To all those who are protecting us from Covid-19
We have been in lockdown since over a month. It is expected that we will see a gradual easing of the restriction in the coming few weeks and perhaps in a few months life would revert to its earlier form. I would not be referring to the pre-Covid-19 life as 'normal', as many things were abnormal in our daily lives. I found it my bounden duty to publish a blog post before the lockdown ended. In my head, if I didn't post even during a lockdown, then it would imply that either I didn't have anything to say or that I didn't have the time to write it out. In any event, it would signal that the blog did not have meaning in my life. I am not ready for such dire consequences and so here is my 'lockdown' post.
We have been in lockdown since over a month. It is expected that we will see a gradual easing of the restriction in the coming few weeks and perhaps in a few months life would revert to its earlier form. I would not be referring to the pre-Covid-19 life as 'normal', as many things were abnormal in our daily lives. I found it my bounden duty to publish a blog post before the lockdown ended. In my head, if I didn't post even during a lockdown, then it would imply that either I didn't have anything to say or that I didn't have the time to write it out. In any event, it would signal that the blog did not have meaning in my life. I am not ready for such dire consequences and so here is my 'lockdown' post.
At the outset, I must admit the swift entry of the word 'lockdown' in my vocabulary. It did not exist prior to 2020 and now I speak of it, write about it and live it on a daily basis. It seems that the word will remain in our vocabularies, at least till the end of 2020.
The lockdown has taught me various lessons, which I have had the opportunity to reflect over. I am sure I will forget these once we return to our pre-Covid-19 lives. Thus, the need to memorialise. I must be candid - these aren't lessons for which the might of a lockdown is needed. Perhaps, in different circumstances, these would have come in other forms. You may have heard these elsewhere on social media. But since I am not on social media, this is my only release.
You've been warned. Here goes:
1. Washing the dishes is tough - The lockdown meant that all the household chores had to be split between family members. There was no domestic help and we had to do everything on our own, like all non-spoilt humans. The chore I readily took up was doing the dishes. I cook terribly and therefore it was only fair that I don't fill the dishes, but instead clean them. Little did I know what was in-store for me. Dishes never end. They have a habit of piling up and when they do pile up, they multiply exponentially. They appear after meals, in between meals, during cooking, after cooking....The dishes represent the drudgery of the chores. But if you are accompanied by someone in the mundane drudgery, then the whole process passes with ease. And that perhaps is one of the components of love - the ability to together go through the mundane drudgery of life. Romance has its ebbs and flows, but the dishes go on forever. I was grateful that my wife and I could go through this mundane drudgery with ease.
2. Plants also need love and care - The other chore that I readily took up was gardening. As you can see, I picked up chores that I believed did not require much subjectivity. My perception of gardening was watering the plants. I could not have been more wrong. Prior to the lockdown, like all urban households at some point, we decided we would try and grow some vegetables. We sowed tomato seeds and gradually the plants grew. I was a clueless gardener and had no idea (and still don't have much idea) how to grow vegetables. This made me appreciate the tireless work that our farmers do to make our food. Every morsel of food requires hours of toil and hard work - sowing, watering, manuring, warding off pests...Every plant is different and requires different degrees of care and love. The dependence on the weather is also to be factored in - whether a dust storm or thundershower is coming our way or not? Thankfully, YouTube has several influencers who helped me with gardening. My personal favourite was Monica, whose simplicity and ground to earth nature appealed to me greatly. I also took this time to restart the compost kits at home. Hopefully, the result this time around would be better.
3. Bittersweet taste of retirement - My boss quite rightly remarked that the lockdown period gave us a taste of what our retirement might look like - no work and restricted mobility. Swamiji once highlighted the importance of cultivating hobbies throughout our lifetime. If cultivated and nurtured throughout youth and middle-age, the hobbies would come handy in retirement. Most people return to work post retirement because well, there is nothing else to do. If hobbies are cultivated, then they can be enjoyed fully in retirement. This means that if I continue writing till I retire, then post retirement, this blog would have an influx of unreadable posts and bad poetry!
I must say that the taste of retirement was bittersweet, probably because I was not mentally prepared for what was to come. I imagined my retirement involving moving to a quieter town, closer to nature and having access to scriptural study. The lockdown gave us all - a quieter town, a reignited nature and access to scriptures (electronically). Nature returned with multiple colourful butterflies in the garden, the sweet singing of birds, the appearance of bright flowers, the shiny stars above and the calming blue sky. However, even though work had reduced, the time for scriptural study was limited, as other activities such as everyday chores took time. In the romanticism of retirement, I had forgotten this very essential component of everyday chores. They continue and should not be forgotten. If retirement is to be spent in साधना, then one must get used to the notion that a साधक has only one help - himself.
