Written by Dishant Dash

2020, When this year was about to be scheduled in the calendar no one had any clue of the miseries that the year was to bring along. It was the month of January, India had no clue of the tragedies that were to fall upon it in the next few months. Initially, when we came across this alien virus, we smiled it off. None of us had any idea of the disaster edged on it. Back then, the discussions among us involved the immune system of Indians being strong enough to counter the virus and the temperature here to be too high for it to sustain. Sadly, all the discussions remained as a mere hope in the very end. 

 It was in the month of March that the entire nation came to a halt. All the assumptions and the ever growing optimism seemed to lose threads. Finally the virus caused Havoc towards the end of March and the entire country was announced to be on lockdown for a week by our Prime minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. The schools, colleges, universities were all shut down immediately. The roads went empty and not a single soul was seen on the roads. This scenario wasn't familiar at all. Humankind was unaccustomed to shutdowns for such a long period. In the beginning, the lockdown was bitter sweet. Bitter for the hard earning daily workers and vendors and sweet for the people with an affirmed job and pay. The real problem which affected everyone was the extension of lockdown. People started realising the tragedy it caused. Everyone started losing jobs and with activities on a halt, salaries couldn't be paid anymore. This not just negatively affected the monetary condition however appallingly influenced the psychological condition of individuals also. 

The lockdown is now a book of untold stories of individuals belonging to different parts of the world. It is perhaps a book of misery, suffering, hardships, heartbreaks and reality. It's about time we take the initiative to cover these stories and bring them out to the people. Few days back I interviewed a very industrious and exceptional individual whom I have known for quite a long time. This is the story of Mr. Bablu Sahani, native of Bihar, famously known as "Bablu Moori Wala". A diligent vendor who has been selling Bhel Moori for over 15 years now, in front of the St. Joseph's Convent school, Sambalpur, a city in the state of Odisha. I have known Mr. Bablu since I was a little school going kid, but now after I interviewed him I realized that I had never really tried to know him. I had an ever smiling image of him printed. It took a global pandemic for my eyes to open wide and clear. I moved toward Mr. Bablu by examining this thought with him and how it could help him and with his assent I requested him to share his lockdown story. 

When asked about his life Mr. Bablu shared that he has been living on rent in the city of Sambalpur by selling Bhel Moori. This has been the only way of income for him and his family of 6 (his wife and 4 children) for over 15 years now. 

We moved to our primary question and asked him about his reaction when he first heard of the lockdown and what shock did it send to him and his family. The answer was always going to be heart-wrenching. To this he replied, with his eyes moist, that in the beginning they were not much worried as they thought it would all get over very soon. They had no idea of the lockdown getting extended any further. He mentioned that they were all only prepared for a week of lockdown and had food that would feed them mostly a week or so. To their surprise and heartbreak, the lockdown got extended and the entire family was left with no further food. Talking about the first seven days of lockdown, Mr Bablu described that they fed upon all the food stuff they had for the business of Moori. And soon they were left with none. An entire month went by and Mr. Bablu went out of all his savings. Since he lived on rent, the houseowner didn't show much of mercy and forgave them only a month's rent. Due to not enough mercy shown, Mr Bablu had to borrow money from people to pay his house rent. With all the doors locked the entire family started to lose hope of survival. This is when our hearts cried and all of a sudden we saluted him while interviewing. Mr Bablu said that, even when the hopes had started to fade, he ensured his family that they were not going to give up easily. He then narrated to us their journey to Bihar. 

The Bihar government had issued the guidelines to bring back the natives staying in other cities to their hometowns. This is when Mr Bablu and family started their walk of struggle. They faced a lot of trouble with the registration process. It was basically a test of patience and temperament. They had to wait for nearly two weeks before their registration process was finally completed. Then the family boarded a bus sent by the Bihar government from Sambalpur to Bhubaneswar. Next they had a train from Bhubaneswar to Bihar. This is when their destination looked nearer. But a greater task awaited them in Bihar. 

