A Child’s Diary: Shivan Sharma’s Corona Lockdown Days in Kathmandu, Nepal

April 5, 2020

Day 6: There was a time when boys used to be so mischievous in the class. And I miss them today

I don’t remember when I woke up this morning, but I remember feeling lazy to freshen up. My mom was standing just there, waiting for me to wake up. She then told me to take a bath. But I felt lazy and did not want to do a thing. But, I did it anyway because I also had to read Chapter 1 of “Shri Sai Satcharitra.” It is about an epidemic in Shirdi, during the times of Sai Baba. It was a little boring, but I had to do it. I can’t upset God, can I? Anyways, I took a shower and read the chapter. I felt refreshed after that. It felt like I can now relax and start doing my regular activities.  

Actually, I like doing karaoke songs, and I did some singing in the karaoke app. I felt a little bit shy doing it in front of my mom and sisters,  mom actually wasn’t much of a problem though. I tried to sing songs such as Memories (Maroon 5), Rockabye (Anne Marrie), etc. The songs were from my favorites. At first, I thought that I was singing well. But, when I heard the recording, I wanted to delete it right away, which I did. Also, because of my loud singing, my sister, from the other room, closed the door.

Well, you see, Sunday is internationally a holiday. But, in Nepal, it is the start of the weekdays, that is a normal working day.  It means that it is a blue Sunday for us. Although, mom’s office gives them a holiday on Sunday for some reason.   

You know, these days I have started missing my friends and all my classroom moments of 5th grade, like Kripesh & Anubhab cracking up a joke in the middle of a class and Bigya throwing up an idiom to Bistrit. It used to be so much fun. I am missing my friends, but not the homework. That reminds me of my vacation(AKA lock-down)homework.

I just started reading my new book. I could only go through two chapters in 15 minutes! The chapters are short, but why did I take so long to read those few pages? Am I distracted? That was a bit strange. But, I did not want to do that. And as I realized I had read the book too slow, lunch was ready. 

And now, what do I do? I thought I would clean my balcony today too because it was still too dirty in the corner. But as soon as I came back to my room, I saw my mom had already started the movie –  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I have watched this movie so many times, but, I still find it exciting. When my mom fell asleep as we were watching the movie, I paused it. Finally, I got enough time to clean the balcony without any disturbance.

Yes!!! I quietly slipped out of the room, took a broom, and started sweeping. Sometime later, my sister helped me. By the time we finished cleaning the balcony, it was 5:34 pm. I then went out and reread my book for some time.

Well, and now like every day, I am writing this diary. Tata, see you tomorrow!!     

April 4, 2020

Day 5: What a beautiful day as I was busy cleaning my room and the balcony

My eyes open because of a sudden brightness. I do not see mom anywhere. I hear the sound of the whizzing wind. Swoosh! It passes my room at the speed of light. I feel it is talking to me and whispering to me to have a good day. I feel refreshed as I see the sun.  Let me go and take a bath.

And now, I am about to do the most challenging task of today – go to the temple without being touched by anyone.

Phew! The mission was successful. It felt as if I were a CBI officer that just solved a case. I do this every Saturday, but I had never felt like this before. After I came, I saw something so special. A camera!! My eyes glared at it hard. I felt as if I saw paradise. It was from a friend of mine who was separated from me last year. I clicked a picture and looked at the charge. Grrrrrr!!! Why does it have to run out of battery when I am about to have some fun.

Well, you might remember that I had started reading a new book. I continued reading today, and I felt it more like a diary – like I write and edit my journal as a story. If you don’t mind, I will have my milk now.

OK! So, where was I? Ah!! Yes, the book. Well, let us get out of that topic and talk about something else.

Today, my mom ordered me to clean the windows and glasses of my room. I was so happy to clean my room after a long time. I cleaned, and my sister helped too. Well, you missed out the fun. How I wish my grandfather could see this, but he went outside to buy some house materials. Well, somehow, I made my day more fun and occupied with tasks. I felt so relaxed cleaning. Some outsiders saw me from their balconies as well. We felt ashamed and courageous at the same time. Some people even laughed at us. But, I laughed back. I did not want to upset them.

My sister was gone after cleaning the windows. I still wanted to clean something. Wait!! I had a brilliant idea of cleaning the balcony. What for, you might ask? There is so much pigeon stool over there. Yuck!! That’s disgusting!! Well, not anymore, because I cleaned it.

And now came the time to manage my room. My sister was the one to eat up my room and I was the one to eat up hers. She took all her stuff back to her room but I didn’t bring mine back. Swag!!!! 

After that, my sister called me to watch a movie. We watched a movie named “Stanley ka Dabba”. It was so funny and emotional. It was about a boy going through child labour.