Anyway, the time for scriptural study was still more vis-a-vis our pre-Covid-19 life. I also realised that everyday chores are not mutually exclusive to scriptural study, as a lot can be heard/reflected upon even while doing chores. Also, given that the subject of the scriptures is so dense, even a 30 minute lecture may be enough, so long as significant time is spent thereafter on reflection and meditation.
4. Faint Memory of Stress - As the lockdown progressed, I forgot what stress felt like. Everyday lawyering has some amount of stress/tension. There is the everyday running to court (some of this is self-induced, given that I am always late). Then there is the uncertainty of when the matter will come, what would the judge say, what would I say! Coupled with all this, is the worry of filing - will it be ready, will the Registry raise any defects, when will it get listed! And then of course, you have to prepare for the next day's matters. The fulcrum of all this is the Court. Lockdown meant courts were closed and they were hearing only urgent matters. All the worry, stress, tension et al that concerned courts completely disappeared. There was still work and there was still filing, but the stress was not there. The 'Monday Morning' feelings disappeared. The Friday/Saturday Nightouts evaporated. The lockdown brought a shock not only to the economy, but also to our concepts of the world. It was nice to have the taste of stress/tension-free/worry-free work and perhaps the meditation techniques learnt during lockdown would help avert stress altogether once the pre-Covid-19 life returns.
5. Independence is key - It is important to be self-reliant, professionally and personally. Personally, you should be able to cook, clean, drive, wash clothes etc. The lockdown gave me a fresh perspective on what independence means professionally. You should not be dependent on one source of income (a.k.a. diversification). As courts closed, the income arising from court work also stopped. Having clientele that requires advisory work and work that does not necessarily concern the courts is important for a lawyer. By God's grace, I managed to have some court work and outside of court work as well. The former also requires the able assistance of several persons. To prepare a filing, the centre of gravity is your court clerk, whose invaluable presence makes filing infinite times easier. The lockdown meant that everything in the filing from scratch had to be done singly. This made me realise the importance of knowing the job of others, even if in the ordinary course you don't have to do it. Preparing the filing alone was tedious, especially since much of it had to be done electronically, without the assistance of paper. It is important to adapt quickly to the situation to ensure that the job gets done.
6. Minimalism is possible - The lockdown brought a massive shift in our spending tendencies. Since markets were closed and only essentials were available, we only purchased items that we truly needed. Several (possibly) unnecessary spending vanished - clothing, eating out, alcohol, quirky objects that pile up in cupboards etc. It also meant that attention was paid to items already present within the home, which could have alternative (re)uses. I mentioned about how we started making compost at home. The videos also showed us how we can use various other kitchen items to fertilise plants. We also started reusing the discharged water from the RO machine. We cooked adequate proportions of food. It is possible to lead a simple life. But we have a knack for complications, for creating a large web of troubles - all which drains us out. हमे पसारा फैलाने की आदत है।
7. Indebtedness to the world - One of the principal reasons why I chose to do law was to help others. Somewhere in me lived (and perhaps continue to lives) an idealist warrior wanting to save the world. I have tried to keep alive this goal in my pre-Covid-19 life; though not with any great success. The lockdown inflicted unprecedented misery upon the poor and migrant workers. While I did what I could sitting in the comfort of my house, the photos of the workers brought a mirror to my privilege and I realised that I was blessed to have resources, a home and the support of my family. I was truly indebted to the world/God and must find ways to serve it/Him. After all, what else is कर्म योग?
Finally, the time with family brought the attention to several little things that bring a smile to my face. My mother and my wife cooked several delicacies during the lockdown including but not limited to banoffee pie, vada paos, dosas, pastas, cutlets, chipotle rice and what not! I had the most splendid time being spoilt with these amazing lip smacking dishes. Sometimes, my wife would sing and cook, which gave me such a home feeling (even though I was already at home). It reminded me of the Tagore's poem on his mother. We could do pooja everyday - something that is conveniently pushed to the end of the list in our pre-Covid-19 lives. We had all our meals together, which is rare and we had most of them in the verandah, something which is rarer in summers. I am certain that I would cherish some of the little things and indulgences that the lockdown gave us.
In the end, I hope that we understand God's plan in all this and like with every tragedy, we come out of this stronger and wiser.
3. Bittersweet taste of retirement - My boss quite rightly remarked that the lockdown period gave us a taste of what our retirement might look like - no work and restricted mobility. Swamiji once highlighted the importance of cultivating hobbies throughout our lifetime. If cultivated and nurtured throughout youth and middle-age, the hobbies would come handy in retirement. Most people return to work post retirement because well, there is nothing else to do. If hobbies are cultivated, then they can be enjoyed fully in retirement. This means that if I continue writing till I retire, then post retirement, this blog would have an influx of unreadable posts and bad poetry!
