Coronavirus Chronicles: 7 Women Tell Me How They are Dealing with this Pandemic

Coronavirus Chronicles

Ever since China reported to the WHO of a mysterious pneumonia-like illness spreading amongst its vast population on Dec 31st, 2019 – the world has been in a constant state of upheaval. Then, on Jan 7th, 2020 – this lung jarring illness was finally identified with a name: SARS-CoV-2 medically referred to as Covid-19.

In close to three months of its existence – as Covid-19 made its way around the globe – it has caused widespread chaos and fear in its wake, with thousands of lives hanging in the balance. And as the world retreated into a 2-week lockdown, the news of this deadly virus has syndicated its way into our lives through a number dedicated channels. Be it those unending WhatsApp forwards, un-muted Google alerts, social media, phone calls or your next door neighbor who can’t stop talking about it.

While this has resulted in a ‘man-vs-virus’ war-like scenario, with man on the constant defense, always looking for our next hopeful victory – there is one primal question we forget to ask our fellow comrades: How are YOU personally dealing with it?

Which is why, over the past week I asked 7 women from different parts of the world, occupations and ages how they are dealing with a never-happened-before pandemic like this, and how it is affecting different aspects of their daily life.

Nishika Prakash, 25, Fashion & Lifestyle Digital Marketing Professional, Barcelona 

How Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
Almost 2 weeks now.

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
On a regular day I’d wake up at 7:30 a.m. and over 45 minutes I’d finish taking a bath, eating breakfast and getting ready. Then I would take the bus and travel 25 minutes to work. I reach by 9 and I stay in office till 6:30 p.m. During the day we usually have 2 breaks, one at 11:30 for coffee and one at 2:00 for lunch. Anyway, after work I go to the gym and after gym I come back home and cook.
Post dinner, my day winds up by 10:00 p.m. after which I chant Buddhism for 15 minutes, finish checking emails and unwinding by reading. By 11:30 I’m asleep.
With quarantine, I now wake up by 8:00 because I’m working from home. At 9:45 a.m. I have my first call of the day and then the rest of the day is spent executing whatever tasks that have been allotted to me. It involves many more calls and tracking down people – mostly because we are still figuring this out.
In between I also cook lunch and eat it between 2 and 3. Then the rest of the day is the same, except I work out at home.
For me working from home is a challenge because I feel more productive in the office. It’s a different space with less distractions. But I’m figuring it out. 

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
The virus is definitely scary but it also feels like the world is giving it back to us. In a way, it’s unifying us as global citizens. So I’m looking at it positively with a fresh perspective.
As for social distancing – it is teaching me something new. When we had all the time in the world, we always assumed we could make that phone call later. But now, despite being busy we manage to make the time to call our near and dear ones now. Like take this very call between you and me for example.
It also made me realize who my real friends are. When we had all the freedom, it was so easy to think we’d never be alone, but at a time like this, you realize which friends actually call to check-up on you. So, I’m looking at it as a time to strengthen my relationships as well.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
The first thing is: I’m determined to be happy at whatever the world throws at me. So I’m using this as a time of self discovery and self improvement. With this change in work and having to adapt to a new lifestyle I’m discovering how to utilize my time better, eat better and stay healthy. Before quarantine I had started to like mind-empowering books; I had started to dislike chicken, so I want to read more of those books and learn newer vegetarian recipes.
At the same time, I’m also discovering new things about myself. Along with understanding what I truly like, what I dislike – I’m recognizing my flaws and learning what I need to improve on.
Like I said – it’s a time of self reinvention and I’m going to make the most of it.

Rujuta Chinai, 41, Garment Production Manager, Connecticut

Coronavirus ChroniclesHow Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
Since March 16th.

