Rishikesh to Amsterdam 2, from lockdown to lockdown, the run up to it

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Hans van der Gugten

Rishikesh to Amsterdam 1, from lockdown to lockdown
Rishikesh to Amsterdam 2, from lockdown to lockdown
Rishikesh to Amsterdam 3, from lockdown to lockdown
Rishikesh to Amsterdam 4, from lockdown to lockdown

On we go.

I have decided to make this a series of Facebook posts that are related to my lockdown time in Laxmanjhula.

As you all know,  this is al related to the appearance of a new virus, the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness.
And especially with the effects on our way of living due to measurements taken by governments all around the world.
The goal of all those measurements is to slow down the spreading of this still rather unknown virus, in order to keep the health systems operational.

The reactions to all of this are stunningly divers.
For now I just focus on making a report of what I reported on this subject, to begin with on March 3 2020.
I choose this date, because at that day I posted a interview with my favourite news analyst in the USA, Rachel Maddow.
This is just over 7 weeks ago now. She shares what she knows at that moment about the virus and how to deal with it. Notice that even as short ago as seven and a half weeks she is still shaking hands with her interviewer.

Me on Facebook, March 3
My favourite news analyst:

Me on Facebook, March 8
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/all-that-matters/when-we-cut-down-forests-that-bats-live-in-they-come-to-our-backyards-says-us-journalist-sonia-shah/articleshow/74529928.cms

 

Me on Facebook, March 11

Me on Facebook, March 13

Speechless again.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWO6i8cH8SA&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0L5JbDtdb5HMXTFtEHB-NwLNx9kS7fbT_y2FOiRQZDpco_7GaFW5A85KU

 

Hans van der Gugten heeft een herinnering gedeeld.
14 maart
Okay, another old cappuccino.
The weather here in Rishikesh is very bearable for me but weird for the time of the year. Rain and thunderstorm, 14 degrees only.
On Marchh 15 I shared another memory, two years old:

 Concepts and their different meanings. For one shit is fertilizer, for others shit is shit. Of zoiets. ;—))
2 jaar geleden
Bekijk je herinneringen

 15 maart 2018

[I have to mention it once out loud: ‘Going through the dark night of the soul’ is nowadays very much part of the spiri-ego-talk. I saw on facebook a woman sharing with the partner of a man who is giving satsangs that she had had recently a dark night of the soul. ‘Oh I know exactly what you went through’, this woman answered, ‘I also had one last weekend’]. This is a quote from a loooong text that i am writing. Couldn’t resist letting this one out already. :—))
I see that the source of my remark is missing. I went through a dip of ten years and wrote this about it just before the remark above: ” Last year Swami Atmananda in Rishikesh gave his description of The Dark Night of the Soul: it is a spiritual depression that people go through when they have seen the light and cannot get there anymore. I recognized immediately my dark decade as fitting this description.”

On March 16 I posted another comment on how Trump was reacting to the upcoming troubles.

 

The same day I posted John Oliver’s take on the corona virus.

 

The next day I posted this:
Goed verhaal. We should worry and why.

 

At March 19 I share a so called memory, with a picture of the street opposite where I was then also staying. Later I will show a picture of the same piece of street ‘fully empty’. In the intro I mention for the first time early leaving India.

Hans van der Gugten heeft een herinnering gedeeld.
19 maart
At the moment it is quieter. Also India is slowing down.
All travellers are asked, by the government, to go home. Indians and tourists alike.
Am preparing my soon leave.
About 20 meters of street at a random quiet moment: 4 shops, 1 bull, 1 cow, 1 scooter, 1drums seller, 1 fruitstall, 1 fruits seller, and a zillion more details.
On March 20 I posted a article from the TOI, the Times of India.
“What nature is telling us: We will weather this Covid-19 storm together, but we must learn the right lessons”
One day later, deep in the night, in fact the very early morning of the first day lockdown of the whole of India that I mention in my post below as “tomorrow’s exercise announced by premier Modi”, I describe in fact my last day of freely roaming around, already with a strong awareness of what was ahead.
So, me on facebook om March 22.
Jeez, it’s 02.20. Outside some streetdogs are barking. I walked out to see how the weather is at the moment. It is dry again, the sky is totally cleared up, stars are shining in abundance. About eight hours ago it started to rain a bit. And above the clouds there was far away over the mountains and the Ganga lightning to see.
My pizza I finished under the roof of the restaurant with still the same view and quite some rain. Later I walked home and bought some bananas and oranges for tomorrow’s exercise announced by premier Modi: the whole 1.3 billion people that make up India’s population stay in their homes the whole Sunday from 7 till 21. Except of course the ones that have vital roles to play. Enfin, the rest of the night we had a tremendous thunderstorm and it was raining the proverbial cats and dogs. The electricity also vanished hours ago. I do ed if a bit in the pitch dark, also having no internet that I tap from the wifi of the neighbouring coffee and cake shop.
My attempt to leave India has failed for now. Despite of and also caused by the government’s request for both local and foreign tourists to go home , in combination with the building up amount of travel and flight restrictions, this was only possible as far as it was.

It is already eary empty here, and for those still here, it is a matter of just making the best of it, with the place shutting down in a rash tempo. From now on there is a total flight stop for a week to and fro India. We’ll see what will happen. The world is a mysterious place. Always was, always will be. It’s 02.40 now. The dogs are still barking. I will go to sleep for a few hours now. This message will fly when the power cut is over. Probably without me noticing it. Aum Namaha shivaia.

So, that day was the so  called Janata Curfew.

India holds one-day curfew to test coronavirus defences
(https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2020/03/22/india-holds-one-day-curfew-to-test-coronavirus-defences)

Modi tweeted.

“Stay indoors and stay healthy.”

 To be continued.
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