We are going through a lock down right now, Mi. It’s a curfew where we must avoid getting out so we can stay home stay safe from the virus that has now become a pandemic. Can you imagine? Essential services like groceries are supposed to be available but reality is different. Most shops are shut. One or two small kirana stores are open and they are the saviors now.
All those online grocers are struggling with backlogs and well, we are just grateful that we were able to get some stuff. We have rice and atta to last us through the week. We’re cooking one veg a day so the veggies last. And honestly, we are way better off than most people considering we are at home.
Of course, for me it is business as usual since I work from home anyway. Add the extra joy of having Sury and Vidur at home. So grateful you know. I can’t even imagine worrying about Vidur, had he been stranded on campus. Their classes have been suspended and until things become clearer, they’re managing with online lectures, etc. So very glad and relieved he’s home.
I enjoy the extra time with Vidur. Every day, after lunch we watch something together and chat. I reminisce about his childhood and the funny things he would say and your reactions. Like a weirdo, I asked him if he remembered you. And he looked at me as though I’d gone completely senile.
So many memories. While making toast the other day, I was recalling how I’d snip the crust off the edges so it was easier for you to eat–and he would immediately want the same, except he loved the crust and ate it first, followed by the soft part of the bread. What fun it used to be, the three of us sitting together and enjoying jam and butter on the toast when Sury was traveling. We would have salad to make up for the veggies and marvel at how little washing up was there to do.
By the way, it is so hot now that I need the wet towel constantly on me when I am in the kitchen. The tap water is as hot as the geyser. Nice to do the washing up with it though. Seems like everything is sterilized! Even our backsides when we go to the bathroom! Ouch.
It is so annoying when sweat drips off on to the counter. I just can’t seem to find the red towel. Must be buried inside somewhere among the bedsheets. So I tie a thin towel like a bandanna around my head so it soaks it up. And every 15 minutes I take it off and rinse it out. Today, I felt the need to bathe at 6 pm and even the cold water bath felt Madras-sweaty later. Remember how hard it used to be to get clothes on in the bathroom because we’d already be sweating profusely as soon as we finished bathing? Ugh!
I fondly remember how you used to rinse your hand towel and handkerchiefs with sandalwood soap so they kept smelling good. Sandalwood will always remind me of you!
A funny memory–when I got back from college one day, you were shocked to see white streaks all over my dark pink kurta. And so was I — I had not noticed. Turned out to be salt from my sweat, remember? We were amazed when we figured that out.
Well with all the sweating now I hope I have lost a little weight! We go to the terrace in the evening and walk–it is so pleasant. Even the moon is shining brighter thanks to the no-pollution thanks empty roads. And we imagine how nice it would be if you had been around to walk with us. We might have had some nila chorus.
You know these days I plan so many things and I am filled with great intentions but I find it so hard to convert everything into action. Sometimes I whine that I miss you–you were so great at encouraging me, pushing me to do things. Sigh. But yes, you and I both know it is just an excuse. I am not as effective without you, which makes me wonder–would I have done all the things I did if you had not been nudging me, encouraging me? I don’t know. Well, I am not about to analyze that.
Okay, need coffee.
