Pandemic panorama: a day in my life
Madhurya Bandyopadhyay
These days even before my alarm clock buzzes early in the morning, I wake up wondering, what if the clock fails to do its assigned task? With the pandemic looming large, there are many similar ‘what ifs’ in our lives today. But irrespective of how uncertain the times seem, there is an unwavering consistency that has always governed my life – ‘faith’ in a supreme power. So, keeping aside the fleeting thoughts that keep swarming in my mind – What if my laptop doesn’t work today? What if I have accidentally deleted the Google Meet link of an important school meeting? – I get up to face the day headlong!
In my life, there are two Cs I always fall back upon – the first is CONNECTIVITY. Early morning is the only time when I can really have some ‘alone’ time and I use this time to connect with myself, gathering all that I have to do both for my classes and home. This is also the time I connect with nature, which are largely the plants in my balcony. COVID-19 has taken a toll on them as well due to the frequent sanitization process in my apartment.
In my school, imparting holistic education has been the foremost pre-requisite. Since last year, when the world abruptly plunged into online learning, we have surmounted the challenge by giving our children the feel of their physical classrooms in the online mode. A typical school day thus starts with a class assembly. Starting with prayer and ending with a small meditation session. I recall the school days when the entire school used to assemble in the big quadrangle and our principal used to conduct the assembly. It’s a pity that these days our children are missing out on this oneness. This, like a million other things, is one of the ‘bad debts’ in our COVID account.
As the clock keeps ticking, I move from one class to another. Each class is unique because the children that constitute them have inimitable personalities. Keeping them mindful of the learning process requires different pedagogical approaches, much different from what I used to follow in my physical classes. The reality of a raging pandemic outside our homes coupled with frequent lockdowns hindering our movements, suffocation of confined spaces, is wreaking havoc in these young minds. So donning different hats becomes the need of the hour. Juggling between the roles of a mother, mentor, facilitator, delegator or sometimes even agony aunt, I find the demarcation between each role almost translucent.
Shakespeare has said, “Sweet are the uses of adversity.” I never realized the meaning of these words fully until now. Apart from the fact that the present situation that we are going through has made me more thankful for everything that I have in my life, it has also made me more accepting and compassionate. These days if I see any child, sitting in a different room of the house, I pause teaching and ask, “Is everything all right at home, dear?” Our minds are so attuned to the changes in life that the catastrophic effect of the pandemic has caused, that all the time, we try to ensure that everyone is safe. While connecting with my students, many a time with mood-boosting quotes or one-liners, I try to bring the simple joys of life back into my teaching.
My afternoons are usually consumed by various webinars and department meetings. It is from these webinars that I learn the latest pedagogical practices and cutting-edge tools needed to deliver my lessons. And while I am attending these meetings/webinars sometimes I get calls from children as well as parents about a concept not understood or about something unrelated to academics. Being mothers ourselves, we can instinctively connect with these types of problems. So sometimes, funnily enough, while cooking the most mundane curry for lunch, I end up giving profound philosophical advice to a teenager.
Afternoons are also the time we prepare our students for various school competitions, special assemblies and other important school events that our school has been conducting diligently as per the school calendar. More than any other time, afternoons invariably take me back to my school staffroom, where every day we used to have a sumptuous meal, sharing each other’s delicacies.
In the evenings I read my favourite author in bits and pieces (I have been with this one book for several months), it is also the time I am in touch with my friends and relatives. I cook dinner for my family and watch my favourite show on the television.
As the day draws to a close, I seek CLOSURE, my second C. Believing strongly in this notion, in all aspects of my life, I try to seek closure of the work that I’ve done, from household chores to various transactions that have transpired during the day. Closure gives me a sense of great relief. It helps me dissociate myself from the very dynamic and diverse activities that I was a part of during the better part of the day and look inward, feel thankful and hope for a brighter tomorrow. I find myself musing on one of my favourite poets, P.B. Shelley’s, oft quoted lines, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
The author is a teacher in Gitanjali Devashray, Hyderabad. She can be reached at madhurya@gitanjalidevashray.com.
