Lockdown blues for youngsters moving back in with parents

With work from home arrangements being operational and colleges closed due to Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of youngsters have returned home. Safe haven and ghar ka khana could be the brighter side to this shift but nagging parents and lack of personal space is the flip side, for some of them.
On a different thinking zone
Aishwarya Verma, pursuing MBA from India Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, is staying with her parents in Varanasi, ever since her institute was closed due to the pandemic in March. “Despite the closure of our institute, regular online classes are being held on a daily basis, but my family does not realize the seriousness of the situation. They feel as if I am on a holiday, so I have an added responsibility of contributing in the daily household chores and also helping my younger sister in her studies.This at times makes me compromise on my daily online classes and also other additional assignments which is part of the curriculum. My family and I are in a different thinking zone which is making things difficult for me,” says Aishwarya.

Too many questions asked

Divya Singh Rathaur

, a marketing professional, who is back in her hometown from Delhi, says, “I have no job right now, so there was no reason for me to stay back in Delhi, where I have been living for a long time. But this change has been rather difficult for me. I have been used to living an independent life but at home I have to explain everything to my parents. You can’t really explain to them as to why I use three types of face wash or reason with them on my rather frequent online parcels arriving at our doorstep. It is still more difficult to explain to them that I need to have my own space when I lock my room. This is resulting in unnecessary arguments with them, laments Divya.
No personal space

Ravi Shankar Mishra

, who is pursuing Law from Delhi University, has returned home as the classes have been suspended. “I was looking forward to coming back home and spending some time with my parents but soon I started having adjustment problems. Staying in a hostel, I have become more of a night person. Remaining awake till the wee hours and getting up late in the morning was something I was used to, but at home this is not possible. My parents start nagging if I sleep till late. Moreover, if I need to do some personal talk with any of my friends it is tough to find a space for myself since my younger siblings are around who don’t realize that I need to be left alone for sometime,” rues Ravi
Miss hanging out with my friends

Ananya Singh

, a college student who has returned from Delhi to her home in Prayagraj, is facing her own share of problems She says, “It is good to be back home but I miss my friends. We not only had a lovely time in college attending classes and participating in extracurricular activities but also hanging out in the city during weekends. All this is not possible at home, so I feel really bored though I am trying to spend a lot of time with my parents."
No talking to the girlfriend

Gaurav Saxena

(name changed), a computer graphics professional, who has recently moved back to Prayagraj from Gurgaon, says that his parents insisted that he should come back as they were really scared about so much talk about the pandemic. “Now that I am back, they want me to be constantly with them. So even when I am making video calls to my girlfriend they are around and keep tabs on what I am talking and with whom. That has made me switch from video calling to texting her, which is taking a toll on our relationship."

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