As told to Riya Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; May 13, 2020)

There are many things I’ve added to my lockdown routine, but one thing I’m religiously trying to follow is staying away from my phone. I’m spending time with my family, and connecting more to my roots, now that I’m home in Dehradun.

When we were kids, my mom always taught us the importance of keeping our rooms clean. She said, ‘if you all keep your rooms clean, we’ll have a clean house.’ I moved out of the house around 10 years ago, and I never thought I’ll be reminded of so many things I did as a child. Like cleaning my room, doing jhadu-pocha, sometimes even cooking something for myself, like noodles and eggs.

During this time, I am helping people as much as I can. I sent cookies to the police officers who’ve been working tirelessly near our home. Then there is a group of people who send food to a locality behind my house, for the underprivileged residents there. So, I make contributions towards the purchase of food. Also, when I felt that I wasn’t doing enough, I used music as my shield and went to my rooftop and did a live social media concert for my fans, to cheer them up. Even if I can make them smile for 15-20 minutes, I’ll think as an artist, my purpose is fulfilled.

The Coronavirus outbreak is an extremely disturbing thing, but what has shocked me more is the news, like people spitting on and hitting doctors, misbehaving and running away from hospitals, not realising the gravity of the situation. One piece of advice I’d like to give to people is that even if we have masks and sanitisers, the only way to defeat this virus is through social distancing. Please ensure you keep yourselves clean, follow the hygiene routine and stay at home. Let’s forget the division of race, caste, gender, colour, region and language, and unite to fight the virus, which is the evil living amongst us. We must defeat it.