And now let me share why I had cleaned the window. Well, I brought some cushions and lay it on our balcony. I then started to read my book. After what seemed like hours, I stopped reading and went in to have some snacks. I ate roti and mixed some jam in it. Well, I was full after having that much of a heavy snack, I only accepted milk to go in my tummy. 

And now I am writing this every day to share my experience with you all. Zàijiàn. I am not a Chinese, though. 

Toodle-loo, kangaroo.

April 3, 2020

Day 4: Can you believe my teachers praised me today. I have never felt this good.

Today, I have something special to share with you. I was really lonely and I still am. I have no one to play with, no friend. But the day turned out to be fun.

I felt like the world was occupied in my mind.  I started my day by drawing as soon as I woke up. I usually don’t do that. I had my lunch and then went to our balcony to have some fresh air. I started to read a new book named “Rusty and the magical mountain.” The book is about Rusty, a boy who just graduated from the high school. He happens to see a magical mountain that have many mysteries and he decides to climb it. Let us see where the book will take us on this journey next.

After some time, I resumed drawing. I drew cartoon characters such as Spongebob Squarepants, Nobita, Adidas Girl (my nickname for it), Pikachu, and other random drawings. Here are some of them: 

After some time, my sister joined me and she made these drawings:

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After an hour, I gave up drawing and watched the movie, “The Fantastic 4” to relax. I had never thought the movie would be so cool.

Last night, my mom shared the link of this diary with my teacher and then, even the school posted it on our school Facebook page. Wow! I was so happy as my teachers had complimented me in the comments. I had never experienced being praised like this. It felt like something new- something that I had never ever felt in my entire life.

My mom also taught me about google form and how to make a survey on anything in that app. It was cool. Right now, I just watched the sunset and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets. It was as if an orange ball was gliding down the hills and the horizon is ready to send it to the other side.

Wait! I forgot to tell you that I had a dream about the coronavirus suddenly vanishing into thin air and people were celebrating in my neighborhood. I wish this pandemic would be over soon. And I don’t know if this is true or not but, they are saying that the medicine of coronavirus has been invented.

OK, bye for now! See ya later, alligator!!

April 2, 2020

Day 3: I have started to feel lonely. But I read a lot. And I feel like a soldier today

How often have you wondered during this lockdown, “What if the condition stays the same for 5 years?” I think of it at least 20 times a day.

I’m feeling like a soldier today. If this were wartime, we would be in the front-line to battle with the enemies. But, nowadays we are saving the world by staying at home.

Today nothing has happened that is so amazing or interesting to share. April fools day is gone, and I could not prank any of my friend. That’s bad, right?

I just realized I have not brushed my teeth. I’ll do it right now.  Just a minute……

Ah! That feels better. Anyways, let’s get back on topic. Well, at least the sun is shining, and we can see the mountains very clearly. Mom is busy with her work, and I’m the only one in my house who is free. My sisters are busy with their work.

These days, I have started to feel a bit lonely. But there is one thing that helps me believe I am not alone. It is my book. If you agree with me, you’re cool.

I started watching Yeh Meri Family. It is a web series based on summer vacation from the view of a boy like me. It was lunchtime until I completed an episode. I had my lunch, and then I watched the movie “BOSS BABY.” It was absolutely awesome!

My sister came to me to continue her online course and I went to the balcony to read my book. I never thought about time and kept on reading. And when I completed it, a laughter burst through me as if I was a volcano that just erupted.

By the way, who is your favourite author? Which book of his/her is your favourite? Mine is Roald Dahl as author and Matilda as a book. I mean, all authors are famous for their own genres, but Roald Dahl leaves us spellbound with his stories and the way he writes them. If we read something, in the beginning, we read something and when we finish reading, we almost forget what happened in the beginning. That was what happened today. 

And now I am writing this diary as we speak. And also my mom said that I can create my own blog later. I felt like a swan in a pond.

By the way, I can see that the police are so strict and give orientation to people and even capture people who disobey the rules of the government these days.

Signing off for now. See ya!     

April 1, 2020

Day 2: I try not to rage

2076/12/19

You might be thinking that the date is incorrect, you are right but wrong. Let me explain. This is the date of the Nepali calendar. That’s because I live in Nepal. Anyways, my day started off by reading my favorite author’s most famous book named “The BFG.” My house is silent for some reason. And nowadays I’m starting to feel it. But, I try not to rage.

My life is turning average right now. Oh! I just looked at the English calendar and realized today is April 1^st. You know what that means! Yay! Happy April Fool’s Day. I tried to prank one of my friends but I failed.

To be honest, I feel like this is going to be an extended lockdown. It’s just the 9^th day of this lockdown out of 2 weeks. That means it’s been 1 week & 2 days. I don’t even know if more days are going to be added.

I have been practicing some magic tricks, and I am pretty good at it. I also taught my sister some card games.

I have noticed today that a lot of people are roaming around, and the weather is pleasant. Bye for now. See you tomorrow.