New realisations.

Byline: Neda Mulji

I LOOK out at my boys kicking a football in the garden, a cup of tea in my hand, my phone and laptop in front of me as I type away. It seems as if the multiple worlds that I found hard to juggle have all come together in the current lockdown. There is no need to make endless coordination phone calls; all activity is now centralised and unfolding right before my eyes. The nine-to-five job as we know it is over, although the work is continuing at a fast pace and in fact building momentum as each passing day makes us more adept at operating in this 'new normal'.

All the teachers who found their head underwater having to brave the new tide of online learning soon began enjoying the new modus operandi. Teaching from the comfort of one's own bedroom isn't such a bad thing after all. While digital teaching threw many of us out of our comfort zones, we seem to have found an alternative thrill in innovation and new experience. Personal lives have turned around in remarkable ways. Those who had a sedentary lifestyle are now taking recourse in plenty of sunshine, exercise and immunity-building nutrients. Parents of teenagers who did not see enough of their hyper-socialising children are getting time to engage with them again.

Many of these parents, who were previously cynical of technology, have had to take recourse in their teenage children's ability to bring them up to speed. Others have had to get on the technological bandwagon to help their younger children navigate their new life of online classes.

Let's hope we do not forget this interdependence.

Besides home learning support, parents have had to find ways to make the day constructive for their restless children. There is a massive amount of information on the internet for those looking for suggestions for activities in lockdown. From meditation and prayer, to organising charity initiatives, reading, family board games, baking, cooking and knitting, the list of things to do at home is hugely exciting. Suddenly, it seems, we are all a team living a reality show similar to Big Brother - except that this is not fiction. While we are thrown into teams in our little family units, we are learning to be more accommodating, considerate and perhaps kinder. It has been a time of giving, sharing and appreciating each other, especially the parents who juggle between jobs and childcare, and the teachers who kept learning afloat.

As we trudge through this uncertainty, we realise how...