In one of his messages, the CM said the lockdown period could also be used to quit habits like smoking and drinking.
From advocating “murga vyayaam” for increasing stamina, to telling spouses to spend light moments together and divide the work at home, to quitting bad habits, and learning foreign languages. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has taken on a new avatar, releasing a video address a day on how the people of the state can spend their time in lockdown.
The addresses began on March 31, and the six so far — each around 20-minute long — have included messages such as above, apart from announcements regarding the steps being taken by Haryana to combat COVID-19, and calling for social distancing. Haryana has seen 96 positive cases of coronavirus, and two deaths.
During the April 4 address, Sports Minister Sandeep Singh came on to give exercise tips to youngsters, while Khattar gave examples from his own childhood. “We can say kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi… we can use treadmill for jogging. Our teachers used to make us do murga vyayaam (a kind of punishment). In today’s times, nobody can even think of it but our teachers used to tell us that becoming a murga strengthens our body… increases our fitness. Swayam murga ban ke ek baar aap dekhiye, aapki taangon ki, aapki kamar ki, aapki gardan ki, peeth ki… kitne vyayaam ho jaate hain (Adopt the posture yourself and see how many parts of your body you can exercise with that one step — legs, waist, neck, back…),” Khattar said.
In another address, the CM suggested a game that families could play to get to know each other better. “… We give a piece of paper to each member and asks everyone to list their five favourite things, be it games, heroes, names of their best friends, foods, colours, which university they like, books, their birthdays, their anniversaries if there are married people. When you collect the papers, you will be surprised to learn the new information that you did not know about your family members, and about their likes and dislikes.”
Asking people to pursue hobbies like painting, reading, music, and cooking, he urged the men to help out at home. “Wives will also be happy… that their husbands have started helping them… I never got this opportunity but many couples share light moments. A time such as this should be utilised for these things,” Khattar, a bachelor, said, adding that knowing how to do these simple tasks and manage on one’s own increased one’s self-confidence.
In one of his messages, the CM said the lockdown period could also be used to quit habits like smoking and drinking. “People say that if you want to adopt a good habit, you must practise it for 21 days. Similarly, if you want to quit a bad habit, you practise it for 21 days… We have got these 21 days, we need to use them constructively.”
Khattar advised youngsters to make a “to do list” early morning, be it study, entertainment, meditation, fitness, or sleep. “We can take our thoughts in the right direction. Mushkil waqt, commando sakht (When times are tough, a commander is tough). We should have the thought process of a commando, then only can we fight these tough times.”
Talking about the time he learnt Tamil during a tour of South India in 1980 for about 20 days, Khattar said “we youngsters of Haryana face a lot of difficulty talking in English”. “With the help of soft skills training, we can learn to speak English. Many other foreign languages, Japanese, German, French, Korean, Russian, we can learn at least bits of them. We can also learn our Indian languages… we shall be able to understand our country and the world. We shall be able to increase our employment skills,” he said, adding how Maruti Suzuki’s plant in Manesar had hired lot of people who knew Japanese.
Emphasising on social distancing, Khattar also quoted Gulzar’s couplet, “Bewajaah ghar se nikalne ki jaroorat kya hai, maut se aankh milaane ki jaroorat kya hai, sabko maloom hai bahar ki hawa hai qatil, corona ki hawa qatil hai, yunhi qatil se ulajh jaane ki jaroorat kya hai”.