From chores to pursuing hobbies, DIY gains popularity among stay-at-home parents

Personal grooming, one-onone teaching and experts conducting workshops online to housekeeping and resolving simple electrical problems, there is room for all kinds of chores or exercises that have given a leg up to those in the DIY mode.

Stay-at-home parents are now busy wielding the “scissors and trimmers” to keep the locks and beard of their children (tiny tots to growing teenagers) in perfect order. Vinit, father of four-year-old Vivaan, proclaimed that he used a trimmer to shave the hair off his son’s head. “I wanted to give my son a boy cut look but as a novice, I could not get it right. So finally, I shaved it all using my trimmer, which, by the way, is going to be much easier to tackle the blazing heat in the upcoming summer months. My son enjoyed the process thoroughly and I, too, had my share of fun in showcasing my amateur skills,” said the resident of Ashok Nagar.

Celebrities such as Sachin Tendulkar, Anushka Sharma and David Beckham have seen an increase in viewership of their lockdown “battle with tresses”, while closer to home in the city, Premalatha, the better half of Vijayakanth, earned her share of views, when she displayed her prowess on social media. Massage, shaving, clipping nails, colouring hair to cutting the hair of her actor-turned politician husband, her acts seem to reflect the beginning of the “rise” of the “upcoming” personal grooming experts.

Meanwhile, Abhay Gothi, who is part of a family-run diamond business, said he has urged his friend to consider rolling out packets containing towel, comb, scissors, shaving cream, so that even post-lockdown, as a safeguard measure, one can carry their kits to the salon to avail services. Gothi’s wife, in the meantime, has teamed up with another lady to prepare home-cooked meals.

Chandrakanth Bothra, an entrepreneur with expertise in the chemicals field, has started making soaps and sanitisers at home. This has turned into yet another DIY activity that has the potential to generate quick income too.

Nirmala Shekar is set to launch her 28day programme from Thursday. This is a video series on ‘body talk, mindscape, reiki,’ aimed at helping people recharge themselves. She said, “This is a big step for me – learning to be comfortable in front of a camera, to be visible this way, recording and navigating all the tech. But the inner prompt to do this has been stronger than my concerns and cannot be denied.”