My days of uncertainty began a bit earlier than the pandemic. In the May of 2019, my husband and I decided to move out of India, packed up our home in Mumbai, and started what turned out to be a very very long journey to Europe. We were initially hoping to move to Vienna, but encountered a lot of obstacles with the visa application and long story short, after spending five months, figured that wasn’t going to be possible after all. Finally in January of 2020 we decided to relocate to Berlin instead and Rob was able to get a visa in just two days! This seemed fantastic and we assumed we would be in Berlin by April, but little did we know…
We were living in a temporary studio apartment with our two cats and a suitcase full of our belongings, for six months of the lockdown in Mumbai. I was extremely nervous going into the lockdown, having dealt with health anxiety in the past + the uncertainty of our moving plans + uncertainty with work — everything seemed to be in a place where it wasn’t supposed to be. But as days passed, I slowly found myself finding ways to do things that kept me sane, happy and content. I would spend the day drawing letters and cook my favourite meals in the evenings. Most days while cooking I would call with my sisters—Niki, Sheetal, Madhura & Tanaya (not biological sisters, but so much more ❤️) We would talk about our day, our fears and frustrations, recipes, and making bread in a pressure cooker! We would call and drink wine over the weekends, sometime even dress up for video calls! We were able to create a wonderful safe space, and it made us grow closer together in ways we didn’t expect. We continue to be present in each others lives and I hope we continue to be there for each other wherever we may be.
This lockdown, like many others, gave me the opportunity to pause & reflect, find peace in chaotic times. I feel immense gratitude towards my life and the wonderful people that are an important part of it. And now that I have finally moved to Berlin in the middle of the pandemic, and can write this post from my home, I have renewed gratitude for so many seemingly small things that I often took for granted before the year that has been twenty twenty.
Bette(r) Days celebrates the things that did not suck in 2020. Each day in December, we’ll be posting about the highlights of our collective garbage fire of a year, type-related or not.