Lockdown Stressbusters: Mahabharata, Memes & Everything in Between

It’s lockdown day 35. Definitely seems like day 1,46,542. I’m sitting in the living room trying to work while Mahabharata fills the background. The great mythological drama is served with pinches of recent updates about the world’s war against the virus by swapping to the news channels during the ad breaks. Corona news has become a lullaby at night as well as the morning alarm and is a filler for pretty much the rest of the day. I’m not allowed to enter the study room since my sister is attending her daily Google Classroom sessions. Something unexpected that has left me scratching my head is the considerable drop in fights that I used to have with my sister. The lockdown has brought us so close that I often have to pinch myself when we reach a mutual ground without slamming doors or raising voices.

Also Read: No Family, No Friends: I Am Stuck Alone In COVID-19 Lockdown

Remote battles, political debates, how-will-you-manage-your-studies discussion, comparing who received a funnier WhatsApp forward and sharing of pre-lockdown anecdotes have officially been added to our daily routines. The government's idea to rerun the classic is commendable. As a kid, my parents used to tell me stories of how the roads were empty when Ramayana and Mahabharata aired. I've never seen them so hooked to the TV screens. In a way, these reruns sure did the job of keeping people inside their houses.

The lockdown has brought us so close that I often have to pinch myself when we reach a mutual ground without slamming doors or raising voices.

Added to that the pandemic has brought with itself heaps of problems that we’re not ready to face. We did not get our ACs repaired at the end of the last summer and here we are, cribbing how slow the fan moves! Don’t come at me, you won’t be able to drag me into the I-love-summers club, not now, more than ever! The onset of summers has taken away the time I used to call mine when I went in the verandah for half an hour in the evening with a paperback. It’s just so hot! Thanks to the off-season rains that relieve the weather once a while!

As a kid, my parents used to tell me stories of how the roads were empty when Ramayana and Mahabharata aired. I've never seen them so hooked to the TV screens. In a way, these reruns sure did the job of keeping people inside their houses.

Also Read: If Your Periods Have Been Weird During Lockdown, You Aren’t Alone

I open my phone and a scroll on the Instagram feed which makes me encounter nothing but yet another set of quarantine memes. This image-and-text coping mechanism for some doesn’t make me laugh at all now. I remember the history books we mugged while in ninth and tenth grade and how they talked about the activities people resorted to in distressed times. Keeping that in mind, I can totally imagine the pictures of memes being published in textbooks ten years down the line when this virus is documented for students to study.

Since I love to stay away from social interactions, the fact that I’m home wouldn’t have bothered me had it not been the case that everybody else was at home too. It seems as if my space has been invaded. The lockdown has had me at the edge and the closest resemblance to these too frequent mood swings is nothing but PMSing.

Since I love to stay away from social interactions, the fact that I’m home wouldn’t have bothered me had it not been the case that everybody else was at home too. It seems as if my space has been invaded.

Irrespective of the loud Whatsapp videos, endless bulletins, mythological discussions, fighting over the legitimacy of forwarded messages, we’ve all been trying to keep our sanity through different sources of entertainment from revisiting old classics, having carom wars to dancing together. Something I’m sure of is that these narratives, whether sour or sweet, will be passed on to the generations to come as the old family tales. If anything, months later, we’d think about these times and laugh as we'd resonate with the scenes of a movie adaptation of the virus starring Akshay Kumar!

Also Read: Are You Going Out For Evening Walks In Your Society Under Lockdown?

Image Credits: India TV

Saavriti is an intern at SheThePeople.TV