Quarantine has obviously impacted the world negatively; however, among its few pros, one of them is the birth of Lockdown literature. Lockdown saw a socio-cultural change globally, which became the inspiration for many texts spewed out by authors during that time. One of the amazing additions in this type of Literature was a collection by Anushka Mehta, released on the 10th of January this year. This is her third Kindle release, namely ‘The Love Stories from Lockdown Days’.
The book consists of ten stories, all of them different, yet connected by one theme, i.e. all of them happened during the lockdown. The characters are like you and me – maybe you’d see fragments of your life hidden in the lines –trying to survive through the global pandemic and accidentally rediscovering ways to love again. The foreword describes this feeling rather beautifully –
It’s been a while since people have been forced to live with other people for such a seemingly interminable amount of time. Panic and tension seem to be the ultimate theme of each and every household. And yet, just like a new plant budding in a hopelessly barren land, love has been prospering all around.
With such a lovely introduction to the collection, one is just bound to be excited to just turn the page and start reading right away. And the stories do justice to that as well. May it be married couples, (Sam and Ruchi; Mahira and Adil) or neighbors (Chitra and Manav; Maya and Mayank) all of them are experiencing love in different ways, on different levels. Soon enough, you are wishing to fall for Sam’s pranks, want to meet Maya and Mayank’s dogs, and pray that Arvind goes to meet Meera in Bangalore.
The setting of each and every story differs greatly – while some are stuck in a hotel and making unexpected friends, some are just waiting to run out of their house and escaping to the supermarket for the sake of it. This is exactly what makes the stories believable, made even more so with the author’s simple writing. The author has used simple but poetic language, to convey the equally simple and poetic quality of love. You get the feeling that the author has probably experienced these stories around them and decided to pen these down. With panic and worrying times coloring our lives, for now, this collection brings in a fresh perspective on this quarantine, underlining it with hope, happiness, and obliviously love.
The only con of this collection is – it has only ten stories. I would have definitely loved to read more quarantine tales because there are bound to more, what with the still-thriving pandemic and extended lockdowns. Even you’ll all agree with me!
Review by Pranjali
