I got my first shot on July 5, 2021

I think it is a historical event. Hence, I had to document it.

INT. PARENTS' ROOM - NIGHT - JULY 4, 2021

I enter the CoWIN website and type my dad's details to Sign In.

PAPA Tujhe kaunsi vaccine lagani hai? Hum sab ne toh Covisheild lagayi hai.

I see the 3 options available - COVAXIN, COVISHIELD, SPUTNIK V.

ME Mujhe toh Russia ki Sputnik V lagani hai.

PAPA Kyu?

ME Naam acha hai.

I laugh at the silly reason behind my choice. I see that Sputnik V is available in only one hospital.

PAPA Arey, Covisheild lagale. Hinduja hospital mein available hai.

I nod in agreement and we book the evening 3pm - 7pm slot.

INT. MY ROOM - NIGHT - 1:12 AM - JULY 5, 2021

A chat on WhatsApp.

SKANDHA I'll see you tomorrow or Wednesday. Coz you'd be tired after the jab.

ME Jab is funny. Shot is cool.

SKANDHA Jab. It's like boxing jab.

ME I don't wanna go for it.

SKANDHA Sounds badass.

I laugh.

SKANDHA Why idiot?

ME I am scared. Even though I got 4 injections last year.

SKANDHA Are you scared of needles?

ME No but. Yeah in the start little bit. So irritating.

SKANDHA

Okay

ME Compulsory injections

SKANDHA Shhhhhh

ME Did it hurt

SKANDHA Yeah more than a regular one

ME What :(

SKANDHA My arm did hurt for 2 days.

ME I hope I don't get fever and crap. I hope I don't feel any pain.

EXT. ON THE ROAD - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

I am sitting on the bike behind my dad. I am going out after 3-4 months. I try to follow and remember the route but soon, lose track and stop doing it. The plethora of information in the outside world is confusing me - I do not know what to think or where to look. I mostly look on my left side. I observe all the shutters shut, nothing is open - NOTHING; the roads are also fairly empty. We stop at a signal.

PAPA Dekha, sab kuch band hai!

I struggle to listen his muffled voice due to the helmet that he has worn.

ME Kya?

PAPA Arey, sab kuch band hai na.

ME Haan vohi.

The signal turns green and we start moving. After a while, we enter an empty lane, I read 'Mahim' written somewhere. Papa slows down as we cross more than half of the lane.

Me

Aa gaye?

PAPA Hmm, uttar.

I get down and stand on the side. I look around and spot a papaya tree behind the parking. I look at it and get reminded of Chachu who always sends home papaya in a steel dabba through Cheeks. Cheeks just needs a reason to come home to play cricket with Papa and Gaurav. Everyone knows how much I hate papaya and that's why they particularly force me to eat it. It has become a family joke now. I observe the green papayas hanging from the tree. Then I look across the lane and spot a board at a building entrance that reads 'Buy HAPOOS MANGOES' with a contact number below it. There is also a dimly lit Hanuman Mandir adjacent to it. Papa finishes parking the bike and gestures me to follow him. We reach the end of the road; I finally see some people gathered around a gate. Before we enter the gate, the security guard stops us.

SECURITY GUARD Dono ka hai?

PAPA (pointing towards me) Nahi khaali iska.

SECURITY GUARD OK, toh aap bhaar hi baithna, andar allowed nahi hai.

EXT. OUTSIDE BOMBAY SCOTTISH SCHOOL, MUMBAI - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

He allows us to enter the gate. Papa gives me a pen to fill up the form first. There are 3 form booklets kept on a long table for 3 people to fill up simultaneously. I quickly fill up with Papa guiding me. Then I tear out my form and we approach the entrance of the vaccination room. There is another guard at this entrance too. He checks if I have filled up the form.

PAPA Khaali payment karke bahar aata hu.

INT. FIRST HALL - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

The security guard lets us in. We stand in one of the four queues. It does not take too long, dad pays Rs. 780 for the vaccine and collects the receipt and the token number. He hands me over everything.

PAPA Abhi yahan se andar jaana padega, jaayegi na?

I laugh.

(Why is Papa treating me like a kid?)

