Nishanth S Coontoor
Yesterday, I benefited well from my dad’s poor understanding of how WhatsApp technology works. I got a chance to overhear his conversation with his friends after he thought he ‘cut’ the call.
It was either that or he intentionally kept the call going so I heard him loud and clear, without being confrontational about it. I am going to choose the first option, you know, to make myself feel better about having bested him.
The gang was discussing Coronavirus, of course.
Getting parents, especially if they are living on their own and are older, to hear you out is hard. It gets even harder trying to convince them to STFU and stay home! And they are otherwise very reasonable people.
Since the virus surge began, our discussions follow a predictable pattern consisting of me advising him to stay home, his denial that he does not go out anywhere anyway and I am just over-reacting because cases in India are not as bad as the USA. My voice rises, his voice rises, my BP rises, and he nonchalantly walks away.
Yet, he continues his routine of shopping for newspapers, daily walks, evening harte (chats) with his senior-citizen gang with their masks on – only now they are socially distanced.
A friend of mine, facing a similar rebellious father, took charge of the situation after multiple failed negotiations. In the middle of the pandemic, during a city-wide lockdown, the father decided to get a blender repaired. He sneaked out of the house for an entire evening without anyone’s knowledge in a two-wheeler.
Not seeing the point of having any more discussions, my friend decided to lock the house doors and the main gate. He tied the keys to a chain he wore across the neck. He lives in the apartment above them.
‘That is crazy!’ I remarked.
‘I had no choice! He is in a high-risk category who does not have to leave home, especially for non-essential activities, during a lockdown,’ he explained.
The case with my dad or my friend’s father is just an example. Really papa, if you are reading this now. A third person looking at my behavior when I am asked to stay home probably will have another 400 words to say as well.
This got me thinking. This virus, the lockdown and the quarantine has been testing our ability to be flexible especially when our daily routines are disrupted. The frustration is probably stemming from the fact that we never imagined we would have to accommodate a change due to a virus, leave alone the difficulty we face when people force us to change our habits.
This is exacerbated if you are an extrovert and social. A few introverted friends have not seen any change in their routine pre-pandemic and today.
I don’t know how to deal with the disruption. But I know just accepting this disruption is probably step one. If staying indoors until a self or government-imposed lockdown expires is the logical thing to do, then find a Netflix show to watch or take up a hobby or if you must work remote, it’s now or never. Please don’t recommend me to watch Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. I continue to be tormented by desi matchmaking in real life already.
Oh, by the way, one aspect that I won’t miss from my life in the pre-corona times is figuring out the answer to ‘what plans I have for the weekend?’ or ‘Did I do anything fun on the weekend?’
I don’t do something every weekend, guys. Some weekends is just sitting at home, contemplating life, watching my money plant grow. But, that’s apparently not a socially acceptable answer.
Just between you and me, our little secret, I had a list of activities stuck on the refrigerator that ranged from walking in the <insert name here> state park, to going painting to trying an escape room to learning Spanish. I was on line item 6, the last time I was asked the question. But now, I can simply say, no plans. Nothing at all. Why do you have a plan?