30th March 2040
“Happy Birthday my sweetheart Jagriti”, the middle-aged Shailaja excitedly wished her daughter.
“Ma I’ve finally turned 20!” Jagriti was very delighted. Her parents were according to her the best parents and the best couple. Shailaja and Shivam always made sure she was pampered as well as been strict with in the right proportions.
At the breakfast table, Shivam was waiting for his daughter to freshen up and hugged her as soon as she approached him. She was indeed one of the most precious people in his life, and Shailaja’s too. Only they knew how much happiness she had brought to their faces when Shailaja had delivered her.
“Baba please tell me the story of my birth”, Jagriti insisted.
Shailaja and Shivam smiled at each other and recalled the fears and insecurities they were facing 20 years ago when their baby was about to arrive in this world.
At the very beginning of 2020, Shailaja was 6 months pregnant. Shivam being the supportive husband that he was, made sure she was comfortable and received the care that she wanted and deserved during that phase. He kept a check of things that the house might need himself, only to realize how difficult it was for his wife to manage the expenses of the house with the limited salaries that they together earned. Things were all well till the end of February, Shailaja was now 8 months pregnant, and then the news channels started broadcasting how the entire world was coming under the shadow of a virus that was assumed to cause a fatal threat to humanity.
At first, Shailaja paid no heed to the news about Coronavirus. The first time she freaked out was when she called her mother-in-law and heard a lady instruct about washing hands properly for 20 seconds instead of the soothing caller tune that she used to love to hear every time Shailaja called her. 10 days passed with news showing the number of increases cases of people found positively affected by the deadly virus. Since Shailaja was in her third trimester, she needed to pay regular visits to the hospital. The multispeciality hospital hosted numerous people of all kinds and Shailaja’s heart sank when she saw people roaming about with masks.
The doctor explained to them the importance of self-quarantine for pregnant women and what could be the effects of the virus if one gets infected. That night, while his wife was sleeping, a restless Shivam cried. He was a planner, he loved to think and plan and be a few steps ahead of the current situation. He had planned the supplies, the way he’d pack their bags while visiting the hospital, the expenses and even kept counting days till her due date; but he had no way planned this pandemic and his wife being pregnant and doing doctor visits when the entire world was staying at home and indulging in social distancing. He knew the baby would entirely belong to Shailaja for those 9 months, but when it’d come back, he’d be the best father for the baby he had imagined. It was difficult for him, but then he reminisced his wife’s face when she’d heard from the doctor about the gravity of the situation and he chose to be strong because Shailaja was vulnerable and so he couldn’t be one too. In the morning he prepared breakfast for both of them and as a daily ritual went to the calendar. It told him there were only 10 days left for the baby
to arrive in this world, and the realization of the fact that the world wasn’t an ideal place for his wife and the baby anymore stuck him once more!
The day was difficult for Shivam, he was working from home and was more into unplanning than his usual planning spree. He called the lady who was supposed to give massage to the baby and Shailaja every day post-delivery to cancel the deal. She cried while narrating how her drunkard husband was suspected to be positive with coronavirus and Shivam couldn’t dare to ask her to pay back the advance he had given her.
The police were supportive during their visits to the hospital, but some of them asked for money to be allowed to pass a certain square where they had created their human traffic signals. Obviously, the country was about making use of people’s helplessness to earn money!
A week before her supposed due date, Shailaja’s water broke a couple of minutes after midnight. The hospital was far and the Ola or Uber booking apps denied support. The emergency of the situation made them visit a nearby maternity home. Shivam was afraid there might be a problem with sanitation and hygiene since it was a small nursing home. Shailaja, on the other hand, screamed with pain, experiencing labour for the very first time in life. Within an hour, Shivam had little Jagriti in his hands. But Shailaja had given in to the pain associated with parturition and was still unconscious. After an impatient wait of a couple of hours, Shailaja opened her eyes. She looked at her baby and recalled all the problems they had faced because of the pandemic and the during the self-quarantine.
She smiled at Shivam, the smile of victorious. And there were tears of happiness in both of their eyes. Keeping their baby and the woman he loved safe was what Shivam had aimed, and he managed to do that very successfully. There was she, their baby, healthy and safe in her father’s arms.
The initial days after delivery was difficult in the situation where staying home was mandatory for everyone. They shared responsibilities from changing diapers to bathing Jagriti. Shivam gave both the mother-daughter their essential daily massage.
The next couple of months saw the emerge of humanity and the victory of the world over the deadly virus. Shivam and Shailaja took their 2-month-old baby for vaccination for the first time without wearing masks and having to sanitize their hands every time they touched an object.
“Did everyone stay at home for such a long period Baba?”, Jagriti asked.
“Yes my dear”, said her mother, “That time taught us that together we can fight anything, be it a pandemic, or the fears and insecurities we experience!”
And this is how at the breakfast table Shivam and Shailaja narrated to their daughter Jagriti the story of her birth and how they had drilled to find light.
Grishma Ninave 