LOCKED IN BUT NOT DOWN

By Samita Chakraborty

An Anthology of Experiences from the Global Pandemic of 2020-21

The year 2020 was not easy for anyone across the world. 'Locked In But Not Down' captures real-life experiences of how people tried to tide over a worldwide crisis that came in the form of COVID-19. The realisation that life is so precious and to v

• Language: English
• Publisher: 24by7 Publishing
• Release date: Jan 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9789393508249

Book preview

Locked In But Not Down

An Anthology of Experiences from the

Global Pandemic of 2020-21

SAMITA CHAKRABORTY

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Copyright © 2022 by Samita Chakraborty

Cover Design by 24by7 Publishing

Cover Page and Back Page Concept Design: Samita Chakraborty

Back Page Drawing: Maitri Das Choudhury

Back page flip poem: Human by Namrata Chakraborty

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First Published in December, 2022

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ISBN: 978-93-93508-24-9

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The page is dedicated to the frontline warriors -doctors, nurses and health workers and caregivers and medical researchers all over the globe.

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Frontline warriors protecting the masses with the shield - the vaccine as illustrated by young Aanya Samir Trivedi of Grade 6.

Acknowledgement

I always wanted to write a book and was toying with various ideas. But with a busy schedule in my professional life along with managing two children who have varied interests and schedules, the thought always took a backseat.

During the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I realised that this topic and the effect it has had on people should be brought together in a book so that the world does not forget what we all went through.

But to make this book materialise was a tall task. I started writing in a simple way but slowly it led to opening so many doors, that it took a long time to complete. Along with school work, writing and compiling a book was almost next to impossible. I struck upon the idea while conducting the online classes when I saw the sad faces of children plastered on the laptop screen. I felt the kids needed more support and love, beyond what they were getting at home. To appreciate the children, I started a Facebook page on social media. As various videos made by the children were posted and appreciated, the children and the parents felt happy during the lockdown. That is when I felt strongly that their stories needed to go out to the world. The isolation of the children, individuals and helpless senior citizens touched my heart. And so, the journey of the book began. As a teacher by profession, I felt the need to share the real stories of people I came across. I thank every participant who contributed to making this dream book come true.

I thank my childhood friend Chumki Sen, who guided me and shared a few tips to complete the book. Her advice and mentoring boosted me a lot. She insisted that I should complete the book with information and real-life stories as we have very less knowledge about the Spanish Flu that happened 100 years ago.

I am indebted to Saheli Mitra, founder of Tales, Talks and Walks, Sweta Sengupta, Chitrarupa Das, Amrita Roy (Co-Founder SUNRAYS, Switzerland) Indrani Ray (Kuwait) Devyani Baidya (Banking and Financial Consultant) for their guidance and dedicated participation to bring zeal to the book.

I am really thankful to Mr. Saibal Basu and Ananya Basu (Kuwait), Mrs. Nandita Ghosh (USA), Alok and Ila Roy (Kolkata) for sharing their real-life stories with us in this book. I am thankful to my Principal, Mrs. Papri Ghosh for her valuable suggestions, encouragement, and advice at every moment.

I thank my father, Dr. Samapti Bhattacharyya, my mother in law Mrs. Jharna Chakraborty, my husband Mr. Nilendu Chakraborty, my son and my daughter, sisters and brothers who have stood by me at all the odd hours. Even though we had suffered a lot from the attack of the virus, it gave me more mental strength to complete the book.

I am thankful to Santoor Maestro Pandit Tarun Bhattacharyya, Mrs. Papri Ghosh, Principal - Indian School Al Ghubra, Mr. Peshwas Acharya, Senior Corporate and Mrs Saheli Mitra for their valuable feedback on the book.

I thank all the parents who supported their children to write on the topics suggested and send them on time. The children were so happy to contribute to making this book. I convey my gratitude to them all. I am overwhelmed with their love and dedication. Cheers to you! This is your book and your stories of resilience. Young minds can do miracles when you leave them to think - I believe that as a teacher. They came out with brilliant colourful illustrations and filled the book with their creativity. I am thankful to them and to the parents who supported them.

Last but not the least, the team of 24by7 Publishing did an excellent job to give life to the book. Thank you so much.

