The pandemic has changed the perception and use of spaces producing varied senses and visceral experiences within the same space. For example, the entrance area outside the main door of the house that is used as a place to welcome people inside has now become the place where one gets sprayed with sanitizer before entering.
There is a shift in the number of activities that space could be used for, making some of them occupied the whole time, whereas the other left vacant the whole day. Strict regimes/ routines get followed around these new spatial experiences like sanitizing the door handle if an outside person touches it, receiving a parcel, and leaving it out for some time after spraying it and bringing it in, washing hands after touching the main gate, and refilling the spray bottle. There is a hijack of a single object (that is the sanitizer) that is either present in every space or will lead you to it.
As lockdown becomes the new normal, the home has become a bubble that none of us can escape. It has forced us to engage with the spaces it offers in different ways - home is now the office, the gym, the classroom, the salon, the movie theatre, and much more.
During the pandemic, we had almost stopped using the stairwell. In the evenings we would sit in the backyard, play carrom and cards. we would walk across the garden and use the backdoor most of the time. At one point in time, we realized that we had completely stopped using our main entrance as there was nowhere to go, and even if someone went somewhere, we would end up using the back door as a safety measure.
At a time when people are locked down at their homes with little opportunity to even head out for a stroll on the road, rooftops have become the latest hangout zones in the city. “Prior to the lockdown, the last time I had come up to the terrace was possible during New Year. But now with nowhere else to go, the terrace has become my escapade where I come up every morning and evening, interact with neighbors from my building as well as from other buildings from adjoining terraces. This is our only open space left now where we can still mobilize without violating the law,” said one of my mom’s friends. Different corners of the terraces have been utilized for different purposes. There are exercise corners, some corners for strolling, corners used for socializing with neighbors, some corners used as gathering spaces, etc. I sometimes alienate myself from the neighbors by occupying the top of the water tank. There I prefer listening to some good music, doing canvas painting, and refreshing myself with the gentle breezes simultaneously. Most of us have inadequate space in our homes which often drives people out for a breather. Since we can’t walk on the road now, people tend to crowd roofs in these covid times.
Balcony spaces have become the new spot for activities, which earlier fell under the outdoor section. On 22nd March, these structures gained socio-political significance nationally, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged every citizen of India to by clapping and clanging utensils, as a part of the ‘Janata Curfew’. A week later, this was followed by switching off the lights of the house at 9 pm for 9 minutes and lighting diyas and candles to show solidarity and unity.
The Drolia Couple who stay in their 1BHK Flat in Malad got their lives strictly restricted to their home when Mrs.Drolia tested positive for COVID, with mild symptoms though. Their doctor advised her home to quarantine. In the presence of only one bathroom in the House which had to be used by the patient, Mr.Drolia converted the kitchen into his bathing space.
yieldy, yappy, zappy, zippy, zooey…object.
Fully capable of keeping us engaged, arrested!
House is an ontological sandpit.
There are so many beings appropriating the house, besides me and my partner, all the time. Worms that I do not know the name of, spiders, fruit flies, termites, dust, fungus, bacterias, plants, birds, vessels, food, clothes, furniture, equipment, drawing tools, books, computing tools, communication tools, bags, musical instruments, miniature models, clock, paper, paintings, footwears, boxes, vases, mats, coasters, and so on… Constantly demanding our attention, engagement and labor, particularly with respect to cleanliness and tidiness.
But the more you clean and tidy, more and more objects proliferate the house. Sometimes it is akin to removing sand from the beach or the desert.
Earlier there were two worlds the outside and the inside, The outside here refers to things beyond our homes-the schools, colleges, temples, markets and other public spaces. The lockdown forced us to rethink the idea of home where everything got assimilated inside the four borders of the house. Also interesting to note is the people started claiming spaces where the windows were always coveted. Our entire world got confined to this one window or one corner. The change in the way conversations took place is also something to think about. Balconies, verandahs, and terraces have become the new street and we have started conversing hermetically. This new way of inward living has also forced us to reflect on our lifestyles and have a closer look at what makes our homes. The pandemic has also brought in the idea of pause.
The house is used more than ever for a wide range of activities. There are a lot of online games organized on Whatsapp groups, types of Tambola (Bollywood Movies, Songs, Quiz, etc), Celebration of occasions on Zoom Calls, sometimes it leads to unnecessary interactions though. The house becomes a workspace, gymnasium, balcony becomes the walking track, used for the clapping, banging thalis, blowing conch shells, lighting diyas and candles as instructed by Modiji.
