I’ve Been Locked Down in India for 9 Months of the Pandemic

“From midnight, the entire country shall be placed in a complete lockdown. No one may go out at all, police will guard the streets, so if you want to stay here, you must not leave the hostel”

Those were the words of my hostel host who stood awkwardly in front of 60 bemused faces. It’s March 2020 and I’d left London on a one-way ticket to India when like most people, my plans were suddenly thrown into disarray. After a hectic journey, I arrived at a quaint hostel in the spiritual hub of Rishikesh in Northern India. As hysteria over the Coronavirus fuelled fear and uncertainty across the world, I was now stuck in one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. A family of 60 backpackers formed a circle in our hostel and accepted we were going nowhere.

Despite my best intentions and saving for 5 years, my dream trip around the world led me to quarantine in an Indian hostel as the pandemic hit. My original plan was to travel through India for 2 months before heading to Asia, Australia and around the world for the next 2-3 years.

Well 7 months later… I’m writing this piece from a strangely quiet Goa, in Southern India.

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I’ve already spoken extensively about the trials and tribulations of landing in India at the start of the pandemic. So I won’t go into too much detail in this post.

For a bit of background, I’d saved for this trip for the previous 5 years and my plans finally came to fruition while the pandemic was still relatively ambiguous. I arrived in Delhi in March 2020 and spent my first day celebrating Holi with the locals.

The next day, the WHO announced a global pandemic.

Really?

Now I was in a country I’d once known and loved for its friendly faces and welcoming culture. You’ll understand how my heart sank when I waved to a bunch of locals in Jaipur and hostile eyes gazed back. On day 3 of my trip, a local officer stopped a group tour in Jodhpur requesting that “Foreigners do not touch the building”.

Perhaps I should have gone home? My friends and I joke these days that it was pure pride that stopped me from returning to England. But in all seriousness, all that build-up, emotional goodbyes and 5 years of saving. Just to return home in a couple of days?

It couldn’t be, and something inside told me something greater awaited me. Still presuming, like most, that this would all be over soon-I decided to stay. A couple of recommendations meant booking the last train to Rishikesh, narrowly escaping the police and quarantining in a government facility in Delhi.

Lockdown in India- Corona Crisis to Happily Stranded

There’s no doubt, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the world. But, it has also unveiled more about our lifestyles than we could have realised. Particularly, on spending time with family, the beauty of community, remote working, and the surprising joy in pausing and taking things slower.

A lot of which, I experienced locked down in a hostel in Northern India with 60 strangers.

Throw in limited showers and drinking water in the heat of the Indian summer. Plus a batch of Indian police with bamboo sticks in the streets and a 3-month restrictive diet of daal and rice every day for lunch & dinner. A strange set of circumstances, which felt like a series of ‘I’m a Celebrity’ combined with a social experiment of Big Brother, became the most life-changing experience I could have imagined.

The craziest decisions are usually the best right?

From turmoil to victory, corona chaos to being happily stranded abroad. I’d have to write a book (maybe someday) to accurately describe what really went on in lockdown in India. So this will be a (snippet) from my home away from home. With no idea where the Coronavirus situation would go next.

From the highs to the lows, love and lessons, bromances to sisterhoods and everything in between- the lockdown in India would become a totally surreal experience. A unique time in the world where lifelong friendships bloomed between complete strangers. Where human kindness, resilience and creativity thrived, and where lifelong memories were made of love and laughter.

Arriving in Rishikesh: Final Moments pre-Lockdown in India

Alongside 60 fellow travellers, I arrived in Rishikesh just before the full lockdown in India, on one of the last trains before the suspension of the national rail network.

Backpackers from all parts of the world were arriving at Indian Culture Hostel. Across the open grounds, anxious rumours over police brutality and fines spread. While small groups started connecting and alluding to the rise of this strange and growing virus. Whoever decided to stay knew they were taking a risk, jokes and questions circled the hostel like- How much are reparation flights!? Will there be a lockdown? How long for? Is it Corona or COVID? How will we get food? Water?

It feels surreal now, to reminisce on meeting these strangers at a new hostel in Rishikesh. We didn’t know the extent of what was coming yet. But, in these short final moments of freedom before lockdown, a community vibe was starting to build. 

The Beginning of the Lockdown in India

3 days later, on March 22^nd, 2020, the hostel gathered together on an Indian summer evening in the backyard. We’d heard of a global clapping celebration taking place and started cheering loudly together for the brave medical workers that were battling a now, global pandemic. Over the mountains surrounding our hostel, we could hear echoes from other villages of people clapping together in joyful solidarity.

We formed a large circle in the yoga shala where our host announced that the national lockdown would begin in 4 hours. That we would not be allowed to leave the hostel at all, or risk spreading Covid. He also informed us that police would guard the streets with bamboo sticks.

Ummm okay?

I’m used to meeting travellers and waving goodbye to them 2 or 3 days later. But this was different. A new family of strangers were being forced to live together in our home away from home.

At this point, we had only been told of a 3-week lockdown. Despite troublesome times, we raised our chai teas and cheered to our new reality.

Despite the uncertainty, hysteria and cramped conditions with 60 people in a small amount of space, I could not help but feel joyful. I thanked the universe for leading me to this group of unique individuals.

How did we eat and sleep during the lockdown in India?

Rishikesh is an alcohol and meat-free spiritual hub in India. Plus, the suspension of the rail network meant food was limited.

So thank f*** for our 10 awesome staff members, at Indian Culture. All aged in their early 20s, they somehow managed to feed all 60 humans a healthy 3 meals a day!

Cooking full time, 7 days a week, for 70 rupees (roughly 70p) per meal, it was perfect for the backpacker budgets. For lunch and dinner, we mainly ate a meal of rice, dal and chapatis. Which sometimes felt like a rich and beans episode of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! While in the mornings we could enjoy aloo paratha (the best) or puri bhaji. However, as time went on, and more people started to head back to their home countries, the chefs gained some more capacity for creativity!

With our now restricted diet ( and cutlery) we ate with our hands from reused plates made of bamboo leaves. The group squeezed tightly around makeshift wooden tables. Waiting for seconds while dreaming about our favourite foods- (I had pizza subconsciously on my mind most of the time!) But, we sat joyfully at meal times together, building friendships over good food and laughter.

Each room, was a compact 6-person mixed dormitory, with 3 bunk beds, 6 lockers and a shared bathroom. I love my privacy, but for the next 7-weeks my room was just like the photo below- and full of 5 other people every night- we were grateful just to have curtains!

What happened during the lockdown in India? 

Our family became a band of 50 backpackers and 10 staff living together full-time. Travellers from East to West, aged all the way from 11 up to 62, long-term backpackers to short-term holidaymakers, yoga trainees to bankers. We started to form a family. Reminiscing on the early days, many felt overwhelmed by this COVID situation in a foreign country. Now it feels slightly like we were living in a state of an illusion. Not quite believing what was happening.

We couldn’t go out, and needed something to do!  Luckily, we had Liza, a fellow backpacker who encouraged everyone to share any skills they had with the group. Looking back now, her motivational nature was incredible as she strolled around the hostel each day announcing, “yoga in 5 minuuutes!” etc before the various classes. 

1. PEACE & GROWTH happened

Mentally and physically. Firstly, being in the yoga hotspot of the world, we were blessed with 8 yoga students/teachers in the hostel. Each morning and evening, refreshing Hatha, relaxing Yin and explosive Ashtanga yoga sessions became part of daily life! I remember sweat-filled classes in the humidity of the Indian summer, soon followed by my favourite part- Savasana!

While Ravi, a humble and kind Indian man (our guru), held a weekly Satsang session over a chai and biscuits. ‘Satsang’ meaning to be true with true people, is known as an ancient spiritual practice in India. People are encouraged to sit together and engage in conversation about anything and everything. This allowed us to share our concerns, thoughts, and questions in a (pretty confusing period)- and receive some spiritual guidance from Ravi.

2. KINDNESS happened

From daily massage classes given by Mikey and Liza, to language classes in Mandarin, Spanish, English, Russian, French, Hebrew, and Italian! The lockdown for me revealed the selflessness of our new family, freely sharing any small skills they had with the group. We also banded together and prepared food for the homeless locals and hungry cows and dogs during the lockdown- see the video for more details here.

