Discovery of things I always had💕

BY:- URJA DAVE,21

15th March 2020, as I precisely remember, I was trying to manage completions of my entrance exam, preparing a presentation to be given in college the very next day which I was pretty much looking forward to, and my submissions! Everything got piled up in a single day. Amidst that hustle of constantly wishing if a day could be longer than 24 hours to cope up with all the things, an announcement was made to shut down all the colleges, schools, institutions, and other public places. Just how in a second, all that tumult ended.

Eventually, as the lockdown was announced there was a sense of relief, something that seemed enticing at that time. Little did I know that it won't last long. Not being able to go to my college, not being able to teach my students, not being able to sit at the coaching center for hours, not being able to meet my friends...all these things vexed me! I still miss doing all these things & I wish this ends soon. 

At the same time, I re-explored my hobbies of drawing & painting, cooking, watching the sky in its different colors, and working out which I had left in the hurly-burly of college life. And that was a benison of this lockdown! 

Meanwhile, as we all were enjoying the lockdown to the fullest, there was a section of society that wasn't that privileged. Working in an NGO taught me to build a sense of humanity and that an act of kindness can go a long way. We started reaching out to the needy people and conducted a 'Mask stitching & distribution' project, with the help of a Halol based automotive company. We provided wages in exchange for mask stitching to 15 lady tailors and distributed more than five thousand masks to the needy ones in Vadodara city. We're still looking forward to many such projects that can help people in these difficult times even if we can help a single needy person, our purpose is served. I strongly believe that if intentions are pure then all things fall into place.

Apart from that, I started my food blog on Instagram, again thanks to the lockdown, something that I had in my mind for long but couldn't execute! I will be sharing some of my cooking experiments & experiences there. For this again I thank my friends for the overwhelming support that I didn't expect in the first place!❣️

This lockdown has brought families closer indeed! Playing cards at night with everyone together, long discussion & life lessons from Dadaji, listening to those childhood short stories from Baa...All these things together make me feel grateful for the life I have! Thanks to this lockdown🌸