The dining table is the anchor of the house, everything happens around it. It became the permanent workplace for everyone in the house, due to its proximity from the plug point, the WiFi and the television. Vaishali uses it to teach her students using the dabba and Tscale-stand which does the work of a tripod.
Prior to the covid lockdown my study area was always empty and dusty. it was only used to store things. During this lockdown as all of my family members were in my house there was a desperate attempt to find my own space and room for thinking (i live in a joint family consisting of 8 members and 3 rooms). During this period I started converting and respecting my workspace and try to negotiate with the existing` activities in my house, for eg, Drying and hanging clothes in my workspace, taking care of a small nursery farm beside my workspace, main area for having breakfast and reading books and looking at the sunset. These activities lead to a lot of people coming into my workspace and negotiating with them was a major focus. So what I do is I use my workspace during the night when everyone is asleep and my whole world now is around 2 wall, 1 window, lots of clothes, and music
COVID exploded these qualities of the house and made me wonder, is this how my mother felt for all these years, taking care of the house round the clock? Is this what monastic life feel like? It sure as heck is excruciating.
Since the lockdown began, the home has become a hutch where none of us can escape. It has forced us to engage with our home and the spaces it offers in different ways. Home is now the playground, the gym, the salon, the movie theatre, the classroom and much more. Our home now becomes our whole world. Spaces change here with time. The living room in the afternoon is a movie theatre and by the evening it becomes a playground. The bedroom is a classroom in the morning and gym by the evening. We are forming spaces with time.
“SAFETY-DOOR”
Ninad and his gang were going door to door to collect the usual Ganpati Donation. They stopped at Kale Kaku’s, excited and ready to write the receipt. Kale kaku is a 80 year old widow and an ardent Ganesh Bhakt, every year her donation sums upto the highest amount. But today she opened the main door and she sighed across the safety-door, “Kids my son has asked me not to open the safety-door and not let anyone in. That is why I can’t donate anything this year”.
A very old neighbour of mine who just celebrated her 75th Birthday was having issues with her new smartphone. She called her daughter who stays in Pune, her daughter then called my mother, asking me to go and help fix her phone.My mother instructed, “Wait outside her house, take the phone from the safety-door, solve her issues, but don’t go in. Tell her not to open the safety-door”.
Ramu Milkman just had just recovered from Covid-19 and started supplying milk yet again. Gokhale Uncle sent him a series of whatsapp messages with a lot of rules one of which was, “ ‘Safety-door’ pein bag lagaya hai, usme sanitizer hai.Pehle haath sanitize karo aur phir bag mein dudh daalo.”
Since lockdown extended every month, it was June 14 when I and my family finally decided to move to our second home in Khandala. With no fixed date/month of returning back to Thane, we packed whatever we thought we would need. A house which was previously used only during weekends (mostly for parties) is now being used as a full-time house! Empty, smooth, and never-used study table drawers, cupboards, and storage spaces now had a reason to be used. It almost felt like setting up a complete house from scratch. Getting used to the new setup and forested environment with no television or any traffic sound took us some time. It’s been five months now, and we have planted more than 110 plants, grown our vegetables and fruits. I have been feeding squirrels, stray dogs, rescued a pup near my house wherein I got to learn and work with a rescue team as well. I have now built a new relationship with this house, where every corner and every tree now feels mine. We have become so used to this calm environment that we never talk about returning to Thane (well, not until May at least). Thus a second home, distant from the city in this situation has swapped its role - creating a much safer environment.
When we shifted to this house, we had one living room, one kitchen, and two bedrooms, keeping their functions different from each other. But due to lockdown and covid, we all are working from home sitting in different rooms, and utilizing the same rooms with the same functions. now after 8 months of WFH, we can't distinguish between our rooms. because all the rooms are used in either way to work or to rest.
Urvi had not met her friend for almost 4 months now. Her friend stays in the C wing while Urvi stays in the F wing of the same apartment society. It was her friend’s birthday but her parents being doctors were not allowing the both of them to meet. But after a lot of nagging somehow they agreed. Her friend came over to Urvi’s floor, called her, Urvi sat on a chair inside and her friend on a chair outside, both of them talked for hours but with the safety-door still not open.
New Rule from the Society Office: It is a great moment to tell you all that we do not have any more patients in our society. Everyone can now interact with each other but only across the Safety-Door.
As the lockdown started, humans were trapped inside their residence. The whole world was summoned inside it. The kitchen started getting used extensively by unexpected members. The living room was an outdoor area of the whole house. Most of the day was being spent in the kitchen and the bedroom. Having a bath every time you come from outside consumed quite a lot of effort and movement. House was being used very differently in the pre-covid times.