I am blessed by the Almighty who gave me the strength to coordinate with the young co-writers around the globe to complete the task of compiling the book.

Foreword

Lockdown can be rephrased as Locked Musically Down or LMD, for me and thousands like me. The last 2-year period was one of the most musically creative phases of my life. I was literally living the life of a musician who breathed, ate, and drank music. I was able to concentrate on the finer nuances of music, improve on them and recreate all my dreams about creations. Hindustani classical music, in itself, is like a drug that grows on you till the last breath. The thought and ideation of many new projects took place within me as a musician and I was able to give shape to some new musical content. It was quite meditative and helped to soothe the fragmented mind. It helped me to get connected to thousands of students, disciples, fans, allies, and music connoisseurs during the period and helped the world-scape of music grow exponentially. We were able to crack new geographies, nationalities, and communities and music truly became global. The distance between Birbhum in Bengal and Tanzania in Africa or Sri Lanka and Paris was bridged in an instant with music videos by BhubhanBadyakar, Yohani, and et. al.; thanks to different forms of music. The power of music and the vastness of Information Technology combined to form a very potent drug to help to keep mental health in an optimal state, otherwise, the lockdown and pandemic would have given rise to many more mental health issues across the world.

Locked In But Not Down displays the same trait as music; it does not put you down but helps you stand tall. This book contains numerous life stories, rather success stories of people who got stuck due to this lockdown, but with sheer willpower. as we say, We Shall Overcome, they fought with it and overcame it.

My best wishes to Samita Chakraborty for her book Locked In But Not Down, I am sure it shall be a milestone, an inspirational publication.

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Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya

Kolkata

Eminent Hindustani Classical Musician-Santoor Player

Distinguished recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018

1st August, 2022; Kolkata

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I wish to congratulate Mrs. Samita Chakraborty on publishing her first book.

It is a very interesting book which comprises stories of individuals of varying ages across the world on their experiences during the pandemic.

It was a very innovative idea to put this together to show how the human spirit triumphs even during the most difficult circumstances.

Once again, my congratulations to Mrs Samita Chakraborty, who is my colleague and now is an accomplished author.

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Mrs Papri Ghosh

Principal

Indian School Al Ghubra, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

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When you are locked inside a room with the key of the lock in the hands of destiny, then how do you feel? Overwhelmed? Optimistic? Hopeful? Frightened? Panicked? Or just leave it to the Almighty and fight back to open that door again? If you really wish to know what children and adults across the world went through during the COVID-19 Pandemic, an experience of a century, then Locked In But Not Down is the right book for you. The best part is that the book shares the experiences of students and young adults from different countries about how COVID-19 and Lockdown impacted them. Samita Chakraborty’s book is not just a treasure trove of unheard stories but will remain as a document for youngsters and their resilience and thoughts in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime Pandemic. That will surely make it a much-read book down generations, to be preserved in schools and libraries as a motivation for the future. More power to her pen and endeavour.

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Journalist, internationally published author, poet and founder,

Tales Talks & Walks

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Samita Chakraborty is an outstanding teacher and has been teaching for the last 27 years. Her research includes what and how exactly people around the globe reacted during the pandemic and this is from an educational point of view. The study is about how COVID-19 had put students in a shell, which was always meant to be broken. But to bring back the smile to their faces, making them step out once again to shine was somehow a difficult task, yet achievable. Not only students, but in the corporate world, many businesses saw changes and shifts in pace, and growth was inevitable. The scar remains as a reminder to all mankind that no matter how small or how big of a death wave comes, when it comes to survival, the human instinct of thriving through life overcomes every unprecedented hurdle that is put in front to put forth success stories.

Following the Coronavirus pandemic, there was widespread uncertainty and bewilderment in the majority of the countries. People were surprised by curfews, quarantine, lockdown, partial closure, and Stay-At-Home directives.

The author has embodied the essence of both the pre-and post-pandemic periods in this book. Interestingly, she has written short stories about her experiences and knowledge and some stories even contain real-life difficulties. Being an educator who interacts with Indian students and students from throughout the globe every day, Samita was able to do this meticulously.

