Borders have been sealed.

An unknown virus has entered our kingdom.

It refuses to leave.

We have been locked inside our homes.

They say, if we dare venture out, the virus will get hold of us.

So, we are locked in.

But what about those who have been locked out?

Those who are walking the streets for endless kilometers

To reach their homes and stay with their loved ones…

Why have they been locked out 

When the world seems to be closing in on us?

We do know who they are…

They made our houses livable homes…

They cooked for us every evening

They took the trash out every morning

They sold us fresh fruits and vegetables in the afternoon

They washed our dirty laundry and do our dishes at night…

Yes, they, our own people, have been locked out.

We are inside

They are outside

Borders are sealed, yes, however…

What about the boundaries between us and them?

Who drew this line?

Who decided they will stay out?

And, we will stay in?

Will our kingdom be saved?

Who will die more – us or them?

Meanwhile, the virus roams free, unaware of these boundaries.

…

A self-confessed chai addict, Ipshita Mitra likes to believe she is in an unrelenting love affair with books. Melancholia and nostalgia comfort her soul at times of severe helplessness and restlessness. Farida Khanum and Roberta Flack sing her lullabies every night. She likes to write letters and draw horrible doodles. She has been wanting to buy a typewriter since 1989.