Getting to be and spend time with our loved ones is the only silver lining in this grim situation due to the spread of coronavirus. However, for actor Mandana Karimi, the stress is much more. Her family — mother, two brothers and a close friend, are at home in Iran, and she can’t be with them.
“For my friends in India, the situation hit them for the past two weeks. For me, I’ve been stressed with this whole situation for 60 days. My mom was supposed to be with me here for Holi, she’s been doing this for seven-eight years now. This year, she couldn’t. I can’t send her anything, they have a lot of problems with hand sanitisers and medicines. The only way we connect is through the internet. The situation is really bad there,” she says, adding how the government “isn’t supporting” people.
“So, the community has decided to shut down places, and have made a hand wash station outside the shops that are open. Even tests aren’t available, so literally they take you to the hospital if you need to be in the ICU, there’s no getting healed,” rues the 31-year-old, who’s in her Bandra, Mumbai home.
Due to this, she stopped doing anything since the lockdown started, and was constantly in touch with everyone back home in Iran. She reveals, “Taking stress doesn’t help anyone, you’re fighting a virus which has to do with the immune system. I couldn’t work out for three-four days in the beginning, as I’d constantly be on the phone. It hit me hard when I sat one day. Then I put myself back together and started working out.”
What also adds to her problems is her not stocking on food as a habit, and in this situation, affecting her. “I’m still struggling with how to store food, because I’m always travelling, so I didn’t used to store food. Now I’m learning how to package chicken and fresh veggies. It’s a learning process. I have two dogs at home too. This is how our new life is going to be. I’m not used to staying at home the whole day,” she ends.
