This morning, I made a purchase which was on hold for a long, because it was not available in the area. My water pipe used to water plants, fill water in coolers, wash floor, etc., had got so many holes that despite best tape work, a leak developed every other day and half of water was wasted.

Overcautious owner of neighbouring hardware shop Gupta Ji put barricade on the entrance of his shop to maintain distance with customers. (I will never call it social distancing because of the wrong connotation of the word.) I asked him 10 metres of the pipe. He dutifully bought the pipe from inside the shop, put on his mask (it looked like N95 one), measured the required length of the pipe, made a bundle and handed over to me. I took out money from the wallet and even before I could extend my arm to him to handover the currency note, he removed lid from a bucket and gestured to drop the note into the bucket that had water (and possibly some sanitiser type of thing). I just stopped my arm, took out exact amount from the wallet and dropped it into the bucket.

Back home, after the daily chore of watering plants and filling coolers it occurred if we can somehow get jalebis and khastas for breakfast that would be great. After all we had not had them for the last two months. Not sure if they are available, I called a sweet shop and the voice on the other side confirmed it was available. In the excitement I was about to forget the ‘passport’ of going out – the mask but remembered it in the nick of time.

At the entrance of the sweet shop was the guard with mask and rubber gloves. I always have sympathy with these poor fellows for they have to stand out in scorching heat, biting cold and torrential rain to open doors for sirs and madams. The guard stopped me, pointed to sanitiser which I applied on my hands. As he pointed ‘gun’ on my forehead to record temperature, I feared of being turned away as I was in bright sunshine for quite some time. Luckily, I passed the test. Then I was asked to write down my name, address, phone no., etc. in a register and then granted entry into the shop. The notice on the shop’s glass door boldly proclaimed, “No entry without mask.:

By this time, I was very nervous. Hesitatingly, I asked the person manning the counter to pack my things. But he said I would have to wait for 10 minutes because one item was under preparation. I did not wish to wait and instead of khastas settled for samosas and hurried out of the shop. What a relief.

As the shops, establishments and offices gradually open in the fourth phase of lockdown in the wake of coronavirus disease we have started getting a glimpse of the New Normal. Amen!