“Papa, get used to the new normal, he said. But, at the age of 78, I can barely manage the old habits, let alone be form new ones,” says Avinash Batra while discussing his concerns about the new normal and how his son, sitting in Dubai lectures him about the small things he should do every day. 
“I am the kind of person who would even skip wearing a helmet sometimes while riding a bike. It is not because I wanted to be a macho during my young age, but because I didn’t like the added weight on my head and felt it would get difficult to breathe. But now, firstly, I am not even allowed to go out of the house, or ride my scooter and even if I have to go out, wearing a mask and covering myself up all the time is a must. A day before, I went out to get a few medicines and in this scorching heat, the mask was making it was very suffocating for me.
I have been a single father for most of my life. But when my son went to Dubai, we had house help 24*7 so that I don’t stress myself out. It has been 40 years since I last picked up a broom and washed my own dishes. And here, the new normal requires me to do every single household chore all by myself and it is exhausting.

I am forced to follow the rules of isolation. My son had cancelled the tickets I had booked to visit him in March in Dubai, so no travelling to meet my own family either. Instead, I have to spare two hours in the day to get on video calls with them from India. Getting used to this crazy devil of technology to stay in touch with my family - this is a new normal that is overwhelming from the start. Sometimes I am not able  to locate the apps on my phone, sometimes if there is a glitch, I don’t know how to move forward. Also, how can a screen justify all the emotions and thoughts that I am feeling and going through? How can an online game justify the sheer joy and excitement of playing in teams with my grandchildren and those random emojis, I have to keep squinting to understand them. I don’t like  them.

It is hard you know,  I live alone and have no one to engage with. So I am used to playing with the kids in my society but now I rarely get to see them. Even if I do happen to see them, waving and talking to them from a distance feels like I am disconnected from them. I have to stay away from people who are travelling or moving outdoors--something that my son has strictly warned me from doing. 

Two days back, my neighbour, a young boy who stayed here as a bachelor got his pass to go back home. He was someone, who would help me out with a few groceries or medicines and always kept a check on my health. He has been laid off from his work, and I had no idea when and if I’d ever get to see him ever again. I felt like my own son was going away and still, I couldn’t even hug him goodbye. 

I can see the next 12 months being locked up in my house, becoming un-social, no actual interaction with my neighbours or family. I can see how difficult it is going to get, and that makes me nervous. I try to shout at my son on our calls, hoping that he understands why I am getting so frustrated and angry all the time but he thinks it is just a phase. What if I something happens to me in the ‘phase’ and I don’t even get to actually see my family again? Would this new normal prove to be of any use then?? I feel so lonely, I don’t want these screens to meet my people, I want to be able to actually meet them… I just hope I get to see them for one last time before I die.”