'KIRAN KUMAR’S 3RD CORONA TEST REPORT HAS COME NEGATIVE

Jyothi Venkatesh

A statement from my good old friend from the beginning days of our struggle- his as an actor and mine as a journalist and with whom I had even acted in a TV serial called ‘Murder By Net’ in the series Saturday Suspense on Zee TV directed by Homi Wadia- Kiran Kumar on my What’s app reads thus. “It’s safe to say that things feel more than a little surreal at the moment. Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined a dystopia like this would be our everyday reality. But it is. A few weeks ago, I had to undergo a routine medical procedure for which, under the government's guideline at the time, a covid 19 test was mandatory.

My daughter accompanied me for the tests and we joked and laughed and generally remained upbeat, certain that this was just a formality and we would get on with our normal lives soon enough. However, the test results came back positive. Within the hour, we cordoned off a floor at home and turned it into an isolation zone. The amazing doctors at Hinduja Khar and Lilavati armed us with enough information to ensure panic would not set in. We informed the BMC of my status and amped up everyones vitamin intake.

“Today after being retested for Covid19, I am happy to say that I have tested negative.My family is still following strict home isolation. I was totally asymptomatic and apart from the boredom that accompanies isolation had no other complaints. I am continuing to take this forced time out as an opportunity to introspect and focus on life's smaller pleasures. The days are spent meditating, catching up on ample OTT content and reading books I've long forgotten I'd bought. We all held on to our optimism and if theres one take away I have from this, is that there's nothing to fear but fear itself.

“Corona felt like a looming, distant and scary phantom that we took every precaution to avoid and even then it found a way to enter what we thought was a completely sanitised space. Yet, here we are, dealing with it and getting on with our lives. It’s unfair to test people’s loyalty when your world feels like it's caving in on you. It's such a strange time that a seasonal sneeze or cough feels like something more sinister. As hard as it is for the people isolating, it's tougher still for their caregivers.For being by our side in these challenging times, I'd like to say a loud and resonating thank you to all our support staff.

“I'd like to take a breath to thank all the wonderful friends and family that have offered their unwavering support, whether it be through endless facetime calls or home remedies steeped in love and haldi! A special thanks to my brother in law Dr Deepak Ugra for standing by us like our personal medico superman. Doctors and medical workers are the real superheroes and no amount of praise can do justice to their service.The silver lining here is that the earth is healing. Ecosystems are restoring themselves; wildlife is reclaiming its rightful space.Not only nature, but relationships are blossoming too.People may physically be staying apart but are emotionally and mentally getting closer to loved ones. We're all becoming cooks and hobbyists or just taking this time to decompress and be. Maybe this is the levelling up process we needed for the dawn of a new World and I for one am looking forward to waking up to it.