The Tsunami Wave : COVID 2021

       

        This article is a deeply personal account of my service as a COVID warrior. What makes the article particularly powerful is that I have brought together three dimensions of my contribution: my scientific role, my responsibility as a team supervisor and leader, and the emotional experiences that stayed with me long after I left the laboratory.

As a COVID warrior, I would like to share a few facts and experiences from the field that I witnessed during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, India recorded millions of confirmed cases and hundreds of thousands of reported deaths. By 31 May 2021, approximately 2.88 crore confirmed cases and 3.47 lakh deaths had been reported across the country. The second wave placed an extraordinary burden on healthcare systems, with Maharashtra among the states severely affected. A published epidemiological analysis of the period from 15 February to 15 May 2021 recorded 1,14,550 reported deaths nationally, including 28,983 in Maharashtra, accounting for approximately 25.3% of the national total during that period. Nashik, which had been designated a Red Zone during the COVID-19 pandemic, where I served as a COVID warrior, also faced considerable challenges during this unprecedented public-health crisis.

During the first wave, I had been consciously looking for an opportunity to serve society amid the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic. I got this opportunity during the second wave when I joined the Bytco COVID Care Centre of the Nashik Municipal Corporation. I worked in a laboratory exclusively dedicated to RT-PCR testing of swab samples. This laboratory was situated within a government COVID care centre, where patients were not only diagnosed through PCR testing but were also admitted and treated for coronavirus disease.

Our responsibility was to conduct PCR testing and ensure the timely reporting of results. At the peak of the second wave, in mid-April, our daily sample count reached approximately 1,500 in a single day. Despite this enormous workload, we successfully communicated the reports to the respective centres in Nashik within 24 hours. The peak workload continued from April until mid-May. During this period, seven out of our 28 team members tested positive for COVID-19. However, with collective support, appropriate treatment and the love and care we extended to one another, all of them recovered. Without hesitation, they responded to the call of duty and returned to serve in the laboratory. Amid this tsunami of a pandemic, I observed that the government provided basic facilities to the common people, while non-governmental organisations also came forward to fulfil their social responsibilities through initiatives such as food and ventilator donations. Patients admitted to the COVID care centre supported and cooperated with one another, serving as sources of moral strength during those difficult times. Unfortunately, a few were exceptions; they failed to cooperate with healthcare workers and did not follow the cleanliness protocols prescribed within the centre.

During the second wave, the behaviour of the virus was particularly tricky and deceptive. Symptoms varied considerably from one individual to another, and predicting the course of the disease was often challenging. Unfortunately, we also lost several healthcare workers associated with our COVID care centre.

Amid these circumstances, our RT-PCR team went above and beyond its call of duty. We almost forgot everything else, including our designated duty hours, as we remained committed to serving humanity. Our priority was to ensure that patients received their test results within 24 hours so that those who tested positive could begin treatment without unnecessary delay.

Despite the exceptionally high sample counts, we maintained our technical standards and ensured that the entries on the ICMR portal were completed alongside the testing process. This helped us maintain transparency, accessibility and timely reporting, facilitating quicker treatment for patients. During this period, I gained invaluable experience in team administration and management, workload management, clinical data management, biomedical waste management, stress management, time management and troubleshooting. Most importantly, I experienced the real-time application of my subject in the field of human diagnostics during a global health crisis.

There were moments when I stumbled along this challenging path, but my mother was always there to motivate and encourage me. She inspired me to remain strong and continue serving our country as a COVID warrior.

There is one path I can hardly ever forget: the walk from the main gate of the hospital to the door of our PCR laboratory.

There were beds everywhere. Relatives of patients were crying, doctors were rushing, ward boys were running, and every healthcare worker was on their toes, trying desperately to save the life of every person admitted to the hospital.

One particular evening will remain etched in my memory forever.

It was around 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. when I finished my work in the laboratory and stepped outside. Just then, a family received the heartbreaking news that their loved one had passed away. Their grief erupted into an overwhelming outcry. At the same time, as it was the holy month of Ramadan, the Maghrib (evening) Azaan was being recited at a nearby mosque.

The sounds of grief and the Azaan merged and reverberated in my ears and mind.

The entire family was crying inconsolably. Amid them stood a teenage boy, frozen in shock. He knelt down, his eyes filled with pain and his mouth wide open, as though he, too, wanted to scream and cry, yet no sound emerged from him.

