I had sat for 20 minutes without noticing any change. The sun was harsh, and it made most of the others I sat with stone faced. A lot were minding their business while a few were already getting into lively conversations and it seemed like I was the only one still in a certain confusion. How is this process organized? I grew up an inquisitive child. You tend to pick up a mind that's always keen on knowing how things worked; when you are born into a strict home where going to play with others is considered a felony and a conversation with a stranger is a crime, but you also somehow owed everyone older than you a greeting. I always welcomed opportunities to learn and I became more introverted and rebellious with the increasing amount of time I had to spend in my head. As I got older, I got super shy, being able to ask a stranger a question was Christmas, and to keep the conversation was Santa's gifts wrapped and tied with red ribbons, so I was mostly left with one person to always talk to, me. I however mastered the art of soliloquy, which never really seemed to work with the ladies. The things that conversations with myself taught me were patience, optimism and how to tear my toys apart to know what made the car move, and to understand the mechanism behind the water gun. I always felt there was no one I could really ask about what bothered me, the adults didn't exactly think. They never seemed to have any answers to my unending questions. Once, my uncle and I were given a bowl of rice with a single piece of fish and meat. When we were done eating, he took the meat and at my protest, he had to convince me. “Fish is better than meat and has more nutrients” he had said, but after a pause my 4 year old self replied, “If that is the case, then why are you eating the meat and not the fish?”. I had once reasoned that if everyone else brought their requests to God in the morning and night, then it would be smarter to come at a time when many people will be busy. A time when he would be quite lonely and in need of company. I could totally relate with God, he was one person I felt wasn't also allowed to go out and play with others, and they never really cared about his opinion too. So just like me he learnt to soliloquize, like he does so well with the contrasting mixture of mute lightening and deafening thunder. Little wonder why storms never scared me. Like when I lost my dad to the cold bullets encouraged by an assassins' ability to use his index finger. Who for some reasons felt I didn't deserve to have any parent at 19. He must have had the same take on the issue as some relatives, “you are now a man” they said. Or when I lost my mum who succumbed to illness leaving behind a 6 year old. On both occasions though, I didn't shed a single tear. Not because I was a man, but because in my head we had talked and agreed that crying will not help make the situation any better. Living most of your childhood in your head and most of your adult life struggling alone, certain things no longer faze you. So when I got a call from my Network provider that my SIM card which I had registered some 10 years ago was no longer registered in my name, I was not shocked. I mean, you will think that being a faithful customer for that long would at least count for something. “We have reshuffled registration”, whatever that meant in English, and I was told that if I didn't go to their office to repair a damage that they had caused, in 4 days, I would be barred from using any of their services. I had woken up that morning reluctantly but patiently bullying myself through the whole preparations that humans have deemed necessary for mixing with a crowd; Bathe, brush, dress up (I wonder who made these rules) optimistic that by the end of the day, I will own my SIM once again. I had tried to work out the meaning of reshuffling registration in my head for 3 days now with no success. So I put on my face mask, and set out not knowing that life had planned another lesson to teach. As I sat watching people go in and out of their office, trying to connect the dots on what has been happening to no avail; I turned to the lady beside me. She had eyes that reminded me of Angelina Jolie. A constellation that drowns you with a wave of its reflection. Like a sea and with just as much surface tension. Yes, I have a thing for eyes. So since I was confused and she had those galaxies on her face, I tried to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. I will get direction on what to do, and start a conversation. I asked her how the process was organized, to which she chuckled, pointed to a paper and said “put down your name”, after which she turned back to her phone. Being very teachable, I learnt from that moment, that there were simple things of life that even the smartest person can only grasp by gleaning from the experiences of others. So for me today Christmas came but without Santa's gifts.

Bihar a land where Gandhi started Champaran Satyagraha in support of indigo farmers, has history of producing roaring politician Jaiprakash Narayan who lead the mid 1970s opposition against prime minister Indira Gandhi, also called JP movement, is now bound with caste politics and where health ministers ask what's the death score in infant mortality. Our politicians, the bureaucrats and we as the society had only been pretence towards the cruelty our countrymen goes through. It is heart wrenching to see how our government's policies had been collapsing and have not reached out to those in need, these policies being made for. One sunny day I was heading towards the grocery store to get some food items although it's completely locked down in my state, some essential facilities are open for people. when standing in the line for social distancing, I saw a middle aged man wearing a mask stepping outside a ramshackle house in a weird way. I found it suspicious to believe someone would ever walk out of their house like this. Few minutes passed by, and I saw two women rushing out, that same house shouting and screaming. They were robbed while taking their midday sleep. The occurrence gave me flashbacks when my laptop and mobile phone got stolen from my room. That incident was more strange than shocking to me, that robbery made me think how courageous that man was to rob her house in the time when everybody is in their house because of lockdown, or he was more hungry to pilfer things because he needs it. It was raining the other day, so I went to the balcony to see outside. While glancing over my locality I saw a man sitting in a rickshaw shivering, I was first not sure whether or not to step out of my house but that feeble man's situation made me take steps towards him. I took a bowl full of rice and dal along with me. While going near him I realised that he is the same man who robbed that house midday, that frightened me but with doubt in my head and fear in my heart I anyhow reached him and offered him the bowl. He hesitated at first then accepted it, after he finished his bowl I tried to establish some talk and we talked about various things going around because of coronavirus and lockdown, I couldn't resist myself but asked him about that day of robbery. Firstly he equivocated but then confessed and started crying. He said his name is Radhe and he was just a regular rickshaw driver in around our area but because of lockdown he lost his job and his supply to food and shelter is not certain, he has no money and have no job so left with only option to rob, rob to feed both him and his childrens. We both had tears in our eyes after listening to his problems. Weeks passed by, but I was not able to take that incident out of my head every time I had my meal. I could not help but to think about him and so many more exactly like him, even worse. I could not have just relaxed inside my house and watched people like him suffer, after all their well-being is our responsibility. So I talked to my parents about those things happening and decided to help them in any way possible, either by providing them with food or giving them blankets and temporary shelter in our garage, we did it with complete passion. But I couldn't find Radhe, as he was already weak I feared if he died. Then one day I saw him sitting around the corner in his rickshaw smoking weed, I went to him to ask if he ate anything. He ate almost nothing since three days and has been starving from hunger, so I invited him to my place and gave him food and then we started talking about what he is going to do next and what his future plan about his childrens. He had no positive answer but worry in his eyes. So I proffered his meal along with his childers at my place until he gets his job back. I could sense the relief in his eyes, for him that was everything but for me it was just a help who needs it, so now he can focus on his family and arrange some source of income. We know this pandemic has made our economy crawl on knees but let's not forget these unnamed people around us keeping our city clean or roadside vendors or even daily wage labour, let's be more human toward them and let us restore their believe in humanity because as Mahatma Gandhi said "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others"

Like all of you know, the world is currently being shaken by the coronavirus pandemic. Many people have to quarantine themselves in their houses so that the virus doesn't spread widely as the number of infected people continues to grow. Dreadful news is spread everywhere on the television or even on social media. Doctors and medical nurses also continue to cure patients even to the point where many of them become infected. Unfortunately, I understand a bit about what is going on these days because of my horrifying experience 9 years ago. When I was 6 years old, my life was suddenly at death's door. I was looking forward to the zoo trip in 4 days but suddenly, I became very ill. My parents brought me to the doctor and in his terrifying room, I was diagnosed with a very contagious and dangerous disease. Diphtheria. To be honest, I had no idea what was happening at that time because I didn't understand the conversation between the doctor and my parents. The funny thing is, I even thought that it was my mother or my father who was sick because it was the first time I saw my parents cry in front of me. I was rushed to the hospital because my doctor said that if I didn't get medicine right away, they had to bring me to surgery so I could breathe normally and had enough oxygen. The moment that made me understood that I was the sick person was when the nurse stuck IV fluids into my hand and I cried hysterically. I was barely breathing, I lost count how many times I vomit that day, and every inch of my body hurt. I was very scared, I didn't want to die but I thought that I would die that day. I was quarantined in a small isolation room, my mother and I stuck in the room for 14 days. I was so weak, I only slept, watched TV, or stared at the only window where I could see the other isolation rooms, with other fighters in it. After 3 days of being quarantined, I saw a boy who was a year older than me, and he was going into his isolation room. He was smiling at me. It turns out that we were fighting the same disease, and his room was 20 feet away from my room. Since we met that day, we got to know each other and continued to communicate using papers and markers. Even though we couldn't meet in person, we were very eager to talk to each other because we were very bored in the room. We write words of encouragement to strengthen one another, but also complaints about our condition at that time. But mostly, I was very happy that I was not going through this alone. Every day, there would be nurse or doctors came in wearing PPE clothes to check on me, or just to give me food. Some of them were friendly and some of them were not. But there was one nurse who I adored entirely. While the other nurses entered my room just to do their jobs and didn't care how I was feeling, this nurse was very patient, she would always say loving words to make me stronger, and she usually hugged me before she did her job. I felt the comfort and the calming sincerity which strengthen me to fight this disease and be a normal person again. I didn't know why that nurse wanted to be very kind to me, but the small thing that she did had a big impact on me. In fact, I will forever owe her and remember her in my heart. While I was still quarantined in the isolation room, my father and my brother would communicate with me using Face time, they would tell me stories and their activities every day, I missed them dearly. My classmate also sent me a few letters with their prayers written there. I was very grateful that even tough in my dreadful condition, there were many people who care about me, and didn't leave me. Until this day, I still hope that this dreadful experience didn't happen to me but whatever I do, I can't go back and change the past. But when I see it from the bright side, that dreadful experience made me realized how valuable the life I am living in, and also the life that could end anytime unexpectedly. I realized that I have to make the most of every moment for the rest of my life. I learn to respect and love others sincerely, like everyone that made me overcome my difficult times. This world will be very beautiful with tolerance and affection. Every day, I say ‘I love you' to my parents before going to bed. Maybe saying ‘'I love you' is a simple thing to do, but those 3 words contain a very deep meaning and can bring a big "impact" to others. Love gives the strength to transform pain into power. Love is the key that we need to get through anything, including this corona virus pandemic.

