COVID-19 followed by the lockdown is a challenging phase for most of us. But there are residents in the city who know how to keep themselves occupied. While some have started pursuing their hobbies, many see this an opportunity to spend quality time with their family. Gayathri Mani, Parvez Sultan, Somrita Ghosh speak to them
It all started with claps, clanging of plates and even firecrackers in the ‘janata curfew’ on March 22 evening — to express gratitude for frontline workers battling against the Covid-19. It was followed by the lockdown which has confined city residents like never before. But being in the lockdown doesn’t have to be boring, not if you keep yourself occupied.The Morning Standard spoke some of the residents and found out how they are coping with the home-quarantine days.
Turning youtuber
These days, 29-year-old Sudhir Kishore, a junior engineer at the Public Works Department (PWD), is busy writing and reciting poems for his friends, wife and five-month-old baby, teaching students on YouTube and cooking food for the poor.The lockdown came as a setback for Kishore as he was planning to visit his wife and the baby in Ranchi, his hometown. Now, his wife and baby are stuck there.
“My wife along the baby had left early for Holi. I was about to visit them on March 25, but a day before that, the lockdown was announced. Initially, we all were in a state of panic, had no clue what to do... I miss my family a lot, but I am happy that they are safe with my parents... Thanks to technology, we are connected via phone and video calls,” Kishore said.Sharing his experience during the lockdown, the junior engineer said: “The first few days were really tough. But since I am a government employee, it’s my duty to serve my country and at the same time, help my workers and labourers working under me.”
In the PWD, Kishore has been currently deputed to look after streetlights, sub-stations, pump houses and wages of contractual field staff. He also has to visit shelter homes to ensure that labourers and migrant workers are getting food in time. Kishore said the staff in his department are working on alternative days.
“So, I thought of utilising the time of my passion. I decided to teach students online and explore my love for writing poems. I created a YouTube channel and a small classroom with two-marker boards in my home to teach students of Class 11 and 12 preparing for board and competitive exams,” Kishore added.
Within a few days, the PWD official garnered more than 300 views and several comments on one of his videos. He teaches tricky chapters of science and physics such as scalar and vector, thermodynamics, units, measurements, triangle, and parallelogram law. Before joining the PWD in 2016, Kishore taught the underprivileged in Ranchi.
“I always wanted to be a teacher, so even after joining the PWD, I had been looking for an opportunity to fulfil my dream... The time may be hard, but this period is giving many a chance to explore their hobbies and passion... It’s up to us how we utilise it,” he said.When asked why does he carry extra food while going to his office, Kishore said: “Cooking had never been my forte, but since the lockdown, I noticed that children and women under the IIT flyover beg for money to buy rations. So, I have started cooking extra food to feed them.”
Back to Ludo days
The evening is the time when four members of the Mitra family come together, play ludo over a cup of tea. This has become a routine of the family living in Uttam Nagar during the lockdown.Abhimanyu Mitra, 32, is a software engineer and his wife, Sukanya Ghosh Mitra, 30, is associated with an advertising firm. Much before the lockdown, their companies had asked the employees to work from home.“So, it has been more than a month since both of us are working from home. Initially, it was a bit difficult to cope with the style and communicate with my colleagues. But gradually, we adapted to the situation,” Abhimanyu said.
Sukanya got her work station shifted to her residence so that she didn’t face any trouble. “The best part is that we are getting to spend a lot of time with our parents. Us being into a tight work schedule would get less time for them…now, there is much more communication. And playing ludo in the evening is one of the occasions when we four come together and share some memorable times,” she said.
The couple, whose offices are in Gurugram, agrees that it would be a challenge for them to get back their workplace once the lockdown is over.
They are working from home
Abhimanyu Mitra is a software engineer and his wife, Sukanya Ghosh Mitra, is associated with an advertising firm. Much before the lockdown, their companies had asked the employees to work from home. The couple, whose offices are in Gurugram, agrees that it would be a challenge to get back their workplace once the lockdown is over.
‘Lockdown is like meditation’
For Asif Khan, 44, an entrepreneur in east Delhi, liberty to have uninterrupted sleep till noon is one of the few lockdown spin-offs. Khan, otherwise, has to wake up because of his two school-going children — Aryan, 11, and Samiya, 7.“This opportunity, I would only get on Sundays or any holiday. At least, I am enjoying my sleep,” Khan, who deals in readymade garments, chuckled.
Like his neighbours, Khan got little anxious and confused after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement about the lockdown on March 24. But soon, he came to terms with the restrictions.
“I have realised that life is simpler now. I am more disciplined now. I am with my family for about a month now — a luxury I couldn’t afford due to my business activities that which require frequent travelling,” Khan added.
Khan also helps his wife in the kitchen and cooks for his children. He believes that the lockdown is a chance to sort out the “complex” life.“I get time for myself. It is like meditation for me. I have finished a lot of stuff, which I had been thinking for a long time — I have organised my official records and cleaned my laptops, deleted unrequired files,” Khan said.
Khan connects more with his relatives and friends over the phone nowadays.His wife Rubina Khan, 35, a housewife, has more reason for being happy. She said restrictions had made her spent quality time with family after a long gap — perhaps the first time since their marriage 12 years ago.
Spending time with children
On a normal day, Dr Anuradha Khurana, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, would start at 7 am and wrap up by 9 pm. A gynaecologist, who has her private clinic in Lajpat Nagar, had limited time to spend with her two children – a 5-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son before the lockdown.
“The lockdown has got to be one good thing, spending quality time with my children. Having a busy schedule, I could not give much attention to them — a fact which always used to pinch me hard,” Anuradha said.
The crisis is making her daughter attend online classes. “How long can a child sit in front of a mobile phone or a laptop? And then we are trying to engage the children in different indoor games as they can’t step out. That is a task – get new gaming ideas,” she said.
A family of seven, Anuradha’s husband is an orthopedician working in Ghaziabad. Being into the medical field, the couple is among the frontline workers during the epidemic. While Anuradha is balancing her work from home over telephones and video calls, she also has to step out to attend labour patients.
Her husband, Dr Vimal Kumar Dakour, goes out for regular duty. What worries them is the fear of being infected with the coronavirus while dealing with patients.“There is certainly a chance of being infected with the coronavirus. My father-in-law needs dialysis, he is at high risk,” Anuradha added.