ME

Haan.

He goes out, while I enter the next room after the man at the entrance verifies my documents.

INT. SECOND HALL - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

It is a big room with 3 counters. Plastic chairs are arranged with the required distance in between them. I sit on the third chair of the first column. I check my phone, it suddenly displays 'NO SIM'. I switch off and switch it on again with the hope that the network will return. The two people ahead of me finish their turn, I quickly go and sit on the first seat. The lady behind the glass wall gestures for my documents. I give them to her through the narrow space in the glass wall. Then she starts saying something.

ME I'm sorry, what?

She repeats herself but I could not hear again. I look towards the loud table fan beside her; its sound is overpowering. I again gesture that I cannot hear her and she repeats what she was saying. When I don't understand her for the third time, we break into a laugh. She leans towards her right, outside her counter in order to communicate herself.

LADY You must've got a secret number on your registered mobile number. You need to tell me that number!

ME Oh! Okay. One second.

I open my messages to find it but I remember that we used Papa's number for registration.

ME I am sorry, the number is in my dad's phone.

LADY No problem, please call him and ask.

My network is still not back. I switch off and switch on my phone once again. I look around me to see if I am keeping anyone waiting. When the network does not return, I try to negotiate with the lady.

ME I am not getting network here, is it okay if I go out and get the number?

LADY No issues, I'll keep your documents with me until then.

She gives me a small chit of paper to write the number on.

EXT. OUTSIDE BOMBAY SCOTTISH SCHOOL, MUMBAI - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

I go out and find my dad sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting area. I write the number on the chit and go back inside.

INT. SECOND HALL - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

There are 2 people ahead of me again. I sit and fiddle with my phone, still trying my best to get the network back, in case I need to contact my dad again. Finally, it is my turn and I hand over the chit to the lady. She smiles at me while taking it and continue the rest of the procedure. Then, she picks up her phone and asks me to come closer, she clicks a photo of me. I was not ready for it. She gives me back the documents and my token number along with a yellow envelope. I take everything and walk towards the only other door in the room. I still ask one of the ladies to confirm.

ME Vaccination ke liye idhar hi jana hai na?

She nods.

INT. THIRD HALL - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

I and a couple of other people enter the room after the man at the entrance verifies our documents. There are 3 columns and 5 rows of seats placed in the room. There are two empty seats in the last row, so I go and sit on one of them. After I get seated, I observe the same lady approaching the last seat. I get up and move on the inner seat, so that she can sit on the outer one. She smiles at my gesture; I smile back at her. The aunty is short and plump, dressed in a salwar kameez and has a black handbag. I look around and observe what is going on. There are 6 vaccination rooms with a blue curtain drawn in front of each one.

AUNTY How does it work? Token-wise baithe hai kya?

ME Haan vohi samajh nahi aa raha.

Then we see one man instructing one of the people in the front row to go booth no. 2. After she empties the seat, he gestures the rest of the people to move ahead as well.

AUNTY Go, go ahead.

I get up and move to the seat ahead of me. Now there are new people beside me. Then after sometime, one of the seats on the left row gets empty and the aunty is beside me again. We look at each other and smile. This system of moving seats makes me chuckle; it feels like a school classroom. It keeps happening until I and the aunty reach the front seat. The man points out at one of the booths and asks me to go there. I look at the aunty one last time and smile at her.

AUNTY All the best!

INT. VACCINATION BOOTH - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

I get up and leave to enter the booth. It is a small space with two chairs, one table with cartons of injections, vaccination fluids, pen, and a sanitizer bottle.

NURSE Did you get COVID in the last 3 months?

(I actually got it sometime in April but did not get tested for it. Should I tell her this? Probably not. What if she does not vaccinate me?)

ME No.

NURSE

Okay. So you have registered for Covisheild vaccine. After the vaccination, you might get fever or pain in the arm, it is completely normal. Take Crocin or Dolo 650. If your hand pains, apply an ice pack.

(I haven't taken an injection in so long. Will it hurt?)

She was just about to tear open the injection when a man enters the booth.

MAN Kitne bache hai?

The nurse glances at the table.

NURSE 3, inka milaake.

