HYDERABAD: Lockdown and now unlocking, both have taught me lessons to last a lifetime. The initial phase of the lockdown took time for us to adjust to home schedules, as being at home 24x7 was overbearing, not just for me, but also for those at home who were not used to seeing me around the whole day. So, we all had to come to a middle ground and find our own corners, peace, sanity, and beautiful bonding moments.
The truest luxury for me was managing to do nothing for a change without feeling restless, the ‘hyper vein’ in me had no option but to succumb to the situation, it was sheer bliss. Reading a book endlessly, scrabbling through words, baking, bingeing on a show, daydreaming, and having no calendar felt like being reborn.
A big adaptation for me was teaching dance online. I have been teaching Kathak for over 25 years. Even in my wildest dreams, I did not expect to zoom through it on Zoom. It was a task to teach a performing art online, but as prophesied, “When in doubt, choose change.” That is what I did and we are loving it now.
Even in my business, we had to resort to giving online sessions, which was a breakthrough for a people’s person like me, but it opened up for us trainers, mentors and students from across the globe. It opened new horizons, though I still miss the offline-- human interaction, expression, feel, and touch. There is a different protocol that one has to follow now, in terms of social /business etiquette, no handshakes no pappis, no jaadu ki jhappis, no public speaking to a room full of people... We are now developing new content for the ‘new normal’ and change management for the better good.
– Kavita Golechha, founder and director, Panache, The Finishing School