Nothing is permanent: one of the many things I learned during this time

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Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23

14.06.2020

1:05 pm

Delhi, India

It feels weird to write ‘Delhi, India’ after all those journal entries I wrote sitting in Mumbai, thinking one day, very soon, the ghost town will come alive again when again we won’t be able to tell day from night.

It took all of 3 months of waiting desperately (with patience) for things to get better but only seeing things getting worse in the city of my dreams. Our dreams.

That didn’t happen, that still hasn’t happened, that I don’t know when will happen. It was heartbreaking to see my favorite city in the world suffer the way it did in the past few months. Mumbai, I hope you get well soon.

One thing I learned in the process of waiting for months under different situations and different statistics every day? Permanent is nothing in this ever-changing world. Even the various crises and challenges the human race keeps facing head-on time and again. What this realization also means is that this virus that has changed many of our lives overnight is not permanent either, it can’t be.

It’ll pass, it is passing. As I write this. As you work from home. As your kids go to school virtually.

As you have a quiet wedding with 50 people to spend the rest of your life with the person you love. As you fall in love with the people you’ve never met before on a dating app. As you go on with your home chores, welcoming back your house helps who you missed oh-so-dearly for months, now just with more empathy, respect, and precautions.

As you gear up for all the upcoming phases of ‘Unlock’ and ‘Lockdown’, the point that remains is that the only thing permanent about this situation is us, breathing and surviving living beings.

Survivors, who’ll make it to the other side of this seemingly ‘abnormal world’. Take a moment and digest this fact. That’s all I’ve done ever since I’ve laid my feet in my home city, Delhi. Maybe it has something to do with the “Dil” in the Dilli that’s throwing all this optimism my way.

Another fact we have to, need to, come to terms with is that some countries and some states within India have done better than others because they have dealt with a similar epidemic in the recent past that prepared them just a bit better to deal with the pandemic, avoiding as many deaths and infections as some others. Like Taiwan, and Kerela in India.

It’s important to note this point before we drown ourselves in the negative loop of why some countries are not in the ‘most affected by COVID-19’ list even though the virus entered their premises sooner and faster. It’s as good as feeling sad about someone’s well-being.

The most important thing I’ve learned during this tough time (for all of us) is that there is humanity left in people. As much as we didn’t get to see much of it in the beginning of the lockdown. I’ve seen it during these few months of unprecedented circumstances - how the most unexpected people have done extraordinary things for people, for animals, for their families and friends.

Like Sonu Sood, did you ever see him as a real-life hero? I didn’t but now he has a big fan in me, for his heart, for his empathy, for his patriotism, for his love for his people. I hope, just like me, you’ve been able to look at people around you differently during this time.

I also hope it has inspired you as much as it has left a mark in my head.

Lastly, I don’t know about you, but something very weird happened in my heart and head the moment I landed in Delhi from Mumbai, or maybe it started while I was back in Mumbai. Like we’ve been talking about this pandemic hitting a RESET button, it hit that button in my mind.

I feel new, I feel different. I want to dedicate a whole journal entry to this ‘new feeling’ in my heart. So, wait for my next journal entry for that.

The last thing I want to say today is, we all know the news from today about Sushant Singh Rajput and I hope he’s more at peace today than ever before. I know it gets tough sometimes, especially right now. It really got tough for me too multiple times during this lockdown. .

All I want to say to you (whoever is reading this) right now is that if you ever feel like you want to talk to someone about anything right now that’s bothering you mentally, please do leave me a comment below with an email id and leave me some information about yourself if you can, I’ll write to you personally. I promise.