Singer Shweta Pandit, who has been in Italy for the past six months, tells BT that she is waiting to come back to Mumbai and be with her loved ones
Debarati Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; April 9, 2020)

Singer Shweta Pandit (Pandit Jasraj’s granddaughter) has been in Florence, Italy, for the past six months, along with her husband Ivano Fucci (Italian film producer) and in-laws. The singer, who is known for Bollywood songs, including Thug Le, Do Dhaari Talwaar, Chalte Chalte and Madhubala, is shaken up by the situation in Italy, which is one of the worst-hit nations by the novel Coronavirus.

The singer, who shuttles between India and Italy, had gone to Florence to meet her in-laws. Shweta says that with every passing day, the fight is getting tougher. “The hospitals are filled with COVID-19 patients and the waiting areas have been turned into ICUs. The health workers here have never tackled a situation like this before; the death count is shocking. My family and I have been in quarantine for a month. The streets are empty and the usual buzz is missing,” she shares.

However, Shweta is happy that people have not let the grim situation crush their spirit. She says, “The spirit of the Italians was seen in the videos of people singing in their balconies. Now, everyone has picked it up and musicians are entertaining people online across the globe, which is great.” Though Shweta had planned to fly back to Mumbai in early March, she later chose to stay back. She explains, “I wanted to celebrate Holi with my family in Mumbai, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, I decided against it. People who had the virus, but didn’t know about it, flew back to their respective countries, thereby, spreading it. I didn’t want to take that risk. I know how fast the virus spreads, and I have seen how the army was called in to carry bodies of hundreds who passed away in the cities of Bergamo and Milan, as there was no place to bury them.”

Having been away from Mumbai for so long, she is eager to meet her loved ones. She says, “I hope that the situation improves soon and the flights resume. This is the longest I have been away from my city.”