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Week 15 - Tuesday in Karachi sees frustration drive artistic expression for Tassy

Edited BY

G P Kennedy

A beachside stroll to break the boredom

Tassy - Karachi, Pakistan

 

 As the weeks roll by I’m finding that my weekly updates are probably beginning to sound pretty much the same. I feel my life has been pretty static with nothing new to report as such. I gave up watching news on television ages ago as its been repetitive and more of the same. I find myself getting easily alarmed and disturbed when I read news online as there seems to be no end in sight of this dreadful virus.

 

 News articles all tend to predict how the vaccine is still a long way away, and how COVID is here to stay. I realize that by refraining from the news, I am being an ostrich refusing to get my head out of the ground, but it is my coping mechanism at the moment to remain sane and not get too despondent.  I just skim read the headlines of my local newspaper to get an idea of statistics in the country in the hope to see a slowdown in the rate of cases.

 A number of friends based in the UK have left for a few weeks break or are in various stages of planning a short trip to France or Italy. It feels like I am living in a different world to them. The thought of getting on a plane scares me somewhat but the idea of a change in scene, from the four walls of my house that I have been seeing repeatedly, sounds very tempting.



 Pakistan, because of its high number of cases, is not on the list of countries that can travel quarantine-free anywhere at the moment so we are still very much stuck here. The idea of a getaway is like a dream.

 My daughter is still waiting to hear from the travel agent as to whether she will be allowed to fly back to Canada. In the meanwhile, Trump’s latest rule stating that international students cannot remain in the US if they are enrolled in colleges which are only offering classes online caused alarm as my son is studying in Chicago. But I found out from him later that his university follows a hybrid system, so he will not be affected as such by the change in law. I was relieved by that.

 We had our first bout of monsoons in Karachi. Instead of cooling the weather, it seems a lot more humid as a result. We lost electricity for several hours as a result of the downpour. Fortunately we have a big generator at home that runs all electrical appliances including air conditioners, however the vast majority of homes in the city do not have the luxury of backup generators and have been suffering with interrupted electricity for days as a result of the rain.

 

 Along with COVID, there has been a surge in cases of Typhoid and Dengue fever. The symptoms of all three diseases are similar making it is easy to mistake one for the other. So now every time we hear of anyone suffering from high fever or extreme fatigue and body aches, there is added confusion about what it may be.

 The highlight for this week was me having the most number of students registering daily for zoom classes for my yoga therapy, than ever before.  The resumption of regularity in my yoga classes has given me a sense of purpose, and renewed my drive and motivation.  I have been happy to be this busy.


Tassy practicing yoga


 My enthusiasm has translated into my art practice too after a few months of hiatus and ‘artist’s block’. I was also excited to be asked by a large charity to donate a painting for an online art exhibition to raise funds. This has surprisingly stimulated a sense of vigor to restart my painting. This week I managed to complete a diptych in mixed media.


Diptych - Tassy, 2020

 On the social front, we are still very much at home. I see my parents and my mother in law for a meal once a week, a friend for a walk by the sea twice a week, and a couple of close friends every other weekend or so. I guess because of the interaction with my students on zoom, and my own meditation and other courses that I do online, I am not still craving company. I do however miss dressing up and wearing my high heels!

 Today I received a crate of mangoes from a friend’s farm. That brought a huge smile to my face. Even though we may not been seeing friends, I have been receiving several gifts of food items, delivered to my gate. It’s the kind gestures such as these, which remind me of the warmth and generosity of friends that exist around me regardless of the lack of their physical company. I wish I could simply reach out and give them tight hugs for just being there for me.



 

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