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Zoom-ing With Extended Family


  “Chal, lets zoom next weekend ok?”

I think WhatsApp was made to feel a little like a poor host in all this- “Sorry haan, my House is too small, only 3 guests can ‘fit’” Also this chap called Google Duo who emerged without much fanfare - more useful to check one’s appearance in the forever switched on Camera than actually supporting an effective calling experience. So, Zoom became the App of choice for most of us. 


When the lockdown just began there was full ‘enthu’ or enthusiasm about participating in the extended family zoom calls. I even tried to fit the calls around baby’s routine. Scheduling a call to suit everyone across different countries and continents is quite challenging but we managed. It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone for the first few weekends. 


What I found more hilarious, was observing behaviour and being thankful that some things never change. Like there will always be an Uncle/Aunty who can’t figure out the audio settings and the poor dears are seen distressed by it all. Then you have a cousin who miscalculated the time (again) and is welcomed by loud cheers and guffaws almost an hour into the call. Of course you will have another cousin more focused on how his/her face appears on the camera so instead of a conversation with them you end up being privy to all their profiles (there are only 2 my love so not sure why there was so much testing going on!). 


Then when you try to speak you realise that two Aunties are having their own conversation “Omg did you know that she now started a face masks business also?”. Phew! You try once again to get a word in but your kids decide it’s time to jump on the bed and you accidentally on purpose forget to press the mute button. Speaking of which, what’s with that bhaisahab/behenji who is on mute with camera off? And will unmute at his/her own will and give random gyan like “You should all start reading The Economist” or “You should all send your kids to prayer classes” Khud ko kya Big Boss samajhte hain?! Oh who can forget those cringey moments when a newly wed couple is asked “So! When are we getting the good news” and ones whose said ‘good news/ news(es)’ are obviously making their presence felt by unpleasant sounds/activity are asked to recite nursery rhymes, dance etc. Haaye! Matlab kaise? How do you expect this toddler who wants to do nothing but run around to stand in front of a screen full of people staring at him/her and say “Namaste ji, chalo I will start now. A, B, C, D...” Of course, of course, it’s all in good fun! 


A couple of months into lockdown the enthusiasm started fading a bit as reflected in fewer participants and mazedar excuses. “Oh sorry, we fell asleep”, “Arre baby wanted to feed at that time only”, “My older ones exams are coming up no so he/she has to study”, “I had stepped out to buy medicines re, yeah yeah it’s essential goods shopping”. 

It is natural for this to have happened as there’s only so much you can speak about especially when life became very mundane thanks to the strict lockdown measures. 


The enthusiasm has been rekindled now that unlocking measures are slowly coming into play across cities, countries and continents. “Oh wow you went travelling to Greece?”, “We now get grocery slots very easily”, “Arre daaru shops are open now”, “Ya ya, still working from home”. 


It’s reassuring to see that things are slowly getting back to normal. Yes, the pandemic has been scary and filled our lives with uncertainty. However, it has also helped strengthen familial bonds and made us realise the importance of this very first societal institution that an individual becomes part of. I for one am extremely grateful for my amazing family and look forward to giving each of them a non social distanced jhappi as soon as (safely)possible.

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