Changing Perspective, by Gayatri Sharma, Guwahati

Born and raised in several oil townships and currently residing in Guwahati, Assam, Gayatri is an actor and drama teacher who is passionate about singing and cooking and waits excitedly for every new Murakami book.

I have enjoyed being a drama teacher for seven long years. I had the luxury of working three days a week, leaving me the rest of the week to act on stage and in web series and films. However, after my husband Siddharth’s posting to Assam and my daughter Bambi’s departure to pursue her graduate studies, I thought in March, 2020 of trying to find a job in my hometown of Guwahati.

I resigned, began packing my bags, and happily collected my farewell gifts. A few days later, the lockdown was announced, and my daughter came home. Thus started my long ordeal of sitting idle without a job or any auditions. Bambi, of course, remained busy with her online classes, assignments, and meeting a few friends in the evenings. 

Sitting idle led to a prevailing sense of uncertainty, for me. I became weepy, and the slightest annoyance triggered a breakdown. I enjoyed drifting into not having to speak to anyone for days and allowed the phone to keep ringing, fearing that I wouldn’t be able to make conversation. Most nights, I remained sleepless until the wee hours or woke up often, riven with anxiety.

After the incessant ringing of the phone one day, I picked up.

My friend shouted at me, “You can’t change the circumstances, but at least try to change your perspective.” She said, “Think of the millions who have lost their jobs, and the devastating economic impact on the poor. There are those who have lost their loved ones to the virus. Come on, snap out of it.”

So I sat down to write comedy scripts and coaxed my daughter into shooting videos of me acting them out. I launched a YouTube channel. Once I put out the first video, which was done in my mother tongue, Assamese, the viewership exceeded my expectations. 

Very soon, a prime television channel in Assam interviewed me about the comedy videos gaining popularity, despite the grim times. People called to say that the videos provided some respite from the usual COVID-19 statistics on social media. Even a certain section of the American diaspora was tuning in to my latest video, of an American mom talking to an Indian mom.

Perhaps this interest in comedy stems from when I was a young girl. I would grab the monthly issue of Reader's Digest, which my Dad subscribed to, and immediately open the page titled, ‘Laughter is the best Medicine.’ The jokes cracked me up, and I took immense pride in narrating them to my peers in class. 

I’m still without a job and find my bank balance depleting every day. However, given the arbitrary nature of life, I find myself with enough to remain peaceful. After doing my morning chores today, I settled down with a good cup of tea. A notification buzzed. I peeked into my phone and saw pictures of my friend attending her niece’s engagement ceremony. A priest was sitting beside the niece, and the families of both sides were conducting rituals to seal the bond between them. Amidst all this, the fiancé, who was abroad, was watching the scene live, online. As the rituals concluded, the boy’s mother walked up to the screen, opened a box of sweets, picked one up, and stretched her hand out, in a gesture of offering it to the fiancé on screen. He in turn pretended to eat it, while everyone present in the ceremony started cheering and applauding. 

Hmm, I thought, food for my next comedy?

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(This story was prepared for an “Imagine Another World” online storytelling workshop held October 28, 2020.)

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