Iridescent Lady

Stories from quarantine: “as I stood in front of the kitchen mirror — suddenly the problem was not my wrinkles, but the isolation due to the Corona Virus."

How is a 62-year-old faring while living in corona virus isolation? Mrs Kalpana Basu from Mumbai  shares her story of rediscovering her passions and focusing on how age doesn’t matter to do what you love.

"How clueless I was!" Mrs. Basu claims animatedly. "At the beginning, I thought our 'LOCKDOWN' would last for maybe two or three weeks at the most. But I realized after a few days that that was not the case. As a 62-year-old, I am in one of the high-risk groups and I have to be extra careful, thus I would not step out of my house.

The beginning days were slow and uneventful. With my children away there really wasn't much to do with all this free time. It gets boring after the few days of excitement  with a routine of household cooking and cleaning. Then, one day maybe 2 weeks into the lockdown, a realization struck me as I stood in front of the kitchen mirror — suddenly the problem was not my wrinkles, but the isolation due to the deadly Corona Virus. I examined the old woman in the mirror. Do I really have to put up with being alone with myself for weeks or even months? And in just a 500 something square foot apartment.

 With a little desperation I realized a little self-deception might help. Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of being an artist. I made fantasy worlds out of cardboard, tissue paper and buttons. But then in the early 1980s I was married before any of them developed into anything real. Then after that there was always so much work that the artistic side of me was put to rest. It wasn't until I was forced into my house to be quarantined that my artistic aspirations came back to me. I bought paints, brushes and canvas. I was reunited with all my childhood joys and pleasures.

Now I simply paint away in my isolation — playing with colors and shapes and imagining this and that.  It doesn't really matter how good I am or how eclectic the things I do are. I no longer have time or energy to look critically at the old woman in the mirror. I am swimming in my head in colorful waters. And that is good enough."

There is a minor pause and Mrs.Basu gets a little reflective. Then with a shy chuckle, she adds, "In hindsight, I believe this period has been extremely generous to me.  An amazing time out. A much need shock to find myself; when I am not a mother or a wife or a daughter-in-law.  During my initial days I thought it would be impossible for me to manage everything by myself; without my son and daughter. But with each day passing, I realize that I am genuinely enjoying the company of this little artist inside me. I think I'm actually doing incredibly well. I don't know if it's a nice thing to say but this period has been a blessing in disguise surely!"

She was very forthcoming and even showed us some of her art. On asking what her next creation would be like, she tells us that she might start some needlework again. Well, more power to her!

Let's leave this story with a not to self- you're not too old and it's not too late to do things that you really want to!