Sunshine. The red-yellow rays falling down. Coming from a distant source, and yet getting scattered all around. By tiny immiscible dust particles, roaming in the air. It was all science. The colours of some life became tyrant in its light. Myriad heads closed together of women, men, children alike as they lifted hefty materials up onto their shoulders, as if God had given them unusual strength to fill their bellies in this strange world. Foreheads dripping with sweat as runners and joggers, completed their last round, and took a harsh long breath. Sweat etched near the brows, as engineer mom and dads, worked their way to draft important emails, prepare for meetings assisted by uncomfortable hard chairs. Sunshine filled our lives with its usual warmth, and the glinting piercing rays kept us up for the rest of the day.
I gently rub my eyes. It is the piercing voice of the alarm next to my ears. My mum shouting. It is Monday 6:15 a.m. Mum is in the kitchen now brewing tea. I look at her from my door slightly left ajar. I then sweep my eyes towards the long slidable glass for the Sun. It was my natural alarm. The hot scorching rays would come in contact with skin to spread its warmth gradually throughout the dry body, working to make it moist, until one could do no more but blink their eyes open to yet another day. Yet the weather was unusually cold. A harsh cool breeze and winds and a dry grey sky adorned the apartments in the background.
I would have fancied waiting, sitting on my bed, making a grave analysis of the greyness of the sky. But classes started at 7:20.
I hastily got myself up, brushed my teeth back and forth and went on to take a bath ‘Time is up’, I thought and got up.
***
My classes finished at 1p.m. I leave the room and lie down in the bed with a huge sigh ” Ah! The classes are over ” and to my surprise I see my mom do that as well “Ah! A break for 30 minutes’‘. My brother follows the same suit with an ” Ah! No more classes” and my dad who could pass for a deeply dedicated employee too came in with an ” Ah! Lunch break” It was so surprising for me, a year back it was just me who used to lie down and relax when my brother was in day care and mom and dad in the office. But today each one of us had a tiring day it seemed. We all started talking; and to my surprise my brother was the first one to speak “These online classes. I am really concerned about not getting spectacles. And will not you all be shocked to hear this from me!!” he said “we just stare at the screen for 5 hours and the teacher just rambles on and on. I do not enjoy it even a bit “.
My mum who would have reprimanded my brother for speaking about his teacher like that today really spoke out her misery too “And I son, am more than ever tired doing zoom calls, typing emails, attending to my dear boss!’
I shared the same feeling. I can still feel the gloomy cold voice of her, one teacher, speaking out what she knows and getting what she wants. Subservient yeses. And then All of us started laughing together. Because each one of us had a sad remark to share and a huge discontent to blabber about. We enjoyed those stories together and towards the end my dad said ” It’s true yes, no one likes Virtual meetings… He looked at me and my brother and said amused ‘and schools on your laptops, but don’t you feel that this is the only way we can move forward, the only practical way? And virtual meetings are not entirely boring. At times, even without realising our distaste towards online classes, during funny incidents we share innocent laughs with others”.
I remember today, all of us lauding our Maths teacher with emojis of hearts and smileys present on Teams. He had proved a textbook method wrong. The screen was covered in little red hearts and laughing emojis.
‘I for one am happy because this shift to a new normal also made me realise that I wasn’t giving enough time to my family”. Dad continued ‘I missed all those silly complaints of Adi and beautiful opinions of Maya. But this year we did things that earlier seemed impossible. And you know what was that? Simple. We laughed together, cooked together. These are the simple pleasures whose absence from the earlier “normal” we couldn’t realise’.
The whole country is under such a big pandemic, it is necessary that we use whatever we have to try and adapt with new things. Adi, you have an interest in reading about wildlife, don’t you? So, you might know that the most long-lived species of animals is not the one that is the strongest, it is the one that is the most adaptable.
So, try finding Happiness in every situation. These online classes and meetings? Will may as well be here for some time’. We need to be adaptable and not live each day mourning over this existence’ He laughed and concluded.
It is Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. and I am attending my online classes and for once I am feeling light because I decided to crack jokes with my friends and even my teacher said that he is not happy with these online classes and making PPTs. The sun today did crack up a little in the sky, and disappeared, but still giving a sign that light is not completely far away.
~DuoDisseminators
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Duo Diseminators 