Locals revive long-lost hobbies, passions to beat lockdown blues

It was in 2017 that Solita Deb, an ardent music lover, began mixing songs during her free time. However, as years rolled over, the Chennai-based designer found herself with less time to pursue her passion. Now, with an abundance of free time on her hands, she has returned to her hobby and finds it emotionally fulfilling.

“I make a lot of playlists in my free time. When work got hectic, I wasn’t able to keep up with mixing, and maybe made one mix in the entirety of 2018. Now, I’ve already made two mixes in less than a month. It’s a meditative process for me, as I listen to the music and flow each song into another,” she said.

However, for others, it is a chance to discover recent interests, like in the case of Niharika Leonie Joy, who took up origami and crafting once the lockdown was announced.

Materials are no problem for these enthusiasts, and Niharika explains that they make do with what is readily available.

“My mother is a teacher, so we have a lot of crafting supplies at the house itself. I made some paper mache hot air balloons the other day and using the empty watermelon skin after taking out the fruit flesh, I used them as moulds for the balloons,” she said.

“Some of these hobbies help those doing them cope with the shutdown in a healthier way,” said Sudharshan Ramamoorthy, who recently took up his long-lost passion for writing, and has been writing 1,000-word pieces based on different prompts every day.

“There’s not much you can do during the shutdown, and you feel powerless for it. When I write and talk about the process with my friends, I am able to live at a time before all this happened, when things were easier and different,” he said.

For others, it is a chance to bond with family. As soon as the shutdown was announced, Tasneem Kathawala went hunting around her house for a telescope she had been gifted by her parents six years ago. After wiping it down with the large amounts of sanitiser available in the house, the biotech student sliced up some coriander stems and put them under the microscope.

“Everybody in the family lines up to look at the slides once they’re ready, and it’s a nice way to spend time during the shutdown. I’m also really passionate about research, but I wasn’t able to get a job close by, and so doing this has rekindled that passion for analysing in me again,” she said.

But hobbies are not the only way locals are passing the time. Some are even engaging in activities like learning a new language. After taking a basic German course when she was 15, the now 23-year-old Athithi Subramaniam is learning both German and Spanish through the language learning app Duolingo.

“Although my workload has increased by about three times, I’m still finding time to do this because commute timings are now gone and I don’t need to waste time getting ready for work. Since I’m in the business field, knowing more languages will help me with international clients,” she said. But would these passions continue after the lockdown? The response is mixed.

“I don’t see myself continuing learning after the shutdown, because then life is going to return to normal, and I won’t have any time anymore. For now, though, it’s enough,” said Subramaniam.

But for others, the lockdown has been a wake-up call. “I love mixing music, and when the shutdown ends and I go back to my job, I’m going to ensure I make time for this as well because this is so good for me and I love doing it,” said Deb.