Musical evenings at Time Residency to keep Covid-19 tension at bay

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Keeping spirits high while living in the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus can be a difficult task. However, for the residents of Time Residency in Sector 63, respite has come in the form of musical entertainment. The initiative has been designed, keeping in mind social distancing norms being observed during the ongoing lockdown.

The society has been organising musical evenings for the past one week. The residents are participating as well as enjoying the musical evenings from their balconies The first event held on April 4 saw songs by the participants being played on a loudspeaker system. They even had a live singing session from balconies for the first event. The residents had signed up for this ahead of the event and a line-up was decided accordingly.

“We had close to 10 residents participating from their balconies. The line-up was shared with them beforehand and they sang one after the other. One person sang while playing his guitar. The idea is to keep spirits high during the lockdown,” said Upendra Pande, vice-president of the residents’ welfare association (RWA) and one of the pioneers of the initiative.

The musical programme usually starts post 7.30pm so as to make sure that the residents can join in after finishing their work. The event, mostly planned for weekends, can last up to an hour. It was previously held on Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti when bhajans (religious songs) were played.

The society has now decided to take the event a step further and is planning to organise a music quiz contest on Saturday.

“There will be 10 songs in different languages. These songs will be similar to a Hindi rendition. Residents have to guess which song it is and what is the language of the song,” said Pande.

For the residents, the musical evenings are a welcome break from the tedious lockdown. Lalitha Iyer and her family used the event as a family activity. Her husband, mother-in-law and 10-year-old daughter sang from their balcony.

“My husband sang Kishore Kumar’s ‘O Mere Dil Ke Chain’ and my daughter and mother-in-law sang to the tunes of Ajeeb Dasta Hai Ye,” said Iyer, a resident.

The musical programme, however, was not well received by all residents as some complained of it to the police. “A few people don’t like it. They complained to the police and our speakers were temporarily confiscated. But we spoke to the authorities and sorted it out. Our musical events will proceed as discussed,” said SK Mishra, RWA president.

Mishra adds that since the lockdown started, the society has strictly banned the entry of outsiders. All deliveries, except that of LPG cylinder, are made at the main gate and the residents are expected to collect their packages from there.

“The truck is allowed to deliver a cylinder at the lobby. From there, the resident has to take it up to his/her apartment,” said Mishra.

At the main gate of the condominium, the society is using thermal scanner to detect individuals with high temperature and also mandating all passing through its gate to use sanitiser.

“Everyone has to wear masks when outside,” said Mishra. Walks have been banned while pet owners need to step outside the society to let their pets relieve themselves.

Since the lockdown began, the society has been providing accommodation and food to around 22 staff. They have been housed inside vacant apartments and the clubhouse. The residents have donated mattresses and pillows for their temporary living quarters.

“We are providing them an additional 10% amount, along with salary,” said Mishra.

While the staff are provided meals three times a day free of cost, the residents are also pitching in to make their stay comfortable from time to time.

Sanya Goel’s family has been offering tea to the staff twice a day. “My parents have been distributing tea in the morning and evening,” said Goel.

Much of the social interactions have now shifted to chat groups, and the residents share with each other online games and puzzles. Moms also put out links from time to time to keep children active at home.