A weekend of wearing masks

After staying at home for more than 4 months, we finally planned a short weekend trip to some of our relatives. We anticipated that it would be somewhat different from our earlier trips because of all the coronavirus situations. But it was far from what we had expected it to be like. For starters, we had to wear a mask all the time while sitting in the car as the government had decided to impose a fine on all those who do not. And we were sitting in a car for about 11 hours out of the total 39 hours that we were not at home. So, that black and grey face mask of mine had become a bitter-sweet constant throughout the whole journey. Some of you might be wondering how unsafe it was to go for a cheerful visit to relatives during these times. Hence, let me make the purpose clear. We were never convinced about this idea either but my dad had some official work and emotionally blackmailed us till we changed our opinions.

Well, I forgot to mention that we visited Chandigarh which is about a 6 hours drive from my place, and stopped by at Panipat which is about 3 hours away, to meet my Nani (grandmom), both the times that we crossed it. It was this time that I realized that one can get tired even by just sleeping in the car because that's all I did the whole time. We reached my Mama's (maternal uncle) place around 12 noon on Saturday. We had our lunch and I attended some of my college lectures. You see, that's the only benefit of online classes: you can be anywhere in the world and still pretend to be attending the lectures. As soon as those ended, I dozen off (AGAIN!!). 

By the time I woke up, my dad was back from his work. And I planned to visit my college roommate who's one of my closest friends and lives in Chandigarh too. The plan was sudden and the visit was short but felt amazing. After you've lived with someone for two years, you get used to them, and meeting her after 5 months made me feel so contented. We talked and ate and talked and went for a walk and talked more (I know! We can talk endlessly). I am someone who loves to eat but doesn't have much appetite, and I'm always teased about this by my friends but it doesn't matter as long as they are there to finish all the food. But it matters when someone's mom offers you all your favorites and expects you to eat them all because that's what Indian moms are like. They never leave any stone unturned in their hospitality. So, just imagine this: You are sitting with your roommate (who knows that you have an appetite of a kid of 7 years but would not leave any chance to tease you) and her mom comes in with 6 different types of snacks and asks you to eat them all. You can be excused if you don't eat one or two of them but you are still required to taste them. Now, you are trying to signal your friend to save you from this and she instead asks her mom that maybe she should offer one or two more things. Trust me your friends will never let go of a single opportunity to pull your leg and she is one of them. While I was leaving, the same thought circled in both of our minds, "Don't know how long it'll be before we meet again. I'll miss her!" Thinking this makes you realize how someone, once a stranger, can become so important in your life.

On coming back, I was so full that having dinner was out of the question. So all of us talked for a while and then guess what? I slept again and that too for 9 hours straight. We had our breakfast and left Chandigarh. This time I finally didn't sleep in the car. We were singing songs and enjoying the beauty of the roads with so much lesser traffic as compared to our previous visits. Then, I started chatting with a friend and he asks me, "What fascinates you the most in astronomy?" and then lists some of the terms like "black holes", "wormholes", "time travel" and many more of those. I had an interest in astronomy when I was in school but was out of touch now. So, I felt like doing some research about all of these. Starting with the black holes, I covered all the items in the list and I believe I can answer his question now. I am fascinated by how mysterious black holes are. The point being I spent all the time, till I reached my Nani's place, in searching about all this astronomical stuff. 

Spending time with Nani is always a pleasure because you literally sense how much she loves you by the way she talks and how she mentions time and again that she had missed us so much and how delighted she is to meet us. Spending those two hours with her made wearing our stupid masks for hours all worth it. Also, I bought so many sweets and am definitely aiming to gain weight in the coming week because sweets are the dearest. In all, it was a very hectic yet super exciting and amusing weekend (and it probably felt more so because something like this happened after 5 months of staying at home).