Based on my experience, I know this is an excellent piece of reading for anybody connected with the education, and mentoring domain. This book is also for all those curious minds who want to know what transpired during the pandemic, at the people & personal levels. For any such Black swan event, this book will remind people that they are LOCKED IN BUT NOT DOWN! It is the indefatigable human spirit, and our ability to adapt and break free from any situation, which would always stand out.

Regards and Happy Reading

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Peshwa Acharya

Senior Corporate Executive and Director on Boards

IIT, IIM alum

(www.peshwaacharya.com )

24 July, 2022; Mumbai.

Human

A whistling wind blew across the sea

Which mirrored a silvery moon

Though dark as ever a night could be

It sang with an unaided tune

The clouds above played games, up high

Promising to break with furious rain

But heard our prayers and drowned in the sky

To reveal a dark and starry terrain

A shooting star fell out from heaven

Disappeared as fast as it came

It fell behind the hills, so unshaven

And left the night to remain the same

The soothing voices of palm tree leaves

Whispered to each other in a rustling hushed tone

As they danced and moved to the cool breeze

Which made sure no tree was left alone

When the waves rolled in and licked my toes

A peace, overwhelming, swept through me

And washed me away of all my woes

Letting my mind wander more free

Nearby wild horses galloped past

Creating a ruckus on the seashore sand

They were here for a moment but gone pretty fast

Never stopped to see a night so grand

They didn’t hear the wind sing

They didn’t glance at the glimmering sea

They didn’t wait to watch what the night would bring

It felt good to be human; it felt good to be me

— NAMRATA CHAKRABORTY

Preface

The year 2020 was not easy for anyone across the world. ‘Locked In But Not Down’ captures real-life experiences of how people tried to tide over a worldwide crisis that came in the form of COVID-19. I conceived the idea of this book when I realised how little information was available about the Spanish Flu, another pandemic that hit the world a century back. Not in medical terms, but about how people coped with the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Through this book, I have tried to document original stories, trials and tribulations of school and college students and young adults who joined jobs after graduation during the pandemic. The circumstances faced by the young learners and educators are scripted through stories and articles. To break the monotony of being locked inside the safe confinement of their homes, people started using their time fruitfully with creative ideas. Most of the recorded trials of the human race are real incidents. In addition to my own country, I have also tried to connect with people in other countries as well.

The human race faced a pandemic of monstrous proportions and is still trying to come out of it. This book archives the experiences of individuals from far and wide through 2020-21. The lock-down realities documented in this book will leave historic evidence for the future generation.

Hopefully, we will reach pre-pandemic times soon, and will refer to 2020-21 as unprecedented years, where mankind successfully scraped through and proved how the theory of ‘Survival of the Fittest’ still holds true.

The original experiences shared by the co-authors from across the world exhibit human resilience. The collection of short stories and illustrations showcase similarities of lifestyle during the lockdown that connected the world in the face of misery and desolation.

But even in the middle of all the suffering, the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine brought a little ray of hope. It was as if the last piece of straw to hold on to, to save mankind from drowning.

I have to mention here that the most exposed and trialled profession in the Pandemic years is that of frontline warriors like doctors, nurses and paramedics. They put their physical, social and mental well-being at risk to save thousands of lives. They treated patients risking their own lives.

Similarly, children, adults and senior citizens all stayed in isolation, some caught unaware and alone in distant places away from their families for months. Every individual was and is still battling for their safety. Not to forget the educators - overnight the teaching system migrated from offline to online. Technology was not used to spread learning; it was used to educate in an impersonal environment. But educators tirelessly guided students through the new normal of online classes.

The realisation that life is so precious and to value emotions, to control emotions, to wade through emotional turmoil, much more than the material gain, is a sustainable lesson learned by the generation of the 21st century.

SAMITA CHAKRABORTY

LOCKED IN BUT NOT DOWN

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Sanjona Dey, a 2nd-year Graduate student, from Kolkata received the first position in an online competition where she depicted the regular household job conducted during ‘Home- Quarantine’- Stay Safe-Stay Home orders. This brought the silver lining to leading a better family life indoors.

Contents

Acknowledgement

Foreword

Human

Preface

PART I

Introduction

Section I

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Section II

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Section III

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

PART - II

Imagination continues in isolation

Quarantine

International borders shut down

Attachment forever

Double two with Double zero

The Unprecedented Reality - 2020

Lifetime Experience

Online life -A new normal

Life around the Pacific Ocean

A Silver Lining

Social Media close to youngsters

Shake the challenges away

Winter of Our Despair

Unforgettable Memories

Oh! Lockdown again!

