Our corona diary.

[Text and photo by Avantika Seth]

I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona… and I see my grandfather. The same house where I sit and think about him today was bought by him decades ago. Situated amidst the lush green trees of Shimla, Daddy, as he was called by everyone, bought this particular house because of its sunlight. Years after his death, I came across one of his poems dedicated to this very house. As I close my eyes, I realise that this is no ordinary house. The same table on which I write today was used by Daddy three decades ago to write some poetry. The sunlight that falls on my fingers ad brightens the left side of my face is where it had probably fallen on him.

As I close my eyes in self-isolation, I imagine my grandfather. Right here, as he typed on his typewriter. The sun rays would have too fallen on the left of his face and he must have felt a similar tinge of warmth. As I close my eyes, I realise how time has passed, the house has continued to live and the sun has always shown up.

“We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in my self-isolation from Corona… and I see…” Not more than 100 words. With a horizontal-sized selfie, along with your city name… please mail to me at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.