My mind went numb, and my heart felt unbearably heavy.

I somehow managed to walk out of the hospital, but from that moment until I reached the doorstep of my home, I could not stop my tears from rolling down my cheeks.

The countless deaths around us, the incessant sounds of ambulances and the distressing scenes unfolding throughout the hospital sometimes pushed me into a state of deep emotional distress. Yet, whenever I witnessed people of different ages recover and successfully overcome their battle against coronavirus infection, my heart found the strength to stand firm once again.

The smiling faces of the relatives of recovered patients filled me with positive energy and renewed my determination to continue my work with even greater enthusiasm.

It was this determination, coupled with the dedication of my entire team, that helped us cross the milestone of 50,000 RT-PCR tests in just five months and overall, 1, 40,000 tests.

This achievement was not merely a number. It represented countless hours of hard work, collective responsibility, technical precision, emotional endurance and an unwavering commitment to humanity.

Having faced the challenges of the second wave, we were then prepared and equipped with the experience and lessons we had gained to confront the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19.

One message I have always shared with my team is this: we survived the second wave, and we must consider this survival a new birth, a new life and a new opportunity to serve our fellow human beings.

We may feel that the virus has disappeared, but viruses continue to evolve and mutate. Therefore, certain habits must become an integral part of our lives. These include maintaining basic personal hygiene and cleanliness, washing our hands regularly, practising physical distancing when necessary, using clean masks when appropriate, staying up to date with recommended vaccinations and consuming well-cooked, nutritious food that supports overall health.

Since coronavirus infection can affect the lungs and respiratory system, breathing exercises such as pranayama and bhastrika may also be incorporated into one's wellness routine, provided they are practised appropriately. However, such exercises should not be considered substitutes for medical treatment or preventive measures.

Based on my experiences during the second wave, I realised that neither power nor money could guarantee protection from the crisis. Every human being must understand that life is unpredictable and that we should never take our own lives or the lives of others for granted by neglecting basic hygiene and cleanliness practices.

Every individual must stop spitting on roads and in public places. Cleanliness is not merely a personal responsibility; it is a collective social obligation.

While some sectors remained relatively unaffected, others, particularly daily-wage workers, suffered enormous financial losses. As responsible citizens of this country, we must extend whatever support we can to those affected, whether through small or significant contributions. Every effort matters when it comes to helping someone rebuild their life.

Another important lesson is that the money we earn should not only be spent judiciously to meet our present needs but also saved wisely for the future. The pandemic taught us that financial preparedness can make a significant difference during unforeseen circumstances.

Above all, good health must be recognised as one of the greatest forms of wealth we possess.

We must remain consciously aware that many families have been devastated, not only by financial crises but also by the loss of their loved ones. In the post-pandemic period, bridging these financial and emotional gaps will remain a significant challenge.

While some people may continue to approach cleanliness and health casually, others will consciously maintain better hygiene practices and adopt healthier nutritional habits. The need for employment and livelihood opportunities is likely to grow, calling for appropriate developmental strategies and initiatives. As citizens, we must also encourage local businesses, support local livelihoods and contribute to strengthening our communities.

As common citizens, we must learn to cooperate with one another and adapt to changing circumstances for a better future.

The medical and pharmaceutical sectors of our country will continue to play a significant role in strengthening our preparedness for future health challenges. Similarly, the decline in educational quality and learning continuity experienced during the shift to online education must be addressed through sustained efforts. Gradually, educational institutions can work towards improving learning outcomes, while the younger generation adapts to these transformations and prepares itself for the challenges ahead.

Looking back, my journey as a COVID warrior was not merely about performing laboratory tests or fulfilling professional responsibilities. It was about understanding the value of human life, witnessing the vulnerability of families, recognising the strength of teamwork and discovering the emotional resilience required to serve others during a crisis.

The experience taught me that science becomes truly meaningful when it is applied with responsibility, compassion and a commitment to humanity.

For me, crossing 1, 40, 000 RT-PCR tests will always remain a milestone of professional achievement, but the lives we tried to protect, the colleagues who stood beside us and the lessons humanity taught me will remain the most precious memories of my journey.

I am in love!

