I am a researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), a premier research institution in India. For the past two years, I have not visited my home-state Kerala so that I could spend more time on my studies. I believed that I could finish writing my research thesis by March 2020 and then visit Kerala. My wife and I had made a meticulous to-do list for this vacation. We planned it in April. We booked flight tickets- to and fro. We informed family. Since our hospital visits are generally during vacation, we reserved hospital appointments too.
But things did not pan out quite as we expected. 2020 began with a severe chest infection that lasted over a month which slowed down my work. Then came the Corona Virus attack. One of my research papers was accepted by a conference in the USA, and I was to present the paper on the 26th of March 2020. Due to the virus' widespread threat, I had to cancel my flight tickets and accommodation which I reserved well ahead in time. Luckily, my Air bnb host was a kind soul, and I got a full refund. But I lost 10% of my flight reservation amount. I do not earn much, so I lost much.
Then came the real strike of the virus. In view of the spread of the virus-caused disease COVID-19, IITK decided to suspend all academic activity and send all hostel-residing students home in short notice. Since we were a family with a two-room house on campus, we were not required to leave, but were free to leave if we thought it was better to leave. Since we DID NOT trust the healthcare facilities in Uttar Pradesh AT ALL, we decided to leave. This meant that we had to cancel our flight tickets for our planned vacation in April which would again be a huge loss for my already shallow pocket. But we had to do it. There was no other way.
The decision was made on the 17th of March. We booked flights on the same day, and flew the next morning to Trivandrum. On 18th, we had a connection flight from Lucknow airport to Hyderabad airport to Trivandrum domestic airport. Except in Trivandrum, there was no thermal screening or any kind of warnings or precaution. It was business as usual. But at Trivandrum airport, our temperatures were recorded, and we had to fill in a form declaring our travel history and contact information. We were given instructions to stay in home quarantine for 14 days, and emergency contact information was given as a pamphlet. We felt proud of our state, and surely safe!
After we reached home, we stayed in a room and had minimal contact with the family. What suffered was my work. It has been ten days since we entered quarantine. I was not able to write more than two paragraphs of my thesis. Yes, I read a few pages, wrote a few stories and updated this blog. But my work is stalled. I am worried of my thesis, my career and life after COVID-19. There is going to be an economic recession, and I do not know how we would find a job to survive. We may be able to manage for a few months without income, but beyond that its a void.
Future is uncertain. But that doesn't make me a crybaby. I won't stop trying to write. I will positively try to finish my thesis before the lock-down is over. There is life after COVID-19, and I do not want to be unprepared. I am trying to be happy, cheerful and optimistic because, whatever happens, this sweet life is worth living.
But things did not pan out quite as we expected. 2020 began with a severe chest infection that lasted over a month which slowed down my work. Then came the Corona Virus attack. One of my research papers was accepted by a conference in the USA, and I was to present the paper on the 26th of March 2020. Due to the virus' widespread threat, I had to cancel my flight tickets and accommodation which I reserved well ahead in time. Luckily, my Air bnb host was a kind soul, and I got a full refund. But I lost 10% of my flight reservation amount. I do not earn much, so I lost much.
Then came the real strike of the virus. In view of the spread of the virus-caused disease COVID-19, IITK decided to suspend all academic activity and send all hostel-residing students home in short notice. Since we were a family with a two-room house on campus, we were not required to leave, but were free to leave if we thought it was better to leave. Since we DID NOT trust the healthcare facilities in Uttar Pradesh AT ALL, we decided to leave. This meant that we had to cancel our flight tickets for our planned vacation in April which would again be a huge loss for my already shallow pocket. But we had to do it. There was no other way.
The decision was made on the 17th of March. We booked flights on the same day, and flew the next morning to Trivandrum. On 18th, we had a connection flight from Lucknow airport to Hyderabad airport to Trivandrum domestic airport. Except in Trivandrum, there was no thermal screening or any kind of warnings or precaution. It was business as usual. But at Trivandrum airport, our temperatures were recorded, and we had to fill in a form declaring our travel history and contact information. We were given instructions to stay in home quarantine for 14 days, and emergency contact information was given as a pamphlet. We felt proud of our state, and surely safe!
After we reached home, we stayed in a room and had minimal contact with the family. What suffered was my work. It has been ten days since we entered quarantine. I was not able to write more than two paragraphs of my thesis. Yes, I read a few pages, wrote a few stories and updated this blog. But my work is stalled. I am worried of my thesis, my career and life after COVID-19. There is going to be an economic recession, and I do not know how we would find a job to survive. We may be able to manage for a few months without income, but beyond that its a void.
Future is uncertain. But that doesn't make me a crybaby. I won't stop trying to write. I will positively try to finish my thesis before the lock-down is over. There is life after COVID-19, and I do not want to be unprepared. I am trying to be happy, cheerful and optimistic because, whatever happens, this sweet life is worth living.
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