Border 2020

 I know I am late to share my experience but trust me when I say that because I am really bad at expressing my emotions then and there. I take time in processing my real feelings and then come up with it.

So here I am sharing this little tale which shook India in the year 2020 perhaps which is playing its lead role with another strain even now for over an year.

It was the time when I reluctantly came out from hostel deciding to live alone as a paying guest. I don’t know if I was regretting the decision of coming out of hostel. It felt as if a pet bird flew out her cage to make her own living. Certainly my life was more like a pilgrimage without any electronics except my mobile to reach people.

On March 22^nd 2020 India's Prime Minister announced the largest self imposed curfew. Although only people who were stuck and infected or lost their dear one’s with this virus can write and tell stories furthermore.

When Narendra Modi sir was going live he said “jaha ho vahi raho" or something more like of It for 14 hours.

Just like demonetisation happened over night, the lockdown imposed overnight.

I had one thing running in my mind like what am I supposed to eat from tomorrow? Like just starve? There begins the daily soap serial where I get calls from my family asking about my whereabouts.

Parents became so sensible out of nowhere and said you have to stay there only and it’s better off. But trust me I had my heart on my sleeve.

Fortunately I had one neighbour who apparently was my classmate Mounika. All our fellow classmates left early as few were hostel’rs and few had bikes with them to drive over night.

We had no clue what was happening around the corner.On March ^24th   announcing the 21 days curfew. 21 days like seriously?? 

Littlle did I know that I was going to get stuck because of sensible decision that my parents gave I wouldn’t have been experiencing the adventure that I am currently writing now.

My friend Aamer did surely ask to drive me home overnight but my parents wouldn’t agree saying it’s Covid and late night you never know. And so, only with disappointment I had to bid farewell to him.

 Next day morning me and my friend Mounika decided to stay close and knit like a family. I know it was kind of melodrama happenning. Though at heart we did persuade the feeling of going home but our mutilated mind was stressed with the final exam dates. And so we gave it a call to make higher grades than others and prepare well. Lol.

Well, giving some tea sugar to our thoughts then we had some competitive spirit running. But daily soap serial never ended. Media posted stories of how people moved from one place to another like burglars. If not they had to quarantine for 7 days where the government had laid their camps on.

It would have been more adventurous if we had gone but there’s risk you see, because we were more scared more for this Virus than God.

Three day’s passed off.. I had yippee noodles, biscuits, some rotten vegetables. Assuming it to be paneer makhani and vegetable Alfredo pasta.

There was rage indeed. My heart which I kept on my sleeve slipped that day where it busted with emotions. I wanted family, I wanted food, I wanted people to be safe too which neither of it was in my hands.

On March 27^th we get a notification saying all the exams have been postponed. Okay, now should I be surprised or shocked or disappointed or what. There was cocktail in my head.

I immediately rushed to my friend to show her this notification. I had plans of going home by hook or crook but she didn’t because we had no source.

I choose to come out and take this house with a feeling of security because MLA was living beside our house. I thought some day he would be of great help. Perhaps my plans were different. And so I  ushered my friends that we go and ask for help.

God knows what the mighty things he had coming for us.

Likewise my friends about 3 girls who stayed back here in Guntakal came together so we could go ahead and ask for help.

But my rusty owner smelled our plans and wouldn’t allow us to go to him. My friend's soon gave up the thought of going back home because even if we could we had to stay in quarantine or in camps near the borders.

The Andhra, telangana borders were closed likelier others too. But this time my heart which slipped off earlier came to its right place, where I didn’t lose hope.

Because I made up my mind to go home anyway.

It was past 2 hrs where we were just thinking to ask for help. 

In cases like these it is always better to go ahead when your heart and mind come together with the same thing . I know it’s hard when they are mutual but trust me it’ll be so realistic when they are together and you listen to it.

So did I. I walked straight out if the gates of our building saying “damn I am gonna ask for favor anyway and I have to get home asap".

My friends also appeared alongside, the moment I spoke with their spokesperson they agreed sending us back home. I was wondering how much of time I had wasted in just thinking. They asked us to come the next day take the legal permission letter from MLA and drive back home with their driver. We were all so happy.

Dear friend’s here where our sensible parents character play.

I phone called my family “amma tomorrow I am coming home, MLA uncle is driving me back to kurnool  all you have to do is come till kurnool checkpost".

There’s where the whole panic scene begins.

They argued for whole 2 hours asking me to stay back. Because no vehicles were allowed to move in the city without permission. 

Past 11:00 p.m I get this call from my father saying he's got lower back pain and is barely able to stand or walk.

I didn’t understand whether to advice my father to get medical help or to think about myself. Because only thing I had in my mind was to get home the next day.

I had nobody else to come pick me from kurnool checkpost other than my father and it was curfew time, no bike more than single person and two person in car were allowed to roam for daily needs in Hyderabad. 

In that case I felt stuck again even after coming out and asking for help.

On a serious note, I will fully asked my father to stay back and get to hospital and advised him few checkups and prescribed medication.

I had a sleepless night, I had nothing to eat the next day morning. But my dearest friend had packed her stuff and was about to leave.

Next day morning around 6:00 a.m  I get a call that my sister is taking dad to hospital. During that ime I barely knew if there were any admissions happening for other medical help or not.

I went and informed  MLA sir about this issue that I will not be able to make it as my father is his worst. For about past noon my sister drove dad to nearly 4-5 different hospitals where the denied taking any admission other than Covid symptoms. I had no idea sitting Km's away how worse the situation of my dad could be. He already had lumbar spondylitis and ligament tear in his knee.

Finally there’s this millennial hospital where emergency treatment was given to my dad where they could only relieve pain. It was then I had this sense of relief where he texted me saying he is doing fine. 

 I passed my day watching Instagram, whatsapp where people kept stories about their quarantine and lockdown days with their beloved. I had sense of ache for sure that I wasn’t there back home.

Around 7:00 p.m dad calls me and says ‘madhu go and take the letter, I’ll drive and take you home’. There was this sense of joy running through my veins. But it was risk for him to sit for so many long hours and drive. I asked ‘dad how can you drive? It isn’t safe at all..and you wouldn’t be allowed also.. how are we going to manage?

 Because the before day my sister and dad drove the city from morning hours to late noon, he said “we drove yesterday the whole day nobody stopped and came back before the curfew time.”

On March 29^th I was to be ready with the letter and waiting at kurnool checkpost by sharp 8:00 p.m only then we could reach Hyderabad by 12:00p.m and get home without being stopped. 

So here’s the journey to the Andhra border which began around 6:00 a.m. I knew I wouldn’t be stopped because I was in politician’s vehicle.

On my way I saw so many peddlers walking in the soaring sun with their luggage over their heads escaping from police patrol and crossing the borders. I felt lucky enough to be driving home in swift desire with air-conditioning.

That’s where I learned that, what we personally go through seems so atrocious but then there are people who are in trouble and struggling. 

After waiting at the checkpost I see my dad with other police men asking for permission but before that I appear infront of them with legal letter and so they allowed us back home.

We reached around 1:00 p.m, my daily serial soap mother was waiting with sanitizer and warm water like a thali with diya and sweets in it.

I had the most delicious food of my life that day.

Let me tell you as a matter of fact, there would be millions of stories written and billions of adventures done during this period. I feel over privileged that I experienced something like this and it’s history.

 "Thoughts will evoke and dreams will be etched only if you act to make moments embarking"