Tag Archives: pandemic

Anne Frank’s Radio || BookishInktober2020

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#BookishInktober2020 prompt 4: RADIO


Can you imagine staying put in your house for an undefined period? I think we all got to experience a bit of it, during the initial stages of lockdown due to the pandemic. But, was it the same as it was for the Jews during Nazi Germany, during WWII? Definitely not, not even close.


The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is a classic that most of us already know about. I got introduced to it through my school textbook, we had a short chapter about her diary. I may have mentioned it in passing about wanting to read the entire book, because a few days later, my mom gifted it to me.


This book is like a toned-down account of the atrocities of a war, as seen through the eyes of a teen. I feel blessed to be able to go out without the fear being seen, to just be able to look outside the window to smile at a passing stranger, to buy my own food and just wander around, to even use the internet and have an online presence! All of it that was restricted to the people living the Secret Annex, along with Anne, and the number of Jews hiding elsewhere.


A radio and a few trusted friends were Anne’s only connection with the outside world. Anne and the seven people whom she lived with would all gather around their radio during the news briefings- for a sign, for a hope that they would be free, and that things would go back to normal again.

Do I recommend this book? Oh yes, it’s one of those books that you just can’t NOT read! So pick it up when you can.

There’s even a YouTube series based on her diary by Anne Frank House. It’s a really short series with a very cool concept- instead of a diary, they’ve given a video camera in Anne’s hands and the story begins. Except for this camera/diary swap, rest of the incidents are true, as written in Anne’s diary.

Embedding the series here:

— Suri

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Quarantine Musings #14

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2 am in a city, during lockdown, feels completely out of place. Except for the sound of crickets and frogs, I can now hear absolutely nothing.

Mumbai – fondly called as the city which never sleeps; is now sleeping. It feels that not just the people residing here, but the city in itself is suffering from the disease. I hope she heals well and wakes up sooner from her nap. People are waiting for her to heal, the railways are waiting, the airplanes, the local businesses, the big multinational companies; everyone is counting on her.

On another occasion, it would have felt way better- to experience the silence within a city, the calmness and the fresh air to breath. But under the current crisis, it just doesn’t feel good.

Get well soon, Aamchi Mumbai (literally, ‘Our Mumbai’). And also, get well soon, Mother Earth.

— Suri

What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.

Quarantine Musings #12

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It’s almost three months of us now, living under lockdown over here.

But do I see a change? A decline in the number of cases, perhaps? – Not really. Not a bit. In fact, the figures are skyrocketing, making new daily records each new day.

The lockdown is now slowly ‘unlocking’, giving relief to some business owners. But instead of being more cautious, the people are now starting to care even less.

Hearing about all these cases in our neighborhood itself is giving me a fright! If I wasn’t already OCD, I’ll turn more like it by the time this pandemic ends.

How’s the situation in your neighborhood/ city/ town/ country? Hope you are all doing well. Sending loads and loads of good wishes and warm virtual hugs. 🤗

— Suri

What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.

Quarantine Musings #7

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These occasional spottings of airplanes and helicopters, are like rays of hope that things will soon come back to normalcy.

Hello, Helicopter!

Living in a megacity, I had grown habitual to the regular noises surrounding me. Of vehicles, of trains- local as well as long distance trains, of airplanes. Now that it isn’t a regular occurrence, I’ve realised how much I’ve taken it for granted.

So much depends on those airplanes. So much depends on those trains. So much depends on those vehicles on the roads. Be it a passenger train, be it a goods trains, or an import-export plane. There are people willing to travel to meet their extended family or even their immediate family living in some other part of the country (or even in some other part of the world), amid the crisis, taking a huge risk.

I feel extremely privileged to have a roof to live under and a loving family with me.

— Suri

What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.