By the end of the lockdown, at least 20 people decided to utilise their new skills and gained a massage therapist certificate! 

Then, there were those one-off events, exhibiting genuine kindness and friendship between this new group that will stay with me forever. Random ideas were suggested, such as the heart-opening cacao and angel-walk session given by Claudia. Allowing a group of 30 people to share their thoughts and appreciation for each other, providing hugs, hot drinks, and complimenting one another.

On another occasion, Julien from France hosted a talk allowing everyone to dig deep into their deepest traumas and share them with the group. The rule was that everyone else would only listen in silence, allowing each participant to really open up, uninterrupted. This scheduled 1-hour talk turned into a thought-provoking 7-hour session! This was amazing to see people listening patiently, not looking at the clock and being able to learn with an open mind.

3. CREATIVITY happened- Jam Sessions and Lockdown in India Song!

From mantra chanting, creating tunes or singing our hearts out to Hallelujah, something special happened when this group was unified by music. Thomas and Kevin on the guitars, music lifted our souls through these challenging times. These moments set my heart on fire, with shakers, guitars, drums, and exotic instruments- we connected by making melodies.

 See the video that we made for our song below!

The major highlight of the lockdown had to be when 4 of us sat down one night in mid-April and wrote a song. Spontaneously, we reminisced on our lockdown time together, created the lyrics, sorted a melody and recorded the song in one of the bathrooms. Finally, Marcel from Germany and I directed a video. Which has become a bit of a hit in Rishikesh and somehow in other parts of India! (I’m being spotted by complete strangers in Goa!) See Marcel’s channel here, for more ‘happily stranded’ content, and the song!

After a (busy) day of yoga, food and various classes, the evening jam sessions became the time where the magic really happened at Indian Culture. 

4. CHALLENGES happened

The reality of telling a bunch of free-spirited backpackers to stop moving is absurd as it is. But, with Indian police guarding the streets, being forced to stay inside was another level of madness.

We regularly heard of beach raids or bamboo stick beatings at hidden spots in the mountains. India hey? They aggressively cleared anyone (local and foreign) breaking the strictly enforced rules and issued fines. At points, some people escaped from the hostel and returned with fractured thumbs or purple bruises. There was even a story of foreigners having to write “I am sorry” 500 times (Harry Potter style) for strolling by the Ganga river during the lockdown.

Anyway, you can see how different people handled staying inside!

Water was also scarce… Becoming a major challenge for me as I drink A LOT of water and love a good shower. Due to the sheer number of people now staying in the hostel, we now would take small bucket baths and limit our water intake. In a country where 99million lack access to safe water, there was no guarantee the daily tanker would make it with such restrictive measures imposed on movement in India. 

How long will this go on?

Like most people across the world, we really had no idea where Coronavirus would take us next. Some began replanning their travels for mid-April when India announced its first 3-week lockdown. I still thought this would all be over soon (psh!). Speculation grew massively when President Modi extended the 1st lockdown by another 3 weeks in April. Meaning our hostel members obsessively checked the news, and some panicked and booked flights home (soon followed by cancellations). Anxiously, comments floated around like “OK-only 3 more weeks!” – Though we really could not predict how long this it would be.

Anyway, here I am… Still in India in October.

5. FUN happened

We had to make this fun and had a drag race- organised by little 11-year-old Lila from London. To our surprise, 12 of the men in the group jumped at the chance and banded with women in the hostel to dress up and head for our makeshift red carpet. From Skanky Charlotte to Queen Parvati, I laughed to my heart’s content as each queen put on their performance. The photos say it all check out our winner Alexa (a.k.a Ward) and look how beautiful they all are! You can see the full video footage of the drag race here!

From howling at full moon parties to loudly singing happy birthday in 5 different languages! Some nights we would lay under the stars till the early hours, blasting tunes, singing and telling stories. Sometimes, we cooked food from our home countries allowing the staff to have a day off.

