The cases of coronavirus originated from Wuhan in China last year. At first, people took the matter lightly as they did not know how dangerous it could be. When they realised the danger, coronavirus had already infected many people in different countries. It was then that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the onset of the virus to be a plague. Hence nations had to come out with strategies to contain the virus and the best strategy found was a nationwide lockdown on regular activities performed by different people.
The lockdown in India came into effect from March 24 this year. The lockdown affected people in various ways.
To some people, it was unnecessary and useless but others understood the importance of the lockdown. It is also true that the lockdown affected many people such as the daily labourers, small enterprise owners and workers, farmers and the self-employed, who were left with no means of livelihood. There are people who had earlier moved to different parts of the country or in different parts of the world to earn their living were stranded in those places and had to be brought back to their native land. Some also walked home without a morsel of rice to fill their stomach.
There were various advantages of the lockdown as well. It helped in restoring nature. For example, the air and water are least contaminated, the environment as a whole is getting restored, the number of animals which were declining is now starting to increase, the streets are cleaner, people are learning the importance of hygiene and cleanliness.
According to me, the lockdown was a good preventive measure against the virus. It helped me learn the importance of family. I have got even more emotionally attached with my family now. Now I realise that spending time with family is not at all boring. In fact, it is the best thing.
I have also learnt the importance of school. Earlier, I found it tiring to follow the usual routine like going to school, returning home and completing so much of home-work. But now I really miss all that. I have understood that studying at home all by myself is boring and difficult as there are topics which I find easier to understand at school with teachers to guide me. I learnt the importance of friends in life. Due to the ongoing restrictions, I am not being able to meet them and spend time with them.
As I spent a lot of time at home and had lesser things to do, I took it as an opportunity to learn various other things too. For instance, now I can bake vanilla and chocolate cake in a pressure cooker, I can prepare fried noodles, vegetables and various tea-time snacks.
I have also learnt how to actually clean the house, to keep my clothes well-folded in the cupboard, to wash clothes. I spend time on prayers, to communicate with my family members, play a few guitar chords and last but not the least I have learnt to draw portraits that I always wanted to learn.
The lockdown has provided people with time to do the things they were not being able to do before. My suggestion to them is that they must spend time with their families now. Before the lockdown came into effect, people were busy with their work and had no time to talk to their families. Now is the time to talk to each other to create stronger relations. Instead of always using phones, people must spend time with family and loved ones.
(Contributed by Natasha Sharma, Class IX,
Laban Bengalee Girls’ Higher Secondary School)