The man nods and goes out. She continues to tear the packet and removes the injection. Then fills it up with COVISHEILD vaccine.

(Wait, why is she so fast?)

She takes an alcohol swab and rubs it on to my left arm.

(Wait, I'm not ready for it.)

Without giving me a heads up, she pierces my arm with the needle.

NURSE And, it is done.

She withdraws the injection and and presses the spot with the cotton.

(Wow, that was fast. And it didn't hurt!)

She breaks the needle before disposing it off and hands me my documents.

NURSE Visit the doctor before leaving.

ME (smiling) Sure, thank you!

INT. THIRD HALL - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

I leave the booth and look around to spot the doctor. I go to the uncle who was guiding everyone to their booths.

ME Doctor kidhar hai?

He points to the left. I look there, still confused but walk in that direction anyway. I spot two tables with women in white coats sitting. I go to one of them. She gestures me to sit on the plastic chair kept in front of her. She checks my documents and asks me to fill up a form. I quickly write my details - name and phone number. After doing that, I walk across the waiting room towards the exit and the security guard stops me. He checks the time on the document.

SECURITY GUARD Abhi thoda time baitho.

ME Kitna time?

SECURITY GUARD 10 min kam se kam.

I sigh and go back to sit in the waiting room lined with plastic chairs. There are many people sitting, most on their phones, some talking to one another. I sit on one the chairs randomly. My phone still displays NO SIM. I look around me aimlessly. Suddenly, the aunty who was sitting beside me previously walks in the room. We exchange a glance and smile at each other.

I look at the wall clock. I look at the people. I look at the video display playing services that Hinduja hospital offers. I look at my phone. Nothing significant. I look at the wall clock again - 8 minutes have passed. I get up and walk towards the exit again. The aunty was sitting on the last seat. We look at each other for one last time and wave bye.

AUNTY (smilingly) Bye-bye!

(The aunty is so nice and friendly. Yay, I made a friend during vaccination!)

The security guard checks my document and glances at the wall clock. He does not look too pleased but gestures me to go. I walk out happily and meet my dad.

EXT. OUTSIDE BOMBAY SCOTTISH SCHOOL, MUMBAI - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

PAPA Ho gaya?

ME Haan.

PAPA Photo khichana hai?

He points at the COVID vaccination window frame.

ME (laughing) Nahi nahi.

We walk out of the gate, towards the bike.

EXT. ON THE ROAD - EVENING - JULY 5, 2021

At first, we are a little confused about where we parked it. But then, I spot the papaya tree and dad spots the 'Buy Hapoos mangoes' board and we both find the bike at the same time.

PAPA Kidhar jaana hai?

(I want to go but I also don't want to go. There's nothing to do. So probably the latter makes more sense.)

ME Nahi nahi.

PAPA Nahi naa? Kuch khula nahi hai aise bhi, kidhar jayenge!

ME Haan vohi.

I sit on the bike and we head back home.

INT. MY ROOM - NIGHT - 8:32 PM - JULY 5, 2021

A chat on WhatsApp.

ME I have meeting tonight. And I got done with vaccination.

SKANDHA Does your arm hurt?

ME No I am strong.

SKANDHA That was not the question.

ME (laughs) It doesn't

SKANDHA Good

ME I hope nothing happens to me. I don't want fever.

SKANDHA You can't choose it.

ME I can

SKANDHA Okay.

ME I am telling my body. No fever.

SKANDHA If you get fever, the vaccine is working.

ME That's not true. Not everyone got. The nurse also said you may get. Not you will get.

SKANDHA Okay, I was told I'd get.

ME Hmm

SKANDHA Cool hope you don't. So you can work. Work.

INT. MY ROOM - NIGHT - 2 AM - JULY 6, 2021

I finish the video call meeting with Naomi and Yuga. I feel exhausted. I lie down on the bed and suddenly start shivering.

(I should have taken the medicines. Now I cannot take them because they are in the other room.)

Somehow I get up and lower the fan speed. I fall asleep in a while but keep waking up due to fever. In the morning, my parents come to check on me - I am completely drenched in sweat. I laze around for the rest of the day.