The ongoing lockdown has forced many of us to alter the way we go about our daily routine. Chennaites share tales of the changes they have made to adapt to the new ‘normal’ of living and working with limited interaction
Raghavi Upendiran (24), Playback singer and tutor
Chennai:
I teach online classes and students have taken up extra sessions as schools are closed and exams are cancelled. It is a little tiring but we had initial doubts about whether online classes would work. We were unsure if they would be attentive in class. Surprisingly, all students were attentive. We have seen a lot of progress in them. Some even have taken up another instrument as there is free time. Having back-to-back sessions, as a creative person, can be a little difficult as we like to shift our physical spaces. I took up a 100-day singing challenge.
It’s on Instagram, and I post a video every alternate day. It’s helping me stay creative. It might be a classic or a new song, so it’s very engaging. My family lives in Bengaluru, and if I want to see them I would have to go into quarantine. I don’t want to put them in that position, so we video call each other regularly. I’ve been learning the ukulele. I’ve put in around 20 hours into it. It’s a versatile instrument and sounds like magic alongside singing. I’ve also wanted to bake a lot, so I’ve made peanut butter cake, mango cake, cookies. There’s been a lot of positivity around me. I’ve taken a conscious effort not to let myself go into an emotional space that might lead to a spiral. This is a time for people to reach out and make them stay positive. A lot of friends from childhood have reached out. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop, after all, so I’ve been getting into yoga and even tried intermittent fasting.