India on COVID Lockdown

Like everyone else around the world, I've become a home-body.  India instituted a nation-wide one-day curfew on March 22.  The following day, Delhi imposed a lockdown on the capital city through March 31.  Then the Government of India followed suit with a nation-wide lockdown through April 14, which is currently extended through May 3.  What does lockdown mean in India?  Officially, it means that only establishments providing essential services are open and people should only leave their homes for procurement of said essential services.  Unofficially, here's what lockdown means for me:

Prepared with my very own PPE

On April 3, the CDC recommended that everyone wear face coverings in public.  My local grocery also put up a sign saying that face masks were required for entry.  So I set about making a DIY face mask.  I took some fabric remnants I had from various Indian outfits and made my own colorful and stylish face mask.  Sadly, it doesn't meet CDC guidelines.  So while it was a fun prop for the above prepper photo op, I wear a boring Vogmask anytime I leave the house, and leave the rubber gloves and bleach spray under the kitchen sink.

Cajun-style red beans

With more time at home and no more eating out, I've been experimenting with cooking new recipes. Specifically I bought a lot of dried beans before the lockdown commenced and have been trying to figure out what to do with them.  I had NEVER cooked with dried beans before because it was always easy enough to get the canned ones in U.S. grocery stores.  I had wonderful success making falafel from chick peas thanks to a recipe from my "Aunt" Su.  I was also quite pleased with the results of the above vegetarian red beans.  True Southerners may howl at the lack of meat, but andouille sausage isn't an "essential" in most Indian markets, so I made do with easily-procured ingredients.

Cow eating outside the local burger joint

If you've never been to India, it's hard to comprehend how busy it is.  Busy with people, noises, smells, and perpetual activity.  Now, on lockdown, we have to adjust to the stillness.  Not hearing the constant honking of passing cars.  Not seeing streets packed with cars, bicycles, rickshaws, and pedestrians.  Not wading through crowds at the market.  The market near me had 35 eateries.  Now only 8 are open.  The market is eerily empty, with most businesses shuttered.  Including the above burger restaurant, where I passed a cow eating on the front stoop.  Don't worry, the restaurant doesn't serve beef, so there are no mad cow worries, but it was still ironic nonetheless!

On top of the cows, I now have monkeys in my neighborhood.  I first saw them in February and also had them visit my balcony in March.  We stared each other through what felt like a very thin pane of window glass.  I didn't see them for a while and thought maybe they had moved elsewhere.  But the monkeys showed up again this month.  I had a great view of them climbing around on my neighbors' roofs across the street.  Of course, the neighbors weren't as enthused and armed themselves with sticks to try to scare the monkeys away.  Haven't seen any monkeys now for a few days, but I expect them to pop up again.

In addition to the monkeys, I'm learning other things about my neighborhood.  The middle-aged man across the street likes to come out on his balcony without a shirt on and air out his hairy upper body. A group of young girls, probably sisters, comes out every day around 5pm to play badminton on their roof.  And the garbage truck announces its arrival each morning with an annoyingly loud, repetitive song.  I've learned to jump out of my desk chair at the first strains so that I can grab my trash bag from the kitchen and get down the three flights of stairs before it drives off down the street!

When the lockdown lifts, I'll miss the badminton, and the beans, and the stillness.  But I'll be glad to bid farewell to masks, pesky monkeys, and hairy backs!