Living the life: ‘I count my blessings — food and roof over head — unlike many others'

My two children had been at home for a while before the shutdown was announced. I don't think any of us were expecting a complete lockdown as we are in now, but in retrospect, the writing was on the wall. There were some of my performances that were still on, and the organisers said not to worry too much. Only when the situation started getting really bad did they finally cancel the shows. It's for the better that this has happened. I continue taking classes at home and looking after my kids. Yes, it's difficult juggling the two responsibilities but my job is a little flexible like that, so I can easily handle both. My husband also has more free time. One thing I'm so happy for is that we can spend time with family. Yes, we usually also spend time together, but the shutdown has ceased all the other activities that consume our time. I am also not in a mind space where I'm rushing from one thing to another, and that means I can take my time with the children. The good thing from this is that as musicians, we can go back to performing to your guru because you want to show how you've improved or working on a song because you like it. Now I have time to do that. It's also a time for me to grow as an artist. What must be understood is that we are lucky. We have food and a roof over our heads. There are people across the country who do not have those luxuries at this time. I count my blessings for what I have, and that helps me through this new and unexpected time.