Things are completely on halt on the work front because my restaurants – Unplugged Courtyard and La Roca are shut. We enjoyed huge footfalls till the lockdown happened. Life has transitioned from being in-between the crowds all the time to being in quarantine. On the family front, I am enjoying time with my sons Tanish and Maanik, and my wife Pooja at our home in Model Town. It was a much-needed break. Earlier, it was tough for me to give time to the family because of the long working hours.
We are doing a lot at our end to stay safe. Right from cleaning door handles to furniture surfaces to washing vegetables and following personal hygiene, we are making sure that everyone in the family is following the guidelines. On our family WhatsApp group, we keep sending motivational messages to our family members.We go out once a week to get the groceries. We move out in a planned way, and not hoarding stuff because we don’t want others to suffer.
I am a Bollywood buff and thanks to Amazon Prime and Netflix, I am enjoying classics like Maine Pyar Kiya, DDLJ, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Deewar and more. We decide on a movie every day and enjoy it together. The time between 5.30pm and 8.30pm is cineplex time of Aroras. Another thing which I am into these days is cooking. I try to make at least one dish every day. I tried Spanish Omelette, Lemon Chicken, Chocolate Cake, and Mushroom Babycorn Pizza.
The quarantine is not giving us the option to decide whether it’s good or bad. All I know is itis the need of the hour. Though it feels good to be able to spend time with loved ones, I hope things get back to normal soon, as I have staff and they are dependent on me.
Apart from enjoying nostalgic moments with family, we play Antakshri, Dumb Charades, and Carrom, etc. We were to launch Unplugged Courtyard in Lucknow and Agra, but it had to be postponed. Now, I am working on strategies to bring the restaurants to normal working after the bidding a farewell to Covid-19.
This lockdown is a blessing in disguise. And I am in favour of its extension as it plays an important role in saving lives.
Founder of Eastman Colour Private Ltd. Dinesh Arora, spoke to Nikita Sharma