        I am in love with it! What is it? Well! Google defines it as, ‘that which gives a pause, a gap and also joins thereafter’. Any guesses? Yes, I am defining a ‘comma’. Friends, passed 6 months, life has been paddling faster and my working wheel has been busier. In this spinning mode, I thought that I would hardly fish time for my creativity, friends, relatives, health and all other miscellaneous activities but I was wrong in my assumption.  In fact I realized that, ‘busier the bee, easier is the time-management-key’. These were the months when I not only achieved the work maxima but I could also give quality time to mom, friends, relatives and learn diversity of creative activities. I don’t deny that there weren’t challenges but it was all about strategically assembling the pieces to reveal the final jigsaw pattern. I not only learnt to strengthen and prioritize my duties but also my inner circle. The first step after the leap of faith was ‘acceptance’ and I believe further steps become effortless subsequently. So I accepted that I had to shed the glory of leisure time which otherwise I enjoyed lavishly earlier. The second step towards an extensive ‘things-to-do’ list was aligning it with a particular time schedule in pencil. Planning using pencil makes it flexible whereas planning using pen adds to the stress of not really being able to modify it. In the field of human-diagnostics that too in pandemic one cannot afford to have a rigid planning. The third blissful but most soothing step towards my internal harmony was the judicious use of a ‘comma’. Comma here means, a break or a gap, bigger or small, between two of my tasks. I trained my mind to use smallest of these commas in a day to relax my mind. My relaxation could be in the form of a tea with a friend, quick guided meditation, phone-a-dear one, read a chapter in a book, walk for some time or go for a drive. These little commas helped me relieve my stress and experience a total change of the world temporarily. I found myself rejuvenated for the next upcoming tasks after I lived every little comma. The best part of using a comma is that it doesn’t demand any planning or a systematic line of action. As soon as I realize that I have a comma-time, I pounce on my happiness task at that spur of moment. Whatever available around me and fits into my happiness option is my way of using my comma, it could literally mean even putting my head down on my working desk for a short nap or hearing a song using a headphone. Choice of a comma moment will definitely vary with every person but what should remain common is its ability to revive our mind, inhale few refreshing breaths and wipe the mental desk for some new work files.

Moderation in Abundance

   

    Is it possible to practice moderation whilst experiencing abundance? The likely answer is ‘yes’. The basic question is, ‘why one must practice moderation when he/she is blessed with abundance?’  Well! It’s the quality of balancing and doing something or anything within reasonable limits. Guys, to be honest with you, once upon a time I preferred flowing and sparging into somewhere just like the splashing water. The unstoppable, was me! There it came along with unlimited joy and fun, but little was known to me about when and how to apply the brakes. Consequently, the speedy river struck hard on the wall, the dancing waves fell down, couldn’t settle back with ease, for some time reverse went the flow and there was an unexpected clash for a while. For me, such events kept happening causing mental, financial, health and resource-related turbulence. It took me quite a reasonable damage and frustration to understand that at varied fronts in life one needs to balance and practice the alert-act of holding it lose. It is difficult to control extremity, at the same time, not affordable to be undoing but it is worthwhile to practice moderation.  A patient act of moderation brings with it wisdom, focus, planning and consistency. In any stream of life, viz., leading a team in your profession, judiciously using resources at home, restricting your physical work-out and balancing the other half with meditation, not overdoing in the emotional expression, being uniform with the inner circle relations, limiting the race for the funds, balancing the act of receiving with the counteract act of giving, practicing friendliness, and every other sector you name it, will ultimately call for moderation. In the beginning, so as to practice moderation, one may need to press an abrupt ‘pause’ but eventually one will learn when, how and with whom  to ‘set it lose’ (even with self). Excess of anything will eventually lead to dust. ‘Excess’ is a relative term, means that which is excess for Mr. B could be ‘limited’ for Mr. A and vice-versa. Here comes the need for pausing, holding it loose, syncing in and getting back on the track. This act of optimization for moderation can prove fruitful for long term collaborations. Just as we demonise X food and glorify another food Y, we miss all the nutritional content of X due to exclusive consumption of Y. Later when we come with medical conditions we blame Y, whereas it was missing a tap  of moderation of food X and Y.  Moderation  is challenging but once you adapt to this skill and trick, nothing can hold you back from a healthy body and a contented smile. Pausing is such a blessed option to choose over breaking it. Such frequent pauses and also not overdoing something is a foundation of implementing moderation in abundance. This is about giving your best but with  an optimised pace.

