Vaccinating my mom with Covid 19 vaccine

 

We all waited with bated breath for Covid 19 vaccine from the moment,  Corona was termed as  pandemic and we all went into covid inducted lockdown. Scientists across globe worked relentlessly to find a suitable vaccine candidate, to temporarily arrest the virus and give some relief to people. Usually vaccines are produced after researching for years but with covid 19, scientist didn’t had the luxury of time with them, as they had to come out with the vaccine in the shortest possible time with some efficacy too.

I was always glued to the news of vaccine, as I thought vaccine would end the pandemic and we will be able to lead a normal life. So when the news of vaccine reached my ears, I was over joyed, finally there was something for us to fight the virus. Best part was my parents were eligible to be vaccinated in the first phase only. As they fell under the vulnerable category and I was always worried about them.

I was behind my parents to get vaccinated but they were reluctant as they want to see the impact on vaccinated people before taking a call. I also wanted to be with my parents when they get vaccinated, to be on the safer, in case of mild side effects. My mom volunteered first for vaccination, kudos to her. I immediately booked an appointment for her through Cowin website, before she changes her mind. I must say the registration process was too quick and user friendly.

On the day of vaccination we reached the vaccination center on time, we had opted for a government facility, here in Kerala. There was huge queue at the center, as some people had reached the place for spot registration too along with online registration. Since we had registered online, we were directed to queue which was smaller when compared to on spot registration one.

At the counter, my mom’s credentials were verified one more time and she was asked to move to the waiting area for vaccination. I was asked to leave the facility and wait outside as family members or attendants are not allowed inside the vaccination room. So I left counter and waited outside for my mom to come out from the exit door.

After 45 minutes, I saw my mom coming out of the hospital. I immediately went to her and enquired about the vaccination along with her health, she said, she is fine. Then we drove back home, first thing we did after reaching home was to dip our clothes in water and then head for shower. We were at a hospital for more than an hour and we didn’t want to take any kind of risk. We had already kept things handy before going to hospital, so things were pretty easy for us.

I checked my mom’s phone after we were little relaxed and noticed that the moment, she was inoculated, a sms was sent to her phone about the vaccine she was injected with. Then I logged in to cowin website again and noticed, my mom has been issued a partial vaccination certificate too. When I downloaded it, I saw it had full details about her vaccine, including the name of the staff who inoculated her. I didn’t face any difficulty in inoculating my mom with the first dose of the vaccine, hope the legacy continues for 2^nd dose too.

That was my experience of getting my mom vaccinated against the novel corona virus, I hope dad to agree for vaccination soon and he get his shots also. Currently, the only way we can protect our parents is by getting them vaccinated, there will be resistance from their side but we as kids should convince them and if possible accompany them for vaccination. Our parents need us the most especially during this pandemic time, I realized it, when I came to be with them.

My first Covid test

 

Going to a pathology lab for any kind of bodily or non-bodily test has been a traumatizing experience for me. I can’t heave a sigh of relief unless my reports have been approved normal by doctors. So I generally avoid such test unless absolutely necessary. But undergoing covid test was mandatory, for me as per the guidelines laid down by Kerala state for inter-state travelers.

I didn’t sleep whole night thinking about the result of the test result, though I didn’t had any symptoms still a test report will reaffirm my belief as well as that of my family members, especially my dad. His policy was very clear, till your test results come, father son emotions are down. A negative report will rekindle the emotion of a father for his son. My dad is too scared of covid as well as people undergoing quarantine.

My sleep was disrupted at 3.00 am on the day of the test, after I couldn’t sleep despite my best efforts. By 7.00 am I got up from bed and tried to meditate to divert my attention but I failed here too. By 9.00 am I had my breakfast and I was all set to go for the test. But I couldn’t go as my appointment was scheduled for 12 noon, I called the lab one more time to confirm my schedule.

I still had 2 more hours to go and I didn’t know how to pass those 2 hours. So I diverted my attention to the laptop, to watch some series which interest me. When I watch action thriller series or movie, I get so engrossed in it, that I forget myself for some time. This trick usually work for me and this time too it worked.

Before heading out for the hospital, my aunt told me to keep my clothes ready in bathroom so that I can directly head for shower. Thanks to corona, a shower is mandatory after an outside visit, especially from hospitals.