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
Before quarantine my day began at 6:30 and my morning would be spent in having a bath, making breakfast, getting my 7-year-old son ready and driving him to school. After that I’d go to the gym, get back home and start work. As an account and sourcing manager for garments I can work from home. Sometimes though, for meetings I would have to take the train into New York city.
Anyway, by 3:30 p.m. it’s pick-up time and post that, the rest of the afternoon is dedicated to whatever after-school activity my son is involved in. Be it swimming lessons or basketball class. Once we’re home, we enjoy an early dinner at 6:30 p.m. and by 8, I put him to bed. I sleep sometime after that.
With quarantine although work is temporarily halted, my days aren’t any less busy. With my husband also working from home and my son knowing coronavirus only as the ‘big green stubber with ketchup’, I want to keep his routine as normal as possible. So I converted one room into his classroom and everyday during school hours we go in there to study via Google Classroom. The only difference is, I help him and teach him in stead of his school teacher.
Otherwise, I workout at home through work-out videos, and in stead of after-school activities we go for walks and drives.

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
I’m not afraid of this pandemic in any way because I know it’s a passing phase. Like China if we follow the rules – it will die out.
Otherwise I am liking this time. I like the idea of not having to wake up to agendas and google calendar reminders everyday. I’m very lucky I live in a big house, I have a backyard where my movement is not so restricted. If I was living in an apartment in the city, maybe, I would feel different. But then even now, it’s just the first week (as of March 19th). I don’t know how I’ll feel after a while.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
Yes, mostly catching up with my family, learning new recipes and enjoying the peace.

Priya Pillia, 26, Student/Freelancer, Kolkata

Coronavirus Chronicles How Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
Since Tuesday (March 17th) evening I haven’t stepped out. But it’s not because of quarantine or anything, it’s just my choice. 

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
On regular days I’d get up by 8:30 a.m., eat breakfast, have a bath and leave for class. I live in Golf Green and my course took place at the Seagull Bookstore in Bhowanipur. So I’d walk, take an auto, then a metro and walk some more before I reached. It took me 45 minutes to get to class. Class ended by 2 p.m. after which some days I’d stay back and read books in the bookstore; some days I’d go out for lunch. I would reach home usually by 8 p.m. and by 9:30 it’s dinner with dad. Post dinner, I’d do some work and then I’d go straight to bed.
Now my routine is very different,  although not because of quarantine, but because my course ended. I was in the process of applying for a job, but given the situation, I’m sure people aren’t hiring just about now. Anyway, since I have this extra time, I sleep in these days and wake up at 11:30 a.m. Then it’s the usual breakfast, bath followed by preparing for lunch and dinner in the afternoons. Besides that, I spend the day reading, sometimes watching Netflix and if I have any freelancing work, I usually do that in the evening for a few hours. The rest of my day is pretty much the same.

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
Social distancing is not very hard for me because I didn’t go out a lot anyway. But in light of the current situation, it’s important for people to stay home. Having said that – I can see it is quite difficult for some people having to live within those 4 walls day after day. For me it’s not so hard at the moment because Dad still has work (as of March 20th) but it could get tough later.
To be honest even though it’s not so much different from my regular life, I’m not a big fan of it because it makes me feel forced into a situation. I don’t like not having the option of going out. For someone who’s not in their most Zen right now, staying in one place can affect one’s mental health.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
Since I moved to Kolkata I carried a bunch of books with me and I bought many more from the bookstore. My plan is to read all of those 10, 15 books and start on my own writing.

Gigi D’Cruz, 25, Early Years Teacher, Mumbai

Coronavirus ChroniclesHow Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
From March 13th. I took my own decision to take the first 2 days off, because although schools had shut for the students, the teachers still had to go in to master home learning. I felt like I could do it from home.

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
On a regular school day, I would wake up at 5:20 and start cooking. Then between 6 and 6:45 I keep my clothes ready, keep my food to cool and if it is cool, pack my tiffin. At 6:45 I go for yoga and leave my class 10 minutes early. I’m back home by 7:45, where, in 25 minutes I shower, get ready and leave for school. I reach school by 8:45 and the rest of the day is about the kids. I usually get done by 2:30, but some days at 3:30.
Once I reach home, the first thing I do is shower again. In the evening, I’ll go for a walk, a run or if I’m not in the mood I’ll read a book. I also use that time to write about my day in my diary and what I plan for the next day. By 7, I eat dinner and by 10 I have a ‘no-screen’ rule, barring my kindle, which I read every night before sleeping. Latest by 11 p.m. I’m asleep.
With quarantine – since there’s no yoga, I wake up at 6. Otherwise I’m still working – and since it is from home, I’m actually putting in a lot of more hours than I would have if I was in school. It’s interpersonal and interconnected, so there’s a lot of back and forth with the calls. In school what would have taken 10 minutes, now takes 30.
Apart from that in stead of going for my evening run, I exercise at home using various apps.

