“Hurray,” said Pihu as soon as they reached Delhi, their Nani’s house.
Sonam’s mother Mrs. Dutta was super happy to see her daughter and granddaughter coming for Holi, for Mr. Dutta was on a business trip to SriLanka and she didn’t want to be alone in this festive season. Sonam too was glad as her husband was in Germany for the business trip. The females of the house were having all the fun, with no boys. shopping every day, Pihu was delighted too for she was pampered by Nani all day, no rules to be followed, eat as many chocolates as you want. Everything was going smooth, hail and hearty until one thing happened that not only changed the things for the entire world but changed their lives forever. COVID-19, devastation no one saw coming, no one had foreseen the magnitude of the havoc.
“Hello, Angad, your voice is breaking, Can you hear me?,” Sonam was trying to reach her husband.
“I can hear you, my love, jaldi bolo I am running late for my workshop” said Angad.
“Baby, you please don’t eat all this non-veg na, I am hearing a lot about this coronavirus,” said Sonam in a worried tone.
Angad laughed off saying ” baby stop worrying and It’s in China only and I am in Germany” and another 3 weeks, I will be back home.
Sonam’s father, who was in SriLanka too dismissed her worry saying ” there is nothing like that here and moreover I am far away from there beta”.
By night Sonam too had forgotten about the entire thing and got occupied with Pihu. In the coming day’s situation across the globe got worst. Every hour their eyes were set on news, looking at every update. They have taken the situation too lightly, positive cases of coronavirus were now present across the globe. Angad was trying hard to come back to India, but he felt the situation was temporary and the risk of traveling was high. So, he decided to stay at his colleague’s place for another week. On the other side, Mr. Dutta had booked his tickets for March 22.
Sonam and her mother were now relieved that at least her father is coming back.
“Please, app ache se cover hokar aana, and don’t forget to take your medicines on time,” said Mrs. Dutta.
Just then Pihu snatched the phone from her Nani and said, “Nanu, Will you bring that doctor Barbie set for me, please”
“Of course my baby, I will, now Nanu will sleep as he has to catch an early morning flight,” said Mr. Dutta and he disconnected.
Mr. Dutta was feeling discomfort in his chest and neck since evening but he didn’t share with his wife for he felt she might worry unnecessarily. Thinking it might be just gastric, he set the alarm for 4:30 a.m, morning and went to sleep.
The next morning Mrs. Dutta kept on calling her husband but she got no response. She dropped several messages but Mr. Dutta didn’t revert.
” Mumma, Papa might be in a hurry so he might have forgotten to call you and who knows he might have left his phone in the hotel, we know how careless he is,” said Sonam to pacify her mother.
Still, restless Mrs. Dutta kept on calling back to back. It was after endless calls, she asked Sonam to connect with the Hotel where he was staying. After speaking with the hotel manager they got to know that Mr. Dutta has not checked out.
“Can you please connect me to his room, ” said Sonam to the manager.
“Mam, no one is responding,” the manager said politely.
” It is really urgent, Please check in his room, he had a flight to catch this morning I beg of you,” said Sonam.
After a lot of pleading, he agreed to open the door and saw Mr. Dutta sleeping. He tried to wake him up but he didn’t respond. He then called the doctor on duty who declared him dead because of cardiac arrest. The manager then immediately informed Sonam.
Sonam cried her heart out, she didn’t have the courage to tell her mother. Sitting miles away she was begging the hotel authorities to check again. She wanted to mourn but life at this moment was at it’s worst. She called Angad and told him about this who then arranged the number of her father’s colleagues in Germany and asked them for help. Meanwhile, she called her family doctor and asked him to give his mother a sleeping pill. Neither of them was remotely prepared for this outcome. She was here with no support. Her mother was heartbroken, miserable. She had lost her husband with whom she couldn’t even speak or meet at his last.
Sonam and Angad were now fighting every bit to bring the body back to India. Things were not as easy as it appeared to be. There were a lot of legal formalities involved, a big financial cost to bring the corpse back. They were seeking help from the people they have never met or spoken before. They reached the embassy for the same. After 2 weeks of the sleepless nights, the cadaver of his father was reaching Delhi through a special Air India plane which is specifically used for this purpose. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister had already announced the lockdown in India making things more difficult for them. Angad too reached India with a special flight the same day. None of their relatives could join them for the last pyre because of the lockdown and the fear of coronavirus. Mrs. Dutta become unconscious after seeing her husband’s body. The people in cremation ground too were hesitant for they thought it’s because of COVID-19. Amidst the lockdown, Sonam and Angad were running from post to pillar for formalities. In all these days, she too had gone weak crying inconsolably, leaving her little daughter with the maid, taking care of her mother, making arrangements to bring her father.
That night after cremation she locked herself in the room and cried her heart out.
Things changed for the entire world with the arrival of COVID-19, devastation no one saw coming. Our lives came to standstill. We learned what a necessity is, what really mattered. Hue and cry of doldrums were played because of the lockdown, no eating out, no night outs. Celebrities shared rosy pictures of cleaning, washing, sexist jokes were circulated on WhatsApp and we shared all the Gyan of how to stay positive amidst the negative. We expressed our annoyance and dissatisfaction with how we are deprived of so many things. But there were many who were going through the worst, for whom this lockdown changed their entire life. Among many, one is Sonam, whom I know, who puts up in the same society as I.
So, next time before you crib, think about your privileges.
