New Online Channels to keep Kids entertained

The Story till Date

Like the story of Lord Ganesha's marriage, lockdown continues to progress with the promise to end after every 2 weeks. I cannot comment on whether Lord Ganesha was lucky not to be married but this lockdown confined most of us to our homes with our wife. I am sure now by working under our wife, many of us would have learned to appreciate our boss at work, prayed for the safe return of our maids, and also learned the importance of 'work from office' in a happy family life. 

My story was a bit different, My family and I were planning on a different journey in our life. I was also trying to up-skill myself on the career front so we had decided to move out of Bangalore. But the curfew made it difficult for us to move, so we remained holed in our apartment for the complete first and second phase of the lockdown. As the third phase allowed inter-district travel with approval, we decided to take the opportunity and drive down from Bangalore to Cochin. We completed our interesting travel last week and was immediately welcomed by the government for a 14-days quarantine at our hometown. 

Kids Initial Pastime

This eventful year has brought many changes in my life. I have started to think about the basic freedom that we exercise, the vulnerability of our lives, and felt the helplessness to the request of my kids to be taken outside. With the schools closing early this year my kids were happy that all their exams were suspended but as they ventured more into the lockdown period they also started to feel the heat of the situation. The Initial days were great with quality time being spent with the family playing ludo, monopoly, caroms, and different games of cards. With time, the focus slowly moved to more interesting content on TV and the internet.

With protocols becoming more clear in the coming days, we were drawn back to our work leaving kids on their own. As my kids grew restless and irritated, I was able to see new live episodes of Tom and Jerry at home. But I cannot blame them totally, with all the pent up energy and no chance of going outside my son brilliantly brought back Tom to life. We tried many options to capture their attention, but all were short-lived. Even online courses had their limitations. We were desperate for an activity where the kids could engage themselves and also bring out their creativity. It was during these times, that Tik Tok was gathering momentum on social media circles. But as all contents were not age-appropriate for kids, the usage was restricted under parental guidance only. 

The New Channel of Engagement

Taking inspiration from tik tok, my kids decided to explore creating content on YouTube. As my kids loved origami they decided to have a channel showing how to create various objects through the art of Origami. The activity was engaging but the involvement of parents was also high in editing, mixing, and other activities. Due to our work constraints and lack of time, this interest started losing steam. Then one day they came across an app online that can apply a cartoon filter on normal photos. This app also had the option of arranging the cartoon pictures in various layouts. This sparked an idea to bring out a comic series for family and friends. After a lot of brainstorming they finalized to name their comic series - ChukkyNutty. The main plot of the comic is an illustration of some innocent fun and pranks between a brother and sister, represented by two characters - Nutty and Chukky respectively. This new activity made the kids more involved in their work. They had more ownership as the majority of the activities were done by them, with minimum involvement from parents. I found this new activity interesting and thought of sharing with all. Few of their comics are shared below. More of their comics are available on Facebook and can be accessed by clicking on #ChukkyNutty

These stories do not stop at our house alone. I recently came to know that my friend's kid has started a YouTube channel promoting easy cooking recipes. Its a very cute YouTube channel on easy to make but delicious items. Her channel has some awesome dishes that can be prepared with minimum items, time, and effort. The videos are very crisp, short, to the point, and well-edited. It even inspired me to try my hand at cooking her recipes. One of her latest videos is shared below. If interested, do check her channel at #TheLittleFoodTrail

I am sure these references are all just the tip of an iceberg. Kids today have a totally different perspective compared to our childhood days. I don't think most of us would have got an opportunity or platform to showcase our skills to such an audience. Today, kids walk hand in hand with all of us in the digital world. They are like fish to water when it comes to exploring new apps and adapting to its services. My learning from all of this is that if we provide them support and extend some quality time for their interest, they can explore their skills deeper and grow in confidence. That being said, it is equally important to monitor our kid's online activities and sensitive them about the pros and cons of exploring the online world. As I believe 'even this hard time will pass' but during such a period if we are able to inspire our kids to explore on their own on a safe path, I strongly believe it can help them to face the world for a better tomorrow.

Country Roads that take me home . . .

