Mumbai locals back on the lockdown train amid rising Covid-19 cases

As despair grips the city, there is a familiarity with which its citizens are beating the lockdown drum. "We know what to do and also, we had a day to get organised," says a small businessman

The financial capital of India has switched on its silent mode. A year since the country began its tryst with lockdowns and a coronavirus-infected world, Mumbai is caught in a ‘been-here, done-that’ moment and its people are engulfed in a sense of déjà vu.

Small business owners are rueing the lack of livelihood, while essential workers are cursing their daily grind and imminent interactions with the authorities as they make their way to work over the next fortnight. Long queues have popped up outside grocery chains and several stores are running low on stocks as households gear up for ‘Covid-19 Season