Welcome to the Lockdown, 4.0. Now picture a kid in Nursery, who has just returned home after her day at school. She brings back the load of homework on her elfin shoulders & dumps it on the table. Her tiny feet, feel free when she takes off her shoes & places it on the shoe rack. She changes her clothes as directed by her mother & puts the school uniform to wash. She lands on the table where she kept her school bag & perches herself on the chair. She pulls out the English notebook & raises her left hand to copy the Alphabets, A to Z in cursive writing…her writing sucks. But she finishes copying those alphabets in a jiffy, for then there is also Hindi & Maths work to do, in order of preference. So by 3.00 pm when she winds up all her homework, meant to keep her occupied for more than half of the remaining day, she now lies down on the couch and dives into her cartoons.
This girl is me and that was more than half of my growing up – Troubleshoot all my tasks just to be free. A plan was not so much a habit than getting things off my, to-do list until I joined the Travel Industry. Making more than a 1000 Itineraries in 3.5 years of work, I was prone to planning. Un-breathable was the air without the idea of plans & organizing, that’s what my work taught me. So the first off – the – work trip I took, certainly involved planning – a lot of it, more mental & less of execution, because it was effortless travel. After all, there was no pressure of delivery here, a school picnic kind of trip, turned into a happy lost & found love in Jibhi! By the second trip, I upgraded myself from – “I need a plan/ Itinerary” to “I love no plan…no plan, is a great plan! (Kasol).”
Right before the national lockdown, I took a quick 3 day trip to the mountains of Chakrata, 2.5 hours drive from Dehradun. I figured the 3 road stops which demanded me to hop from a local bus to a shared magic ride & finally into a jeep that would lead me to the village of Lalau. I was at my uncomfortable best, in all three vehicles, for I never travel unknown. The uncertainty was high on the road until I reached Lalau, an ex – colleague’s village. Seeing her & her family brought immense assurance, but the next two days were more of knowing, what I already knew. There is absolutely no thrill in the known until the known has deeper layers to offer. So I went around the entire village looking for stories & old folks to give me something to let my head weave around. I hunted down every house to elicit words out of people. I can’t deny that I loved every bit of seeking, but I missed something uncanny while being there.
The UNCERTAIN. Planning a trip & leaving your stars to guide you impromptu into conversations & stories was missing, I was missing the unknown. The words were new, stories were refreshing, but I had planned the entire thing in my head for way too long. Today, when I sit at home, since the last 60 days of lockdown, I plan no more. I dream though, it’s imperative for existence, I also research on destinations & I leave it on the surface. The travel trade has come to a standstill & the sheer beauty of airports, cabs & bus rides are no more available. The highs have ended because we do not know what to look forward to.
But, Hey! like those two trips I took right after I quit my work, the only certainty I got was, “hope.” This tiresome time also teaches us to be hopeful & to find your ray of light in ideas. The lockdown Will End someday & we Will Go Outdoors, yet again. And you too shall conclude, “ Uncertain, but oh so certain.”
This too shall pass, until then…Welcome back to Lockdown 4.0.
#OneDayAtATime
