Cooking, painting, pet grooming: Celebs continue to pursue passions rediscovered during the lockdown

If there is one takeaway from the otherwise disastrous 2020, it is probably the free time that it offered to all of us. Along with the pause that the lockdown brought to our lives from March last year, came an opportunity to sit back, rediscover our hidden passions and enjoy the simplicities of life. Now that many of us are going back to the grind, certain passions and hobbies that started in the lockdown continue to stay with us. Tollywood celebrities too are happily pursuing some of these activities in the new year. While some would love to spend more time in the kitchen, others have taken to gardening or learnt to groom their

pets

at home. Read on...

Spending time in the kitchen is bliss: Srijit Mukherji

Being a foodie, cooking came naturally to me during the lockdown. So, I decided to spend more time in the kitchen and it’s sheer bliss. Making breakfast is my responsibility now. Every morning, I make eggs, bacon, ham and baked beans on toast, and we have good fun gorging on that. Meanwhile, Mithila (wife) has turned our rooftop into a beautiful garden and has been taking care of that for a while.

Pet

grooming

is my new-found love: Anindya Chatterjee

2020 taught us how to be self-reliant. I have five dogs and before the lockdown, I had to take them to a designated pet place for their grooming. While it may sound fancy, pet grooming, including trimming nails and fur, bathing, removing dead cells from paws and others, is a must for the well-being of pets. You need to do it with great care and concentration. I learnt it meticulously and now I groom all my pups – Kiki, Sia, Kyle, Nina and Precious – on my own.

Ukulele, gardening help me de-stress:

Chandreyee Ghosh

I was playing the guitar, but during the lockdown, I played the ukulele while singing a

Chandrabindoo

number, Eita Tomar Gaan, which got a lot of love. Years ago, director Aditi Ray and I learnt classical guitar together till second grade but could not manage time after that. After being gifted an ukulele last year, I started learning online and I’m surely going to continue it. I also started gardening with my mother. Though not a pro, I’m much more involved in it now. Besides enabling me to explore my creativity, ukulele and gardening are also helping me de-stress.

I’m gifting digital portraits now: Kheya Chattopadhyay

Besides learning to cook in this pandemic, I’ve been using a pen tab to create digital portraits. Every year I curate a list of gifts for my boyfriend’s birthday. But last year I couldn’t order stuff from most places, so I used my free time to create portraits from our favourite moments from 2012 to 2020. I realised this was something I could give to people I care for and I’m excited to explore more of this hobby in 2021.
Cooking is therapy for me:

Tnusree Chakraborty

’

My most cherished creative expression of the previous year was cooking. The lockdown was hard to deal with. But each of us found a way to live through it with a smile. So did I. I found solace in cooking. My love for food is an open secret and cooking is therapeutic for me. I am a passionate home chef and the kitchen is where I meditate through the dishes I cook. Owing to my usual schedule, I don’t get much time to explore my culinary skills. I always have a bunch of recipes on my wish list that I never find time to try out. The lockdown gave me ample time and I spent a lot of it on my cooking sprees. Now I am in no mood to discontinue it since not just me, my family and friends are equally enjoying it.