Country Roads Picture

In India lockdown was in its third phase, with rumors of an extension. My family and I were waiting for an opportunity to move back to Kerala from the end of March. It was many years of memories, brotherhood, and companionship with our loved ones, that we were preparing to leave behind. Bangalore was the city that I moved to very long ago, with the hope to fulfill my bare necessities. I never thought in my worst nightmare that I would have to leave Bangalore during such a time and in such a fashion.

Application for the Pass

Towards the end of the second phase of lockdown, there was news of traveling to Kerala from other states by securing an online pass. But the information on how to secure the pass to enter the Kerala border was vague. After a few days there emerged clarity on the subject and the following procedure was detailed.

I registered for the Domestic Return Pass on the Covid-19 Jagratha site. As I was traveling with my family in my personal vehicle, I included all the necessary details to complete the form. Few critical points that I remember were as follows:

• Enter all the personal details of myself and my family members who were traveling with me.
• My personal vehicle number.
• My Present address in Bangalore
• The address in Kerala that I was planning to move into. 
• Confirmed whether any of my family members have/had any Covid-19 symptoms or infection.
• Lastly, I also selected Walayar as the Kerala border that I was planning to enter along with the time slot that I planned to reach the border.

Once you apply you will get an application number and an SMS on your phone to track the status of the online application.  Further as I was traveling from Bangalore and passing through Tamil Nadu to reach Kerala, I also secured the passes from these two states as well.

Online Pass for Karnataka was obtained from - Sevasindhu site 

In the same way, the Pass for Tamil Nadu was obtained from - TNePass site

After waiting for a few days, I received a call from the health department of my home district. The call was to check on the facilities I have at the destination place I had mentioned. The official made it clear that if I do not have the facility for self-quarantine for 14-days after I reach Kerala, I will be moved to a government facility for the same. As I was traveling with kids below 10-years, the officials informed me that I need to self-quarantine as a family for 14-days.  

The Journey back home - My Experience...

With the approved passes, I started my journey at 6:15 AM on 12th May from Bangalore. This perfectly aligned with my appointment at Walayar between 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. There were no stoppages or checkpoints in Bangalore. I moved fast to reach Attibele, where I was stopped at the first police check post immediately after the toll gate. As they saw the pass and confirmed that I was moving to Kerala, they let me proceed immediately. 

As I continued my journey ahead there were checkpoints at Shoolagiri, before entering Dharmapuri and Salem. All these places they permitted me to continue my journey only after giving them the assurance that I will not be stopping in Tamil Nadu and will continue my journey to Kerala. Also all these places verified my Kerala admit pass. After leaving Salem the ride was smooth till I reached Coimbatore. Post the final LnT toll gate I was stopped at a police check post where they verified my Kerala pass and also noted down my name, car number, pass number, and contact number before letting me proceed. 

As I approached my last leg of the journey my excitement was growing. Next was the major stop at the Kerala border. I had heard many horrendous stories about the experiences of many returnees at Walayar. The stories were around topics like time delays, the questions being asked, issues for people coming without wearing gloves were some of them. With all these notions I arrived at Walayar, after parking the car I walked to a police officer to understand the procedure. He directed me to visit any of the counter. At the counter, the officer examined the pass and asked all the members to be present for a temperature check. Post this they issued a pass sealed by the Palakkad Police and instructed all of us to self-quarantine for 14-days. Further, the officer instructed to download Aarogya Setu App and report at the health department or ASHA Worker in our local area, where we would be staying for 14-days. All this was done in 10 minutes, I was stunned and asked the officer if there is any procedure pending. After securing the written approval from Walayar I prepared to continue my journey. At the exit I was stopped by the Police to verify the approval and they also noted all the details for their reference. They again reiterated the importance of 14-day quarantine and affixed a sticker on the car with the date of exit at Walayar. What I expected to take more than 3-hours was over in 30 minutes. A job well done! Kudos to all the members at Walayar in making the process smooth. 

Walayar Checkpost

On continuing my journey from Walayar, I was again stopped at Vaniampara before reaching the famous Kuthiraan section. Here the health officials examined my approval pass from Walayar and noted down my name, contact number, and vehicle number along with my origin and destination. Post this checkpoint the journey was smooth without any stoppages till I reached Cochin, my destination. 

