation at 5 and it was a touching moment. Two days later, he announced that India will be in a lockdown since 25th March for the next 3 weeks. Since then, the lockdown has been extended twice. There was also a gimmick of shutting lights and lighting candles at 9 pm on 9th April.
        Lockdown has completely changed everything. We have learned some new words like 'Quarantine' and 'Social Distancing'. Trains and buses are not plying. District, state and country borders are sealed. No domestic and international flights. Noone is allowed to travel except essential services. The roads, even highways are empty.Timings for buying essential things is now 9 to 2. Most educated people are not moving out of their homes. And those who go out unnecessarily are severely dealt by the police. Economies are in shambles. Crude oil prices are in negative. Pollution has drastically reduced. No school, colleges, classes, private offices, shops are working. Most people are working from home. Zoom and Google meet are minting money. Making new recipes, making dalgona coffee, saree pics on fb are the new trends. Rumours are flying left, right and centre on social media. Memes, poems about corona, messages from celebrities are in abundance. No new episodes on TV have shifted people to watch web series. Reruns of Ramayan, mahabharat, byomkesh, hum paanch are getting huge TRP. Aclohol and Tobacco is not available at all while fish is a premium. Even mangoes are difficult to get. Restaurants, Theatres, Malls have been shut down. No maids have made life difficult for the husbands. Everyone is bored at home, but have no choice. Unfortunately, it is a much sad and tough situation for the migrant workers and daily wage earners.
       At a personal level, aai's school continues online. I take one lecture a day on Zoom. Kakoja is staying with us during this period and u both have formed a great bond. We celebrated his 80th birthday at our place with cake, colddrinks, icecream, chicken. A big party admist the lockdown. I take u downstairs everyday at around 8.30, bring u back for lunch, take you for a stroll in the building compound at 6, leave you again at Aaba's place and bring u back upstairs at 8. Since Aaba and Dah-aaji are taking ur care, i am doing most of the cooking while aai handles the cleaning. I have stocked a lot of groceries. We are feasting a lot on colddrinks, icecreams, papdi, kachori, chips and wafers. Me and aai both are watching 'Blue Bloods' on Amazon. It is quite hot outside and you drink a lot of water and hence your food intake has decreased. You are loving watermelon though. I had kept a nice thick beard,which aai forced me to shave off. Right now, you are sporting a 80s hairsyle with thich hair covering your ears. You are video chatting almost daily with aatu (who has come to stay downstairs for a few days) and all kelekars. When aai is not working, she is on a conference call. And when she not doing either, she is watching her webseries while eating chips. And while she is not doing any of those, she gives me an earful about how i am working too much . Kakoja and Aai are in a race of who is more desperate for the lockdown to end. You are in your own world playing with your toys or running and shouting when in the compound or watching jingle toons or crying to watch your own videos on mobile.
         This is an unprecedented situation. I cant even say 'once in a lifetime' because many of our older generations haven't gone through this. We all are so close, yet so far. It is not that we meet our relatives very often, but this inability of not meeting them at will has created a more intense longing. (Imagine what Anaokars are going through as Sachin kaka is stuck in Phillipines). Hoping and praying that this will end soon.Hoping and praying that this will never happen again. Hoping and praying that we will be back to eating at a nice restaurant, going and playing in a garden, shopping in a mall, celebrating birthdays with family  , travelling in our car, going to a nice resort for the weekend.  Hoping and praying that we not have to listen to Ramdas Athavle saying again. 'Go Corona. Corona Go'.