The whole lockdown is too much to go through and express in a single thread. So this is the first wave thread.
Across this series of threads (wave 1 - 3), I, and hopefully more people will be looking forward to catch each others slice of life stories and look forward to the sequels over the next few days.
Subsequent posts will also have a link to this post so more people catch on.
Catch mine in the comments!
I was in 6th semester, 2 days before our 1st minor exam we got the announcement that colleges will be closed for next 10 days, I was in hostel in banglore and because I visited my home already in dec 2019 and Jan 2020 I thought going back again in march 2020 would not make sense for only 10 days, within 2 days entire hostel got vacated. Within 3 days all international flights were shutdown. We had lot of international students from Afghanistan, Mauritius etc so they couldn’t close the hostel. I stayed in hostel with only 3 others. A block was 3 floor building I was living alone in that building.
After few days I started enjoying like crazy. Whole college campus for us (total of 10-15 students in hostel). Initially we were not allowed to leave hostel premises but after requesting warden allowed us to leave hostel gates and be inside the college strictly.
One side of our college wall was not too high and I am 6’2”, very very easy to jump that. First problem occurred when we needed smoke and shop were closed. After 30 days of abstaining me and one of my friend (senior) decided to jump the college wall and go to house of the smoke shop guy,he knew us. I remembered we bought Rs 330 advance cigarettes for Rs 800. Now let me explain what I saw on my way. It was apocalyptic. No one was on the street absolutely nobody it was just wind howling. No animal, no bird, no human, no noise. While walking to the smoke guy’s house we felt we are the only 2 ppl alive in the whole world. The feeling was very very eerie.
Everybody who went back home got super bored. They use to call everyday and cry about when will this lockdown get over while I was having the blast in college campus. My days were so packed. We all started playing volleyball during Covid only because there was just volleyball available in warden’s room. Everybody was a newbie but 2 months into it we all learnt how to set the ball, who’ll be spiked, who’ll be leibro, who’ll be setter, what rotation what position, everybody became pro. C block was where NRI students lived, B block where Indian students lived. Very soon the volleyball match became India v/s Restof the world. 5-7 pm we use to play and 7-8:30 pm everyday we use to sit in one room and plan the next days game.
For the first time in my life I started playing computer games. I started with CSGO and with online random strangers I made a team. I remember them so vividly
All are gaming names. We use to start playing csgo after lunch till it’s time to play volleyball. I played so much csgo I became a force to reckon. After lockdown was removed I stopped playing and never played after that. Few months back omega texted me saying he’s a father now, got married post lockdown now have a baby girl.
One important event was when liquor shop opened. For months quarantined in hostel we were waiting so restlessly for that to happen. Plan was laid people were informed list was made.
20 bottles of magnum
4 bottles of black label
2 bottles magic moments
How to smuggle it inside the hostel ?
2 boys jumped the wall got everything in two huge bags. Walked all the way from college to hostel gates, boys were informed already to occupy the guards, they started fighting with guards unnecessary so that we can sneak in, but we couldn’t take the direct route, from the side of water treatment plant next to hostel, we crawled the ditches and asked someone from inside to open the basement gate of hostel, one big problem was that you cannot bypass wardens room if you are coming from basement gate, again boys were at work all gather in warden’s room started demanding something and we slyly got into lift and delivered the bottles in room 501 C block. That night… what a night it was.
There were few dogs in our college campus all fucking starved to death almost, for months we couldn’t see them because they were not in open areas, they use to hide in the corner of the campus. One day we discovered them and they were so aggressive, they thought we got food. We started doing gym during lockdown so in breakfast everybody use to gulp too many eggs but not the yolks. We went to feed the yolks to the dog, till this point in my life I have never fed any dog. Neither I touched any dog, I was in fact scared of them. When we went to feed them there was sooo much fight amonng the dogs that they started biting each other. We decided we will take care of “our” dogs only. Everybody picked their dogs and started feeding them, the race was whose dog will be fattest after the lockdown gets over. I picked 2 small puppies, bosco(black dog) and ginger (brown dog).. dogs started coming in open areas again. Everyone in my friend circle new bosco is my dog. One day we saw there was no dogs in the campus. All gone. Because they were stray dogs I thought I will never see them again. I saw them again after 1 week when they came back vaccinated. I used to feed only bosco and ginger. I use to feed them fried rice, Egg yolk, kebab. After lockdown was over when college people came back I never saw bosco or ginger ever after, they were not in college anymore.
My typical day use to look like Wake up, hit the gym, eat load of breakfast, feed the dog, watch Naruto till lunch Eat lunch, play csgo till 5 pm 5pm time to play volleyball untill you can’t see volleyball anymore. Discuss about the game till dinner After dinner 6-7 ppl use to gather in a room, smoke cigarettes and talk about anything and everything, when the session gets over go to your room and watch Naruto untill you can’t read the subtitles no more.