At 11.30 am I finally left home for the test, I was driving the car and my uncle was on his bullet to guide me the way. We didn’t travel in the same vehicle because my test results were yet to come and it was a precautionary measure.

By 12.00 pm I reached the hospital and reported at the reception counter.  I was asked to fill some forms before the test, which I did promptly. After that I was directed to the test area, with the forms. One attendant took my form along with the money and asked me to wait for my turn. 

After 2 patients my name was called and I went inside, I was too scared (my cousin told me, she experience nasal pain for 2 days after the test). So I told the guy to be gentle and he told me to relax and sit back.

He inserted a swab first in my left nose, it was little irritating but had to bear it. When he took the swab out I was happy as I thought I was done with the test. But my happiness was short lived, when he put swab in my right nose. It was then that I realized that swabs are put in both nostrils. Finally, I was done with my first covid test.

I was told that within 10 mins my results will be out, this was the longest 10 minutes of the day. I think my day that day was all about diverting my attention, first it was for the test now for its result. I bet people across globe will want this one test report to be negative to be happy while it is vice versa for pregnancy test.

After 10 mins, my name was called out and I went there with bated breath, the attendant told its negative. But I didn’t hear it correctly the first time, obviously because of anxiety, so I request him to repeat, he obliged. I can’t express in words my excitement at that moment, I just wanted to hug someone tightly then but I controlled my emotions, as I was in a hospital.

I informed my uncle about the result and called my parents too, as they had called me couple of time by now enquiring about the result.

Journey back home was joyful, as I was getting relieved about from my quarantine that day.  

My first mandatory quarantine in Kerala

 

I wanted to visited Kerala and be with my parents for a long time but 7 days of mandatory quarantine, forced me to stay back in Bangalore. I was under the assumption, that one day quarantine norm will be quashed and I will travel. Other reason for me to dodge quarantine was, I am claustrophobic and I wasn’t sure, if I will be able to survive for 7 days in a closed room, all by myself.

Later I realized that this quarantine norm is going off anytime soon, so I decided to visit my parents after a year (longest so far). For quarantine, I zeroed upon my aunt’s house, where my cousin sister had successfully completed her quarantine period.

I landed up at my aunt’s place by evening 6 pm and directly went to the room allotted to me, followed by a quick shower. Since, I was too tired due to exhaustive journey, I took rest for some time and for the l dinner to be served and immediately dozed off to bed.

Next day, my aunt said, full first floor is for you, so you can go to other rooms also, instead of being confined to one room itself. It gave me a fresh breeze of life as I could freely roam to other rooms of the floor without any fear. This made my life little pleasant full as being confined to a room was too monotonous.

I had planned lot of activities for those 7 days of quarantine but nothing materialized. As most of the time my ears were glued to the staircase, as my aunt would get me sometime things to eat at regular interval. Any sound on the staircase was an indication that someone is coming up. Usually I don’t feel that hungry but during those 7 days, I was starving most of the time, hence ate a lot and piled up some weight too.

My only way to communicate with the members of the house was through a glass panel. It was little difficult but good for the current situation. My dad was enjoying this scenario a lot. Couple of time, I felt like a new creature in zoo and people are visiting the place, to get a glimpse of me. But I was happy, in that situation too, as I was in the company of my loved ones.

First two days of quarantine were spend in taking rest as I was too tired due to hectic travel and my right feet was aching too. Since it was travel related ache, I decided to stay away from medicines and applied ice pack at the effect area, it severed the purpose for me.

I was very particular about few things during my quarantine period, first was to meditate daily, drink lukewarm water, eat healthy food at regular interval and take lukewarm water shower. Lukewarm shower because water is little cold in Kerala as they are pumped from well directly and people who are not used to this water, will get cold immediately. And I wanted to avoid falling sick especially during the quarantine period.

My friends and family members would call me frequently to keep a tab on me, so I was usually engaged with someone over call. Evening from 5pm – 7pm, I would at the balcony to get some fresh air and could see people walking down the road along with some vehicular movement. This was my, “me time” when, I didn’t want to take phone calls but enjoy the beauty of nature, as balcony would open to rubber plantation.

