Striking a balance between personal, professional life

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 15

While the lockdown has brought families together and given them an opportunity to spend time with each other, five-year-old Nitya is unable to do so as her mother Nilambari Jagadale, the UT SSP, remains on the job for the entire day and returns home late in the evening.

After wrapping up the daily field visits, routine meetings and briefings, the SSP reaches back home and takes up another responsibility of getting her daughter’s homework done, since her husband, an Army officer, is posted in another state and Nitya has no family member to look after her.

The SSP says that the work has almost doubled after the curfew was imposed in the UT. “Earlier, I used to make field visits once or twice a week. However, I am spending hours in the field every day besides doing the office work,” she said.

SSP Jagadale leaves home around 9 am and returns by 8 in the evening. However, the day doesn’t end there for her.

“Online classes of my daughter are going on and she gets homework every day. So I make her do it, play a few board games with her and make her sleep,” the SSP adds.

Next follows the graveyard shift, when the SSP starts checking the border naka reports on WhatsApp. “I go through the reports, pass necessary instructions, if required, and then retire to bed,” she adds.

The SSP’s husband is a lieutenant colonel posted in Kasauli. He is there since the lockdown came into force. “He is not here, so all responsibilities are on my shoulders. It is not easy to bring up a child along with the long working hours,” the SSP says.

The child’s safety from Covid-19 at home is also her responsibility. On reaching home, she removes her ‘karha’ (iron bangle), watch and other belongings outside home and get them sanitised. She changes uniform every day.

To boost her immunity, the SSP is relying on her homemade ayurvedic drink which is a blend of several herbs. “Kadha with various ingredients, including amla powder, neem, turmeric and ginger, is what I will recommend to everyone,” the SSP says.