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
Right now I’m enjoying this downtime with myself and my family. Maybe a few years ago – in a different age and a different time – when the people I hung out with defined my personality, I would have felt different. But as we grow older and have a professional life we tend to learn a lot more about ourselves. No one is ever the same throughout their life. So right now I’m very comfortable with being with myself.
Also, maybe because there are fewer school buses and vehicles on the road, I’ve noticed a change in the atmosphere. Looking out of the window and taking a deep breath is something I do everyday, so I can definitely feel it is less polluted. The other day I saw a blue sky in the city for the first time.
It’s also silent now. With less cars and honking, I can actually hear the birds chirping; the trees moving; the wind blowing. Like a silver lining in the midst of this panic and fear. It gives me a feeling of de-familiarization from what I normally feel.
In short, I’m so used to the noise, the talk, the chatter – that right now I’m savoring the peace.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
Like I mentioned working from home actually takes longer, so it’s quite ironic that there is no real spare time. But yes I do have a few things planned.
The first thing is to de-clutter and empty out my closet, and give away those clothes (that I don’t wear anymore) to someone who’ll actually use them. Also, for my birthday I gifted myself a bunch of e-books on kindle, something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but never had the time to read them. Now maybe I’ll be able to.
Something I’ve also started to enjoy are audio books which I discovered on Audible during its 3-month free trial period. Because I don’t go to school I don’t have to shower in the afternoons, so I spend that time plugging in my headphones, lying on the bed and listening to the author read out her own book to me. It’s soothing. So far I’ve heard Melinda Gates’ ‘Moment of Lift’ and Oprah Winfrey’s ‘What I Know For Sure’.
Besides all this, I’m also enjoying this family time. My sister is studying abroad, but my twin brothers who always keep to themselves are spending so much time with my mom and I.

Shabnam Samuel, 59, Author, Washington DC

Coronavirus Chronicles How Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
Little above 2 weeks.

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
Besides being a published author, I’m also a Healthcare Researcher. For the past 3 years I’ve been working from home. On regular days, my day begins at 5 a.m. where the first thing I do is sit for meditation for 15 minutes. After that I sip on my chai which is a sacred time for me. Everyday between my 2 cups of chai I write. It’s nothing pre-decided or fixed, I grab a blank paper and write whatever comes to my mind. A line or 2 sometimes strikes and that develops into a bigger story later. In summer or spring, after chai I usually go for walks and after that it’s bath and breakfast. By 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. I start work till 6:30. Post work, evenings become my ‘me time’ dedicated to writing. This goes on till 9:00, only to be interrupted at 7 for dinner. Since I usually do cooking for the week on weekends, dinner is a quick affair.
With quarantine, my schedule hasn’t really changed much. I haven’t been socializing but I do go for my walks.

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
The virus by itself hasn’t affected me, it the collateral damage that has. With all the news spreading of businesses shutting – especially when it came to my son who was just starting on a new venture in the restaurant business – and it hits so close to home, I felt affected. It’s affected my post work writing schedule. I can write my pages in the morning, but then I can’t translate any of that into bigger stories later.
When it comes to social distancing, it’s been winter here so I wasn’t going out that much anyway. I have my bunch of friends, but I’m an introvert, a homebody, so I do like the silence. What I will miss are my quick runs to meet my son whenever I felt like. I miss hanging out with him.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
As my schedule is more or less the same and I haven’t felt the change so much, there’s nothing specific on my list. Yeah, I’m cooking and baking more and if the weather gets better, I might clean out the garage or do up the garden.

You can find her debut autobiographical novel, ‘A Fractured Life’ at Crosswords for domestic readers and on Amazon for international readers.

