I never thought that time could fly during house arrest, but it's already Day 6 of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, partly because I'm more inspired than I've ever been. With the COVID-19 scare keeping most of the world at home and social distancing amplifying the feeling of isolation, people are taking to the Internet to engage with the community, and introduce good things to their new work-from-home routines.
Here are some projects/initiatives worth checking out:
The Alipore Post Online
March 21st, Saturday, 9am to 10pm IST
The Alipore Post Online is an online festival designed to inspire people from the safety of one’s home. 32 creative individuals from across different parts of India and the world will log in from @thealiporepost's Instagram account at a specific time slot, and share their stories and skills with the viewers. Anybody interested in watching and learning can just go to the Instagram page on Saturday and stream the live video throughout the day. It takes place on World Poetry Day, and the idea is to create an online space for artists, poets, musicians, chefs, photographers and other amazing people doing great things to engage with the creative community while we’re all collectively experiencing shutdown mode.
Check out the festival lineup here.
Wendy Macnaughton's #DrawTogether Art Lessons
Daily, 11.30pm IST
One of my favorite ongoing projects keeping me blissfully occupied every night is illustrator Wendy Macnaughton's art lessons for kids (and adults like me). I've learnt how to show movement, draw a tree and cat with a bird on its head, and know that I'd get along with Wendy splendidly because of her hyper, childlike personality :D One of the best ways to keep the child in your alive in these trying times.
Follow her updates here.
Oliver Jeffers' book readings
Daily, 10.30pm IST
Possibly the most famous children's book creators of our times, Oliver Jeffers has been reading out his own books for viewers, and also giving sneak peeks into the making of each book. Plus, his adorable daughter sometimes joins him, which is adorable. Definitely one of the top 3 things I'm looking forward to everyday during this house arrest.
Follow his readings here.
Tara Skurtu: #InternationalPoetryCircle
This is my favorite thing happening right now, with poets and lovers of poetry everywhere recording themselves reciting poems and sharing it with the hashtag #InternationalPoetryCircle. Thank you for starting this, Tara Skurtu.
She writes: "This unprecedented time of social distancing is a very lonely one. We need each other. People often turn to poetry in tough times, so I’m starting Poetry Circle—a growing thread of people reading their poems and their favorite poems"
Watch/Listen to some poetry here.
Roe McDermott's #SelfIsolationScribbling
Roe has started a Twitter hashtag #SelfIsolationScribbling for "people who want to get some writing done over the next while." She suggests aiming for 45 mins or 750 words daily, but doing "whatever feels possible and good for you"!
Follow others' writings and share it with her here.
(There's not much participation but the writing activity is worthwhile)
I will keep updating this article with more and more projects as I come across them.