05 Jul 2020  |   05:03am IST

Are we finally unlocking?

People are still staying at home but many are now going to work and someone even miss going to the office. Cafe spoke to people in Goa to understand what they were doing now almost four months since the lockdown was first imposed.
Are we finally unlocking?

Ajit John;

It has been a rather frustrating three are four months for people around the world generally. The virus has turned life upside down. Across economic lines, the able and the not so able were all reduced to cypher’s as the virus swept everything before it. That scenario was true for Goa too. The busy corporate executive was reduced remaining at home unable to comprehend the rapidly changing scenario. Schools, offices, churches, temples and mosques everything shut. And the roads were free for the dogs and the odd cat to wonder on without a care. Apart from the odd car that passed by every ten minutes, there was nothing to fear. That was then.

At first, people took solace in watching movies on various online platforms or reading books they never had the time to do so earlier. So, from Netflix to reading Macbeth there was time to indulge in activities one always dreamt one could do but never had the time to do so. In the meanwhile, the cases reduced and then increased again as the rail services commenced. Today despite the state being rocked by the number of cases increasing by the hour, services are slowly restarting and companies are slowly reopening.  But importantly what are the people of Goa doing. Has the time been spent watching movies, chatting on the now very popular Zoom or upgrading skillsets or perhaps even working from home?

Anushka Naik a chartered account now at home with her parents in Vasco said she was busy advising her clients who were based all over south India. She said “I am now in Goa but I am usually based in Bengaluru where my office is. The past three months have been an eyeopener for me. I flew into Goa in the first week of March when the calls from the parents got too incessant. I have been busy answering calls from my clients. I managed quite well with just my laptop and a good internet connection. The only problem was that since I was based at home, I was working long hours. I realised working in an office actually helped me become very organised. At home, I had to help mom or dad, which meant I would take longer to complete my jobs for the day”.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pranali Mantri a second-year student in media studies at the Don Bosco College said she spent her time reading novels and was using her time in upgrading her skills. She said “I did online courses in creative writing and am now learning French via an online course. I have very rarely gone out except for something that may be necessary at home and I am completing things I did not have time to do so earlier. I have not wasted my time in the past three or four months”.            

Aniket Naik, a film producer was working on the script for an advertisement which would be shot in a couple of weeks. Speaking from Mumbai he said he was working from home for the past couple of months and he missed going to the office. He revealed that he had spent the last couple of months adjusting to the fast-changing scenarios. Aniket said he looking forward to directing his second Konkani film which he would do in Jan, Feb and March next year when the state was quieter and importantly cheaper. He said as someone in the creative arts he had learned to adjust to the new normal as he put it by just accepting that this was going to be the reality for quite a while.

Tirthprasad Nagvekar said he spent most of the lockdown browsing technical data related to his work. He said he was on the cusp of launching a coding marking printer which he felt would be in sync with this governments push towards self-reliance.  He said, “I spent most of my time studying and then I went into my factory and put my theory into practice.”  

For those with businesses to run, the three months were one of introspection and working on new plans.   Yogesh Bhide of PNG Jewellers Panjim said the shop was shut in April but reopened during May -June. The timings he said had changed but otherwise, everything else was the same. He said “During the month we were shut we spent all out time thinking up new ideas to boost business, designs for jewellery etc. It was all about the business and that’s what I spent my time thinking about when I was at home”.    

There are also those who have been laid off. Franz da Costa said after being laid of he was spending time doing work around the house but also helping out in his brothers’ business. He said, “I am now helping out with whatever is needed at home and I listen to music, read books etc. its going to be a while before anything concrete comes up”. In these strange times, upgrading skills and maintaining one’s spirit will be very important

But as cases rise, the fear has returned. Perhaps the worst is yet to come. But unlike in March, the need to get on with one's lives seem to have upped the fear.

 

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar