Embracing Life During The Pandemic...

The pandemic was unprecedented and pretty much changed the way we live. Soaps & sanitisers became extremely valuable, 'work from home' became the new norm, technology was a coping mechanism for almost everyone and travelling became an activity of utmost risk.

I have had good days and bad ones trying to adapt to this new way of living. But I'm thankful to the pandemic. It taught me a lot of things. The one learning that resonated the most within me was to appreciate life in me, and the lives around me.

I'm not a morning person. I hate anything or anyone that wakes me up before I wake up myself.

During the lockdown however, I noticed that birds were there everywhere. They woke me up almost every day. One Koyal in particular, that I fondly call 'kiyah miyah' (cause that how it sounded) habitually woke me up at 5 in the morning. This one bird woke up the Peacock that lived in the neem tree behind the house, followed by a group of Babblers, then the usual Sparrows and Bulbuls all would start. I felt like I was living in a bird park. Initially I would complain, and wish these birds would just fly away. But things took a turn after one bird.

It was a Bulbul. For a few days I noticed that she was frequently visiting the baby Frangipani tree right next to my balcony door. Every time I would open the door to water the plants in my balcony, she would get frazzled and fly away. So, I learnt to open the door really quietly. Eventually, we got used to each others presence. Gradually, she stopped flying away if she saw me, and would remain calmly seated in a branch. One day, I noticed that she was collecting grass and small sticks. It was later I realised that she was finding a place to nest. She acquainted herself with my presence for over a period of a week before even starting to build her nest. Despite knowing that the tree was right beside door, and I was a frequent visiter to the balcony, she went ahead and nested in this tree. The amount of trust this one little bird had placed on a random human like me, almost hundred times bigger, was something I had never experienced before.

I don't particularly like reptiles like lizards and snakes. Insects are a definite no no for me. Something about them is just creepy.

Having to spend the entire day at home, I learnt to acknowledge the presence of these creatures both inside and outside the house. Over time, I realised that they are actually harmless. Unless I screamed and reacted, they would pretty much mind their own business. So I became comfortable clicking pictures of these reptiles in close proximity without getting scared or scaring them in the process. That was a huge accomplishment for me. I also started to learn behavioural patterns and eating habits of these reptiles by simply observing them. I mustered the courage and collected a curled up snake moult that I found behind the house. I wanted to put it together in order to determine the length of the snake. Well, it was around 6 feet. Definitely a very big snake, that is looking to get bigger.

During the pandemic, I managed to conquer my fear of reptiles by allowing myself to take the time and patience to rediscover life around the house. This would never have happened if not for the pandemic and I am grateful for it.

I assembled the snake moult beside my bed to estimate its length. Definitely a bad idea, as I had nightmares for a few days...

Spotting a monkey was definitely a shocker to me. We live in the city in Coimbatore, so spotting monkeys outside the house was an extremely rare sight. Two of them, (probably siblings or maybe a couple) were making a lot of noise in the trees outside the house. My dad was first to notice. As the generous man he is, he put a dozen of fruits, rice and water outside the house. These monkeys had a hearty meal, slept for a bit in the trees and eventually left. This incident taught me something. When we are quiet and when we build a peaceful atmosphere that welcomes life, life flourishes. As my entire family was confined at home during the pandemic, so many animals that I never knew lived around the house, came out. Or maybe they were always there, I just never took the time to notice.

Why haven't I taken the time to listen more, observe more and just be a little more quiet? The pandemic really helped me see how time moved so fast before. I never took the time nor cared to see these beautiful animals around me. Only when time slowed down during the course of the pandemic, was I truly able to see the beauty of life that surrounded me.

I have a dog who is almost 11 years old. She is a stray that we adopted. Over the years, she has become a killing machine. She is extremely territorial and will kill any living creature smaller than her that enters our compound.

This cat was the highlight of the pandemic. He gave nothing but attitude to my dog. The non-stop barking of my dog was how I knew this cat was around the house. He would usually sit on our compound wall (because he knew our dog couldn't climb walls like him) and just sun bathe there, almost every other day. While my dog was ferociously barking its guts out, this cat was simply purring and grooming itself right above my dog.

Imagine the attitude of this cat; no fear, always relaxed. There is a lot we need to learn from this cat!

Every plant around the house was well taken care of during the pandemic. We had so much time, so watering them twice a day had to happen as there was no excuse to give for not watering them. As I would water them early in the morning and in the evening, I started talking to these plants. Spotting a bud, or a new seedling made me so happy. Fully bloomed flowers were just pure bliss. I would search for pops of colours here and there whenever I would come to water them. The anticipation I had towards seeing these plants grow was something new to me. I had given so much attention to these plants during the pandemic that I formed a different relationship with them.

I found her in the hall under our sofa. I initially thought it was a rat, until I saw 3 stripes on her back. I still don't know how she managed to wander inside the house.

A baby squirrel's best chance of survival is to be cared for by its mother in its nest. I thought she might have fallen out from her nest and I tried to give her the chance to climb back into the trees outside our house. These trees are filled with squirrels by the way. She refused to move and stayed in my palm. I tried this several times, only for her to keep coming back to me.

I took her in not knowing what else to do. She was the size of my pinky finger, so leaving her outside didn't seem like the right option. I fed her with a syringe and she was definitely a curious little squirrel.

Sadly, she died after 2 weeks. I did my best in caring for her. I watched so many videos and read a lot to figure out how to care for a baby squirrel. I guess, she was just meant to spend her short lived life with me. We buried her in our garden and I cried so much that day.

How can I forget this rascal? She was the one who enjoyed the most. With everyone at home, all the lovin, and not to mention extra treats, she was the one who has a blast during the pandemic.

Despite all her tantrums, and sly acting (like we never fed her for years), she always put a smile on my face.

All she wanted was for me to spend more time with her, and the pandemic was a dream come true for her :)

It has been a difficult time, I won't lie. But I'm glad the pandemic has given me so much in return.