Under Lockdown Photos From Home

Until very recently, social distancing, self-quarantine and isolation were terms that prevailed in the pages of books and in the imagined storylines of movies. But to see it take root and unfold at the rapid pace that it has, globally, has left us with many questions and scant answers. There has never been a time, at least in the recent history of the world, where we have collectively experienced what it means to remain confined and detached. For some of us, it has given us time to mull over and reassess our priorities. Some have taken this opportunity to polish up on their culinary skills, or catch up on pending, abandoned or long forgotten projects. Some of us pass the hours with words; reading and writing. And then there are some who have taken to creating a visual diary of this exceptional moment. Nasar Husami, Chenthil Mohan, Jaisingh Nageswaran, Vinita Barretto, Menty Jamir and Sakshi Parikh present you with their versions of what life has been like during the lockdown.

- Nasar Husami, Chenthil Mohan, Jaisingh Nageswaran, Vinita Barretto, Menty Jamir and Sakshi Parikh

Antics of a Little Girl

Nasar Husami documents the adventures of his four-year-old daughter, Maryam, as she scuttles through her whimsical imagination.

Any new parent will attest to the excitement and joy of welcoming their firstborn. In that moment, all you want to do is keep your child as close to you as you possibly can. Because kids grow up fast, and absorb so much in the process.

Maryam is a very perceptive and inquisitive four-year-old. Like any child her age, she’s always cooking up stories and scenarios. And when they reach fruition, I get to photograph her lost in this reverie.

She wants to be many things… an astronaut, a cat, and more recently, an air hostess. She’s usually blabbering away all day, gibberish that only she understands, with Anna (her doll) by her side. Maryam is also enamoured by the reflective surfaces in the house, and spends hours talking to her reflection, instructing this “other person” the way my wife and I instruct her.

I never had as many opportunities (because of my day job) as I do now to photograph her, and so, I am, in a way, not as perturbed by the lockdown. But I’ve always been a homebody, and having this time with my family has been very enriching. The way I photograph has never been tinged by any sense of urgency.

I observe, and sometimes, am even startled into making photographs. There has never been an agenda; I photograph so that I have something to look back at. I simply go on and live life in the various phases that it presents me.

A New World at 96