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Videos of jam sessions by Assam youths to overcome quarantine blues go viral
The videos of the impromptu jam sessions by these youths, who returned last week from Delhi by buses, have gone viral and cheered up many in the quarantine facility and others staying inside homes.
Spending several days in a Covid-19 quarantine facility can be an unnerving or depressing experience. More so if one has travelled thousands of kilometers to reach home before undergoing quarantine.
But what better than music, songs and dance to lift the mood and overcome the monotony of remaining under strict safety and social distancing guidelines. That’s what several youths from Assam did at the quarantine facility set up at Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati.
The videos of the impromptu jam sessions by these youths, who returned last week from Delhi by buses, have gone viral and cheered up many in the quarantine facility and others staying inside homes.
“Nearly 100 of us from Assam left Delhi on May 10 in four buses and reached Guwahati on May 13 where we were put in quarantine,” said Sudarshan Baruah, a 26-year-old musician from Naharkatiya in Dibrugarh district and now based in Delhi for the past 5 years. Baruah is better known as Mou Ssak (bee hive in Assamese).
“Most of us got to know each other during the journey back home. Once in quarantine, we found that several others were also interested in music. Someone took out his guitar, another played the flute and soon we are were jamming,” he added.
Mou Ssak has since left the quarantine facility in Guwahati after his Covid-19 test came negative on May 16. He is at present in home quarantine. Same is the case with Mrinmoy Baruah, a 22-year-old from Nazira, who was doing his B Tech internship in Delhi.
“While we are kept segregated in quarantine, there was a chance to interact at the few mobile charging points inside. It was while charging our phones, we started taking out our instruments and soon music happened. It was a nice relief from the quiet and sombre mood inside,” said Mrinmoy.
“We indulged in these things inside to make ourselves feel better while waiting for results of our tests. Surprisingly, even the health workers and officials manning the quarantine encouraged as since they also needed some relaxation from the tough job at hand,” he added.
Besides the songs and music, Mrinmoy and another quarantine resident Rag Barua also did one hour’s rehearsal to make a dance video inside the facility, which has also earned them praise online.
“I am not a singer or dancer, but can hum along. It was nice to share our anxieties inside quarantine with fellow residents and indulge in songs and dance to overcome stress,” said Saroj Agnibashya, a graduate from Delhi University who started an Assamese food stall in the nation’s capital this January.
Like other of his fellow travelers from Delhi, Saroj’s Covid-19 test also came negative on Monday and he will leave the quarantine facility and go to his home in Rangiya.
With detection of six more positive cases on Monday, Assam tally of Covid -19 patients rose to 107 on Monday.
Besides smaller facilities in each district, the Assam government has set up six large quarantine facilities at different locations to accommodate the large number of persons returning back. Till Sunday, the state had 13,618 beds available for mass quarantine.