The family went into 14 days of quarantine from the day they reached Patna. Mr. Bablu suddenly broke down and mentioned with a shiver down his spine that he had never imagined a situation this tough in his life. From earning rupees fifteen thousand a month in a small city to spending all his life savings to help his family survive, his tears made our hearts heavy. When asked if he had to spend any money while traveling from Sambalpur to Patna, in grief he expressed that he had to carry out all the expenses and the government did provide one time food only after they reached their village. This is where the question pops up. The government should be responsible for each and every citizen. We are the ones voting them to make things better and it is their duty and responsibility to look after us. Mr Bablu having to finance his journey from Sambalpur to Patna in times of misery is a classic example of failure from the government. A man who is already living on loans can in no way finance a journey for a family of six. It will only bury him under additional burdens. But kudos to his spirit and the support that his family extended which has helped him to start his sales again. He proudly stated that he has been able to repay most of the loans that he took from people and is now for the time being running his business much better. But he mentioned the fear that he and his family still face every time they sit together. This is the fear of the pandemic which has ruined all of our lives. A further lockdown would only break his hope but not his spirit. 

When asked if anyone from the family was infected by the virus, Mr Bablu with a gleeful smile replied that he and his family have been absolutely safe and have been taking all the necessary precautions to fight the virus. Speaking about his children, he first broke down and then suddenly with a bright smile expressed in front of us the love they share among themselves. He made it quite clear that he has always prioritised his children's education and that he only works to provide them a great future. With this aim he started working again when the lockdown was lifted. He started working for extra hours and managed to earn well. When we finally asked him if he has planned for future lockdowns or worse case scenarios, he stunned us with this one line "We are the people who dig wells daily to drink water." This one sentence was an eye opener. He sighed that he only prays for the situation to get back to normalcy and admitted that though he was back to work, the earnings weren't that big. When asked about how much he wants to earn in the future, in a voice filled with faith and aspiration he exclaimed that he wants to earn so big that he repays all the money borrowed and buys a house for his family and provides the best education for his children.

The motive behind interviewing Mr Bablu was to not just present his story in front of the world but to unite us all to cover more such stories. Sharing this in the media is a help which has no guarantee. We need to come up with innovative ideas such as contributions of any amount or anything that people need. The initiative needs to be taken to witness the ever shining results.

Let us all take a step forward and start with helping someone even in the tiniest of ways. "Blessings don't shower upon people who wait for miracles to happen, but upon those who create them.

Image from aa.com

Written by Aarti Shrivastava

Pandemic is what happened to us while we were planning 2020. At the start of March 2020, everything seemed fine. Corona was a foreign enemy in a faraway land. And suddenly within a span of 20 days it had come next to us and asking for a fourth seat in the Mumbai local. Then what happened changed things drastically for the whole nation. 

Lockdown trial on a Sunday seemed like a fun experiment. A one-day thing. Who knew this experiment would come and haunt us for another 5 months of complete lockdown. On March 24, the first lockdown of 21 days was announced. This too seemed like a phase, which would get over in 3 weeks. However, adjusting to this new trapped life was a challenge we did not see coming. 

Staying home for 24 hours meant major change in lifestyle. Obviously, it was not easy for the person who used to wake up checking M-indicator and making crucial decisions like which train to board while in the washroom. Suddenly the worry became attending a scheduled meeting on an app that was just an icon in the mobile menu to date. For housewives, who usually had the house to themselves it felt like a mealtime throughout the day. 

For the kid who was supposed to join school, it was a vacation like never before. A vacation with no fixed last day. Firstly, the playground came home and then the school. For students who had just given their board exams, it was the most horrible vacation and transition phase to college days. 

The day would pass by checking news updates and filling worksheets just to prove you have ‘worked from home.’ The Working-class saw it all from the introduction of Work from home to complaining about it and to finally adopting it. Going out to get some essentials seemed like going to a war zone. Masks and sanitizers became our forever outdoor partners.

However, there was a brighter side to this lifestyle as well. People started valuing family time. Everyone enjoyed each other’s company and was proudly showing it off on social media sites as well. Suddenly all lessons learned online. Want yoga? Attend a class. Diet plans were fingertips away. Workout patterns from home became the new gym routine. 

To sum it all. 2020 was indeed a year to remember and will leave a permanent mark in all our lives.