cheers,

Swati

Work-Unwind-Recover-Repeat

The literature meaning of unwinding is loosening and untangling. Every individual, whether robust or weak, at the end of the day deserves ‘unwinding’. According to me, unwinding is essentially as important as performing your work duties so as to meet the dead lines. Unwinding gives me a platform to flash back on the happenings for the day at my own pace, pin the major ones, ponder on my role played on it, extract the best possible ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’, conclude and satisfactorily either place the closed file in the mental shelf or jot down the next line of action to the best. With all the multi-tasking mesh, the unpredictability around, the on-and-off negative vibes, the time restrictions, the pressure of self-accountability, love towards perfection in work, I totally believe in the self-improvisation process using the magic of unwinding. At the same time, my friends, let me make you understand that unwinding is a verb which does include an activity over the activities done for the day and a future prospection. This one too demands a mental energy input and a thought process. The whole day exertion, hard work on the multiple tasks, physical work, mental work and finally the unwinding step at the end of the day, all-in-all deserves a RECOVERY. Yes, you read it right, even unwinding calls for a recovery. The recovery begins from closing the thought file of the work, placing it on the mental shelf and relaxing the body, the facial muscles and the mind with eyes closed, body still in a sukhasan. Yes, mediation and long breathing is the first step towards recovery which with-practice blesses us with the pleasure of getting revitalized through samadhi-awastha. Post-meditation, the second step of recovery is a sound, peaceful sleep for about 7-8 hours and lastly, wake up fresh to balance the electrolytes in our body by drinking 1 or 2 glasses of plain water, off-screen. Work, unwinding, recovery and back to work is the circle completed for an improved performance, balance and revival.

regards,

Dr. Swati Bhavsar

‘ती एकटीच आहे- ती कुठे काय करते’

 साडी संडे ग्रुपमधे आम्ही साडी नेसुन फोटोज पोस्ट करत असतो. ह्या करोना काळात, प्रत्येक रविवारी तयार होऊन फोटो काढुन साकारात्मक वाटते. मी ज्या अैक्विटीसाठी कमिटमेन्ट देते, मला त्यात सहसा झोकून द्यायला आवडते. स्टेटस अपडेट केल्यावर सगळे फोटोज बघतात व काँम्पिमेंट्सही देतात. अशीच एक काँम्लिमेन्ट लक्षात राहिली. सोसायटीमधील एकीने फोटो पाहिले व म्हणाली ‘स्वाती, तुझे फोटो छान आलेत, ‘हे’ म्हणालेत, ती बघ आणि तु बघ... तुझं रहाणिमान बघ! ... मी ह्यांना म्हणाले, तिला कुठे मुलं-बाळं आहे, संसार आहे संभाळायला!’

ती एकटीच आहे- ती कुठे काय करते. 

मी फार गोंधळले, प्रशंसा केली म्हणुन थैंक्यू म्हणावे की क्षणात माझे अस्थित्व नाहिसे झाले म्हणुन हळहळ व्यक्त करावी, हे कळले नाही. तेवढ्यापुरते मी हसुन टाळले,  ती गेल्यानंतर माझा संताप झाला पण नंतर लिहून भावना व्यक्त करण्याचे ठरवले!

