Each time 18-year-old Neha* looks at her mobile, it is a fleeting opportunity for her to be in her parent’s company again. The home screen lights up to reveal a collage: individual portraits of her father and mother as they smile shyly at the camera; a family photo featuring a much younger Neha; an image of her from when she was a toddler. The photographs are punctuated by chunks of inspirational texts reminding her to be resilient. The wallpaper is a catalogue of memories and losses.
Neha remembers waking up to her mother’s freshly-brewed coffee as its heady aroma wafted through their home in Karnataka. She reminisces about how her father, a businessman who dealt in dairy products, checked in on her constantly, always by her side. Theirs was a happy household. Then came the second wave of the pandemic.