Rest: The Video You Really Need to Watch in Lockdown
This year, we have been dealt with a responsibility that is profoundly shared; one that is personal yet very public: staying isolated and maintaining physical distance.
But sometimes, distancing has meant more than simply being alone: it means being lonely.
In times like these, artists are going beyond simply entertaining us; they are helping us mentally push forward. Music, cinema, words, and the stories behind them are filling the holes in our souls. One such story is of a music video that was shot entirely during the lockdown for Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Andrew Sabu’s song Rest.
The video that follows the slow-living daily routine of Pandey Ji — a caretaker — depicts the beauty in the everyday-ness of things. We see him sipping tea, chopping veggies, cleaning, reading, sitting idle and gradually, he starts resonating with the present situation: our collective isolation. These scenes, along with the song, lullaby the viewer into a much-needed repose, recline, Rest. To the tune of strings that instill a clarity-after-the-rain emotion, in a solace-swaddled voice, Sabu sings, “The path will clear in time, my dear . . . Take it slow, don’t bother anyone. Heal alone, on your own.”
As for the story behind the song, which was released last year, it started off with a heartbreak that pushed Sabu into a spiraling, dark ditch of depression. “The breakup started it, but my issues went deeper than that. It exposed the roots of my problems. I started feeling unworthy, and I realized that I’m very self-deprecating as a person. My self-esteem was dropping low . . . I was diagnosed with acute depression and started taking meds for it,” he said over the phone. “Around that time, I also had too much on my plate: performing, organizing, networking. I realized I was seeking constant validation from my work. So there was an overload of information. I was burning out.” Add to this, the indie music scene was also working as an anxiety-inducing catalyst, he said, because artists like him “end up doing more than just being artists”.
With things piling up fast, Sabu was hanging by a thread. Before he knew it, he was sleeping his days away, unable to work, unable to do what he loved doing most — write music — and unable to just be. “Then one day, I wrote Rest . . . And, this might sound cheesy but, the first couple of times I played it, I ended up crying. I felt a heaviness in my chest. It was a profound connection,” he said, with the relief evident in his voice.
According to a study, 41.6% respondents reported a decline in their mental health ever since the Corona virus outbreak. As per a report by Al Jazeera, the lockdown in India has been affecting not only mental health but also access to mental healthcare.
In such a situation, it seems that taking whatever little advice we can from Pandey Ji might help. He seems to suggest that it’s okay to take things slow, that it’s not always about achieving something or striking off to-do list items. With all this free time that we’re suddenly having to deal with, we can also choose to just rest.
See it for yourself in the video below.
The video was shot during the Corona virus lockdown, in New Delhi (India), by filmmakers Gorkey Patwal and Prateek, and was put together by Sohan Ray.
