The Corona Times!
The days were running fine with the news broadcasts about a virus in the air! People were all busy as is usual on any given day. Still it struck some as something unusual as a subject to come through the television sets.
Many news items and many movies are always telecast. Mostly matters connected with the day to day living and some accidents etc. But a virus thing was not there.
This was making us apprehensive. Over and above a symbolic one day curfew was being mentioned on the third or fourth Sunday of March of 2020. Since we were to reach Kerala before that, I argued with my son, "We are just going on time. We don't know when we can travel back to Chennai". He was confident and said: "Oh..you can e a ticket after Sunday. The curfew is only for one day, that too as a sample"
There he was right. But once in Kerala, we were stay put to hear the random spread of virus and there by a halt in all kinds of traffic, announced by Governments and local bodies, afterwards. At times roads were blocked in the name of containment zone activation and so on. It took us one and a half years to travel back to Chennai again! By that time, things had improved a lot. In between, there was a total stoppage of travel including rail travel and air travel. We read in newspapers that people walked kilometers and kilometers to reach their loved ones in far off places. Daily deaths were reported in the TV and papers. The news all through the day almost made us sick. However, a strong faith in God and prayers acted as an energizer all through those tough times.
The State Government saw to it that all got food kits which was a real blessing when movement were totally banned and all were asked to be at home and not to come out except for rations or emergency occasions. The only places we went were the ration shop and the groceries. Oh..those times, was an eye opener from the earlier free free times.
