I turned 25, this quarantine;
I am a Final Year Architecture student, was supposed to complete my thesis,
But quarantine;
Now that I have grown up responsibilities, I am tired of
This quarantine;
Each Day I wake up to realize, it’s just another
Day of Quarantine;
What’s strange about a designer’s quarantine is that!
We are students of architecture, in this quarantine we are still bound to submissions and deadlines; I am Final Year student and I am working on my thesis; what I would have completed one month ago; I am still stuck with it; While I would have stepped into the professional field; I am still completing my checklists for thesis. It’s been one week since I got my submission deadline but accustomed to completing submissions on the day of deadline; I decide to sit to complete rather fulfil the checklists demands.
Architecture College life makes you adapt to work better when under pressure. Despite having so many days in quarantine to finish my work, I stick to what college life has taught me. I woke up today at 9; one hour earlier than I normally would in these quarantine days.
We designers are generally not this lazy but, Quarantine mood.
Honorable Mention | RTF Designer’s Days of Quarantine 2020
Category: Essay Writing
Participant: Nagbanshi Tanya
Profession: Architect
City: Jamshedpur
I wake up as planned thankfully; and with lots of efforts. In a day of quarantine, alongside deadlines you have to make your own breakfast, lunch, dinner and the daily household chores. I then took 45 minutes to make my breakfast and another 15 minutes to finish it. Time in the day of deadline is very crucial, each minute has to be utilized finishing work keeping everything aside; but that’s not how it works in Quarantine.
I lost my mother last year, and I live with my father now.
I now sit for work, to see that my laptop is only 26% and there’s no electricity, because it was yesterday that the city was hit with “CYCLONE AMPHAN”. Who could have anticipated that just to keep their laptops charged; but it was the submission day and work had to be done?
The list of my pending works Infront of me was long and time very less. 26% would last 1 hour and 36 minutes. That was enough time for me to cover one part of my checklist. So, I sit to work. I have just worked for 16 minutes, my laptop is at 20%, my phone beeps and it is my best friend that calls me after almost 1 year. College life has kept us both busy; but Quarantine brought us together. Seeing her name on the phone I was very happy but inside I was like why did you have to choose today; My mind says “Later Tanya” but poor heart says “How can you?” I listened to my heart and you know when best friends talk; the conversation has to be put to hold; it doesn’t by itself. Pupu has been my favorite since school days. After 45 minutes of conversation and after only half of what we could have talked, I had to say
“Pupu, yaar I got to go now”.
My laptop gives its first warning at 14%; the 45 minutes of conversation had brought my laptop to 16%. I am stressed now because I have so much to finish; I only wished had I atleast learnt to be prepared for unwanted circumstances. It was now almost time for lunch; I thought of working till atleast my battery supports. My dad walks up to me to ask whether the lunch is prepared or not; I realized that it wasn’t only me. I could have skipped lunch but I couldn’t make my dad do so; My laptop is now at 14% with the first warning on the screen. I made the lunch; I was hungry too. I come back to see that my laptop is at 10% now and I have only an hour in my hand. I am now panicking. My phone was well enough at 89%; I wish I could charge my laptop from my phone. I am panicking more; I might just fail to submit. Because I don’t think in one hour, I could finish my work or charge my laptop either.
So, I pause for 30 seconds; to take a decision, I decide to mail it right then with whatever work I had. I am attaching my files to the mail; it took 7 minutes. I leave a message with the mail “Respected Ma’am, please find attached work to be submitted as per requirements” And as I hit the send button, there’s suddenly electricity in my house and there’s an unread message on my phone from college official group. I was annoyed, all this just when I had sent the mail. I opened the message, it read
“Considering your issues with submission, the dates have been extended by
4 days- Year Co-Ordinator”
I am annoyed on the outside; but happy on the inside. While I put my laptop to charge, I decided to take a power nap. Another hour of procrastination. I wake up and it’s a beautiful evening; cold breeze with drizzles of rain and extension of 4 days; I decided to sit with a cup of coffee and coze up in my blanket by the window seat. I sit my favorite dairy; I open up the page where I had just started to write few stories.
All this submission and deadlines had kept me busy with my laptop while my favorite time has always been with pen and paper. With small sips of coffee and the breeze passing by I start the next line of the story
“Rosy, you don’t talk to mom like that and the story continued”
What had taken me 45 days; just took me 2 hours to complete. Designing is my passion; I discovered it 7 years ago; but this chemistry with pen and paper is magical. It helps me grow as a designer.
Each day in quarantine, we wake up with better days to come; meanwhile we are all dressed up with no where to go; for now destination is Isolation. Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.
– Celine Dion