Coronavirus is a virus that first emerged in Wuhan, China. A whole global pandemic is going on, and it has affected everyone's life in various ways. The whole world is locked down, and no normal life activity is the same as before. We all are living a quarantine life i.e. a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived here from elsewhere or been exposed to the infectious or contagious disease are placed. Let's utilize this time and get a hold of ourselves. Change your thought and perspective about quarantine life. Instead of feeling like you are locked up, think about all the amazing things you can do during this pandemic. Of course, amazing things inside your home! “Stay Home, Stay Safe” During this lockdown, observe your surroundings. Feel the beauty of nature, water your indoor plants, look after yourself, take care of yourself, look out of the window, enjoy and observe the view. You don't enjoy observing the view outside your window? No problem! Enter the world of imagination and close your eyes to think about a beautiful place that you have visited or a made-up place in your mind. Or you can make your window view better by adding some decoration pieces or plants. Due to Covid-19 gyms are closed. Some people working out at home is quite hard. Some people may lack equipment, and some may require motivation. For the people who lack equipment such as lifting weights and treadmill, YouTube has an endless list of work out videos without any equipment. All you need to do is find the right video for yourself and set up your workout routine! Another thing for a daily activity that has been disturbed due to this pandemic is going to school, college, university, and offices. Assignments, homework, lectures are all now being held online. Some people think that online classes are not as effective. It has its pros and cons. Pros: no need to travel, the comfort of being at home, not having to dress up for school, and the list go on. Cons are that not every student gets the same attention as they did in a classroom and financial issues due to the pandemic. You might be familiar with the zoom app and google classroom if you have been attending your online classes. Both of these apps are a medium of file transferring and communicating between students and teachers. Let's discuss some life outside our homes. Our neighbors, who are also quarantine due to this whole pandemic situation, are going through the same experience as we are. Maybe they are going through some hardships (be it financially or emotionally). As said by many people, "your duty towards your neighbor is to aid him in times of difficulty, to offer him sincere advice, and to protect him and his property in his absence." COVID-19 symptoms and how to prevent it According to studies, the virus has an incubation period of 2 weeks, and after that, the symptoms appear. Most common symptoms • Fever • Dry cough • Tiredness Less common symptoms • Aches and pains • Sore throat • Diarrhea • Headache • Conjunctivitis • Loss of taste and smell • Discoloration of fingers, toes, etc. Here is a list of severing symptoms: • difficulty breathing or shortness of breath • chest pain or pressure • loss of speech or movement If you are facing these major symptoms and if it is getting worse, seek medical assistance, and do not rely on self-medication. If your symptoms are mild and can be taken care of at home, then stay at home and treat the virus. But do you know what's better than treatment? Prevention. Here are some precautionary measures which are suggested by health organizations: 1. Wash your hands with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer whenever you come in contact with a person or an object from outside. 2. Maintain social distancing by keeping a safe distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing. 3. Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth when you are visiting places such as grocery stores, etc. 4. Stay home if you are unwell. Seek medical assistance if symptoms of coronavirus are visible. 5. Sneeze and cough into your elbow. If you have any sick family members and friends at the hospital, stay strong, and keep on checking on them by texting them or calling them and letting them know that you are always there for them. Encourage them to be strong and that they can overcome the virus. If you have any sick family members or friends with mild virus symptoms, then look after them as a health care provider. Maintain social distance but do not make them feel isolated and alone. Support them emotionally and look after their diet. If, unfortunately, you lose a friend, pray for their soul and their family. Support their family emotionally through these hard times. I will like to conclude the article by suggesting you stay home and stay safe. Find some indoor activities to keep you busy and entertained.