Home Sweet Home

At last, we arrived home. Tired from the journey but excited to reach home. The travel was smooth to cross all check-post for travelers with a valid pass. I would like to thank all the officials and volunteers in barring all odds and standing at every checkpoint for our safety. This lockdown has bought out many shades in us but the feeling of seeing the roads that take us back home cannot be described in words. So today I pray that all travelers who wish to trace their way back home during this lockdown may safely do so with all approvals and support from the officials. May they also experience the same ecstasy that I had when I saw the old country roads that lead me home...

The art to Socialize during Social Distancing

A representation of socializing during social distancing

I grew up with the understanding that 'Man is a social animal', so personally I had taken all my friends and family for granted. Walking into a friend's house or a cousin's house any time of the day without informing, was never considered an offense. Catching up for a drink at our favourite pub or any casual joint was always looked forward to. It was during these times that we used to unwind and let down all our stress and be high on laughter and spirit. God has been merciful to me as I always enjoyed the company of a great group of friends. Friends and cousins that I grew up with, and friends that crossed my path as my journey of life continues.

Reminiscence of Socializing in the Past

I believe life is a journey where experiences are the fruits we should enjoy. Like a fruit, our experiences can be sweet, sour, or bitter but we should always learn from them and keep walking. Like most of you, even my memory of my first group of friends was from my school days. I connected with some of them from Grade 3. They are the people whom I grew up with, who taught me the value of friendship, and also had a strong influence on my life. Along with us our friendship also grew leaps and bounds, going to school was never boring and during every new academic year we used to scan the notice board to see if we still shared the same class. As most of us used to stay around the school, the walk back from school was fun to remember. The memory of all of us halting at every friend's house on the way back, fighting over a single lime-juice, our famous egg-puff from our favourite Royal bakery is still afresh. Sometimes we were true gentlemen, who used to escort our girl-friends to their houses before heading back to our haven. Like all good things that come to an end, we left all these behind for our professional courses. In college, I forged another set of friends those with similar interests, passion, and attitude. It was during college that most of us had the experience of working with computers, software, and the internet. Chatting became one of the most popular activities during those days. It even helped some of us to connect with our old friends. That said chatting had its share of fun too, I know few personalities amongst us who had fallen head over heals to fake handles with an attractive profile picture. I did not know back then that the exposure to chatting was going to be a life skill learned for a later time in life.

During our lives, we have seen and overcome many outbreaks like bird flu, swine flu, H1N1, Nipah virus, and so on but it took a coronavirus to lock us down. We were all busy in our own lives that we did not make time to connect with many of our friends. When offices shifted home and going out was restricted by the government, we saw many people moving online to connect back with what they had lost. All of us started connecting with family and friends over online apps. I have personally been part of many Zoom calls, hangout calls, and WhatsApp calls. These calls helped me understand one thing about life, even when it takes us far from each other, there are some special bonds that withstand the tests of time. I can happily say that, I have a few friends and family who still stay connected, rooted, and in touch with each other. 

Hidden Talents during Social Lockdown

This lockdown made me realize that many things that I took for granted were a blessing. The first to be taken away was my freedom of movement and space. Imagine my plight of having a shadow in the form of a wife, moving along with me around the boundary of our four walls wherever I go, reminds me of the Hutch ad "wherever you go I follow". Having found her new interest in exploring TikTok and making videos, my free time at home was spent supporting her new addiction. With restriction in movement, I could no longer meet my cousins nor my friends. Our weekend gatherings were all things of the past. So to elevate our spirits we started to discuss ideas on how to socialize and keep ourselves occupied during the current norm of social distancing. The lockdown brought out the bloggers, artists, and storytellers in many of us.  Women juggled with office work and domestic chores but never hesitated to utilize this lockdown to try out recipes of exotic dishes and few men decided to show the world that, yes! Men can cook, thus food porn cluttered our phones resulting in insufficient storage pop-up messages. 

 As our group of friends were all interested in making visual content, we too like many decided to make and share videos that made us feel ecstatic. With this newfound interest we decided to create a video to promote the importance of having an egg every day in our lives, reminiscing the age-old jingle, 'Sunday ho ya Monday roz khayein Ande'. Below is the video we put together:

Life takes many twists and turns and the ride may not be always smooth. The lesson I learned during this lockdown is that however strong life's current may be, never forget to take a moment to cherish the finer details of life. I will always remember that it took only a virus to bring the world to a grinding halt. So I hope that the compassion developed during the lockdown in all of us may continue to grow and help us socialize even more once the lockdown is lifted. Pray all remain safe and healthy...

