This lockdown was the need of the hour. Though business will suffer as my restaurants are shut, I am trying to stay as positive and productive as I can. I am in quarantine with my family – mom, wife and a pet dog. Since we have a lot of time at hand, all of us have started focusing on health. If I talk about myself, I have decided not to drink alcohol for 30 days. I am only eating home-cooked meals. I start my day with aloe vera and amla juice, and I make it a point to have a vegetable juice and two helpings of fruit every day. Apart from the normal lunch, I prefer having soup for dinner, these days.
The focus is not only on ourselves but also on maintaining proper sanitisation at home. Well, to start with, we have nobody coming to our home. Staff members including drivers, cleaners, and guards have been instructed to stay home. They have been directed to wear disposable gloves and masks while stepping out for buying essentials – that happens only twice a week. Each one of them sanitises hands before entering the house. So, we are spending more time together now, from working out together to eating all our meals together.
Doing all this was impossible earlier because of my hectic work schedule. In the morning, we do yoga – 21-31 Surya namaskars, breathing exercises and meditation, while in the evening we focus on three body parts a day, apart from working with dumbells and resistance bands. Quarantine has proved to be good in a way that it has kind of fixed my routine. I sleep and get up on time now. I couldn’t do this before as my restaurants and clubs used to remain open till late in night.
While my mom and wife are busy trying new recipes, and decluttering the house, I spend afternoons reading books. I am reading the first of the Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi. I have a long list of books that I plan to finish in these 21 days. My wife has started mandala colouring for adults. Post the evening workout, I connect with my business associates and friends.
I have been working on new summer and spring menus for Ophelia. We are planning new collaborations and events for Toy Room and the concept of Cosy Box that will come up in JW Marriott. After finishing off the work and dinner, I love to watch a show or a movie. When we work, we work! Though we are waiting to get back to work, we are getting enough time to think of ways to bounce back. Delhi-based restaurateur Akshay Anand, 36, spoke to Nikita Sharma