Despite all these activities, I felt lonely at times, then I would watch some movie or web series in my laptop. Based on my personal experience, I can say that it’s better to be quarantined with someone. Because sometimes your energy level goes down, there will be someone who will understand your situation better than others. Basic reason for energy level to go down was about the probable outcome of covid test, that people have to take after their quarantine period. This happens usually when are approaching towards the end of your quarantine period.

To sum up I can say that, quarantine period is like spending quality time at a resort where food and all basic amenities will be taken care for you but a visit to the pool or other places are barred.  In totality, I can say that my quarantine period was not that bad as I expected it to be, still I don’t to experience it again unless I have a quarantine partner.

My first road trip from Bangalore to Kerala

I have been driving bike and car, for more than a decade, still I prefer someone else to drive vehicle so that I can sit next to them. My friends were always against this habit of mine but would always give up, the fight with me and take the driving seat. I enjoy sitting next to my friends but if situation arise, I will drive but it has to be the last resort.

Some of my friends had warned me that if there’s situation, when I have to go for long drive, what will I do then? My response was, I will hire a driver. But never in my weirdest dream did I think, I will counter a situation, when I will be forced to undertake a road trip due to family emergency. I was petrified with fear the moment I learned about the road trip and I didn’t have any other option other than the road trip. So with a mixed baggage of emotion, I decided to go ahead with the road trip.

When I started my journey from Bangalore, my legs were trembling with fear and I wanted to go back to my room. Even the roads which I took on daily basis were no less than highways for me but I was determined to reach my first destination, my friend’s house in Salem. That was my only motivating power which kept me going.

I was little nostalgic when I crossed Karnataka border and entered Tamil Nadu, as I was leaving the city after an year’s gap, due to pandemic. Since it was my first road trip, my friends hap kept few systems in place to track my location and also for distress help. So in a way I was not alone in my journey, all my friends were travelling with me, love you guys for your unconditional support and always be the way how you are.

I was under stressful driving till I reached my first stopover in krishnagiri, I got out of the car there, swapped my shoes to slippers (was finding it difficult to drive), drank some water, informed my friends about my stopover and enjoyed the beauty of the place for some time. (My friends had done some research about such stopovers and informed me, so it was easy for me to stop, there for some time and relax).

My journey after this stopover was little smooth as the initial fear had vanished by now and I was confident about my drive forward. My other accomplice during my long and monotonous journey was my pen drive which had few songs, since it was an unplanned journey, I didn’t get time to add songs. I had few songs handy in my laptop which I transferred them promptly to my pen drive. I felt music was therapeutic as it kept me calm and composed while driving, without diverting my attention. 

Every kilometer covered by me brought little smile on my face as the distance was reducing and it instilled little more confidence in me, that I can do it. My joy had no bounds when I reached my friend’s house at Salem, I was much behind schedule but he was happy to see me. I could clearly see a sense of pride in his eyes on my achievement. Then we had lunch together after a long time and spent rest of the day in planning my journey for the next day, as I had to cover around 450 kms in a single day.

My friend suggested the best route for me, after analyzing multiple options Google and said that I should begin my day at 6 am nest day, so that I can reach home at least by 6 pm (inclusive of all breaks). Full 12 hour’s drive, had send shivers down my spine but my friends were confident that I will achieve this rare mile stone like a cake walk. God knows from where they so get much confidence about me, when I was doubtful about myself.

Next day, I left my friend’s house exactly at 6 am and got glued to my phone screen for the location ahead. By 10 am I entered Kerala border through Walayar check post but I still had, a long distance to cover as per Google maps. I had my breakfast there.

Kerala has many single lane roads so I had to be cautious while driving, as I am accustomed to driving on two or three lane roads. This in turn reduced my driving speed and increased travel time. By 2 pm I reached Cochin and was starving too. So had my lunch at a restaurant in Cochin, food was good. I still had four more hour’s drive left to reach home.

Again I started my drive through the roads of kerala to reach Konni, my hometown. At one place, nearly 30 kms away from Konni, I got confused with maps, fortunately I found police patrol vehicle there. I went to them and asked the way to Konni and they guided me the route.  After that I didn’t stop anywhere till I reached my destination..

Finally by 6 pm, I drove the car into my house and got out of it, to end the road trip journey and begin quarantine journey for next 7 days.

