Lockdown Diaries Nominee#2- Relics from my Past by Pranali Ingle

The scorching march sun shone right above my head bathing me with sweat. Ma always used to send me to the stop half an hour early so that I don’t miss the school bus. I drank my glass of milk in a hurry, as it was 11:35 already. I ran with a book in my hand and attempting to wipe the milk mustache with the other. Everyone laughed at my defiant behavior as ma yelled from the window.

If you ask me I cannot give you any apparent reason why this memory flashed in front of me. Human brains are armored with their mysterious ways I’d say, hungry for every pinch of happiness.
This led me to wipe the dust and revisit the memories. I picked up the coffee mug and sat in the balcony with the albums. Absorbing the silence of the empty street below which was crowded with sentiments. The old stories of my childhood are braided with love and simplicity. I was ensconced in the felicity of my younger self. Allowing myself to dream again. Even the darkest of the days turned into gold when I touched that old photograph and smiled.

This was the time when ma and pa were stuck in different cities during the 26 July floods in Mumbai. I was at home with baba and little om. We clicked pictures to distract him so that he doesn’t miss ma much. My flesh is still warm from the day which unwrapped a layer of innocence imposing a sense of responsibility.
My guts are flooded with similar fears which monger over my heavy heart when they go out to buy our groceries. Gulping it I return to my daily mundane routine. I watch them move wearing masks from the window and wait impatiently till they return.

The world is under a pandemic and we are locked in our cocoons. Emotions covered with wings of paranoia, spreading at its own disposition. My lungs culminate when I hear the lugubrious wail of the street dogs in the presence of the prosaic moonshine. My subconscious whispering, people are made of porcelain these days, breaking with the slightest buzz of cough. Where we wish “stay safe” even on birthdays now.
This was one of the finest collections from the diary of my thoughts. I usually shrug these off before the negativity succumbs me in. I return to the ruins of my inscrutable creativity, painting it presentable enough to the masses.

These paintings serve my reticent being to fetch me more humans to connect with. As I look at their likes pop every second on my social media handle it makes me happy. I smile for hours when they praise my existence. The dynamism of our community is stronger than the pandemic. Surely, the paths ahead are obscure but we can share the softness of our palms with the touch of a smile.
Remembering the light that we will catch one day.
Remembering that little carefree childhood self within each one of us.

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 Pranali Ingle from Maharashtra, India. She is a 22-year-old student of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. Kudos to Pranali for this beautiful piece!

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