Srinagar: Every morning, Gulzar Ahmad, a workless 45-year-old, father of two daughters, comes to a grocery store inside the congested spaces of Maisuma, not far from city centre Lal Chowk. The grocery store has been established in the dining room of an archaic house by an old man, who supports seven family members. He started the grocery store a few years ago after endless shutdowns made him quit his two-decade-old barbecue business.
Gulzar meets him every morning to get his pack of Win cigarettes, a milk packet, and some chips. In January this year, he replaced the king-size Gold Flake cigarettes he used to smoke. They cost him Rs 150, but Win cigarettes come for just Rs 50 for 20 sticks.
Besides the daily purchase, he also converses with the old man about life, for nearly an hour. This is the only time of the day he spends outdoors amid the corona lockdown.
“I want this routine to come to an end. The lockdown has brought me only miseries. We are staying at home to save our lives, but we are dying doing so,” Gulzar told Kashmir Reader.
Before the lockdown began, Gulzar would start his day in a garden, where he would walk, breathe and exercise. he would return home and have breakfast, take a bath, then go to work. He would return in the evening, play with his kids, have dinner with family and go to sleep.
Out-of-work people share the same story. They are fed up of staying at home, for nearly three months now. They want to resume work but they are also anxious about catching the corona infection. The frustration is such that it seems many are throwing caution to the winds. A few days ago, when the administration lifted some restrictions, there was heavy rush on the streets.
After three months of lockdown that has seen more than 30 Covid related deaths and scores of cases turning up every day, people in Kashmir are realising that staying at home has not made any difference to the virus.
“So why stay at home? What difference does it make? We will go out and face death. At least we will be able to earn, see people, and get rid of the idle thoughts,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a retailer of textiles whose shop has been shut all along. “I have a family to take care of but I don’t have the money,” he added.
The government’s help of Rs 1,000 a month has not been any succour. Help from philanthropy groups for has not been taken by all as it demeans their self-respect.
“It is better to die fighting the disease rather than doing nothing. May this lockdown end soon,” said Muhammad Yousif, a mason.
The government has been working on a plan for resuming activity. It is telling people to learn to live with the virus.
Yousif said that he cannot wait for the government to make its arrangements. “I have started going out, I am taking precautions. I am resuming my life,” he said.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz