'Won't step out before the vaccine'

Day 299 Sunday It feels like we are living a Black Mirror episode Watching a dystopian TV show is one thing but experiencing one of the bleakest times of the recent past is another Now that we are almost nearing the oneyear anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of the 21day lockdown starting March 24 2020 the struggle isnt over While life may seem to be crawling back to normal from the window post Unlock 8 we are staring at mass unemployment economic devastation and are waiting for a vaccine for allAnd while businesses parks malls and theatres and even restaurants resume operations in the new normal not everyone feels safe While some of us are back to taking flights some havent stepped out of their home since day one of the lockdownImmunity compromised before COVID19Madhavi Ahirao 39 Digital creator ThaneA pandemic that brought the world to a standstill stirred up our already rough small world pretty hard For the last three years Ive been battling with aplastic anemia an autoimmune disorder which is a rare condition in which the body stops producing enough new blood cells To fight COVID19 one needs good immunity However with low or no immunity and already on auto immunosuppressive medicines its been a tough fight for meThankfully living in a metro gives you the benefit of accessing essentials on online platforms Managing household chores without any househelp and ill health was the real challenge My husband and son chipped in making things easier The most difficult part of being at home for the last 11 months was channelising my eightyearolds energy levels Yuvaan missed playing outdoors with his friends playing football and karting and living a normal kids life Thankfully his hobby of content creation came in as a saviour His new passion for cooking helped he also documented the yoga and meditation we were doing to stay positive I hope all of this is over in the next few months and that we get back to our normal routine With the counts going down and vaccination roll out I am hoping for the best I want to go and meet my parents and take my kid on a long vacationDaughter sits on a chair outside the doorSiblings Alka PathiyanPratima Sawe and Arun Sawe have been staying together in their Colaba home since 196 They havent stepped out of their home even onceAlka Pathiyan 71 Former banker ColabaI love travelling Sometimes I go on solo trips with friends or in a larger group Just before the lockdown was imposed I had paid for a trip to Baku in Azerbaijan But that plan had to be shelved overnight So when everything falls back into place that is the first thing I want to domdashmake that dream trip happenI have been living with my older siblingsPratimaand Arun since 1963 They are aged 78 years and 81 years respectively When we first heard about the pandemic there was no immediate panic We are a cool lot and we take whatever comes in our stride It was my daughter Priya who lives with her husband in Lower Parel who instructed that we dont leave the house at all She was concerned that something may happen to us and we understand that given our health condition The three of us have comorbiditiesmdashwe are all diabetic and have hypertension so fall in the highrisk categoryBut this meant letting go of our caretaker too She would cook as well as clean and since March last year we have been doing it all by ourselves It gets tiring Add to it the fact that we are like any other siblings in the worldmdashbickering is constant But I think we are compatible too so we get back to normal very quickly We play cards and Scrabble all the timeArun is really old so he makes a cup of tea on good days I handle the cooking part entirely And Pratima who is tech savvy handles all the online payments We dont deal with hard cash anymore So there is no reason for us to step out For the initial months of the lockdown our society did not allow groceries to be delivered at the doorstep But as an exception the watchman would bring our order to usRecently Priya has started visiting us But she does not set foot inside the house She sits on a plastic chair near the door and keeps us company We serve her snacks by sliding plates in her direction Its strange to live like this but I think its the best for all of us My friends are leaving for a trip to Pavana and asked if I wanted join I declined I dont want to risk the lives of my brother and sister Id rather stay home stay safeAfraid to even go down to the lobbyScared of crowds acting as superspreaders Sharma only goes down for emergency essentials PicSatej ShindePrachi Sharma 30 Writer KandivliI AM afraid I love Mumbai but it is very crowded Even before the lockdown was completely lifted we saw photos of vehicular congestion on the Western Express Highway Plus for anyone who ventures out daily the crowds are a handful There is a lot of jostling shoving getting into each others facemdasha prime superspreader We mostly shopped online Amazon Big Basket and Flipkart and sometimes ventured to the pharmacies and grocery right around the corner only when it was extremely urgent I live with my sister parents and 85yearold grandfather Before the lockdown we would