The history nut that I am, this 21-day lockdown is causing an alert and very fertile mind to use analogies from my fave subject at every bend. Trust me, it's not all sweet victories and visionary leaders, especially if you happen to be one of the countless working professionals who lives alone in Bombay. I hope some of you who read this, will be able to identify how this inexplicable situation has forced us to hit the reflect button on a gazillion things.

When the Big Guy put the country under lockdown last Sunday, as a test drive, I was forced to peek outside of my window at 4.50 pm (yes, we are still to figure how most Indians read time); entire families had assembled by their windows to play their part in the Great Indian Utensil Philharmonic Orchestra. Members of my typically middle-class housing colony were trying to outdo one another with thalis, conch shells and even horns. While tutaris would be played in the old days to greet armies in Maharashtra before or after they went into battle, here the inconceivable 'tunes' continued for 15-20 minutes, egged on by chants of "Go Corona, Go."