The lockdown days

 There is a beautiful park for children in our locality. For me, it is always more than attractive for more than one reason. Earlier, sometimes I did try to occupy its vacant seats, but to drive me away there was a watchman with his 'lathi' whenever I mistakenly had entered the park. But nowadays I don't know why, none is there to occupy the seats. Even the watchman himself is not present there to drive me away. As if the entrance is locked since an unknown age. So, nowadays I enjoy the full facility of the seats as well as the atmosphere. But to be honest, without the children who used to play with each other, this place has lost all its glory. Sometimes I also don't feel it is necessary to come here without them. Even while running on roads, I don't see anyone walking in the market, none is in the grocery shops or in other stalls too. Sabji stalls are closed for quite some days, no bargaining, no laughing, no noise and full of silence everywhere. Even there are no dogs barking at me! I don't know why even children are not allowed to attend their classes nowadays.

There was a time when I saw, from the top of the schools, the guardians to make their children go to schools on time, though they have less interest in attending classes than playing in the park. Had any one of them by mistake tried to look up at me, one would have had to be caught by ear by one's parent saying at once "it's getting late! Hurry up!" Now, if anyone is caught sight of on the road by chance, he or she is with a cloth being linked with their own ears, covering almost their face save their eyes. Human beings are known to be the most social living beings on the planet as far as their garments are concerned. They do feel shy without clothes, as they are not supposed to go nude on the road like us. But till date, it is quite natural for them to go out without any cover on their face. But sorry, as I always say, "exceptions are always there". Rather, it varies from gender to gender as much as I am concerned about human beings. Sometimes religions have their respective patriarchal roles for making a discriminatory society. But nowadays, their faces too are all covered with masks regardless of all genders, ages and religions as well. As if we are now undergoing a taste of something most of us had been opposing when we came close to each other. But the question is, " what happened to human beings?" Why don't they wish to get their faces exposed to everyone as before? Maybe, what they have already achieved is considered anything but to live together, to speak to each other, to stand for others. Do they feel shy about

each other? No, they get afraid of themselves, afraid of standing before the mirror, shy to stand to be exposed in front of themselves.

Though I find, for them, it is difficult to place it at the exact location on their face. Sometimes it hangs on their necks, sometimes the nose is not allowed to be covered with but the mustache. Some people, at some places, are also seen to use it for glasses when a sound sleep is required. It is not that everyone loves to wear it. One day a passerby threw his at me! It seemed that he felt sorrow for me as I didn't have one. That was what I was not really accustomed to getting from them. Rather, there are those things like, Bananas, Roties, Channa and all that they usually have, come to me thus from them. But what's it? And I, just for my curiosity, picked it up and placed it perfectly over my face covering my nose and lips together by stretching it with my ears. But as soon as I reached my adda, my family with their folk started showing their disapproval of my newly covered face. They were very straightforward about it and for that matter, I was told, " listen, you shall never be allowed with this newly launched trend on your face! You have to leave it at once! Do you feel ashamed of being naked like us? We feel proud of being as uncovered as we were before and are now as well. Remember, no pandemic, no religion and no politics can get us more naked than we are now! We don't need to hide our faces under any 'Mask'. And be proud of being what shameless you are! Understood? Never try to get it over! Or you will have the consequences! Keep it in your mind always!" I at once made a long throw with it to get respite from my family. It had already been some days that I had no food and added to it my family started getting me. I left the place.

The next day again, I visited the empty park again and occupying a chair I sat there. No one was there, so I soon fell asleep keeping my back on rest. Suddenly I woke up from my nap. I found a man with a long beard, wearing a white cap, though his face was uncovered. His eyes were closed and he was sitting on his knees. Nearby there was a cycle being stood and loaded with two bags. I was a bit excited to see him there and approached him immediately. I sat just in front of him sitting and kept noticing his face carefully. It had been so long that I had not seen any faces. I was observing his face minutely and he, keeping his eyes closed, just kept whispering with whom I didn't know as there was no one save me. I kept sitting there and without food for some days I was tired too. Suddenly, his eyes were open. He was surprised to find me just in front of himself. But there was such a smile and an expression of kindness in his face that it made me assume that he was not afraid of me at all. He had been observing me for some time and said, "wait". He reached the cycle nearby and took out two bananas from inside the bag and started skinning one of them. He gave me the skinned one and I, snatching it at once, started enjoying it to my fill. After I had finished it he delivered me the skinned second one too. I had just started having it and there was a sudden sound of bitting drums, ghanta & shankha being heard from the nearby road that moves forward towards the market ahead. There was a loud chanting chorus saying " Jay Sri Ram...". The peaceful atmosphere suddenly changed into an awful noisy one leaving both two of us confused inside the park. The atmosphere was just like - Drums bitting, a group of people dancing with shiny weapons and 'Dhol' 'kansor' in the middle of the road. The mask less folk were on an advantage to being the loudest ones. There is much difficulty to make chanting when one is with the mask as I had already gained the similar taste before.When all those things were going on there I had just found two breads in my lap thrown by the man. I guessed he was about to depart the place giving me a bit of relief from starving for some time.

Anyway, if they just want to worship the Lord Ram I have no problem with them, as I am also called 'Hanuman'. But I didn't really understand what the Man with a long beard and white cap was doing with me...