Locked Down Conversations

Our life is reflected in our conversations. And the most happen on social media. Especially when you are facing a crisis like no other.

Conversations on the apartment WhatsApp groups which are always a mix of everything from spirituality to politics to outcries over dog poop spotted near the garden, coalesced around the ‘new virus’ in the early days.

Shared concerns consolidated over the lockdown and then with the increasing relaxations began the heated debates on the apartment WhatsApp groups.

The debates continued over what was legal, necessary, required or out of bounds for the management committee’s remit. What emerged were the multiple corona-personalities within a seemingly homogenous group of neighbours.

To begin with, there was a big group which believed in securing everything that could be secured, restricting anything that was non-essential for survival.

The differences emerged with differing perspectives on defining the ‘essential’

If milk could be delivered why not newspapers?

Read your papers online. There are a zillion channels for getting news.

All of those increase screen time. The health hazards are higher.

Higher than a possible corona-outbreak?

WHO has said newspapers are safe. <10 links, 3 infographics, 5 videos>

Why are we discussing this in the official group?

This information is important.

Stop drinking milk. Switch to a plant-based diet. <6 links, 3 infographics, 4 videos>

Why are you over-reacting? < 10 videos from doctors (a couple of dentists too) explaining it was perfectly safe to get the disease and how to treat yourself >

Maids were essential, cooks too and of course food deliveries.

Why not other deliveries then?

Look at the increasing numbers. <20 links>

Stop alarming people.

50 more messages on what should be posted (or not).

In this age of mass-enlightenment via social media, hyper-democracy, shaky political alignments and a desperate economy the government had to give up on trying to make people stay indoors. The RWAs had to give up on not letting people in, and the WhatsApp admins had to well, just give up.

Doesn’t that reflect the whole situation around us?

 

 

Parenting a Teenager

I have some time to write today. But no clue about what to write about.

When this was primarily a mommy blog, there was always some incident like coming home to find the PC screen upside down or some conversations like these that I had to share. I am still the mommy but with two teenagers, there has been a slow and steady erosion of my job description.

The kids are not only on their own wings, they keep trying to take me under their wing too. Maybe they are looking for some payback.

You need to exercise. No mom, you don’t have fever and you can’t bunk office. How can you read this crap; I’ll find you a book to read. Show me the ticket, I need to confirm the time. Give me the ID cards. Did you pack your charger? Why didn’t you finish lunch? Phone-Wallet-Keys why can’t you not lose just these three things?

For some time, I would keep reminding them that I was still the mom, but then I stopped bothering. I listen to the instructions. I make worse excuses than they ever made. When they get really mad over some random (unfortunately quite common) incident like misplacing a wallet, I use the zooming-out trick I learnt from them.

When I almost delayed a flight, requesting that they let me ‘un-board’ and search for my phone, I thought my daughter would start a blog of her own! ‘Teenaging a parent’ or something like that. We found the phone in the seat pocket after sending the crew on a treasure hunt. She just gave that ‘Don’t say a word’ look, I refused to meet her eyes. I acted ‘normal’, read a book for ten minutes and then silently offered to share a bag of chips.

It is good fun being a parent of a teen. 

It’s also payback!

Talking about Poetry

Not many people read my blog now. So it is more like the early days-a random diary which the Internet saves for you. A space to write just for the fun of playing with words. 

This one started with a conversation about one more thing I don't understand too well-modern poetry! 



In our days, we had to learn our poems. How does one do that without the cadence?

They as usual, shrug it off as another example of my ignorance

Poetry is how Wordsworth describes daffodils,
it makes you feel like the cloud o’er the hills.

Poetry for me is all about the rhyme;
and the music which stays with you over time.

What makes a poem, mom, is the rhythm;
the kids insist but I can’t agree with’em.

So they try their best to explain:
when you feel that punctuation is a pain,
when you have words, but not the patience,
to find more to complete the sentence,

You just write what you think and feel,
forget the grammar, and focus on the zeal,
and that is what makes great poetry.
It’s the thought, mom, not the symmetry.

Oh well, it’s most likely that they are right,
but looking out on a dark, silent night,
the words in my heart playing around,
are ones that had thoughts, and the sound.