Kottayam lying in the basin of the Meenachil river is an idyllic place usually safeguarded from most calamities. It was also the first town in India to have gained 100% literacy.Here is a glimpse of life during Covid 19 lockdown in a neighborhood of Kottayam town.

Photographs & story – Samira Abraham

What are the consequences of a virus affecting the whole world and putting it in a state of pandemonium? 

Thousands of years of evolution later, the most basic of human necessities remains food. Life can get arduous for people who rely on daily wages with no source of income to fend for them and their families. Mighty efforts have been put into helping the lesser privileged sail through the tough times of the lockdown. An immense number of volunteers have stepped up to extend their helping hands, and pull humanity out of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Organisations like The Akshaya Patra Foundation working in association with the government of India, have been significant with their work to instill hope in the hopeless.

I had a great opportunity to witness and document the whole process, first hand, at one of The Akshay Patra Foundation’s facilities. The day starts with all the volunteers and staff  getting checked for their temperature. Masks and caps are provided to everybody who enters the facility. With my checks done, I was handed a cup of piping hot Kashaya (our very own, desi immunity booster); a very thoughtful gesture.  

I entered the Tripura Vasini Palace Grounds, where Akshaya Patra carries out all their relief works; the facility was organized like clockwork. The volunteers were assigned specific responsibilities to be carried out throughout the day. The whole process starting from packing, refilling, sealing, quality check until the time of delivery goes on without skipping a beat. It was like a colony of ants on mission!

It was a commendable act of unity where different classes of society united for one cause of working together for the needy. Employees at Akshaya Patra, joined by Police officials, individual volunteers and daily-wage workers themselves.

Here is the story of the Hunger warriors working behind the scenes, persistently, to ensure that no one is left behind.

Photographs and story: Bhaskar Iyer

On 25th March 2020, the world’s largest democracy went into lockdown. 1.3 billion people tried to internalize the “stay home” message. The busiest cities have been since devoid of the reason for their existence, humans. The common sense driven decision has been to take two steps back, so that we can eventually take one step forward. That it comes with a price too high to bear, is clear. The most vulnerable in urban society, the daily wage labourers are bereft of home, safety and now of work which signals financial viability for the day. And yet, life, fragile as ever, goes on. Bangalore awaits something resembling normalcy with bated breath.
Photograph – @Sagar Raj