2021 - A SEESAW YEAR

 

The last two years have been dominated by Covid-19. 2020 was totally shutout by the harsh lockdown resulting in no activity at all. This year began on a promising note with the numbers going down and by end-January, it was being proclaimed that India had achieved complete victory over the dreaded disease.

Apart from immediate family, Akhila and I had met no one in the past 11 months. Then some very close friends of my cousin Anjula decided to host a lunch on her birthday on 14th February and invited us. Overcoming reluctance built over almost a year, we decided to go for it encouraged by the fact that it was in the open. That was our first outing of the year and a good time was had by all.

Soon after, I decided to resume golf and recall the pleasure of the nervous first drive going straight and to a fair distance. One felt life was getting back on track.

There was further hope with the opening up of vaccinations for senior citizens and we got our first dose on the 3rd of March. We undertook a trip to Jaipur during which Capt RN Singh hosted a dinner for us in Diggi Palace and surprised us with around 20 guests including my St. Xavier's and Navy mate, Admiral Madhvendra Singh. So far so good!

Back in Delhi, the Covid numbers started rising again while we got our second jab on 27 April.  Soon the graph became almost vertical and India was completely caught off guard having believed that the disease had been conquered. Horror stories about lack of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines and increasing fatalities abounded frightening the hell out of us. The peak of the second wave came in end-May/June but, by mid-July thankfully, the numbers began to show a sharp decline.

In the next few months, hope mounted and we gladly accepted the ‘new normal’ with masks, social distancing (read anti-social!), avoiding crowded places and preferring open restaurants and cafes to enclosed ones. A couple of trips to Jaipur followed and end-September, we were bold enough to go and spend two nights in the beautiful Samode Palace. For a few  dinners on special occasions, we went to the splendid Rambagh Palace sitting in the spacious verandah with its spectacular view and lighting.

As far as eateries are concerned, the discovery of the year was two adjoining restaurants in Narain Niwas, Jaipur. There is the Bar Palladio with its fascinating peacock blue Mughal design, serving Italian food both indoor and outdoor. Next to it is the Shikaar Baagh with Indian cuisine which also has outdoor seating on static buggies, coaches and rickshaws. A unique ambience to savour!

Satisfying ourselves that it was reasonably safe and that a James Bond film had to be seen on the wide screen, we went to a cinema hall after a year and a half to watch “No Time To Die” in Jaipur in early October. There were 10 people in the 200-seater theatre! We expected a lot from the movie but were a bit disappointed. Then in Delhi, we saw “House Of Gucci” in Director’s Cut, again with about 10 fellow watchers. We didn't expect too much from this one but it turned out to be quite interesting with great acting by Lady Gaga.

This lull in Covid incidents in India though in the face of rising global cases again led to conjectures among many responsible people that India would perhaps avoid a third wave. After a forced miss last year, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) held the customary Navy Day Reception on 4th December at his residence. Then on the 16th, he hosted a lunch in Kotah House for veterans of the 1971 War as part of the Swarnim Vijay Parv celebrations. It was a delightful surprise to meet Vice Admiral SH Sarma who in his 100th year is perhaps the oldest living naval officer. Ordinarily resident in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, he took the journey for this event at the insistence of the CNS. To recap, he was the first Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and I was his Fleet Communications Officer (FCO) on board Vikrant during the war. The Admiral’s memory is still sharp and he amazed me by not just remembering me but recalling some details which showed that he had continued to follow my career even after my FCO tenure. We exchanged precious memories of the war days and he presented me with his autobiography and a set of picture post cards capturing highlights of his naval career. I also met some other war heroes including SK (Gigi) Gupta, Maha Vir Chakra, leader of the first air attacks on Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong, and Inderjit Sharma, Vir Chakra, leader of the first missile attack on Pakistan Navy ships and Karachi harbour.

It was around early December that the spectre of a new Covid variant, Omicron, started rising. With the fear of its spreading three times faster than the earlier Delta, restrictions are multiplying day by day. Delta too is showing an increase particularly in west and north India including Delhi. Ruchir had planned a trip for us, close relatives and friends to the Gir National Park to bring in the New Year and we were all looking forward to it eagerly. But after deliberating on the present situation and the growing numbers, the older generation of my cousins and the two of us decided to give it a miss with a heavy heart. 

That is the story of 2021, a seesaw year of hopes and disappointments. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!