Apr 13, 2020
Our practice is based in Gangtok, Sikkim. We consider ourselves fortunate to be part of a state that exercised tremendous foresight when it came to addressing the preparedness of Covid19. Much before the rest of the country was weighing the cost of a total lockdown on the economy vs the ‘spread of the pandemic’, Sikkim had already closed its doors to all foreign tourists by banning all Inner Line Permits. This move and the subsequent checks and screening, along with a vigilant police, government and the citizens are responsible for a safer and prepared ‘state’ that we live in.
The lockdown was imminent even though it was implemented without notice. Our office is comprised of a number of architects and students who have come to Sikkim from different corners of the country to work and learn here. We were also extremely fortunate that, a day or so, before the lockdown was announced, we were able to close the office and send most of the interns home to their parents and families. After that – we followed the lockdown strictly – banged plates and lit lamps when required to do so but otherwise, stayed confined to our houses with limited physical interaction with the outside world.
Recently, we have gotten in touch with the rest of the office to check in and see how everyone was doing. Despite all the controversy surrounding the privacy issues, Zoom cloud meetings have been a godsend. We have managed to organise ourselves into groups and meet regularly. It has helped that the application is intuitive and easy to use.
Apart from the fact that it is productive, Zoom and ‘Working from home’ has also given us something to keep ourselves occupied. There is a limit to the hours one can watch Netflix or Youtube. It’s also necessary to maintain some distance from the News – both for psychological reasons and for the fact that there is incessant repetition of the same.
(I do apologise for the pictures since they are not very flattering. Its trying to show the reality of working from home.)