Fourteen months of the pandemic seems to have exhausted all we can do to keep busy and to keep our spirits up. The cakes have been baked, ‘clicked’ and ‘shared’. We have read incessantly. We have ‘zoomed’ out of video calls and conversations demand energy that I no longer seem to have. Every day brings news that I feel unequal to dealing with. The deep bonds I have built with people over five decades somehow have transformed into tiny grief points daily. The pandemic has become one of grief and despair.
Until last month, I was a ‘barely’ informed person. Sure, I read books but news left me cold. A psychologist may trace my lack of interest in the newspaper to my annoyance of it being the curtain in morning conversations with my father and my husband. I did skim the newspapers, read Inshorts, and the drivel that pours from Whatsapp because I had to. However, in the last one month, the news has been so overwhelmingly distressing that I have given up reading the newspaper, disabled the News tab on my laptop and try my best to not even read messages on various WhatsApp groups. And yet, it was a message on my Scrabble group that infused energy and hope on so many levels.
The Scrabble group comprises individuals tied by a love of the game. The age of the most impressive player is possibly still in single digits. Being placed against him, in any tournament, makes me quake with fear! When they decided to hold an online tournament to honour the memory of a member we recently lost to Covid, I felt compelled to cancel work and join.
So glad I did! It was four hours of pure joy. Winning or losing does not matter when you are in the middle of the game. I felt so glad to belong to a community that cares – people who gave up their time to organize a memorial, to donate their time and energy to bring joy to others. The group always serves as a safe zone – the people are polite, respecting boundaries, not adding unnecessary drivel, and are always positive and kind. And yesterday, they helped me realize that while we don’t control the tiles we pick from the bag, the board and the community are there to support us.
By connecting to an ‘a’ on the board, the letters of d-e-s-p-a-i-r can be made to spell PARADISE. That is enough.
What a beautiful blog! A masterchef creation where the bewildering ingredients of the pandemic have come together to touch and soothe the soul .
Very well written Tanu.
It’s the FaceTime, zoom calls that keep us going.
The choices we make steer the direction of our life state in any possible direction.
Inclusive we can change our lookout from ‘despair’ to ‘paradise’…….beautiful !
Really wonderfully penned, Mrinalini. I am glad that you and Raghav could join us for the entire tournament. Cheers to many more such tournaments in future! 🙂
Very encouraging! Yes, referring to the despair, this too shall pass!!
A really lovely blog. Thanks for sharing it with the group! – Akshay
Thank you for penning this down. Every word resonates with how we felt yesterday. Looking forward to that extra ‘ a’ on everyone’s rack of life!
Beautifully written. The good gooders are the saviours. Keeping in touch with positive and like minded people along with doing whatever helps you to destress (knitting for me) gives you strength to go ahead.
Lovely blog, Mrinalini – and I hope there’s more joy than despair in the months ahead!
Lovely blog !! Thats what our Scrabble community symbolizes . A safe haven amidst the chaos that surrounds our lives .
How beautifully written!! Can I share something I’ve recently read?
इंसान ख्वाहिशों से बंधा हुआ,
एक जिद्दी परिंदा है।
उम्मीदों से ही घायल है,
और उम्मीदों पर ही जिंदा है।
Loved the lines.
Beautifully written!
Your blog reflects my sentiments about this game and community. Thank you and well said.
Thank you everyone.
Life has indeed become very dull and boring but the blog has infused joy and hope in my heart .Why brood over something that cannot be changed and count the weeks when the lock down would perhaps be over. Find something like Scrabble for yourself and remain happy. Wonderful thought.
well written. glad you found one more thing to keep you going. isolation, if it leads to honest reflection, and re-discovering sources of joy, would have been worth it.
I agree that isolation can be useful but I feel that it has been a long isolation. There may be some truth in us being social animals. Connecting with people helps me keep perspective.
Most of us can identify with your thoughts so beautifully written…how these terrible last fourteen months have taken a toll.
You so easily brought out how great it is specially these days to find others who share similar interests. Finding such compatibility calms one and gives you hope for a better tomorrow.
This message of hope that your blog is the need of the hour with so many going into deep depression.
Congratulations for writing this blog and spreading hope.