RAMZAN IN THE TIME OF LOCKDOWN: Spending Ramzan with my family has been truly gratifying: Nikhat Zareen

When the lockdown was extended, the first thing that came to mind was what I would do during Ramzan.
‘How will I shop for Eid now?’ I asked myself. This is the first Ramzan after so many years that I’m spending the entire month with my family and over the past couple of weeks, I’ve realised how precious that is. Usually around this time of the year, I’m busy training at camp and I would only come home for about three to five days. Now, I have been fasting and spending time with my family during the holy month and it’s been truly gratifying.


I’m not used to fasting during Ramzan, because as athletes, we need to eat and follow a certain diet. But this time, I thought since I’m staying at home, roza rakh lete hai, so that upar waala bhi khush rahega and I can pray to him ki jaldi se corona ko khatam kar do taaki hum baahar ja sake, shopping kar sake aur kha sake baahar.
Food is the best part about Ramzan. I’m a big foodie and I love to eat biryani, haleem and all the other delicacies. Aur Ramzan ke time pe toh ghar main bahut saara khaana banta hai. Dahi wade, bhajiye… sab bante hain so I’ve been eating a lot. I’ve also discovered the joys of cooking. Recently I learnt how to make biryani by myself and everybody loved it. I also made thukpa, which is a Tibetan noodle soup and my mom appreciated me for it. My mom and my sister also made haleem recently and I watched them make it and learned from them. Hopefully on Eid, I will make haleem as well.


I must admit, that there are times I feel frustrated sitting at home all the time. Usually whenever Eid is approaching, we would go out shopping and buy new clothes. But iss baar toh sabhi shops bandh hai toh puraani dress pehen ke celebrate karna hoga. But that doesn’t matter. After so many years, I’m able to spend Eid at home with my family. Wohi kaafi hai. Naye kapde, yeh sab zaroori nahi hai... there should be happiness in the family, that’s more important.

Thankfully I have my two adorable nieces — Aayat and Jannat — to keep me company. I have great fun with them. We play, dance, make videos and do a lot of crazy things together. Since I can’t train during Ramzan, I do other things to keep myself entertained. Sometimes, I just sit and apply make-up — it’s one of my favourite pastimes.


I miss my gym and my ring. I workout everyday but it’s not the same because there is no proper equipment here at home. What’s worse, I put on weight thanks to all the food I’m having. When I return to camp and start training, it’s going to be one helluva task.

I hope we beat this virus soon so that we can all go back to our normal lives. Once the lockdown ends, I will first go and have pani puri. Jis din yeh lockdown khulega, meri taraf se main dus logon ko khaana khila dungi lockdown khulne ke khushi main!

- As told to Suhas.Yellapanthula@timesgroup.com