When It Hasn’t Been Your Day, Your Week, Your Month Or Even Your Year
“I’ll be there for you”, says Covid-19 as it refuses to leave us. With double and triple mutants in store, it’s now qualified to be part of the X-Men.
A dire need of an optimistic perspective makes me wonder, at least something liked us enough to stay. Meanwhile my mum, whose plans to get me married by the age of “27–28” to a wealthy Sindhi boy are looking bleaker by the day, brings me a bunch of yellow stickers for my car. I’m not an essential worker but my marketing job requires me to work on site, considering the site IS the product I’m marketing (a hotel). So there we have it —me going to work amidst a state-wide lockdown and my parents constantly questioning (and laughing) how hotel marketing has somehow become an “essential service”.
Lockdown 2021–50 Shades of Grey Areas
From “isn’t everything open now?” two months ago to “isn’t everything closed now?” present day scenario, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Although, we (citizens of Maharashtra) are still wondering what’s open and what’s closed, what we can and can’t do, and every new set of lockdown guidelines leaves us more puzzled. Us, and the government. (politicallyincorrect wink wink)
The 20’s That Got Away
A series of today’s with no sight of tomorrow, another pause in our midst. We had just prepared for take off, but we’re circling back on ground again (yes, I used a plane metaphor even though most of us aren’t catching any flights (or feelings?)).
But this isn’t how it was supposed to be! In our 20’s we envisaged travelling, meeting new people, a soaring career with some side hustle(s). But the woeful waves of the pandemic have washed it all away. And here we are, everywhere we look it’s blurry, each day brings with it a new cloud of uncertainty.
On a lighter note, I’m wondering if we should petition for pink stickers — love life services?
The Changing Dynamics of a Pandemic-ridden Generation
In 2020, we blamed the curse of 2020; in 2021, whom/what do we blame? All we can hear now is the clock ticking. The pandemic has led us to lose out on our years, thereby literally delaying life. So where a few years ago I was thinking about settling down before 30, that has now pushed to say, 32. And where a few years ago, I had planned to achieve a certain career goal by 25, that has now pushed to 27. And thus begins the constant battle between “age is just a number” versus “I thought I’d be xyz by this time”.
The next time my mum brings up marriage, I’m blaming the pandemic.
All said and done, a heartfelt salute to our frontline workers who struggle while a lot of us have the privilege of staying in the comfort of our homes. I know this is being said a lot, but it really is something we need to remind ourselves everyday. And a special mention to everyone on social media trying to help out in any way possible. Every drop in the ocean, right?
So, to wrap it up, although it hasn’t been our day, our week, our month or even our year, in Nana’s words…
