Janata Curfew

 My experience during the Janata Curfew on  Sunday 22nd March .2020

The whole world was grappling with the Corona Virus. From all around there were reports of deaths and newly affected cases.To tackle this our Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation and declared a day of Janata Curfew to be observed on Sunday 22 nd March from 7 am to 9 pm. In his speech he requested every Indian to observe this by staying indoors, in the safety of their homes and work together to break the chain. Another thing he asked for was for everyone to show their gratitude for all those working tirelessly to fight against the virus by doing their duties assigned like the doctors, nurses, psychiatrists , cleanliness workers, banking staff and all the others. To show  our gratitude he mentioned staying indoors in the balconies or at the windows and clapping or ringing bells or banging a spoon against plates for five minutes at 5 pm. 'Thaali aur taali' was the mantra for showing gratitude.

In my family we were already working from home . On Sunday too we observed the Janata Curfew and did not venture out.There was hardly any sound around that whole day. All we heard was the distinct chirping of the birds outside and nothing more. I was keen to know how the appreciation part of the days event would work out. We had watched videos posted on social media that showed people in Italy and Spain clapping and playing musical instruments in appreciation for all the doctors, nurses and other personnel working  tirelessly during these trying times. At sharp 5 pm we stood at our windows and started clapping. I played my tambourine while my daughter hit a steel plate with a spoon. 

This was an experience I will not forget easily. I didn't realize that the five minutes would leave me so emotional. When we began we stood at the window and saw the neighbouring high rise. This was the first time I saw so many people at one time at their balconies or windows. At almost every balcony the families were standing together and clapping or beating their plates. A few houses had people blowing the conches and ringing bells. They were smiling and waving at those in the other buildings and like us, they too were enjoying the feat. We moved from one window to the other and watched people at the windows of other adjacent buildings too. Somewhere we also heard a speaker playing some shlokas. Some people took this a little further and chanted OM at 6 pm that evening. Hopefully all this collective clapping, ringing of bells and chanting will spread positive vibes all around and bring back normalcy all around.

It was really beautiful to hear all the different sounds merging together! It seemed like we were all in it together in the fight against Corona and it looked like all our gratitude was pouring out genuinely. As I stood there playing my tambourine with great vigour I actually said a prayer for all the people who were working for us. I remembered the posts and videos that told about the deaths and cases of affected people all around the world and I fervently prayed for this calamity to end. I felt tears streaming down and felt goosebumps. The atmosphere was charged and it did not seem like a simple inconsequential activity anymore, to me at least. It felt like a strong collective prayer reaching out for the calamity to end. It made me realize that we take our life and its other offerings for granted. we fail to recognize how blessed we really are. The importance of freedom can be well gauged when we are bound inside our homes. That small show of appreciation suggested by the PM made me understand so much and see my life in a new perspective.

After five minutes of this we stopped and played an indoor game.We saw many of our friends post videos  and posts telling how they showed their gratitude for our real heroes.
This beautiful day was not without its share of blots.  Later that day we found out through social media posts that many people came out of their houses on the roads in processions to celebrate and show their appreciation. Some actually came out with dhol taasha and even playing garba on the streets and on their terraces! The worst part was that it looked as if India won a match against Pakistan when they came out waving the Indian tricolour and bursting crackers on the roads.  This was unbelievable. I really wondered why they didny realize that the need of the situation was social distancing and not socialising as if to celebrate some victory. Our fight against the deadly virus had just begun and we had to work towards breaking the chain, yet here people were coming out in huge numbers all over the country to show their gratitude. It made me realize that there will always be morons who cannot do what is told. It was clearly mentioned that appreciation had to be shown staying indoors, within the safety of their own homes. This also made the naysayers, those against the PM and his government to come out and ridicule the Janata Curfew and this method of showing gratitude. The less said about them, the better it is. I am glad that these were a minority and most of us followed instructions and stayed indoors. I saw many videos posted that showed the beautiful sounds of bells, claps and conches  reverberating around housing colonies in different cities. What an amazing way to show appreciation!

Just yesterday, our Honourable Prime Minister made another announcement of a lockdown for 21 days beginning from 25th March.  This was naother attempt to break the chain and practice social distancing. Hopefully this time around, people will act sensibly and stay indoors. It was important for each one of us to do our bit to fight this calamity together.