It seemed like a conquest for Umashankar. For the first time, after more than a month of staying at home continuously, he had ventured out; he had made this momentous decision considering the dire need for some natural physical movement apart from the arbitrary jumping and jerks he allowed himself at home every morning; he had to make sure that he remains a normal man. The infections increased ominously recently and before that the restrictions were intensified, not allowing walks or jogging even within the campus of the housing society. For an elderly person like him, staying at home was more strict, both from society and from his family members. But he had to feel normal, he decided. Then one afternoon, when his wife and his daughter-in-law were napping, his son was working in the emergency office, and his grandson was busy with his online classes, he ventured out, taking the keys with him. home.
He felt a bit apprehensive as he approached the front door, but the security guards just told him, not saying or questioning. Once off campus and onto the lane, he was free and captivated. To make matters worse, the patrolling policemen were also nowhere to be seen. Yes, the world hasn’t changed permanently in the meantime, with more cars, tempos, and taxis now on the road. Of course, the pedestrians were conspicuously fewer in number, and people her age were a rarity. He began to walk quickly swinging his hands and flexing his muscles.
Within minutes, Umashankar reached the supermarket, a place he visited so often with his wife or daughter-in-law. He paused, tempted to go in and shop as usual. People came and went; some loading their carts with the purchased ration; some crowd around the staff desk outside for mandatory hand sanitizing and thermal screening; and some staff members rushing here and there checking and supervising. He killed the temptation of it. No, he can’t afford it, many of the recent infections can be traced back to the store and, being an elderly person, he must show his love and gratification for his family’s responsible actions.
He looked around and decided to cross the road. On the other side, most of the stores were open. Walking down a service lane he noticed that his favorite restaurant was also open, the manager relaxed and yawning behind the counter and some of the servers who graced the door looked at him hopefully. He stopped, tempted again: he just wants to occupy one of the seductively and sparsely arranged tables too, and order one of his favorite dishes packed for him. No, he cannot afford this, for the same reasons and one more, it is believed that the virus lasts longer in plastic packages. He started walking again. At the crossroads, he turned right onto the main artery that led to the busiest market area.
Some shops of various kinds were open only on one side of the road, and the vegetable, fish and meat market was closed. She saw a small tea stall run by an old woman open with no sips around. She felt the urge to have that pleasure again; Ha! this simple indulgence now seems like a coveted luxury. The tea stall gave him a much stronger impulse: ah! how desperately he wants to have that indulgence in the open again, without the mask. However, to his disappointment or relief, I’m not sure which, those kinds of small shops were still closed, or more correctly, still not allowed to do business. He directed his attention to a stationery store he frequented and again he was tempted to do some minimal shopping. Not to everything, he mutters sternly. He kept walking down the loop road back to the highway.
As he waited for the light to turn green at the highway junction, he noticed that the traffic seemed almost normal. A half-empty city bus stopped at the stop just to his left, and he once again felt the temptation to get on and enjoy that pleasure that he had missed so much in recent months. Besides, she thought, malls can now do business with strict rules, so why not visit the nearest one, just for a change, if not to go shopping? Immediately, Umashankar also killed that decoy, for the same or similar reasons.
Umashankar began to feel scared: how his fickle mind, now tested, has cruelly been exposing him to all manner of impulses, desires, and temptations, making him more vulnerable than even his age can make him. The moment the light turned green, he hurried across at mid-run and started walking back home. The security guards just looked at him, with total indifference that he further accentuated with a yawn.
Arriving at his flat, Umashankar silently inserted the house key and unlocked the door. His grandson, who was now watching television, looked at him sinisterly. He gave the boy a benevolent smile saying that he had just taken a look at the campus. Sitting contentedly on the sofa, Umashankar was happy that the daring outing had given him at least a good opportunity for natural physical movement.
