Air tickets? Done…Hotel booking? Done…Sightseeing Tours? Booked…Special attractions? Disneyland, Eiffel Tower, Waterloo, Kinderdijk and Keukenhof…We ended up watching their YouTube videos from our living room sofa. Not so bad, after all, while I still await our airfare from the airlines. 

 If that wasn’t a shocker, then definitely our Euro 2020 tickets are. Even UEFA is unable to decide what to do. Every month they send an email addressing very cordially with some reassurance that they remember me and that I will be entitled to the matchday (whenever it takes place) or a refund…though, neither of the processes they have initiated so far. On a serious note, how will they? We all know what Europe is going through.

Finally, I am not mentioning my unfounded preparations for the Formula1 Bahrain GP. After all, it’s a local affair.

What seemed to be foolproof plans for the summers, turned out to be the most foolish ones. Instead, I ended up learning how to wear masks and gloves, how to wash and sanitize our hands, chemical structures of soaps and their effects on viruses and similar things which we would have never dreamt of in our rarest of dreams.

By now, my wife has become the best cook and baker in the world, my daughter is an expert of online schooling system, completing her homework without reminders (for reasons unknown) and my son is including the ‘Corona virus’ in all his drawings, sometimes on the cloud or on the sun, sometimes floating on the pond beside the thatched hut and often riding on top of cars and some carnivorous creatures (the exact species are hard to identify from his drawings).

And me? Working from home, of course. But what about the free time? I have a kind wife, so I don’t need to wash utensils or conjure a dish, unlike many of my acquaintances. But for a completely non-creative person like me, spending time at home is quite some challenge. I thrive on live sports matches, family tours and vacations, tennis with my daughter and long drives in our car (without any reason or destination). Alas, all of these came to a full stop.  I am surviving on classic movies and recorded football and tennis games. Internet in definitely a big boon “When the going got tough, the NET got going”.

My state is that of a mix of optimism and pessimism. In the present circumstances I strongly believe in one fact. Man has mastered the art of killing the most intelligent species on earth; man himself. For them, overcoming something ‘unintelligent’ should only be a matter of time. 

While we are ardently looking into the COVID-19 statistics (our prime job nowadays), we should realize that this is also a rare opportunity to reestablish our family bonds, mutual understanding and cooperation. It’s time to unshackle from complex world dynamics and simplify ourselves. It’s time to reinvent our hobbies and guide ourselves and our kids back to the indoor family games of Ludo, Carrom and Chinese Chequers (no Chinese connection in it though; it originated from Germany).

I am not excessively worried about getting infected by COVID-19 virus (I get more worried about Dengue and Malaria when I get mosquito bites in India). What worries me is that, in case I get infected, I will be treated and virtually monitored like an alien; cut off from everyone and everything. My parents, back in India, will be extremely nervous and it will be difficult to pacify them. My wife and kids might be all alone for at least 2-4 weeks? That sounds worrisome.

Also, after I return (definitely I will get cured) what will be my social acceptance? People will give a skeptical look and try to avoid me for sometimes, won’t they? However, that is not a prime concern for me and it will ease out over a period.

Overall, I feel the fear for COVID-19 can’t stay this way forever. We will find a way to annihilate the virus or successfully coexist with it through proper treatment. At some point, our guts will overcome our fear and our brute physical and mental strength will overpower our submissiveness. We will learn to use our instincts in a better way than burying them under pseudo intellect. That’s when we will connect more with nature, which is the need of the hour.

About the Author

Iman Ghosh Dastidar, is a member of a ‘happy go lucky’ Indian family comprising of one husband (that’s him) and one wife (Monalisa) but two kids (Shivanshi and Vedatman). The family loves to travel and travel and travel…and when they are not traveling, they plan for their upcoming travel. ‘Not so importantly’, Iman is a Chemical Engineer (and an MBA too), staying and working in Bahrain and reluctantly waiting to be 40 soon. He has been an industry professional (allegedly), for the past 17 years in Petroleum sector making transport fuels which connect so well with his hobby of travelling. Interestingly, he is also a classic bathroom singer and an extremely rare writer because he writes rarely.