Lockdown Diaries Nominee#17- A day spent without laughter, is a day wasted By Ashmit Gadekar

The whole world was struck at once by this fatal disease. Lives all around the globe were immensely impacted, to the point that the thought of never returning to the regular lifestyle didn’t even seem surprising anymore. The routine was no more normal, but the terms like Corona world meter, masks, sanitizers, lockdown, etc. became the only point of discussion day in day out. And amidst all this, I tried my best to be “normal” with only one hand to use. I think it was my new normal.

I regret my decision of playing the knife game only to live a life with an injured palm right before the lockdown was imposed, Corona arrived in our lives. Thankfully, I was able to get it operated, but my life didn’t remain the same after that. I was told incessantly not to focus on it, which was what I should have done, but the void in the life confronted by the disease made me dejected. “Be happy that at least it’s not that filthy virus,” “At least you were operated before lockdown, think about people who fractured themselves right now, they run the risk of being infected if ever they visit the hospital.” My parents kept on saying to me and aren’t they the best parents in the world!

The days went by like roses losing their petals. Slowly, but surely, I learnt to adapt to my condition. I started seeing the bright side in everything that happened to me. I still have my right hand, and it is my dominant one. I can still perform many of my tasks. Even if there was a disconnect between me and my old social life, all I had was myself, and no I don’t need anyone to pity me. I may lack facilities, but it doesn’t affect my capabilities and never will.

I metamorphosed my mindset from a victim’s, to winner’s. This was a huge turning point for me. While all this was happening, I was told by my parents, with whom I was in home custody that 3 lanes down the old gentleman whom we used to call Chacha, was tested positive, leaving all of us astounded. They asked me incessantly if I met Chacha last week. We did feel sympathetic, and at the same time, were terribly shaken. Our phones started ringing extensively to enquire for our well-being. The time went by and we were informed that Chacha kicked the bucket. Tears shed in our house, realizing the helplessness of not attending the funeral.

Day by day, the matters became worse, some credit goes to hooligans and fake news dissipators. Despite of warnings, awareness, and education provided to citizens by the government and the NGOs, the situation remained intractable.

As responsible citizens, we did everything possible to bolster government’s initiatives and efforts to mitigate the risks of virus contamination in the country. Government did a fantastic job to put the brakes on disease proliferation by using the limited resources intelligently.

We regret the loss of one of our beloved neighbours, but we have to accept that life goes on. 2020 may not be the best year ever, but the confinement ensures full safety of most of the population, so it’s just good in a different way and it depends on each and every person to make the most out of it. My palm has now got enough of rest, and now I am ready to take on the world.

ReachIvy.com organized an online blog/vlog competition to provide people the unique opportunity to share their lockdown stories using their creativity. The competition met with a fantastic response from participants across 4 continents, and our jury has handpicked the Top 50 entries from them for the Popular Choice Award 2020!

The above entry has been submitted by Rudransh Kantharia from Indore, India. He is a 16-year-old student of CHOITHRAM SCHOOL MANIK BAGH. Kudos to Rudransh for this beautiful piece!

Show your support and help Rudransh win the contest by liking this blog post on all ReachIvy.com’s social media platforms!