Bhubaneswar: Experts believe that being together with a partner 24X7 during a stressful time like corona lockdown can widen the cracks that every relation has because things people often ignore in an ordinary situation seem unbearable when couples are tied together for weeks. Perhaps, this is the reason the domestic violence increased by nearly 30 per cent just a week after the lockdown was put in place in some European Union countries. Not only in EU nations, the divorce offices in Xian, a Malaysian metropolis, were also booked for weeks by March 16 after the Southeast Asian country was put under lockdown.
However, many city couples here have a different tale to narrate. They are still enjoying the forced holiday even as the country is into the third week of lockdown. Moreover, the relationships have flourished during these difficult hours, they believe. In a candid talk, a few of them tells Orissa POST on the positive impact of quarantine period on their lives.
Sangeeta Sahoo is a social activist and founder of WE the road queen biker group, while her husband NL Sahoo is a banker. The circumstance has forced them work from home. “Although it is more than two weeks since we have been together and that too round-the-clock, the relationship has not soured. Moreover, we are rediscovering each other every day and it has flourished. We are now helping each other in doing household chores and we are having a wonderful time,” says the couple.
Freelance graphic designer Barsha Priyambada also echoes similar emotions. Her husband Diptiranjan Tripathy is a businessman and has been at home since the lockdown was put in place. “The lockdown is painful for many, especially, for the daily workers. But I am quite happy that we two are spending so much time together during this phase. It seems time is flying faster with him around. We are trying new recipes, watching movies, enjoying cool breezes on our terrace and enjoying the time like never before,” she says.
Ankita Singh, a senior content writer and her husband Amitab Sarkar, a talent acquisition executive in a gaming company, are relishing the time they are spending together due to this forced isolation. “We are doing so many things – reading the favourite books, working out, having proper meals at home and helping each other in doing household activities – that we enjoy together,” they say. However, they also give some space to each other to break the monotony.
Corona virus outbreak has made life miserable for many, says another couple Reshma Panda, a homemaker and her husband Rupak Kumar Panda, a software consultant. However, they are trying to pick some good moments in this stressful situation. It is not necessary to be together 24X7 to discover the marital bliss in life. Many couples get joy even as they spend a couple of hours a day amid their work, believes the duo.
Homemaker Suman Rout and engineer Subha Prakash Mallick say this is not the ideal time to speak about the warmth in a relationship when the country is under the clutches of a deadly virus. “However, the couples should use this forced break to pick up the good things about each other instead of amplifying the niggles in a relationship. The situation is tough but we are just enjoying each other’s company,” say the couple.
Arindam Ganguly, OP
