Baking Bread, Cutting Hair: How We Are Coping With The Lockdown

If I hadn’t been keeping an eye on the statistics, I would have been very happy today. This coronavirus lockdown was supposed to be over by mid of the next week. But now we are looking at a possible extension by two weeks or more. The outside world is sunny and quite. But indoors, it is not easy to get on with life, especially when it comes to chores and things for which we had to step out of the house. I see so many posts on social media about bushy eyebrows and thick moustaches by women. Our hair and skin are begging immediate attention of experts, but in vain. Your slipper broke, there is a tear in your favourite top? Well, you’ll have to wait this lockdown out to have them fixed. Or you can do them at home, as many people are.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

• From cutting hair to baking bread people have taken up many DIY activities under lockdown.
• Are we going back thirty years, not just economically, but when it comes to ingenuity?
• Does this flurry of activities stem from need, or from boredom or a desire for distraction?

I think I’ll be ready to start my own bakery once this lockdown is over, or at least start a “homemade artisanal brown bread” as side-business.

Just yesterday we had a haircut spree in the office. One of my colleagues gave a haircut to her son to make him presentable for his online tutorials, while another chopped off her tresses after YouTube tutorials. An intern is also considering giving herself bangs. The mother-in-law has scheduled a haircut for the little one at home this Sunday. I, on the other hand, have taken to baking bread since we are not stepping out of the house much to buy it from the market. I think I’ll be ready to start my own bakery once this lockdown is over, or at least start a “homemade artisanal brown bread” side-business. Although, I may have some tough competition because I am not the only one doing so.

Also Read: I Thought My Struggle With Depression Was Over. And Then Lockdown Happened

Social media these days is full of feed on how we have adapted to life indoors, even taking up chores and activities we had left to the outside world. Women are grinding spices at home, all the DIY videos consumed courtesy high-speed internet are being put to good use now by making dollhouses, showpieces etc. Kids are now channelling their energies to recycling waste and “making” new toys and games at home, because sketch pens are about to dry out and drawing books are full. The ingenuity isn’t just limited to making masks at home, we are making table mats, cushion covers, mixie covers too.

It is amusing how our needs have reduced drastically, and how many of us have taken matters into our own two hands rather than fuss over the lockdown.

Are we going back thirty years or so in time? When most things would rather be taken care of at home, with jugaad of some kind, rather than outsourcing the task? We all have had that bad haircut from an aunt or uncle at home. We know aunties who would toil over cakes for their children’s birthday parties (a certainty for most parents this year), grandpas who would “fix” furniture or electrical wiring themselves rather than hire help. In a way this summer seems to take me back to my childhood. And while I am equally worried about our economy going back by thirty years too, it is amusing how our needs have reduced drastically, and how many of us have taken matters into our own two hands rather than fuss over the lockdown.

Also Read: Walking Around The House To Tackle Coronavirus Stress

Perhaps it is the access to the internet. Perhaps it is our inherent hands-on attitude. Or perhaps it is a coping mechanism to battle stress, monotony and sparsity inflicted on us by the coronavirus pandemic. But we are not shying away from doing things which were not even on our mind, say a month ago. Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Modern humans need bread, they need haircuts, clothes, accessories and whatnot. They might not be a necessity for our survival, but if we have the tools at our disposal to provide for ourselves, then we might as well do that. Isn’t this what reaping the benefits of evolution is all about?

Picture Credit: Yamini Pustake Bhalerao