During the pandemic, our busy lives came to a standstill. We faced the trial of our lives. The uncertainty of life gripped all our senses. 

We have lived an idle life during lockdown. My spouse was busy serving the patients. She was staying in the hospital quarter.  Train and bus services were not operational, we were separated for months.

I used to step out of my house only to buy groceries or vegetables. I used to tie a handkerchief under my eyes whenever I was outdoors. As large markets were closed, many fish and vegetable vendors  offering door-to-door service. Fish and vegetable prices were slashed. Boosting immunity was the thing everyone was talking about. I was also consuming tulsi leaves, turmeric, black pepper, etc. 

By God's Grace, No one in our locality affected by the Wuhan virus. In long leisure, spreading rumours became a favourite past time for our neighbours. 

I confined myself to a lonely room. Books and smart phone were my only companions. I was reading the Shiva trilogy, written by Amish Tripathi. The book was a retelling of the Shiva Purana. In the first part, called “The Immortals of Meluha,"  Siva's journey from a common folk of Tibet to becoming the Nilkanth, the Mahadev, the destroyer of evil. In the following part, “The Secret of the Nagas," Shiva roamed a large part of north and east India and unveiled many secrets. In the concluding part,The Oath of the Vayuputras,Shiva fought a fierce battle to defeat the evil. Actually, it was my second reading of that trilogy. 

In those days, I watched many videos of the mysteries of the disappearance of Subhas Chandra Bose. I watched videos of Mr. Anik Dhar and Mr. Chandrachud Ghosh. I watched interviews of many personalities who either met the Gumnami Baba personally or were narrating stories read from diaries or letters. I was fascinated by the theory  propagates that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose returned to India and lived as an ascetic near Ayodhya. 

I also watched many stories on YouTube. I came across many amazing stories, like The Secret Garden and Treasure Island,  among others. I also viewed videos for upgrading me on MS Excel. 

For the first few days, I listened to the experts on the pandemic. I learned a lot of things about past pandemics and viruses. But a few weeks later, I avoided all kinds of media. Facing the uncertainty of life, I place my faith in the creator. I started practicing yoga and meditation.

I wrote a few poetic lines and shared them on Facebook to keep up the morale of mine and others. Our beloved prime minister came up with many events to keep the country united in those tough days. On one occasion, our whole neighbourhood busted in din. People hammered utensils to produce sounds. Many came out of their houses to celebrate. On another occasion, when our PM asked for lighting of candle, my neighbours busted crackers. 

I spent many such lonely evenings on the roof. I looked at the sky intently. I tried to spot stars. I spoke with the quiet moon and  stars. Those were days of self-discovery. It is said that a crisis too precious to  waste. This crisis made me more humble, composed, and enlightened.