I must say that the taste of retirement was bittersweet, probably because I was not mentally prepared for what was to come. I imagined my retirement involving moving to a quieter town, closer to nature and having access to scriptural study. The lockdown gave us all - a quieter town, a reignited nature and access to scriptures (electronically). Nature returned with multiple colourful butterflies in the garden, the sweet singing of birds, the appearance of bright flowers, the shiny stars above and the calming blue sky. However, even though work had reduced, the time for scriptural study was limited, as other activities such as everyday chores took time. In the romanticism of retirement, I had forgotten this very essential component of everyday chores. They continue and should not be forgotten. If retirement is to be spent in साधना, then one must get used to the notion that a साधक has only one help - himself.
Anyway, the time for scriptural study was still more vis-a-vis our pre-Covid-19 life. I also realised that everyday chores are not mutually exclusive to scriptural study, as a lot can be heard/reflected upon even while doing chores. Also, given that the subject of the scriptures is so dense, even a 30 minute lecture may be enough, so long as significant time is spent thereafter on reflection and meditation.
4. Faint Memory of Stress - As the lockdown progressed, I forgot what stress felt like. Everyday lawyering has some amount of stress/tension. There is the everyday running to court (some of this is self-induced, given that I am always late). Then there is the uncertainty of when the matter will come, what would the judge say, what would I say! Coupled with all this, is the worry of filing - will it be ready, will the Registry raise any defects, when will it get listed! And then of course, you have to prepare for the next day's matters. The fulcrum of all this is the Court. Lockdown meant courts were closed and they were hearing only urgent matters. All the worry, stress, tension et al that concerned courts completely disappeared. There was still work and there was still filing, but the stress was not there. The 'Monday Morning' feelings disappeared. The Friday/Saturday Nightouts evaporated. The lockdown brought a shock not only to the economy, but also to our concepts of the world. It was nice to have the taste of stress/tension-free/worry-free work and perhaps the meditation techniques learnt during lockdown would help avert stress altogether once the pre-Covid-19 life returns.
5. Independence is key - It is important to be self-reliant, professionally and personally. Personally, you should be able to cook, clean, drive, wash clothes etc. The lockdown gave me a fresh perspective on what independence means professionally. You should not be dependent on one source of income (a.k.a. diversification). As courts closed, the income arising from court work also stopped. Having clientele that requires advisory work and work that does not necessarily concern the courts is important for a lawyer. By God's grace, I managed to have some court work and outside of court work as well. The former also requires the able assistance of several persons. To prepare a filing, the centre of gravity is your court clerk, whose invaluable presence makes filing infinite times easier. The lockdown meant that everything in the filing from scratch had to be done singly. This made me realise the importance of knowing the job of others, even if in the ordinary course you don't have to do it. Preparing the filing alone was tedious, especially since much of it had to be done electronically, without the assistance of paper. It is important to adapt quickly to the situation to ensure that the job gets done.
6. Minimalism is possible - The lockdown brought a massive shift in our spending tendencies. Since markets were closed and only essentials were available, we only purchased items that we truly needed. Several (possibly) unnecessary spending vanished - clothing, eating out, alcohol, quirky objects that pile up in cupboards etc. It also meant that attention was paid to items already present within the home, which could have alternative (re)uses. I mentioned about how we started making compost at home. The videos also showed us how we can use various other kitchen items to fertilise plants. We also started reusing the discharged water from the RO machine. We cooked adequate proportions of food. It is possible to lead a simple life. But we have a knack for complications, for creating a large web of troubles - all which drains us out. हमे पसारा फैलाने की आदत है।
7. Indebtedness to the world - One of the principal reasons why I chose to do law was to help others. Somewhere in me lived (and perhaps continue to lives) an idealist warrior wanting to save the world. I have tried to keep alive this goal in my pre-Covid-19 life; though not with any great success. The lockdown inflicted unprecedented misery upon the poor and migrant workers. While I did what I could sitting in the comfort of my house, the photos of the workers brought a mirror to my privilege and I realised that I was blessed to have resources, a home and the support of my family. I was truly indebted to the world/God and must find ways to serve it/Him. After all, what else is कर्म योग?
Finally, the time with family brought the attention to several little things that bring a smile to my face. My mother and my wife cooked several delicacies during the lockdown including but not limited to banoffee pie, vada paos, dosas, pastas, cutlets, chipotle rice and what not! I had the most splendid time being spoilt with these amazing lip smacking dishes. Sometimes, my wife would sing and cook, which gave me such a home feeling (even though I was already at home). It reminded me of the Tagore's poem on his mother. We could do pooja everyday - something that is conveniently pushed to the end of the list in our pre-Covid-19 lives. We had all our meals together, which is rare and we had most of them in the verandah, something which is rarer in summers. I am certain that I would cherish some of the little things and indulgences that the lockdown gave us.
In the end, I hope that we understand God's plan in all this and like with every tragedy, we come out of this stronger and wiser.
ॐ