We celebrated birthdays and fell asleep outside under blankets in the yoga shelter or treehouse. Practised juggling, fed monkeys or played: THE GAME– (a makeshift version of charades) brought tears of laughter to our family. Chin from China did an impression of a potato that will kill me forever!

We absolutely made sure we had a lot of fun in these strange circumstances!

6. A lot of CHILLING happened

I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN HAMMOCKS. With more time in the world than I’d had since what, primary school?! Not the travel I’d imagined, jumping on buses, and trains and filling my days with exciting travel activities. Time was now completely ours to fulfil…

As if we were not already chilled enough, some members of the group gave sessions to help us relax even more! Woods and Water with Helen allowed you to relax and receive caring human touch. And, sound healing by Stefano from Somerset- calmed our minds with his majestic Tibetan singing bowls. Accompanied by Thomas playing the flute or didgeridoo and sage-scented incense you could easily get lost in the meditative serenity of sound.

7. EMOTIONAL GOODBYES happened

Some of us stayed for weeks, some for months. But something about this situation connected us deeply in our time together.

While individually we longed to travel or return home, there was a common feeling that we did not want this experience to end. We had fallen in love with strangers knowing at some point you would have to say goodbye.

And when we did it was bloody tough!

8. TRUE FRIENDSHIP happened

What ended up being an amazing family community was, of course, not all sunshine and rainbows.

At points we had no electricity, some days I just wanted some space to myself. Being around people 24/7 at points took its toll. Some days we ran out of water, unknowing if the water tanker would make it the next day or not due to the lockdown. On other days we debated and disagreed over Coronavirus and whether anyone should be allowed outside or not. Mosquitos were a killer and some days I simply couldn’t sleep with 6 people crowded in our hot dorm room during the Indian summer. But we didnt have a choice, we had to surrender, accept and appreciate where we were.

I’ve detailed in a previous post how the lockdown intensified my devastation following the death of George Floyd in May 2020. And how I found a sisterhood in India, meeting someone I could truly connect with and help through such an upsetting time for the black community. Check the link for my blog post on living in India as one of the few mixed/black people!

The support, kindness and trust that connected us all in lockdown made it more than worth it. From many lows (lessons) and even more highs, I feel an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for where life took me at the start of the pandemic.

A Summary of the Lockdown in India:

If you’ve made it this far, these unique moments during the lockdown in India truly opened my heart. From a group of strangers to a family of friends, we experienced love and I learned things I may never have known. From this experience, I’ve been given memories that will fill my heart with joy forever and I am nothing but grateful. Hugely thankful for a colleague who advised me to head off a month early. Blessed by the universe for bringing me and people to the same place at the same time. Thankful to Helen, Angie, Ben, Eliana, Marcel, Ilona, Sankalp and all the staff at Indian Culture who made this all possible.

Ooo and there have already been some reunions between people who went home, including my lockdown mumma and ACTUAL mum in London!

Post Lockdown in India: First taste of freedom! 

Finally, on the 7^th of May 2020, after 7 weeks of strictly being indoors, President Modi announced some ease in the lockdown restrictions. At last, we could legally go out between 7-11 am, given that we were in a green zone. Though everyone was absolutely craving the smallest bit of freedom, it was upsetting when people actually started to move on. To different hostels, different parts of town or back home! 

On my first day out of isolation. Those who hadn’t taken repatriation flights home took a group trip out to the Ganga river. We’d already been in Rishikesh for over 2 months, but it felt like we didnt know the city at all! Ah, feeling the water touch my feet again, and seeing trees and other people was strangely amazing. Everyone smiled on the streets seeing different faces for the first time in over 2 months. I treated myself to a trip to a waterfall, ate a chocolate croissant and that pepperoni pizza I’d been craving! I sat in the sand and built stone towers out of colourful rocks that cover the Rishikesh beaches.  

In times of uncertainty, sometimes we make the smartest decisions.

Staying in India for the Coronavirus lockdown was no doubt, one of the wisest and most life-changing decisions I have ever made.  In the most unexpected circumstances, I learned so much about myself, about people and about human connection. I’d narrowly escaped lockdown in London, and have been through an amazing journey of self-love during the lockdown in India with these incredible people that I’ll remember forever.