Lockdown India Diary 2020

A lot has happened in March & April, I felt its would documenting it in a post. Would be a great time-capsule to look back at, when things have improved. These are unprecedented days, in peace-time. Its not like Indo Pak wars or like the 1975 emergency. Yet its like them. And since this ties the entire world together, its like a WW3 where world fights an invisible enemy, really really invisible, but killer.

All of extended family and friends live in India. Along with USA, we have been monitoring the changes in India. Wiki page for India response is well updated.

Pandemic COVID-19 spread was known in Jan & Feb. And things looked still relaxed in first half of Mar. Second half is when serious steps could be seen in airport screenings & traveler quarantines.

On 19-Mar-2020, Prime Minister Modi addressed the nation in details, and gently asked for self-isolation & stay-at-home, a voluntary Janta Curfew on Sun 22-Mar. While everyone stayed home that Sunday and made noise from their balcony to cheer the COVID warriors, which was great. But there were bunch of videos of how coviodiots thought 5pm was when they were set free and communed for feasting and outings enmasse.

Hence very soon, came the lockdown annoucement by Prime Minister Modi. Here is the annoucement video and experience the chilly pauses from 7:10 minute onwards. I heard it on VBS radio app and I really felt like this meme. This meme makes use of the dread from demonitization announcement. You have to give it to Modi for making imapcts !

 "Sampoorn desh mein, sampoorn lockdown hone wala hai." Even though we were already in Stay-at-home in MN, this announcement was for an entire big country like India. That is a big deal.

My family & friends had been in their home town much before the announcements. My cousin in IT in Bangalore, worked from home in our native Udupi. And my nephew studying in Pune reached home Bhilai while travel was on. My aunt & uncle were holidaying in Bangalore and were stuck there. Everyone had stocked on their food & medicines.

The negative optics fallout of this announcements were the pictures of people thronging in front of medical stores till late night. And in a few days large hordes of migrants labors showed up on highways. On the long walk to back to their home villages, since railways and flight have been closed. With backpacks of their belongings and holding hands with kids. Definitely this happened because solution for these two areas were not addressed in the announcement. Eventually good stories came out where migrant quarantines in schools painted & repaired the schools and dug wells, for the good of the school kids, while also acquired some education.

But in the days that followed, there were program announcements one by one, addressing different areas. Shops are allowed to be open for 3-4 hours in the morning half. By 27-Apr plans for methodical travel of stuck migrants, students & tourists was announced.
Farming & harvest season are being considered and various plans being rolled out everyday.

Artwork by my 8th-grade Jaiaditya Nikkumbh

Numbers wise India seems to be in well control, for a country of this population-size. I could only hear of support of social-distancing and staying home. Any spike due to any super-spreader was pooh-poohed. Lot of cultural upheavels in these few weeks. But thankfully no mischief could'n't spiral it out of control. Its a matter of self-survival right now, no matter which side you belonged to.

Many creative solutions came up. India sent out hydroxychloroquine to many countries. It was rumored BCG vaccines were responsible for immunity. Indian post provided mobile ATM service. While Indian railways provided their stalled train coaches as quarantine facility at short notice. Tatas provided their 5-star hotels as quarantine stay for doctors after their duty ended.

Indian Government leverage their Doordarshan archives so well, its a winner move. They re-telecast Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana and B R Chopra's Mahabharat. Along with them came Byomkesh Bakshi, Shaktiman and many other 90s. 90s nostalgia came full circle. This is definitely great tool to keep the people indoors happy and stay there. Ramayana & Mahabharatha are known for deserted streets during their original telecast. And they were brought back for the same reasons. AIR news share program reports & do fact checks to refute fakes news circulating in WhatsApp & social media’s.

There have been so many memes addressing the slow adoption of this new way of life. Husband-wife kids stuck in home 24/7, like the country & world was a Big Boss playing everywhere. Work from home meme. Missing the socialising part. Its too much to document here. But its everywhere, talking about everything in life.

So many COVID Warriors to salute. So many feel good videos honoring the sanitation staff of a the street. Hospital health-workers, doctors, nurses, technicians, .... Cricketers who got back to their police duty jobs. Beauty queens back as Doctors.

Mumbai mayor was back at her old job of nurse. Indian First Lady sewing masks.
Indian First Lady sewing masks

Police who did their duty of keeping people indoors, so many with a hard-hand and many with humor & with creativity.

Numerous organizations did charitable food donations to needy folks. Film celebrities were cited as useless people on whom the nations wastes their love & energy & money. Until some of them lead some charitable drives and donating from their own pockets to PM-CARES Fund.

For feel-good actions, Indians clapped & made noise in their unique way (thali-clanging, shank, dhol etc) on 22-Mar-2020. It's great to see a montage video of such actions from across world. 9-April 9pm was the night to light diya outside the house and to send a prayer. Since this is a non-disruptive actions, Indian from outside India did it in their timezone. Here is my #9pm9minute.

Lockdown has been extended multiple times and till 17-May. But it has been with more & more relaxations for different sectors - red, green & orange zones. Flights and railway are still closed. As someones said, being part of major historical event is not as cool as it sounded. Its better in history books. But its not like war and world is so much better place in 2020.