Pallabi Purkayastha (BOMBAY TIMES; March 26, 2020)

Bollywood singer Neeti Mohan and her dancer siblings Shakti and Mukti are in self-isolation these days. The Mohan sisters, as they are popularly known, along with Neeti’s husband Nihaar Pandya (right), had gone to Australia on March 6 to support the ICC T20 Women’s Cricket Team. However, they returned home within days after Hollywood star Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive for Coronavirus Down Under.

‘WE HAVE RESPONSIBLY QUARANTINED OURSELVES’
Mukti says, “Shakti di, Neeti di, my brother-in-law and I had gone to Australia to support the women’s cricket team. We had also planned to visit some other places in Australia after the match, but when we heard that Tom Hanks was in the same city as us and he had tested positive for coronavirus, we returned home immediately. We haven’t met our parents since then.”

“All four of us are in isolation at a farmhouse owned by Nihaar’s family. It has been 13 days since we have responsibly quarantined ourselves,” says Mukti from her isolation den, which is situated in the outskirts of the city.

The family had to drive down from Sydney to Brisbane overnight to catch their last-minute flights. Nihaar recalls, “After Tom Hanks and another Indian in Melbourne tested positive, I called up my brother, and he asked us to either stay in Australia till the crisis subsides (which could have taken months) or take the next flight to Mumbai. So, we decided to rush back home and had to travel from Brisbane to Singapore, then Dubai and finally, Mumbai. It was scary to see the airports nearly empty, but the authorities were helpful. When we landed in Mumbai on March 13, we thought that we might be stuck for hours, but it went pretty smooth and after the temperature tests, we were allowed to leave. For the initial three-four days, we stayed in an apartment in Andheri, where Neeti’s parents used to live earlier. Later, we shifted to a remote location on the outskirts of Mumbai and have been living here since.”

Neeti adds, “When the BMC authorities got to know our travel history, they started checking on us every two days. Throughout this period, we made sure not to come in touch with anyone, not even our parents! They are anxious, but I guess they are seeking comfort in the fact that we manage to stay in touch through video calls.”

‘WE HAD FUN THROUGHOUT’
While self-quarantine can be boring, the quartet ensured that they kept themselves entertained. “Since we come from a family of singers, dancers and actors, we were constantly having fun by singing, practising splits and what not,” says Shakti.

“The best part is that we kept each other in good spirits. The isolation will be over today, but we had fun throughout,” concludes Mukti.