Divya Pikale, 26, Sales Representative, Melbourne

Coronavirus Chronicles How Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
Since Tuesday, March 17th. My parents live in Mumbai, and I’m here alone. Given the nature of this pandemic, they were extremely worried about my wellbeing, so I requested a week of leave before everything could shut.

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
My days are pretty hectic here. I wake up at 7:30, make breakfast, eat it, have a bath and leave for work by 8:30. My commute takes me almost one and a half hours, because even though I live in Glen Iris which a suburb of Melbourne, and my office is located at Williams Landing, another suburb, I still have to cross the city to get to work.
I leave the office by 5:30 in the evening and I reach home by 7. Then it’s cooking dinner, finishing any extra work and relaxing with my roommates till I sleep much later.
Now that I’m on leave, I’m a little relieved about not having to travel for one and half hours every day. Otherwise I’m taking my days slowly – I was a little sick a few days ago, much before Coronavirus could strike – so I’m catching up on my health as well.
I wake up a bit late, I spend my days resting, cooking, cleaning and reading.

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
I’m very much for social distancing at this point, more because it’s a precautionary measure. I don’t think everyone is taking all the precautions though, like washing their hands enough and reducing their movement.
I’m also a little scared, because like I mentioned I don’t have any family here, and when I find that supermarkets are shut or out of stock, it’s a scary feeling.
Another point about this phase is that while I have many friends to talk to, almost everyone only wants to talk about the coronavirus. In these moments I feel more frustrated than scared, because it’s hard to get a break to just clear my mind and process everything.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
I want to spend this time catching up on world history and geography. I want to study the map, educate myself with the major historic events that have occurred in the past and update myself with war history. I then want to study current affairs, because after all, everything is in a way linked to history.
Apart from that, I want to be in constant touch with my parents and sister, take adequate rest and chill with my roommates.

Pia Sanghvi, 25, Mental Health Professional, Mumbai

How Long Have you been in quarantine/lockdown?
Since last Tuesday (as of March 17th).

What are your days in Quarantine like vs your regular days?
On regular days I’m up at 8, after which I make my bed, have a bath, eat some breakfast, pack my lunch and leave for work by 9:30. I reach by 10. At work I have team meetings, emails etc. My day winds up by 6:30, sometimes 7:30, it all depends.
Once I’m back home I spend time with my pet cat, Engine followed by an early dinner. The rest of night is spent checking in with my friends, maybe watching something, reading a book and finishing incomplete things. Up until a month ago I used to sleep by 11, but lately it’s been midnight or later.
With quarantine, I still try to wake up by 8, if not, I don’t push beyond 9. In the morning, if I have an early session, I’ll conduct it on Skype before breakfast. Then I get ready to work from home for the day. I’m connected with my team via email and phone calls, and we also used this work based app called Slack. We send each other updates after every task and by 6 at the end of the work day, the team checks in on us. I guess we just miss working alongside each other, like we used to in the office.

What are your thoughts and feelings about the effects of Coronavirus, quarantine and social distancing?
Social distancing is different from quarantining, in a way that you can meet a couple of people from a safe distance. This comes naturally to me, because I don’t like meeting too many people at once anyway. So on the upside, I’m looking to connect on a smaller scale; maybe going to the gym in my building.
On the downside though, after returning from my travels I was hoping to meet my friends, which is on hold now. Going to coffee shops, just hanging out, walking on Marine Drive and going for my yoga class, these are some things I will miss.
But I also like that things are slowing down, because for me everyday goes very fast. So this way, I can learn to balance things better and spend more time with Engine.
For now, I’ve adapted and it’s not alarming me because I have my own space at home. If that changes, I definitely wont respond too well.

A lot of people are using this time to catch up on things they really want to do, do you have anything on your list?
I’ll be done with this organization by the end of March, so for me, I’ll be going ahead with my plan. Since traveling is out, I’ll be spending my time researching on new opportunities, adapting my role and practicing psychological first aid. As a couple of colleagues from work are also interested in this, we’ll also use this time to conceptualize our ideas.
In terms of personal goals, I have started meditating again, and it feels great. So I want to do more of that. I want to focus on making good food for myself. I also want to be involved in causes, read books and perhaps watch a few documentaries.

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