माझे मुल्यमापन करणारी ती कोण! मी एकटीच म्हणुन मी काही करत नाही, हा तर्क लावणारी ती कोण! माझा लढा मीच देते आहे व वेळ काढून माझ्या छोट्या मोठ्या ईच्छा पुर्ण करते. दोन वेळचे ताजे जेवण ही प्रत्येकाची गरज असते, त्यासाठी लागणारी सर्व सामग्री मी स्वतः बाजारातून आणते, अगदी नेहमीचे फळं-भाजीपाल्यापासुन ते किराणा ईत्यादी समानापर्यंत. मला ही रहायला घर हवे असते ज्याचे वीजबील, पाणीबील, घरपट्टी, छोटे-मोठे सर्व मेंटेनेंस, बँकेतील, पोस्टातील, ईतर ऑफिशीयल सर्व कामे मी करते, कुठलेही मानसीक पाठबळ किंवा मनुष्यबळ नसताना. हे सगळे काही करुन मी बाकिच्यांसाठी अडल्यानडल्यावेळी हजर असते, तत्पर असते मदतीसाठी मारलेल्या प्रत्येक हाकेला ‘ओ’ देण्यास. ‘कमवा आणि शिका’ अंतर्गत केलेल्या माझ्या शिक्षणापासुन ते नोकरी करताना व वैयक्तिक आयुष्यात आलेल्या सर्व अडचणींवर मात करण्यापर्यंत, अगदी आजही खंबीरपणे कोणाचीही मदत न घेता, मी माझी नौका जोमाने पुढे नेत आहे. उगवणारा प्रत्येक दिवस चैलेंजेज घेऊन आलेला असतो. माझे यश आणि अपयश दोन्ही ही मीच खंबीरपणे हाताळते आहे. घरात कधी प्लंबर होते तर कधी इलेक्ट्रिशियन होते तर कधी भिंतीमधील बारिक खड्डे बुजवणारी गवंडी होते तर कधी भितींवरील तेलाच्या डागावर पैचवर्क करणारी रंगारी होते. कधी कोर्टात १५ चकरा मारुन, लोनमुळे अडकलेले घराचे कागदपत्र सोडवुन आणते तर कधी सात-बारा मिळवण्याची किचकट प्रोसेस पुर्ण करते. आजारपणात एकटी जाऊन डॉक्टरला तब्येत दाखवुन येते तर कधी गरज पडल्यास अैडमीटही होते. माझे आयुष्य मी आनंदाने व शर्तीने जगते आहे, माझी कुठली ही कंपलेंट नाही, मी मुळीच खचणार नाही आणि रडतही बसणार नाही. आश्चर्य व खेद याबद्दल वाटते की आज एकाच समाजात राहुनही एक स्त्री दुसऱ्या स्त्रीचे अस्तित्व कसे नाकारु शकते, तिला ही अशी वागणुक कशी देऊ शकते, विनाकारण तिचा पानउतारा कशी करु शकते, मन धजावते तरी कसे, हे म्हणतांना की ‘ती तर एकटीच आहे- ती कुठे काय करते!’

-‘अ सिंगल वुमन’

A Friendly wag in the virtual world!

The psyche of human minds and the habits have been undergoing transitional face lifting. Costlier things have become easier to hang on and costless things have become heavier to stick upon. Social networking sites and watspp have easily depicted the ongoing picture. It has been easier to display check-ins into ‘x’ starred hotels but difficult has been to throw ‘wows’ on your friend’s literature write-up and sourcing her some boosting energy. Its definitely a kick-start to your day when you receive a mind-blowing comment on your make-over photos with a new outfit but just check for a corner space in your heart to upload your friends online business which she began to support her family; you can be her first customer, the first reviewer and genuinely recommend to your contacts. Extensive time is being used for spying others social accounts for their whereabouts, photos etc. but can we fish some time to click a heart for our colleague’s well-done research or a successful job. We have a social network site, we do update it, which means we are active, we make time to receive comments gracefully given by friends but do we make it a point to reply them. Since world has become pretty virtual, we can serve as a source of encouragement and positive energy to our friends, which indeed costs us nothing just a bit of cutting down some ego,  filling in some selfless love and a few minutes. These simple and short deeds of giving wows and aaws can make a  super impact on our fellow beings; a small act of liking, sharing, commenting, wowing, loving can actually bring a smile on their faces. These are so effortless acts and may bring a psychological uplift. I, personally, see no loss or harm in complimenting others, moreover, in the long run it may serve as a ladder to them. The artistic ventures, the business efforts, the livelihood attempts, the educational webinars, tutorials, health awareness projects, nature reclamation videos, the tiger conservation reports, the mind-training episodes etc. list goes on, a simple gesture of positive reaction can expand their work and which may serve as a stepping stone to them. This is least, what we can offer to our fellow friends from our homes and our busy schedules.

A Bizarre Day!

July'20 Ends for the Goodness Sake!

