Mumbai: As we enter the 56th day of the lockdown, what are people in the city missing the most? Their beloved vada pav, Kepsa biryani from their favourite outlet, travelling by local trains and partying. The Free Press Journal spoke with people across different age groups and found that the one thing most seem to miss is having a social life.
Aishwarya Uparkar, 30, a chartered accountant, says she misses hanging out with her gang. Once this social distancing is over, I want to hug every loved one, because I am extremely fed up of virtual hugs and meetings, she says.
Homemaker Harsha Jaykar, 45, also she says that she cannot wait to catch up with her friends. Law student Rakshanda Saini misses visiting the beauty parlour, but even more than that, she misses meeting her friends and hanging out with them.
I miss impromptu chilling sessions with my friends at a restaurant, food joint, pub-hopping or clubbing on weekends, she says. For Sujoy Chettiar, a sales executive, it is all about the lost weekends. He misses going out for a dinner or a drink.
Says Sathish DK, Contact with human beings is missing. Everyone is looking at the other with suspicion these days, with the same thought - whether they are at risk of infection. Some people are yearning for the little things that made them happy before.
Seventy-year-old Neela Ramachandra, who says she misses her walks. Our society is very strict. We are not allowed to take walks. Also, I miss the medu wada we got on Sundays from the restaurant and the vada paav, she says.
For Jojo Jose, 37, – it is the Kepsa biryani from Persian Darbar restaurant. “It is available online. But I am afraid to order food from outside now and prefer cooking at home,” He misses pork, which he no longer gets from nearby. Others simply want to get back to work life they knew.
Arif Panjwani, a software and finance consultant, says he misses the enthusiastic board meetings. “I look forward to the nice coffee I used to get at work and the breaks, in which I would make quick phone calls to my wife to tell her about the goings-on. It’s the normal life I’m missing,” he says.
Adnan Shaikh, an advocate, meanwhile desperately misses attending regular court. “May is the month court would be on vacation and I would have been on a foreign trip. It is travelling that I now miss,” he says.
Says Aradhna Shinde, 35, who works at a private firm, “Work from home does not have the excitement found at an office. I never thought I would ever miss travelling in Mumbai locals.”
(With inputs from Priyanka Navalkar, Sachin Gaad, Narsi Benwal, Ronald Rodrigues and Sweety Adimulam)
