Er Pankaj Gupta
On 26th of March, we woke up in another world. We were under lockdown. As on date, not only India but whole of the world is under lockdown. All of a sudden, the world has come to a grinding halt. Everyone is staying at his place and those who are away from their homes are stuck up there only confined in homes with families. People are getting restless as they are not used to such life. They are complaining as they have nothing to do.
Undoubtedly this is an extraordinary situation. But then, a crisis brings out the best out of humans as it provides with a template to think and act differently. The lockdown has provided us the opportunity for self- introspection, soul searching and re- structuring our thinking. It is the time we can
Reset our body clock
We all have been always on a running spree, chasing our dreams and targets. The biggest casualty is our body clock with our irregular sleeping patterns and dietary habits. We should reset our natural body clock. I promise you shall feel much younger and lighter simply by regulating your timings of hitting the bed and arranging it.
Nourish our body
Give oil massage to body, soak in the sunlight. It would not only refresh you, open your pores, provide nourishment to body but also supplement it with vitamin D. Almost everybody across all age groups is deficient in vitamin D.
Realign your posture
Almost everyone is suffering from back pain, joint pain, stiff neck, weak eye sight etc, which is a progressive result of bad posture. Learn to sit straight without support, as you are not sitting on office chairs, doing file or computer work. Meditation, stretching, pushups and other back exercises can help. It is advised to do the light exercises only as you cannot avail the services of a trainer at this time.
Build stamina and increase lung power
Pushups, skipping rope, climbing stairs, still-jogging (as you cannot go out of home) can build up the stamina while yogasanas like Pranayam and Anulom-Vilom can help increase lung power and capacity resulting in supplying more oxygen to blood and brain, and improve overall well being and health.
Develop new skills and pursue hobbies
Make the most of this time to develop new skills. Shed the negativity and pursue your hobbies. Make the best use of internet by learning new skills online, catch up with abandoned hobbies such as painting, sketching cooking, sewing etc.
If you don’t learn new skills during lockdown,
You never lacked time but discipline.
It’s the time you declutter your home. You will be surprised with the discovery of a large number of shoes, clothes, utensils, discarded appliances and furniture items which you have not used since ages. You will get additional storage, recapture memories and re-do your wardrobes in an orderly way. Donate the usables amongst those to the needy and destitute in your neighbourhood. Take up the cleaning of the rooftops, projections etc, the areas of your house which you have not visited for years, you may be able to find tree saplings etc growing in niches and crevices which have the potential to be the source of water seepage and subsequent weakening of the structure.
Family time
Devote time to your parents, discuss your daily life and encash their life experiences. Share time with your partner and reignite the passion of your marriage. Be the friend if your children, listen to them, play cards, carom, badminton or mobile games with them. Watch with them the old serials like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vyomkesh Bakshi etc on TV, you will be surprised to observe that your children are watching these so keenly. The older ones at home can read out religious texts to the children and grandma can revive the age old traditions and inculcating worldly wisdom by reciting the stories and folklores.
The human nature is such that it can adapt to every situation and this is tsshe biggest survival instinct. Our children are eating home cooked food without any tantrums, they are the same children who always needed flavoured supplements to drink milk, always wanted cold drinks and packed juices with junk foods at any given hour of the time. With non availability of mutton etc., the people are consuming vegetables with ease. A large number of people shall have shed their smoking and drinking habits after the lockdown period is over, with the realization that they can live without it.
Rejuvenation of nature
We can see that the sky is actually blue, the stars do twinkle, the true colours of dusk and dawn, dolphins coming to the shores, hear the chirping of birds of different species, watch them coming to our rooftops, the animals coming out of the wilderness of the forests into the nearby roads and towns. The reports say that the holy Ganges has become 40% cleaner in the first 15 days of lockdown.
The lockdown shall, no doubt, hit the economy very hard and shall tell upon the livelihood of millions of people, be it the daily wage workers, labour, farmers, employees or employers. But the Governments at local as well as national level are weighing every option and exploring every possibility to deal with this extra sensitive situation which could be controlled and conquered with the active cooperation of the public by adhering to the Government advisories.
We must do our best to come out of this situation in much strong and resolute manner with a refreshing and redefined mental setup, keeping in mind the new slogan by our PM: “Jaan Bhi, Jahaan Bhi”
(The author is senior government functionary, presently serving as SE in J&KSIDCO and General Manager in JK IT Infrastructure Ltd)
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