In the 2017 movie Everything, Everything, the 18-year-old heroine, Maddy, is being treated for a rare immune disorder called Severe combined immunodeficiency. This means that she can't step out of her house, without seriously causing harm to herself. But of course, the outside has a charm she can't ignore. And so she falls in love with her neighbour Olly, who wants to help her experience all that the world has to offer.

In many ways, 2020 has been a year where real life has imitated art, instead of vice versa. We were hit by a deadly virus, and everything we held dear was threatened, including our freedom. For children born just before lockdown, and during, freedom has been a concept yet to be explored. As candle-maker Itee Ghosalkar, who gave birth to baby Dev last October, says, "My child's understanding and perception of the world is 'life is like this only'. How is he going to miss what he doesn't know. And that's what is sad." Dev hasn't met any other children his own age, even though he has spent time outside in their family home in Ratnagiri, where Itee and her husband Swapnil went to stay during the lockdown. Now that they are back in Mumbai, at Dombivli, they are slowly starting to take him out to the garden in their building compound. "He connects with adults, as he meets more of them during lockdown. There is a child I have been trying for him to play with. But he skips the boy, and says hi to the mom instead. I worry most about his socialising skills later on, especially with people his own age," laughs Ghosalkar, who was until recently giving him Vitamin D supplements to make up for lack of exposure to sunshine. "That's so unnecessary. I spoke to the paediatrician, who feels that for now, safety is most important. But we have been advised to have some kids visit our home, so that he can spend time with them. The doctor feels that later, it could lead to him becoming too independent and preferring to be alone."