Our Brush With Corona

Prologue

This is a first hand account of how my parents and I, who had together tested positive with COVID-19, during the course of the first wave which struck India, had managed to spend our period of quarantine, with a positive frame of mind. 

It's now been two years that a deadly virus, one of the deadliest the world has ever seen, entered into our lives, wreaked havoc with it, and threatened to shake the very foundations of our largely comfortable existence. It turned most of us insular in our hastily created world of aloofness and made us question the ethics of the World Order prevalent during the times. We could now see how shaky and unsure some of our beliefs and value systems were.

The virus, Mr COVID-19, is still around and though its potency is on the decline and the process of vaccination is going on at a brisk pace in most of the countries, it is still a force to be reckoned with. Though a list of the damages done by it can be made at the drop of a hat, there is no doubt that it has done some good things too. For one, it has made us introspect and rediscover the virtues of living one's life in the good old days, in the not too distant past; a life where family values had more weightage and gave more pleasure than material aspects. Material aspects have always shared space with human beings, that is inevitable, but it has never been as over riding an aspect as it is now becoming, threatening to gobble up the joys of a simple and unadulterated life. One of these is the joy of living with our parents, enjoying their company and the unconditional love and warmth which they showered us with. Certainly, no material can provide any of these. Weren't we happier in the past, in the company of our loved ones, in spite of not being surrounded by modern gadgets and gizmos.

My aged parents and I had been affected by COVID and were mighty lucky to escape with it unscathed. In this story I have largely described the way we spent our days when we were affected by COVID. Every experience of this pandemic is unique and personal, as is the way we have lived and dealt with it. I can never lay claim that our way of dealing with it was the only right one. For there is no fixed procedure for dealing with COVID. A sound medical advice and established protocol is to be followed in all such matters.

I have also tried to recount, as best as I could, other incidents related with this pandemic. Some of the names and references may have been altered a bit for obvious reasons but I have tried my level best to adhere to the truth.

My attempt has never been to cause gloom or grief but is a humble attempt to convey hope and an attitude to move forward in life, for as long as we live there is always hope. Let this pandemic result in all of us becoming better persons.

I would also request all my esteemed readers to point out any typographical or other errors which I may have left inadvertently so that I can correct them as I move on with my story. Due to my other preoccupations, on some occasions my updating may become slow, though this will be very few and far between. I promise not to disappoint you by the end of it all!

And if you like the story, please press the vote button and share the story with your acquaintances. The involvement of readers is an energy booster for an author, especially a fledgeling one like me. I would also invite comments and suggestions from all of you.

WITH LOTS OF LOVE

Ragesh