        Alarm interrupted my early morning sleep, I, involuntarily, put if off, and slept again, until, mom buzzed in my ears, just to remind me about the college meeting. I heavily got up and was kind-of ready in an hour. The rickshaw uncle fetched me at home, and I, on my way, kept thinking about the face to face meeting in college which was to happen almost after 5 long months of lockdown. I thought, if some more instructions are coming up about the online lectures or is it about cutting down the salary or is it about cutting the EMPLOYEE and should it be me! While so many thoughts showed up in my superfast mind just like a spooky PowerPoint presentation, there came a familiar figure walking towards me near the meeting hall, it was mam A, and her usual boy cut was transformed in to a pinky-ponky blunt cut with a few random steps; and so was the case with other ladies who gracefully walked into the meeting hall like a herd of Rapunzels in the upper floor castle, all set to shoot their hair downstairs for the next incoming teachers.  I naughtily chuckled in my mind. Principal complimented us for the number of e-lectures but he contradicted his own compliment at the speed of light by addressing our lectures to be a level down in quality. I was confused enough to decide whether to be happy or sad, although, I continued hearing the next remarks in the line. Like a typical head-on authority, he successfully boosted us and simultaneously downgraded us. I gave up on my stand and preferred reading the wisdom lines written on the library walls. That’s when my phone abruptly beeped; it was a message saying that covid tests were being done for free in my residential area. I was alarmed with this news and also suspicious about the kind of rapid kit test quality we had in our country. By the time I decide over the covid issue, principal declared the meeting to be over. We gathered together under the banyan tree to see a sample lecture video made by one of our boosting colleagues, keeping aside the distancing rules which were sophisticatedly followed till a minute before in the meeting. I realized that even if I manage to stand on the toe thumb, I wouldn’t see the video hence I decided to walk down the ground till my rikshaw uncle turned up. While I was peacefully strolling in the green, mam Z called me loudly and hastily to the location she was staring at. I ran towards her with amusement peaking in my mind. I stood there with a sigh of relief to see a lawn of tiny whitish mushrooms contrasting the dark soil. I in-acted as a professional photographer and started capturing photos settling myself in distinctly odd poses. In the climax one, I was almost in a sleeping pose, horizontally on the ground, so as to click a side view of the mushrooms, just when a distant voice came in saying that it is a house for snakes too. I was startled and in a fraction of second my head stood up straight facing the sky just like a needle in the compass suddenly resetting towards north and my heart pounding out of my ribs. I managed hiding my terror and convincingly assured mam Z, that we had got enough photos and will forward them to her soon. She drove happily back home and I cautiously walked on the tarred road until soon I was back seated in the auto rickshaw, heading towards sweet home. On the way, rickshaw uncle got a phone call from his bank for an urgent pension work and we took a halt in the bank parking lot. I slept in the rikshaw enough to realize that one hour had already passed away. I jumped on the seat and hurriedly phone called rick uncle, he returned at once and dropped me home. After reaching home, I was expelled from the living room and re-directed towards the bathroom for a cleaning up process as a part of covid precautionary measure. Meanwhile, my phone kept beeping. To my astonishment, one of the senior teachers plainly thought out of somewhere that it was my birthday, and he wished me on the university group which was followed by a number of wishes from the other teachers in the university. I was overwhelmed by the wishes forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t the day I was born but coming back to senses, I responded on the group letting others know that it was a date misunderstanding. However, I was ignored, the wishes continued to rain in the group and soon we all were celebrating my e-birthday on one fine lockdown evening of July out of no-where. While I was religiously reverting to the wishes, my ‘maasi’ called me to tell that her son (my brother) will come to fetch a thermos, which we had an extra, for his dad. Well, ‘Dev’ uncle by name seemed immortal but paradoxical was his personality. Since the day the covid phase began, every news that flashed in as a possible cure was experimented by panicked Dev uncle on himself. He wouldn’t leave any stone unturned viz., the ‘kadha’ saga, the multi vitamin episodes, vitamin C flush, the Ayurveda season, the pool of green tea, the brain ‘steaming’ sessions, the medicine pellet boxed racks and now was the time for hot water fluxes. My mom ordered me to hunt the thermos in the storage cabinet near the ceiling, and I obediently climbed the stool, then the table and then in a midway, cliff-hung state of being partially  supported by the stool and partially by the table, just to find that thermos wasn’t on the top rack but was safely kept in the bed storage compartment, I upturned, safely landed on the floor and packed a pair of thermoses, one small, one big, only to be sure if he needed an extra-one to keep the green tea hot too for the day. Just when all the packing was kept in a ready-to-go state, ‘maasi’ called once again saying that due to heavy rains my brother may or may not turn up. I breathed deep and lay down my anatomical organs on the large, rectangular pad designed for supporting the reclining-confused body and popularly called as a mattress, soon to find myself dead asleep.