Three Celebs Share How They Kept Lockdown Blues At Bay

For the past few months now, life has been nothing like it used to be. The lockdown, aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, compelled us to change the way we live. We stopped going out, meeting people; life we knew till 6 months ago pretty much ceased to exist.

But we don't give up that easy, do we? When we were thrown a curve ball, we found ways to get a semblance of our older life back even with our limited options - we entertained ourselves, we found creative ways to stay healthy and even cooked meals we only had outside before. And as far as meeting loved ones goes, we started doing that more often than ever before, albeit virtually. Phones become our constant companions in keeping us in touch with our loved ones, and uninterrupted internet was a true blessing.

So, we spoke to three big names across fields to understand how they spent their time indoors and beat the lockdown blues. Read on.

Ayaz Memon (Sports Journalist and Author)

#1 Writing: It’s hard to keep a renowned journalist and author from writing, no matter what the circumstances are. On most days during this period, Ayaz and his laptop were inseparable. "My MacBook Air is my main device for writing so I spent a lot of time on that", he tells us.

#2 Connecting with loved ones: Like everyone else, he also used this time to connect with family and friends over phone and video calls. "5 months in and I never had any issues keeping in touch with others. I’m happy that connectivity was never a problem with my service provider Airtel,” says Ayaz.

#3 Cooking: Ayaz believes that cooking is an art that teaches you patience, something we could all do with right now. Admittedly, he’s not the best cook, but he did get the chance to polish his culinary skills in the lockdown and he’s getting better at it.

#4 Exercising: Being a veteran sports journalist, he knows the importance of physical and mental fitness, all the more in times like these. Morning walks and yoga were how he stayed fit during the lockdown. He even used yoga apps to guide him during his sessions.

#5 Music: Even with so much free time, there is only so long one can stare at a screen. For Ayaz, music was a great way to take a break and relax. Whether he was in the kitchen cooking, or just lying back with his eyes closed, his Marshal music set up was a pleasant company.

Avantika Bahuguna Kukreti (Mom influencer and fitness enthusiast)

#1 Workout and Zumba: For Avantika, working out has been a great way of keeping all negativity and restlessness at bay during the lockdown. She’s also a Zumba instructor and conducted weekly live Zumba sessions for a fitness community she’s a part of.

#2 Bonding with her daughter: Being a working mother, Avantika cherished all the time she got to spend with her 9-year-old daughter. “She taught me how to be stress-free, how to be grateful for small things in life and enjoy every moment,” she says.

#3 Dancing: Like a lot of others, she got the chance to revisit an old passion. Avantika is a Kathak dancer and the lockdown gave her the opportunity to reconnect with the dance form and start practising it again.

#4 Starting a fitness series: Fitness is a subject that’s close to Avantika’s heart. To this end, she used this extra time to start a fitness series on Instagram and conducted numerous live sessions with celebs, experts and fit moms in an attempt to simplify fitness for mothers. “I also started my own fitness community page @fitmomstribeindia,” she states.

#5 Journaling: Avantika also caught up with reading and started journaling her thoughts. During these tough times, this helped her channelise her thoughts and take each day as it comes.

Stutee Ghosh (Radio Jockey and Movie Critic)

#1 Working through social media : Stutee now has a newfound respect for social media and technology as it helped her carry on with her work smoothly even during the lockdown. “I could never imagine that I’d be hosting my radio show from home but my phone was such a big help." she says. She was doing Insta Lives, Zoom calls and even panels with stars and celebrities from her phone. “They too were forthcoming given that they were feeling equally trapped. Overall, it was a win-win situation for all.”

#2 Meditation: The past few months gave Stutee the chance to make time for things and people that hadn't been able to give much time to. She took to practising meditation regularly that helped her deal with anxiety. She was also able to spend quality time with parents.

#3 Binge-watching great content: Watching films and shows is part of her job, but because of her busy schedule she would only watch latest releases. However, that changed in the lockdown. “With time on hand I finally managed to catch up on so many classics that I had missed or revisited films I love, not limiting myself to regular Bollywood fare. Discovering cinematic gems helped rekindle my love for what I do,” Stutee says.

#4 Catch up on reading: Over time, Stutee’s reading habit had taken a backseat and she wasn’t really happy about it. She was finally able to update her reading list during the lockdown.

#5 Honed her cooking skills: “When nothing seems in control and eating out also isn’t an option, cooking is therapeutic to say the least. Not to mention it helped make my Insta stories pretty and appetising.” While she may not have made banana bread yet or might have missed the dalgona coffee trend, but she’s definitely all set to show off her newly-honed skills for a post-corona party.

While the lockdown certainly ended up redefining the concept of ‘normal’ for all of us, it also taught us a lot. It helped us rediscover lost passions and even find new ways of doing everything.

How have you been spending all this free time? Tell us in the comments.