As told to Saptaparna Biswas (BOMBAY TIMES; April 4, 2020)

I was out for a late run when the Coronavirus lockdown was announced. My first thought was for my parents, and how I was going to keep them calm through these three weeks. Now, my typical day begins with planning the meals for the day with baba and maa. My parents are 90 and 75 years old, respectively, and it is very important for me to keep them actively engaged in these days of lockdown. Like many people of their age, they get anxious after listening to the news, especially about the fatalities in their age group. Due to their increased vulnerability to infection, I have neither stepped out of the house, nor allowed anyone inside since the lockdown. Our house-help has been given leave as well.

The best way to keep them engaged is by doing the two things Bengalis love the most — cooking and eating! The first two days, I prepared the dishes they liked. Soon, baba started taking an interest and cooking with me. Now, all of us cook together. This has helped us keep the negativity at bay. It is also heart-warming to see my parents taking care of each other. Though he can’t stand for long, my dad prepared paayesh (kheer) for maa one day because no sweet was available.

Besides cooking, the most important thing for me right now is to complete a script that I have been working on. I have a self-imposed deadline to finish it before the lockdown gets over. It is a political thriller set in Mumbai, Delhi and Kashmir. I am also re-learning Hindustani classical music and doing yoga.

My biggest takeaway from this period is that I have learnt to value people more. All these days of staying away from the people who I used to meet every day has made me understand that I should have probably given them more time. I wish everyone comes out of this with more love, care and understanding — and hopefully, gender roles will cease to exist and people will learn from this phase. Once the period of social distancing is over, the first person I would want to meet is my friend Sanjay Suri and have a nice coffee with his family and my godchildren.