Want To Be Free

A Jolt

World Through A Double Lens

A gap remains

Appreciation

Heal The World

Distraction

The tiny being on the cusp of our lives

Adventure of a Lifetime

Life in Pajamas

Shield the world

Finding Light Within the Tunnel

We can beat it together!

Love And Explore Passion

The Invisible Invader Battle Is On

Travel and hospitality industry suffered a hard hit

Year of Devil -2020

Thinking of the environment amidst a pandemic

Up Is Down, Small Is Big

Unforgotten Recaps led to Hiccups

Harrowing experiences of domestic and migrant workers

A virus, global politics and me

Fight For Power

The Start of a Tail

Strings of Sitar will tune the world

The March to Marriage

Aftermath

PART I

Introduction

The Journey Of The Year 2020

Wishing you all health, wealth and happiness on this New Year! May 2020 be an extraordinary year for you all - The anchor of the year-end eve party kept on announcing amidst the dazzling footlights as the countdown of the year-end began.

It was a cold foggy night beside the swimming pool. The faded stars amidst the smoky firework display were throwing an unusual impact on the mind. A year just passed by. Imagine, 2019 is over! I was still dancing while the fireworks were through! Everyone was so happy, hugging each other and exchanging greetings with the arrival of 2020. The party was on! Champagne - a symbol of elegance and sophistication being poured into glasses and the aroma filled the air. The band was playing the electric guitar with the Metallica of the 21st century. Somewhere in the corner, a roar of laughter could be heard as the cork of the champagne bottle bolted out with a huge pop sound. The fountain of foam gradually misted away with a gusto.

I went on dancing. The tapping and the twists were gradually slowing down as my son came to call for the photo session with the other members of the family. I slowly came along watching the huge trees at a distance. I had seen these trees grow and they are a witness to every other festivity round the year. Selfies, Selfies - shouted the youngsters and we stood here and there, close to each other facing the camera with big smiles on our faces. Rupa, a cousin of mine shouted- Oh! No! Dude, pose with pouting lips, so did all. It was fun.

Some stood on the chairs, others stopped in front and someone peeked in from the back but everyone was there. Like us, a few more groups were looking for some quaint spots to click New Year 2020 photos.

After stuffing ourselves with an awesome spread of food, we started driving home. While driving down, we could hear the noise of New Year fireworks from various housing complexes. The smoky, hazy, chilly night, loaded with carbon footprint was turning heavy.

The next day we were to depart from Kolkata, so we were all longing to catch some sleep, preparing ourselves for the long journey. The suitcases were already packed with the essentials, so there was nothing to worry about. I was a little absent-minded but was enjoying the midnight drive on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. We crossed the longest flyover of Kolkata. This was one of the great rides I had on a wintry New Year’s Eve night in 2020. The hotels and tall buildings were sparkling with fairy lights and were all decked up like a bride and the look was breath-taking. The spotlights of the hotels at a distance seemed that stars had just landed from heaven on Earth.

I remember the first sun rays of 1st January 2020 were so weak over Kolkata. When I leave Kolkata after a short winter vacation, the soft sunshine and the fragrance of yellow marigolds always try to hold me back. In the morning before leaving the house, we finished our breakfast with soft ‘Gobindo-bhog’ rice with melting golden Gawa ghee and ‘aloo shiddo’- a delicacy of the Bengali cuisine, [mashed potato- Bengali Style] sprinkled with mustard oil and salt and garnished with green chillies.. No matter where you are in the world, Bengalis will tell you this is their favourite dish. The dish brings back memories of a pampered childhood. Suitcases were loaded in the airport-bound Ola cab, last-minute phone calls to my father and sister-in-law were done, special hugs to Bimala Mashi, our caregiver , and we started on our journey. My mother-in-law accompanied us. Generally, every year, my mother-in-law comes and stays with us in Muscat for four months.

This year we took a different route from Kolkata to Muscat. We went via Colombo on Sri Lankan Airways. The Bandaranaike International Airport was a small yet neat and cosy airport. We bought a few tea boxes and discussed if we could have made a stop-over and