Today is Sunday, May 03, 2020.
- We are at roughly 40 days of social isolation.
- One US dollar is 75.41 Indian rupees.
- Schools/ malls/ cinemas are closed since mid-March. Schools and colleges providing online classes and conducting online exams.
- There are lines/ tapes inside the stores to keep people 6 feet apart.
- Few restaurants open only for home delivery & pick-up. Dominos Subway and few restaurants open around. Swiggy and other home delivery apps selling and delivering only essential items strictly!
- Parks, beaches, and walk-in places are not accessible to the public.
- All sports competitions have been canceled.
- All festivals and entertainment events have been banned.
- Weddings, family celebrations, and birthdays have been canceled. Funerals limited to immediate cohabitants!
- Young kids can’t understand why they can only see grandparents & other extended family and friends on a screen or through a window if someone visits in person.
- Hugs and kisses are not given.
- Places of worship are closed. No one can visit Mandir or Masjid or Church. Muslims observing the holy month of Ramazan (Ramadan) in India.
- We have to stay away from each other more than a meter.
- Shortage of masks and gloves in hospitals.
- There are fewer ventilators than there should be. Fewer beds and facilities for patients.
- People are wearing masks, some places even REQUIRE that you wear them to enter! People are even making their own masks for sale or donation to medical facilities!
- Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, and anything Lysol or Clorox is in short supply and limited per person IF you can even find them!
- In Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, all shops are totally shut apart from medical stores.
- Store checkouts, pharmacies, and even fast food drive-thru windows have added plexiglass between employee and customer. Have to reach around or under to pay!
- You can’t find isopropyl alcohol easily… supply per person is limited.
- Almost all countries have closed their borders.
- Every city has been divided into tiny zones & an instant fine issued for crossing the zone without a valid reason. (Transport workers, Essential services, etc)
- No one is traveling for leisure. Airports empty. Tourism has the worst crisis in history.
- All work on our own, lifestyle has changed, locked up inside for the longest time since marriage…
Deserted roads…
Least pollution in decades…
Dolphin has seen in the Ganga!
Ramayan and Mahabharat being re- telecast on TV!
Worst ever situation in the US.
Why do I post this?
Every time, this post will remind me of memories. And it will be a regular reminder that life is precious & that nothing should be taken for granted. We are where we are with what we have. Let’s be grateful!
Why this post? because I want to remember it too.
Haresh Makwana