Everyday thousands of people were dying but we didn’t care much tbh, we had the best time of our lives during Covid, I had a backlog in 5th semester so anyways I was not allowed to sit for placements in 7tb semester because 6th semester exams didn’t happened and 5th sem backlog was carried on to 6th sem.
Then one fine day I got a call from my mom saying my dad got covid. He’s hospitalised. That time getting oxygen cylinder was near next to impossible. He was in hospital for total of 7 days and every time I used to get call from home I used to get scared, scared that my dad will be no more. I started imagining my life how it’ll be if I loose my dad, but it didn’t happen, dad recovered. Everything was fine.
Slowly slowly lockdown started cooling down, people started coming back to college and the charm was lost, things we still not back to normal how it was before Covid, but the fun of 15 people living through 8 months of deadly virus alone in entire college laughing and running around will never be back.
Great great respect for our wardens and care takers in the hostel
They took us all for the covid testing, they brought us whatever we needed from their own homes, wardens didn’t’t know that we were jumping the walls all the time. Wardens included special meal in mess. Kaadha and all immunity booster drinks for us. In first 3 years of my engineering I have fought with almost every caretaker and every warden. But during the covid they just became the father figure of us in hostel. Massive respect.
Yeah that’s about it.
The world was def shook for the first time by a single disease. But my area in Bellandur had a COVID, cholera and Bird flu break out in the same week. A trinity had come upon us.
So one Friday before the lockdown, my friend and I got up late from a party and drove down BLR - Mumbai in my car. 0 major breaks. 💯 rock music.
Cue the Mumbai lockdown starting a week early in Mumbai. Glad I got stuck with family.
A hacky work desk and beginning of a new lifestyle followed. I become a cook. Explored rock 60s -90s. Did home workouts and long WFH days.
There were some beautiful clear skies once the air pollution was kinda gone too.
On the scary side, there was constant news of people getting infected, markets and livelihoods getting affected.
Along with an unstable geopolitical situation but with Slogans of Global unity and sympathy against this crisis.
Was scary to be an investor that time. I didn’t know it yet but the wave that did most damage to me financially was about to just come next.
It was actually the crypto wave 😂. Damn had I bought into a few bogus coins in the first wave itself
I was stuck with my chindi Flatmate who wasn't ready to pay more than MRP or pre lockdown fair price for purchasing our basics.
7 days into it, he came to borrow a capsicum lol
Stuck with my toxic Ex, escalated to a live in out of nowhere for us both.
The situation wasn't a fundamentally fun one to be in for us. Her parents caught COVID in another state and she initiated many paraniod fights.
Broke up after the first wave ended. Phew.
I came to Blr as an intern on Jan 12 2020, 1 mahine training, next month in onboard to the team and uske baad they sent me to another team on March 2nd or so😕..
Regardless i was staying then in PG, struggling a lot at and with work. But everyday was working from office and still I had to work after coming back to my PG as well.
Anyway, by Feb end or March first week we started getting news that in our neighbouring tech park (eco space) , first COVID positive case was found. The entire park was closed for operations.
And then we were told on March 12th that anticipating pandemic and lockdown, let's put a 3 day complete WFH on trial , that 3 days extended to 5 and then 10 and then came March 22nd when lockdown was declared nation wide.
That very night, I went to the atm and tried withdrew money (my brother had his own experience on the night of demonetization, so cash in hand was what I wanted). Apart from that We wanted to go to get groceries and maggi for the coming weeks..
But people in so large queues were standing outside the shops , and the shops were denying entry because too much crowd all of a sudden and people are fighting and shouting. Modi Ji's live conference is still going on and he is saying no need to panic whereas it was completely the opposite of that.
Anyway..we returned home empty handed. All the grocery stocks were drained in our area and also on Amazon and FK grocery too.
Things settled down.
Struggles at worked increased because I was relatively new to industry and everyone at work was adjusting to WFH for the first time. Took time but it settled down fine.
Then until May 29 (when flights were Resumed) , i had to stay in my PG for 3-4 months, completely isolated and inside the room always, people from municipal would come once a week to check if we had fever or so. Depression is too big a word but was always tired mentally from work and had no access to the outside world at all.
And all these whiles news on TV, problems by migrant workers. Trains were operating but it was a big No No at that time to travel to my home town in a train(26hrs journey) .
Finally flights reopened on May 29 and on May 31 i returned my home town I guess.
Although In that isolation at PG , since I felt lonely..I started connecting with every one who was a really good friend of mine at some point of time or another. And I am glad that I was able to revive some friendships💙 (not something I thought I was capable of)
@Flashhh Store front panic was very real for me too. Purchased tons of Poha as there wasn't enough Maggi 😂
Buying cigarettes was extra crazy and extra shady. Remember paying ₹440 for a pack.
Start with mine: Good: Spent time with family, played Ludo, started regular exercise, moved to own house from rented once in Feb 20, Didi marriage. Was away from family since 2008. Was visiting family only in festivals.
Bad: Job offer ...
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