I had registered for AtoZ in 2020, have already done 5 of these and then COVID19 turned my world topsy-turvy and I had to change plans last minute. I didn't have the mental space or physical energy to complete the challenge.
This year I am going to write short poems for the Theme - NEW NORMAL with NEW WORDS and I shall stick to free verse poetry.
Life has changed so much in the previous one year or so. Lemme see if I can capture this in poetry.
2020 began as a usual year for me, no drumrolls, no
fanfare. The usual lonely New year, the usual academic year-end for the young one, and a brief family trip to Nainital thrown in February to get away from the monotony.
We returned and all hell broke loose in Delhi with the Delhi riots and then in a few weeks, Corona hit the scene. By mid-March, there were whispers of the government deciding something big- it came on March 23rd, one day long Janta Curfew and then....a word I had heard bit never imagined could be so heavy LOCKDOWN.
The other day watching UNPAUSED on Amazon prime I was reminiscing the life that changed on that fateful morning.
The stories in the films are my stories in patches, I am sure some of the snippets are your stories too. I haven't written much in the last year, yes I did attend webinars and webinars and upgrade all my skills, make myself useful to whatever social work or activism was possible online, and yes SURVIVE along with writing one book and translating THREE!
I don't know any longer what is normal, the one that was or this new normal? Will life be ever the same? This has certainly been a long road through mental health struggle and resilience, logistic difficulties and survival.
