creative writing | ADITI SAWARKAR

mundane

adjective

lacking interest or excitement; dull.

Synonyms: monotonous, boring, everyday

Mundane was often casually used in our day-to-day conversation in the years prior to 2020. Never had we thought, we would witness a year that would perfectly define mundane on a cellular level and even could be used with “eventful” to define a time in our lives. Needless to say, 2020 has been quite an eventful year thus far, outdoing itself with every passing month.

If there was a theme park based on the years lived, 2020 would be one of those top 10 most dangerous yet exciting rides which we would boast about “to have survived”. The ride would start off as just another roller coaster, building up to the free fall drop. However, before you recover from the first free fall drop, you have already made it to the next one and then before even realising to the next one. It has been an endless loop of free fall drops which has made it quite monotonous but nevertheless eventful.

Honestly, this year has not been easy, but it has taught us to appreciate many things that were often overlooked. No matter how cliché it may sound, we have realised that human connections and mental peace truly matter. It is totally okay to not be okay. To be able to sit with one’s thoughts and to silence the mind is extremely challenging. With some of us, even if we make it through the waking hours without thinking about these thoughts, they find a way to enter our dreams which has been unpleasant to deal with but nevertheless quite entertaining.

Now, some of us would barely survive this pandemic, while others would have had spiritual awakening because of all the reflection and then there’s few of us who would come out of this pandemic with hysterical stories based on post-apocalyptic world run by zombies and a world in which one is cleaning the house using ground coffee while living with snakes (possibly all species!), and with no sign of any other human.

During this time, I found solace in reading and I would like to leave you with a poem by Vikram Seth, which is even more relevant to these unprecedented times than ever before (shout out to my friend who pointed this out).

All of you who sleep tonight

Far from the ones you love,

No hand to left or right,

And emptiness above –

Know that you aren’t alone.

The whole world shares your tears,

Some for two nights or one,

And some for all their years.

We will get through this, just how we always have. Hang in there. 😊

Sruthi and I have tried our first virtual shoot, you guys! We must admit that it was challenging and fun to shoot. Both of us took a break from shooting as Melbourne entered stricter restrictions but we had to capture mundane lockdown moments, so we could recall them in a few years’ time. As always, do not forget to check out Sruthi Pujara (@tonal_tales on Instagram) and give her a follow. Apart from these collaborations, Sruthi has been working on some exciting projects. In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy Mundane xx