RIP Irrfan Khan: A Fan's recollection of "a True Gem'

I am part of the group of people in the world who knew the actor only through the silver screen and social media. I believe, Irrfan Khan had a rare gift. He had the power to leave behind a unique signature in the minds of many of us. The most important element of this actor that comes to me is his unique style of acting. I feel he had an uncanny knack of delivering dialogs onscreen. Some of the dialogs delivered had a clever and funny pun. As I was a person who always searched for the depth in a statement, watching Irrfan's movies were highly entertaining and rewarding. Today, reflecting on why his style of dialog delivery and quotes always fascinated me takes me back to my childhood days. 

As a child I idolized my father. To me he was a person of few words. But though he spoke very less, his words were always power-packed and mixed with good humor. I was always interested in the anecdotes that he shared, even though very rare. My elder cousin sister reminisce an incident from her childhood. She shared - during her high-school days in the late 80s', the sight of a girl talking to a boy was frowned upon. She was always an extrovert and liked talking to all her classmates, with boys being no different. Once on the school bus, when she shared her seat with a classmate who was a boy, the news of the incident reached her parents as a complaint. She was confused about the situation on why that was a complaint. During one of those days, my father happened to be visiting her house. She narrated the incident to him. With the same calmness with which he listened to her story, he replied "It is not wrong to sit with your friend (boy), but make sure you don't sit with the same friend (boy) every day." A perfect solution for a teenager without curbing her freedom. I feel it could be my affinity to my father's style of conversing that made me connect with Irrfan Khan onscreen. 

Irrfan Khan: The unconventional actor with a powerhouse of talent

I had been in a different game, I was travelling on a speedy train ride, had dreams, plans, aspirations, goals, was fully engaged in them. And suddenly someone taps on my shoulder and I turn to see... it's the TC: " Your destination is about to come. Please get down." I am confused: " No, no. My destination hasn't come"  "No this is it. This is how it is sometimes" quoted by Irrfan Khan 

I am intrigued by the clarity of thought of a person who can sum up life in such thought-provoking words. But I am not surprised these words are from Irrfan Khan.

We all know that Irrfan was born in Jaipur into a humble household. But what inspired me was that his background was never a limiting point in his life, he broke all odds with his determination and perseverance to come into the glittering world of Bollywood. He definitely had his share of struggle to get into Bollywood, but his first film 'Salaam Bombay, nominated for Academy Awards' marked the arrival of the actor to the Indian cinema. He later went on to be an international star with many blockbuster movies under his belt. His presence in movies like Slumdog Millionaire, The Amazing Spiderman, Life of Pi, Jurassic World and, Inferno made him an international star. There was a reference online about Irrfan who loved the movie Jurassic Park but did not have the money to watch the movie in the theatre. The same person elevated himself multifold in life when he got the opportunity to act in Jurassic World.  

Irrfan's Mesmerizing Movies

That said, some of the cinemas of Irrfan, I love to remember would be - The Namesake, Life in a... Metro, The Lunchbox, Piku, and Hindi Medium. Some of the dialogs from these movies are still fresh in my mind. Like a scene in the movie 'The Namesake', where Irrfan walks with his young son on a rocky road leading to the sea. Reaching almost to the end of the road he realizes, he has left the camera in the car. Feeling the sadness inside he tells his son "do remember when you grow up that we had walked on a road at the end of which there is nothing." I think some of us can relate to this dialog in their life. 

Similarly, another strong scene I cherish is from the movie 'Life in a... metro'. The conversation between Irrfan and a confused Konkona Sen Sharma on a beach. The subtle story that Irrfan tells Konkona about his friend who had purchased a car 5years back but had decided to take the car out only when all the traffic signals in the city turns green. The reply from Konkona Sen is obvious "your friend is crazy unless he takes his car out how can he be sure." Irrfan finishes off with a killer lucid reply " Exactly... take your chance baby..." The statement made me think, yes definitely we should grab our chances. The way forward is not always in our hands. Trust our instincts and keep walking. 

The above said I am not trying to undermine the contributions of any scriptwriter. But I believe the beauty of a dialog is when there is a face and personality associated with the dialogs. And I believe Irrfan brought in an additional dimension with his dialog delivery and screenplay.