go out almost every other weekend to Andheri Bandra Khar and South Bombay for comedy shows buying books or trying out a new cafe Now I am afraid to even go down to the lobbyIll start going out only when the cases are down or the pandemic is behind us I want to go to Turner Road and Hill Road in Bandra where some of my favourite book stores and eateries are I want to browse at Title Waves and Bargain Book Hut and eat at New York Burrito and Bombay Salad Company on Hill RoadDont want to burden frontline warriorsThe couple hasnt stepped out beyond their door since March last year PicAtul KambleSwati 54 and Pathik Vats 60 Educationist and filmmaker GoregaonPathikThe first person you meet when you step out of home is your watchman They were under immense pressure In those days of silence the siren of the ambulance was terrifying The poor staff had no choice I felt it was on my conscience to unburden them from that fear and do my own bit They were the most obvious help we had but the least celebratedmdashI wrote a poem for them There are tons of things we miss from before lockdownmdashlike going out for meals seeing the city doing your own thing but our loss is nothing in comparison to the amount of work these warriors have put inSwatiWe both agreed on the reason why we must not step outmdashwe didnt want to burden the frontline warriorsmdashand we felt if we can manage by staying at home then why to step out We were very clear no one will step out and nobody will step in Being used to an entourage of staff managing a home while handling schools pan India wasnt an easy task The best place for network at home was near the kitchen this meant Pathik had to adjust his cooking times according to my calls Appliances started conking off one after anothermdashstarting with the washing machine We had to learn to make do Thankfully when our water filter went off we had a backup water filter which worked without electricity My peskiness of always keeping a backup for everything came handy But we also did without a lot of thingsPathikGroceries were bought by the driver and he would leave it outside the door There would be this long process of sanitising everything We are not ordering food online Even during a minor health scare related to low iron levels we consulted the doctor online and the lab sample collectors came outside the doorSwatiWhen things return to normal there are several pending celebrations that need to be enjoyed and quiet dinners to go to where we dont have to worry about washing vessels thereafterWaved at my friends from the windowKirti Tawde fears contracting the virus and infecting senior citizens in her Andheri home The only time she left her home was to see her parents in Matheran in December 2020Kirti Tawde 33 Former PR professional AndheriAfter my firstborn Ahilya was born in 2016 I left my job as a PR professional I wanted to dedicate all my time to her and had decided to resume work once she grows a little older I still remember when she started going to nursery school She learned how to share make new friends and do everything that a kid would do I was happy ie until the lockdown happened and all of us had to be confined to our homeInterestingly I knew about the impending pandemic back in December 2019 I remember reading on Twitter that there is a virus found in China that may soon spread to other countries and I quickly stocked up on masks and sanitiser bottles By February 2020 things got serious and I became paranoid Cases were being discovered in India and I did not want to take a chanceI live in a joint family of 10 members four of whom are above 70 years of age They have had multiple heart surgeries BP problems and arthritis I gave strict instructions to everyone that we would not have any visitors Not even during the Ganesha festival as well But they all thought I was being extra anxious So I had to explain the seriousness of the problem That took a long time Finally when we did bring a Ganesh idol home I convinced them to politely say no to extended family members who asked if they could come overI used to be a very social person before the lockdown I would venture out every day either to shop meet friends or eat dinner So it is hard for my friends to understand why I am still at home On my birthday in October a few close friends wanted to stop by and wish me in person I only agreed to wave at them from the window when they came byI think being a mother makes you worry about all sorts of things My husband Akhil who is an interior designer has to go to Pune and Surat for work He keeps telling me to take it easy But I wont give in What if I contract the virus Ahilya will be left all alone and she is very attached to me I think it is the aftereffect that scares me Perhaps some day I will think that it is okay to get out and buy groceries or meet a few close friends for some time but right now I dont see that happening anytime soonIn December I made my first trip to Matheran to meet my parents They have been all by themselves throughout the pandemic and I wanted to see them desperately But this is the maximum risk Ive taken In a few days I will be back in my Andheri home and follow an endless quarantine