This is my newsletter#43: Rema Chaudhary
Hi, my name is Rema Chaudhary and I’ll be hosting this week's newsletter.
I wanted to tell you about a (former) recluse's take on the pandemic.
If you asked me to describe myself in one word during February of last year, I would have said introvert or solitary. I cherish my time alone and can distract myself with an absurd amount of things to drain those human pangs. For a long time I didn't let people into my world, not unless they plowed through my relentless resistance. That is because part of any kind of intimacy involves a certain degree of interdependence and I define myself by my independence. So even partially offering that up feels like a concession, an undermining of my identity; so I don’t allow myself to need or want. I think it might also be an occupational hazard; Photography is a lonely pursuit. You can trust a photographer to find the remotest places in their quest for beauty. The thought that at any given point, somewhere in the world/universe there is a wild sunrise or sunset that goes unwitnessed and undocumented is the kind of thing that really drives my imagination. So I go looking, every chance I get, to those quiet places, where trees outnumber humans.
For a space-lover like myself, the 1.5-meter distance should have been a godsend, but was it, really? 2020 put things in perspective. When we’re 50, I doubt we’re going to reminisce about all those times that we spent at home by ourselves. We need a witness to our lives that is not just our lover, and friends serve that purpose in the best possible way because the collective objective is generally to have a good time. We take for granted the freedom of interaction and our right to embrace a friend but the pandemic disrupted that in ways we didn’t think was possible. When normally I would have relished a quiet day at home, having no other choice had stripped that delight. Chosen alone time and forced isolation, though they lead to the same physical state are not in fact the same at all. The walls suddenly felt higher, and closer. The outbreak placed what we took for granted on a pedestal, dangling it just out of reach. If I had to take anything from this experience at all, it is that life is short. Things will change, they always do. Appreciate the good days, the days you can smile freely and with warmth. Next time put your phone down and make eye contact. Say hello, ALOUD. Things will return to normal. Those hugs will come. Your forest is still there, patiently waiting for your safe return.
I made a list last year of things I wanted to do by 2022. No. 2 on that list was to publish a book/zine; and I did, in April of this year. It’s titled ‘Alone, together’ and documents a typical day in the lives of two people living on opposite sides of the earth using screenshots as a medium. What started as traditional conversation on video soon became a means of cohabitation. It's a time capsule capturing the strange way in which we all learned to live, and perhaps , for me, value the importance of togetherness. You can buy it here.
I will leave you with some music I've been listening to lately.
I love this guy ^
This is a parody and maybe unpopular opinion but it's better than most trent reznor songs ^
Youtube Videos
Liziqi is such an inspiration on how to live a life off the land. After watching all her videos, the algorithm recommended others around the world that live a similar life. Here's one of them from Sri Lanka. This is more relevant to us as we have access to these ingredients.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCw8GGyGpXmtxDTNJ7J5VA/featured
Heres a 12 minute dark comedy documentary about a family in Mumbai that adopted a rooster. 10/10 recommend:
Nowness does a series where they create beautiful cinematic videos of the homes of some amazing artists all over the world.
https://www.nowness.com/series/in-residence
Thank you for reading
You can find me on instagram here @remachaudhary
And a big thank you to Rohini for having me.
All my love,
Rema