The lockdown has been tough for many of us. The world has lost many loved ones. The loss will always bear a vacuum in the hearts of their near and dear ones. At this juncture let us stand with the family of all those people who have experienced a loss in their lives. I believe Irrfan is blessed to leave behind a plethora of extraordinary movies through which he will live forever in the hearts of fans like us. To sign off, I like to believe Irrfan Khan grew bigger than the silver screen and moved to shine bright on our night sky...

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A personal Narration on the lockdown situation

Go Corona Go! By the time most of us would have seen or heard about this meme it would have been too late. The below story is a recap of how it all began in our neighborhood and the many changes it brought along in our lives.  

The Beginning: No one is Safe!

That day Bangalore had a slight chill of the receding winter and most of the families were preparing for their summer break. The children were busy with their exams with few of them even preparing for their boards. The news was gaining momentum about an unusual virus in China affecting our respiratory system. Who would have thought in their worst nightmare, that the effect of the virus so far-far away will be felt by each one of us. 

Lockdown pic with mask

The media was quick to inform all of us about the deadly virus and the unique way the infection spreads. Suddenly there was a paradigm shift in the lifestyle of many of us with regards to hand hygiene and social distancing. The use of mask and  hand-sanitizer became part of our life. Slowly rumors started to emerge that government might enforce curfew in many places and food supply can take a hit in the coming days. This information began spreading like wildfire through WhatsApp and other social media apps and before some of us could even digest the news, there emerged a state of panic buying among us. People in India were running around to stack food items, whereas on the other-side of the world we saw people on a mad rush for tissue paper as their priorities were different.

The Lockdown Starts: 24th March 2020

As days went by, the virus continued to spread its grip strongly across the world. Europe, especially Italy was directly impacted as they had very close collaborations with China. Also, the Covid-19 cases were increasing in numbers in countries like USA, Canada, Australia and definitely here in India. The government took charge of the situation to curb the free run of the pandemic in the country. The Prime Minister in his address to the nation suggested all of us to stay inside our house. Only people employed in essential services and medical facilities were allowed to move outside. There was also assurance from the govt that there will be no interruption in the supply of any essential items. With all the support and assurance from the government India went into a 21 day complete lockdown from 24th March 2020. The lockdown also had restrictions on flight travel both domestic and international. 

With days into the lockdown, the once deserted streets and roads became active with guardians in khaki. Samaritans on two-wheeler who tirelessly made sure the essentials were delivered to the comfort of our homes. Volunteers who made items like masks, meals, sanitizers and distributed among the needy. Animal lovers who fed the stray animals like their own pets. Finally our angels from the medical industry, many of whom chose to be with their patients rather than their loved ones was the highest level of support humanity has ever seen.

The above being said, the lockdown also had its share of negativity. We witnessed people violate the rules to wander outside. The exodus of migrant workers in many part of India was a sad sight. The closure of state borders even for the transit of essential goods was not highly appreciated. The news of a person from north eastern part of India being spat at was highly depressing. Worried on a news that the virus spreads though our pets, saw many pet owners abandoning their pets on the street. Many places in India objecting the stay of medical staff in there colony or complexes was not acceptable. Finally the government had to intervene to stabilize the situation. 

The Government ways to Unite and Thank 

India being a land of rich culture, even our government brought out innovative ways to unite and thank people. 

• First we decided to thank all the people working tirelessly to serve the nation during the lockdown. So on 22nd March 2020 at 5 P.M we stood outside on our balcony and clapped, whistled and even banged pots & pans for 5 mins to express our gratitude. as requested by our Prime Minister covered by India Today page

• Second, on 5th April 2020 we decided to show our unity by lighting a lamp for 9 mins from 9 P.M. The message from our Prime Minister on this activity was 

"we must move towards the light. We must take the ones who are affected the most -- the ones with less resources -- towards hope. We must move past the darkness and uncertainty that has been created and go towards the light. We must spread the light everywhere." quoted by Business Today

Today with all of us having successfully completed 34 days of janatha-curfew, we live in hope to prevail over the pandemic and emerge victorious. With the lockdown now extended to May, I hope the government will soon bring out a plan to thank all of us who followed the curfew to gather together for 3-pegs of Old Monk at 3PM on the 3rd of May 2020. Cheers...