R : Roads are Empty #AtoZChallenge2020

When I peer out of my window, all I see is stillness. Stillness of the empty roads. This is one of the key and defining features of this lockdown. Roads that now lead to nowhere for most of us. Yes, I am exaggerating a bit. But you get the drift? Right?

Newspapers report that road rage cases and road accidents have dropped sharply since lockdown started. Yeah! Geniuses! We needed a newspaper to infer that.

Despite these positive side-effects of the empty roads, I have now started missing the buzz. On day 28 of the lockdown, am I missing those traffic jams? Not really! But I am also not liking this long pause in our lives. It feels like a midnight halt of a train at a deserted railway station. How would the roads be feeling? They must be growling from inside, that they have been rendered completely useless. Just like us. But then as these random ramblings bother my mind, my phone rings. Something related to work demands my attention. Then for next few hours I am in work-mode. And I forget those lonely and empty roads, till the time I next peer out of my window.

I see an ambulance sometimes. A Zomato delivery guy at times. A vegetable vendor daily. If it is early morning, I see municipal workers too, cleaning the roads. When roads are empty, you notice things that you didn't notice earlier. Roads are not really empty. May be they are happy, that essential people are only using it. No one is spitting on them! Littering! But then roads are so inexpressive. I would never know. Like a meandering road, my thoughts then travel towards the emptiness of our lives. Before I can further go down this path, my little son, walks into the room. He fills my heart like all those essential people who are filling the empty roads now. We go to our terrace for a walk. And I look at roofs of all the neighboring buildings. Every roof has its own walker. An exercise freak. A star gazer. The night sky is beautiful. For many years, we didn't notice these stars too. Then I look down towards the road. It is still empty. But I realize our lives are not.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Lock-down Blues. I intend to write and talk about how I deal with it, what it inspires me to read or watch or any aspect of it which fascinates me. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

Previous Challenges : Letter R

2017: Robbed

2018: Recycle Bin

2019: Remixes in Hindi Films / Bollywood