Masaba Masaba a vibrant web series

 Masaba Masaba an autobiographic web series, first of its kind to hit screen through Netflix. An out of the box concept to cover an aspect of mom – daughter duo, played by acclaimed fashion designer Masaba Gupta and her mom Neena Gupta, the most versatile actor. Beautiful part of Season 1 is that, it has just covered only one phase of Masaba and Neena’s life, so there’s scope for multiple seasons of the series to cover various other facets.

Beautiful six episodes web series, of season 1 is currently out on Netflix, to enthrall the audiences with the challenges faced by people and the way certain people come out of it.  Both Masaba and Neena were facing different kinds of challenges in their life’s and they didn’t knew how to come out of the it. But they were determined to turn tables towards them once again and regain their glory to success. Whether they did it or not? Can see be answered in the series only, so better watch it to discover it in person.

The most intriguing part of the series is the narration of the story, which gave equal importance to all character in the series, which is little rare in web series. As I wasn’t even bored, for a moment while watching the series or felt this particular scene was not required. The character played by Tanuj Virwani  as Manav was the shortest in the series yet had an impactful role. The icing on the cake, was the presence of this cute little girl, with those curly hairs and amazing outfits. She was very much identical to Masaba, despite not uttering a word all throughout the series, except at the most crucial juncture of the story. I loved her screen presence more than anyone else in the series. Again something very new and innovative, I have not seen it any web series so far.

Neena Gupta is a seasoned actor who has graced screens for several decades and even today, her onscreen charm is impeccable but Masaba Gupta was the surprise package in the series. In one way I can say that Masaba Masaba, was the debut of Masaba Gupta as an actor, she was just herself, the way she may be in her real life. The banter of the mother daughter on screen is another reason, one should watch the series at least once.

I also liked the character played by Smaran Sahu as Jogi apart from the adorable doll, he was rustic and natural in the character played and had multiple shades which open up gradually during the series without any gray shades. He played a positive and motivational character.

While watching Masaba Masaba, I felt even Instagram was also a character in the series as it played very important role in the life’s of the protagonists. Instagram was like their daily dairy where they shared everything about them without any filters, both Masaba and Neena used Instagram to share their happiness and sorrows, at times it was even used for promotional purposes too. Without Instagram, story line would have missed many major incidents of their life.

To conclude I would say, Masaba Masaba will just lighten up your spirits in just 03 hours, you will not regret watching once for sure..

Few unforgettable memories from lockdown

During lockdown many incidents which rocked the nation, few were pleasant while others were not pleasant. Then there were few instances which surprised people as they were rare gestures, unthinkable of normally. Few things which caught my attention are listed below

Repeat telecast of shows

Corona pandemic forced producers to halt shooting of TV shows and movies midway to ensure the safety of crew. This affected the daily shows, as they ran out episodes in few days’ time, hence all TV channels came up with the idea of repeat telecast of their popular shows. This clicked with masses too, as they got an opportunity to revisit their favorite show and were able to stay at home, as instructed by the government. This phenomenal lead to the return of the few most iconic shows back to the television screens, some garnered good TRPs also for the channels.

Doordarshan topped TRP charts

Before pandemic and lockdown, TRP charts were dominated by channels like StarPLus, Zee TV, Color TV and Sony TV. But pandemic brought in a pleasant surprise for Doordarshan, which ruled the chart decades ago, was once again in top league as it broke all TRP records till date.  This happened due to the telecast of their most iconic shows “ Ramayan and Mahabharat”. Viewership of these decade old shows was at all-time high and this gave new lease of life to all artists of the show too. Most actors from these iconic are now more active on social media platforms than before.

Switch from Private to Government hospitals

Given to chance to select between government and private hospital, people will prefer private hospital over the latter. But corona pandemic has forced people to prefer government hospital over private, as they are well equipped to handle covid positive patients and the treatment is also free. For the first time private hospitals, are wary of admitting people to their hospitals especially covid positive. This has forced people to take refuge in government hospital, where doctors and nurses welcome them with smiles on their faces.

Movie screening shift from cinema halls to OTT platforms

Pleasure of watching movies on big screen with snacks at a movie theater is phenomenal but with corona pandemic in place, no movies will be released in theater or multiplexes anytime soon. Taking stock of the current situation, producers are now releasing their movies in OTT platforms like Amazon prime, Netflix and Hotstar. This has been done to reduce the loss incurred by producers due to non-release of movies in theatres. It even led to huge hue and cry amongst theater and multiplexes but they were forced to abide by the decision of the producers.

