A Letter to the VC

Respected Vice Chancellor,

Hello Sir. 

Hope you are safe and healthy and that our esteemed organisation is functioning smoothly.

Whether you are remembering your young and dynamic faculty Raghavan? Yes? Forget! Immediately forget! Why because he is no longer young and no longer dynamic. All because of coronavirus and lockdown. Maybe you are thinking, “What you are saying Raghavanji? Lockdown is excellent time for clearing pending work, getting fresh start, reinventing yourself, developing hobbies, building abdominal muscles etc etc.” No! No means no, hundred times no.

Lockdown is big headache. For the first few days, when only our state had closed, I went evening walking. Very refreshing. Then, whole country is going in lockdown. PMji himself is coming in Youtube wearing angavastram like mask. Like that means whether you will be calm or what? Full panic! Whole country is scared!  One sneeze means directly imagination of crematorium is coming. One cough means ICU images are coming. Light dryness in throat means childhood memories are flashing before eyes. Everyday I am washing hands 80000 times. If I tell Sri Rama jayam while washing hands, then I will tell more than great saint composer Tyagaraja told in whole life.  Whether it is possible to work in this state Sir? Added to this my Creator (mother) is using this lockdown as nice chance to fix my marriage. She is telling “Now you are at home full time, see some profiles on matrimony sites”. Sir, because she has created me, I avoided abusive language. Otherwise, I would have made blood to come out of her ears. Is this any time to think of marriage?  Being alive itself is looking like achievement. If we open news, even more tension. They are telling we have to flatten curve. But day-by-day curve is increasing only like patriotic feeling inside Mohan Bhargava in super cult Hindi movie Swades (you have seen this sir?). In this condition, how one can feel young. Neighbours in apartment are going pradaksanam walking around building in evening. I am not doing that also because of corona fear. So, instead of dynamic only static is there. Only some stretching type exercise I am doing, that too in my balcony. Sir, because of this pandemic, I am discovering how much mental courage I am having. Good learning experience.

You can ask “Ayyo! Raghavanji, then how you are managing?” I will tell you – work. Just distracting myself with some work or other. Not just work related to our esteemed organisation (please don’t mind) but any work. Sorting my books, clearing old files in computer, making alphabetic index of my library. Like that.

Once in three four days I am going out to get milk, vegetables etc. Please play Mission Impossible music in background. So much masks I have to put that Creator is asking if I am going for bank robbery  (she was bank employee sir, so she is thinking always about bank only).  Then I have to go to nearby Supermarket. Sir, it is looking like in whole world only myself and your esteemed self have heard of social distancing. Rest of the world is acting like it is routine shopping only. They are all thinking that they have some magic watch like Anil Kapoor in Mr. India which will make them invisible to coronavirus. Senseless fellows. No social distancing, no mannangatti. Sir, if we have to flatten curve by May end, first we have to flatten these Rambo type fellows.  Then, after buying everything and coming home, full washing. Washing body, washing bag, washing milk packet, washing mask(s), washing dal packet. I will tell you one funny situation sir. Once I bought butter (for bread). Creator is telling “Keep everything in sunlight” (she got like that advice in WhatsApp. Sir, this WhatsApp is giving separate tension. I will tell you next time). I told her, “How we can keep butter in sun? It will melt”. Nothing doing. Once Creator has decided, then decided only. Next what happened, butter melted only. Physics will also go on lockdown because of corona or what? Then I have to keep remaining butter in vessel and throw the packet. Nice circus.

Sir, now I know what our ancestors who lived through great wars and economic depression and other diseases may have felt like. Continuous uncertainty, eagerly expecting good news, full planning and rationing like that. Total life has changed. This pandemic is coming like correct medicine for youth people who have taken life and its comforts for granted.

Maybe you are saying inside, “Don’t do so much over-thinking Raghavanji. Just follow your own method and immerse in work. Maybe you can send more papers to journals and increase publication for NAAC metrics.”  Sorry Sir, your voice is breaking because of weak internet connection. Not able to hear anything. I will call next time.

Yours in lockdown,
Raghavan