AN EPIDEMIC WHICH CHANGED MY LIFE

I boarded a flight and reached Delhi in the evening. My younger brother and family live here. I visited them and decided to stay near their house. Renting a house in Delhi is very costly, hence I have taken one of the paying Guest houses.

My brother insisted to stay with them but I don't want to disturb their privacy as well as mine. It is better to stay separately. It's just a one-month period. It is a kind of small house with all the facilities, also it is near to my office. Hence, I have taken the place.

It is a nice Sunday evening. I just want to rest, for the time being, I took the keys and headed to my room. I had a good evening's rest after a long time. I made some calls and talked about my reach in Delhi.

The dinner is made in the PG itself. So I don't have to go out for having dinner. It is fine compared to the days I spend in foreign countries. I am also happy that I am still going to work in the same position which I left. It's just four months now after I returned to my homeland.

The next day I went to the office and submitted all the joining documents and completed all the formalities and took a position as a project manager. It was a new project, a new start-up. I have to do so many things in that to do. It is fine that I am finally serving my nation India.

The work started on the same day. I instructed everyone and allotted work according to the description of management. I have a team of fifteen members currently. The management has given me the freedom to do things according to the work. It is a United State project and two people work in night shift.

The first day of work is as usual. In comparison to foreign countries, the work is slightly different but somewhat the same. I have done some basic things about the work and my day is finished and I return to PG. I return freshen up myself and go through the news channel.

There are no such special news headlines. I sit and watch a movie to pass the time. After dinner I was tired so I slept early. The one month I am having a tight schedule of work. After I joined, I recruited five more resources. Two experienced and three freshers. I now have a team of twenty members.

I told management that currently I only need the twenty-member team not more than that. The management team agreed to that. One month has passed so fast due to a lot of work and training the freshers is also a very challenging part.

I have to wait for one month more to train them. In my hometown, the school search already started, and I have to visit them on weekend to clear the admissions. I have to ask permission to work from home for a week. I am in the probationary period I cannot take leaves.

I got permission to go. I admitted my children to a good international school near my place. They have a pick-up and drop facility. I also admitted Anamika to the course and she will pick children after her course.

I am now relieved and return to Delhi. I allotted the work to my team and after one month I started working from home if the client comes for a visit I will go and meet them. As the days passed the workload increased and I become busy again as I was in foreign countries.

One year passed so frequently and my children and my wife adapted to the environment, and they are happy and more energetic than they were in foreign. I am also relieved, my dad recovered soon, and maybe he is happy about my family settling here.

As days passed happily I completed one year. My children completed one year of school. Vacations also coming to end and they passed to next year. My return to my homeland is the correct decision I made. This made everyone happy.

It is 2019 December and a nice Saturday evening. My pending work has been completed and I want to relax, hence I switched on the TV for the latest updates. The headlines are flashing about the unknown virus spreading in China. A scientist is not aware that from where this virus was born.

The symptoms of the virus are as same as the cold, body pain, and fever. This will spread by mere touching. The first thing they see is slight sneezing. It is also said that until the vaccination is found people should take safety measures like washing hands, after coming from outside. Keep your surroundings clean and tidy.

COVID-19 transmits when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets and small airborne particles containing the virus. The risk of breathing these in is highest when people are nearby, but they can be inhaled over longer distances, particularly indoors.

The public should not touch unnecessary things in the surrounding. Within one month the virus spread all over China and the WHO and other health-related organizations tried to stop the spread of the virus to other countries and throughout Asia but failed.

So many death cases were reported and one year passed even fastly. India has not reported cases of infection till now. In this one year, the pandemic spread all over countries. Two years passed with small challenges. I also earned well to start a business, but what kind of business is still a question mark for me.

In some places, quarantine is imposed, and tourists and business people have to give the checkup. I got a new project and My client's location was in Bangalore, the company told me to work for them by going there, but due to fear of the virus and quarantine, they allowed me to work from home.

On 23 January 2020, the central government of China imposed a lockdown in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei to quarantine the center of an outbreak of COVID-19; this action was commonly referred to as the Wuhan lockdown.

In January 2020 India reported the first covid case and within two months the pandemic spread all over India and the Modi Government declare a lockdown in March 2020. Luckily my children completed their exams and they are safe and sound.

During this period Kashmir is closed down completely. Tourism is the sector which is affected a lot. Only emergency things are available like medicine, provisions, Vegetables, etc. Military and police officials roam throughout Kashmir. In many places, the electricity and internet facilities are closed.

I have to quit my job and have to lock myself inside my house. Kashmir valley is declared a curfew. This is the largest curfew that happened after the 1947 India-Pakistan issues. This lockdown made the man the most threatening person. Many people lost their job.

The major business communities and the workers lost their job. The business hub Shanghai was affected in a major way. In India, another story was going on and that is the protests of the farmers. It is also called farm bills. In this act, it is said that the current farming rules should be deregulated and a new system of government is introduced.

In this system the government-run wholesale markets, allowed farmers to sell directly to food processors, but farmers feared that this would result at the end of government-guaranteed price floors, thereby reducing the prices they would receive for their crops. This inspired protests against the new acts.

My days passed by seeing movies, and series and playing with children. Dad's business of flowers is closed for time being. I opened the online delivery until the internet shut down. Even telephone lines are also closed. So, we have to start new after the lockdown.

I have only had the option to water the plants and take care of them until the season start. Kashmir lost a lot of tourists during this period. If the situation is normal then we can get so many tourists which attract towards the valley.

Cases increased day by day and we have to shut ourselves in the four walls of a house. Three years have passed like this. I am still unknown and confused about what to do. My father getting medicines regularly is a big relief for us. In this way 2020 has passed in lockdown.