Neighborhood shops over supermarkets

Lockdown restricted movement of people to their favorite supermarket and they were forced to depend on their neighborhood shops for their grocery shopping.  I am a big fan of supermarket but during lockdown, I was forced to visit my neighborhood shop for my groceries and veggies purchase. Even now I prefer to buy few things from neighborhood shops only, for the rest visit supermarket.

Lockdown friends

It may sound weird but Yes, I made few friends during lockdown phase. They aren’t new people, I had their contact details all this while in my phonebook but never got the opportunity to talk to them at peace. During lockdown, I reached out to most people in my phonebook with whom I almost lost touch and I was able to connect well with few of them. Sometimes all it takes, is just a “Hi” to connect someone and I am happy, I did that. These friends will always be special to me, as they were with me during my most horrific times.

Now we are in unlock phase and I hope we continue this way only. I don’t want to witness a situation like “Lockdown” ever again in my lifetime.

From Lockdown 1.0 to Unlock 1.0

After experiencing 4 versions of lockdown with lot restriction and hardships, government has finally introduced unlock 1.0 version to bring the economy back to tracks. Starting June 1^st 2020, strategies of unlock has been implemented to ease major chuck of restrictions barring few to get people‘s life back to normal. Can we lead the same life, we led before lockdown 1.0? I doubt we can

Lockdown 1.0 was announced in the nick of time and people had no time to either understand or embrace lockdown, I was no exception either as it was my first experience of lockdown like many others. I was under the assumption that life will be back to normal after lockdown 1.0 but I was totally wrong.

Lockdown 1.0 was the scariest for me as I was all alone in my flat and I didn’t know how to deal with it? First, it was announced all of a sudden and I didn’t know what’s in store for me, as there was lot of confusion due to lack of clarity on the entire situation. What I feared the most that I may not be able to get veggies and my drinking water can, clubbed with the feeling of being under house arrest.

First week was very difficult for me especially during evening time till I started to sit in the balcony for an hour to ease off anxiety. Fortunately I had milk and a vegetable shop, just next to my building so I didn’t had to worry about them but was really skeptical to step out of my building to buy them. By second week I had no option but to come out of my building to buy milk and vegetables.

Towards of end of lockdown 1.0, I had adjusted with the current situation and made changes in my life style too. So when lockdown 2.0 was announced I was least effected, as I knew it would happen and the learning’s of lockdown 1.0 came handy to me.  I ordered grocery from Flipkart as I was about run out of few of them and visit to any supermarket to buy them was a distant dream then.

Then lockdown 3.0 came with some relaxations and few shops opened in my locality, major attraction of 3.0 was the opening up of liquor shop. Huge queues were seen in front of liquor shops for almost a week and stocks were replenished quickly to meet the growing demand. Life started to get normal in this lockdown as nearby vegetable market opened again, with more vendors and options for vegetables this time.

Finally lockdown 4.0 was announced which gave more respite to people and shops. All shops were thrown open for people along with considerable ease in movement of people within the city. It was in this version of lockdown that I visited supermarket to buy some house hold stuff. I still remember how terrified I was, to step out of house to buy things but I had no option,  as I was not convinced, with the offering of online stores so visit was mandatory.  This trip eased my fear to a great extent but also forced me to believe that, I have to live with corona now.

During these four versions of lockdown, countries economy was badly hit and the way forward was grim too, due the virus situation and steep rise in cases. Government had also run out of money to meet the growing demand of treatment of corona positive patient’s in hospitals. More versions of lockdown will only add to the misery of the people and nothing else, so government decided to initiate the process to revive the economy.

Unlock 1.0 was the first step towards revival of Indian economy and to reinstate normalcy back to people’s life. There are still few restrictions which people have to abide by like masks in public places, use of sanitizers and physical distancing ruling the chart.

I waited all this while for unlock 1.0 but today when it has become a reality and I am still scared to step out of my house except for necessities. I don’t think life will ever be normal unless vaccine is found and people are injected with it. Corona induced fear and stigma is hard to leave the minds of people anytime soon is what I think.