The Month That Was March-2020

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This is the month the Novel coronavirus loomed over us largely. We were hearing about Wuhan, Corona, Diamond princess fiasco since December. We were updated about the first positive case in Kerala and the subsequent recovery. We were quick enough to cancel all upcoming travel plans local as well as overseas. We were equipped for the anticipated curfew.

Despite all these we were not serious. If we were, we would not be attending the massive nine-hour over-nightly play "Malegalalli Madumagalu". I'm alive and healthy to write this overnight experiment in drama form is one of its kind in the country. The play is based on Kuvempu's book of same name, set in Malnad, the central mountainous region of Karnataka of the late 19th century.  The experience was powerful and magical. Imagine running around the Jnanabharathi campus every 2.30 hours in the night until early morning for seats as the show was performed at four different stages in an open-air setting. There were almost 1500 people for the show as they declared it to be the last run. Cousin M1 accompanied us and here we created a beautiful memory, the story we will tell to anyone who cares enough to listen. It's a powerful nostalgic moment for hubby as he belongs to the Malnad belt of the state. The art lovers in us were happy and content. Social distancing was not the norm at that point in time. If it was we would not have ventured out. 

By next weekend curfew was ordered in 7 districts of the state that included Bangalore urban. Then started the isolation followed by the nationwide lock down for 21 days.

I managed to read four books this month. The list is "The Last Time I Lied-Riley Sager; The Lying Game-Ruth Ware; The woman in cabin 10-Ruth Ware; The Devotion of Suspect X-Keigo Higashino. I first read Ruth Ware's "In a Dark, Dark Wood " last year and liked her story-telling style, which falls in my favoured genre. Her another book "The Turn of the Key" was nominated in the best mystery and thriller category of Goodreads 2019. So, I picked that in January and went on reading all other published works of her. This fixation was on Riley Sager the last two months.

The movie list goes like this; Driving Licence, Houseful 4, Dabangg 3, One Who Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest, Mardani 2, Maari 2, Bombshell, Maheshinte Prathikaram, and Kurukshetra.

The television show continued with 'The Last Kingdom' season second and third. Uhtred of Bebbanburg was the driving force in sustaining this harsh lock down. And Netflix announced April 26 as the official release date of season 4. However, I'm afraid nothing will be as per the plan during this pandemic.

I hear family members and friends alike not getting paid during the lock down. It is totally unfair and unkind. These are real people with lot of responsibilities and commitments. Their stress and anxiety is endless. I tried to console them by saying sailing through this global catastrophe unhurt is the most important thing right now. My cheering may sound hollow, still I messaged and called near and dear ones to check on them even though some of them had been irritating and annoying in the past. At least it is far better than banging vessels or burning candles.

Hoping for a corona-free world soon