A majority of the people are only looking at the negative aspects of the lockdown, I, however, feel, that is not the right thing to do at the moment. Instead of lamenting on the things that we are not able to do, we should focus on the things we can do and more importantly, on the things that we have learnt during this time.

Just as most people, I too began the lockdown on a happy-go-jolly mode, but eventually picked up the pace. This period of social distancing has taught me many things of which the most mention- worthy is self-dependence. From childhood, I have been helped by my parents, my teachers and other elders. I never needed to do anything by myself, be it cleaning my room, washing my clothes and utensils, or even studying by myself.

Now that there is no one to assist my mother in the household chores, I had no choice but to be considerate and help her out. So the duty of cleaning the house was assigned to me. My perception was, it is one of the most manageable tasks, but when it came to holding the broom, I realised it is not that easy after all. No matter how hard I tried, I could not figure out the correct angle at which to hold it so that I could sweep the house of all the dirt. I had the misconception that it is similar to a cricket bat and therefore can be used in the same way. My mother would laugh at my style of sweeping during the first week of my new task, but she never complained. Instead, she demonstrated to me how to do it. I began by firmly holding it with both palms, and then gradually, as I figured the way of the art, I used just one hand. That was the sweeping part; the mopping part had an addition.

While the required movement of the hand and body was more or less the same for both, the mop needed to be appropriately wrung. Dipping the mop in the water was my favourite part, at times I made the task lighter by putting in a few dance moves. But the toughest thing to do was the wringing of the mop. Mom had warned me, if I do not wring it correctly, the room would be watery and could cause accidents. So, I could not take any chances there. I tried my best and finally understood it was not about how much strength I applied, but the technique was important. And that is how I became a moderately good cleaner; now I clean not just the inside of my house but the garden area too.

The next thing I learnt was how to put the clothes in the washing machine, take them out when they are done and then put them out on the terrace to dry. This was comparatively easier and more fun. I gathered that I need not wait for it to finish its work; I could do some other work by that time. I used this time often for reading, if mom did not need any additional help. It is not like I did not help dad in anything. I had enjoyable learning sessions with him while helping him wash his bike. He would educate me about the different parts of the vehicle and how they needed cleaning. He shared incidents about how he too learnt about many things from his father while washing his scooter.

This brings me to the most remarkable gain during these testing times of lockdown, my realisation of the value of family. We are all caught up in this rat race of life, where we know that we belong to a family. There is a father, a mother, maybe a sibling or two and grandparents; but we do not really acknowledge the fact of their presence. The days before the lockdown period entailed going to school for 6-hours, then immediately hopping from one tuition class to another. It was dark by the time I used to get home. After freshening up and a quick nibble, I was back to doing my home assignments. Finally, it would be time for dinner and then sleep. And if examinations were on, even the meals were served in my room, so that the studies are not interrupted.

There was no time for family, for fun talks, for exchange of life experiences; there was no time to ask if anyone was unwell or why they were sad. Only when I was experiencing something unpleasant, I would complain about it to my parents. I never realised that they too may be having stressful times. It struck me that I had no time for them. But now whether we are happy, sad, excited and anxious or going through any other emotion, we have each other to share it with.

Presently, we have set aside a time during the evening when we sit together, enjoy light conversations and sometimes even play some board games. I think this is the best side effect of this otherwise depressing lockdown and social distancing. We are in it together, and we believe that we will pull through it together as well; it is only a matter of time and patience.

Along with patience, perseverance is the other thing that the lockdown has taught us. It is thus that I have learnt how to self teach myself. I no longer wait for the teachers to explain things and give me home tasks. I have learnt how to study all by myself and also make notes with the help of the internet.

For so long, we have always been dependent on people for every other odd work; despite being able to do them by ourselves. Somewhere it had stunted our overall growth. Fortunately, now the time has come when we are getting to know our potential and worth as the greatest creation of God. I hope that hereafter I and everyone else will continue to be the self-sufficient individuals that we have finally become.

© Arked