Far Away Home, A Family In The Hearts: Corona Chronicle #008
Khadija who is 59 and her son, Sheikh Javaid who is 29 were having a great time in Kashmir Valley as tourists since early March when the corona virus outbreak worsened.
The mother-son duo were wishing to return back to Mumbai but were denied due to the lockdown.
Javaid and his mother were on their way to their hotel on 5th March 2020 in Srinagar but were stopped at a checkpoint at Jawahar Tunnel and were prevented from travelling any further.
They had to live outside the cab for 2 days. On 7th March, they were screened for the illness and when they were negative, they were finally allowed to go.
To add another problem to their heap of their problem, they did not have any place to go to and so Javaid called a friend who lives in Pampore, 11 km away from Srinagar to ask if they could stay with them.
The friend agreed and on March 15th they were tested for the virus but the results came negative. They stayed there for a few days but the friend asked them to move out not so politely.
They stayed with another family for a few more days but after that had no more options and started walking around in the neighborhood.
On 21st March, Nazir Ahmad Sheikh saw them with their faces hanging down and a look as if they were in much need of help. When he asked them if everything was fine, Javaid couldn’t resist and confessed his misery.
Nazir has a huge family of himself with a wife, three daughters and two sons but without even asking their names, Nazir invited Javaid and his mother to stay at their house.
Javaid and his mother say that they are surely stuck there but they will miss the family after this is over and that the family took care of them so that they dont feel like they are away from home. They’ve become their 2nd family said Javaid with a huge grin on his face.
Family isn’t just related by blood but can be found love and brotherhood.
– Tanisha Agrawal
Disclaimer: Based on true events