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Time for some takeawaysAre celebrities having it any easier during the lockdown? Shilpi Madan finds out what some of them have learnt, and how...
Shilpi Madan
Last Updated IST
Payal Jain
Payal Jain

Pull back and run a quick check: As we thicken the days running into quarantine, flounder with household chores, gain more respect for domestic help, we pick up new skills involuntarily. Sure, it is a pandemic and not a time for a productivity challenge since you have compelling issues to address every day on the homefront, here are a few gems culled in by others...


Manav Gohil
actor

I have picked up the art of using the jhadu (broom) to sweep the floor and the skill of being able to wash utensils using less soap and less water: these are two of my biggest takeaways from the home quarantine. I am a pro at cleaning utensils now (don’t ask my wife Shweta Kawaatra), though I do need to strengthen my back further as it often hurts while doing jhadu!

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Vicky Ratnani

Vicky Ratnani,
celebrity chef

I don’t remember the last time I made something as simple as rassa aloo or even bhindi. Since I am usually travelling, doing food shows, workshops, cooking sessions across the country and abroad, I end up spending little time in my own kitchen. Used to cooking restaurant style fancy food, I have honed the art of cooking with what is available at home, as I have been cooking simple, day to day food which is healthy and nutritious, fresh and flavourful without lavish ingredients.

Amrita Raichand,
food show host

I am playing a key role in taking on the duties of house cleaning and cooking. I am more involved in teaching my son. Also, I have had to learn the technicalities of shooting my videos to upload them on my social media handles and work out the mechanics of doing live sessions on multiple interfaces...without the help of my team. It has been a brilliant experience in a way, with generous inputs from my son and husband in sharing tips on angles, frames.

Sachin Khurana,
actor, show host

The past few days have taught me to be able to sit in one place and read, and re-read a book. It needs a large amount of discipline, just like meditation. I often pick up books but never get around to making time for reading them. Now I have even been revising the books that I have read, making mental notes and even brushing up my rather frugal skills in cooking. I can cook well now.’

Pria Kataaria Puri

Pria Kataaria Puri,
fashion designer

I have been in quarantine in my home for a month now in Kuwait. I have learnt acupressure and how to meditate. I looked up videos and researched techniques, that I did not have any time to do earlier with my crazy busy schedules. I have found this app called Unplug that makes way for different types of meditation for different spans of time (10 or 20 or 30 minutes...) It calms me down.

Isha Koppikar, actor

I have learnt to be more receptive to change and accept what comes. Nothing comes with a warranty in life, as this quarantine spells out clearly. I am cooking, and spending more time with my daughter, keeping myself occupied because I am not used to sitting idle.

This time is actually ideal for meditation as the mind is a blank slate. But meditation is easier said than done. I am taking everything in my stride and accepting whatever comes along.

Arushi Nishank

Arushi Nishank, filmmaker, social
activist, Kathak dancer

I have been making khadi masks while staying at home to distribute among those who need it. It brings in a sense of satisfaction that I am able to contribute in a tangible way to the present and rather unconventional situation I have discovered my green thumb and have been exploring my gardening skills galore as well. I find it very rewarding — the burst of new life from the soil.

Payal Jain, fashion designer

I have always struggled with cooking. It takes me far out of my comfort zone. Now during the lockdown, resources are scarce and the luxury of following recipes to the minutest detail does not exist. I try and use what I have access to in my vegetable garden or what is available from even leftovers in the kitchen.

This has been the best opportunity to be creative, to improvise ingredients and minimise wastage of any sort.

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(Published 21 April 2020, 00:36 IST)