Letter from Vaishali Shroff

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My Lockdown To-do List

Home is where the heart is and these days, it’s literally at home;
Not just the heart—but the mind, the body, the soul!

Hmmmmm … So much time! Thought I,
To do evvvverything I like!

How about a lockdown to-do list?
This time won’t come again; can’t miss!

What a break from the hustle and grind!
Oooooh! What bliss!

I thinked and I thunked, I hopped and I jumped,
And came up with a list of things that just had to be done.

1. Learn how to bake
         breads, cookies, and of course, cake!
2. The headstand! Yesssss!THE headstand!
        Turn upside down and learn to stand on my hands
3. Make another list of things for the kids to do
        this precious time, they can’t afford to lose!
4. Write the story I’ve always wanted to,
        ‘I don’t have the time’ can’t be an excuse!
5. Learn new techniques of art,
        why just sit around and fart?
6. Learn a new language, please!
        Chinese? Japanese? Cantonese?


Well, all of the above…
Were NOT on my list at all! Thank God!

Phew! So much pressure to learn something new;
I think we all must chill.Don’t you?

The pleasure of being at home is in the little big things.
So, my (real) to-do list looks something like this:

1. Read books, sleep well, be clean
2. Be nice to one another at home, not mean
3. Stay 6 feet away from others, don’t touch
4. Share whatever I have with those who don’t have much
5. Call family, call friends, catch up with their lives
6. Be kind to everyone, learn to empathise.
7. Not get worked up if I can’t write a word
8. Put bajra seeds and some water out for the birds.


That’s it! That’s all I want to do with all this time in my hand—
Look at my house, my family, my plate full of food,
And be grateful for everything I have.



Vaishali Shroff is an award-winning children's author and columnist based in Mumbai. Some of her popular works include The Adventures of Padma and a Blue Dinosaur, Raindrops, Ari, The Missing Bat, and The Strange Case of Nayantara










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