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No plans of returning to India as of now, says Sonu Nigam
It is a stressful phase for actor Deepika Singh and her family, given her 59year-old mother tested positive for Covid-19 in Delhi recently. Her family had been unable to get her mother admitted to any hospital, as there was a delay in handing over reports.
Singh, who is in Mumbai with her husband and son, appealed to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for help.
“I have a huge joint family of 45 members in my Paharganj house, including my grandmother and dad, and everyone is stressed out. My grandma too has breathing issues. I don’t know what to do or how to react. Mujhe lag raha hai ke samay ka pahiya ulta chalna shuru ho gaya hai,” she said in her video appeal posted online, hoping that Kejriwal can help them secure a bed in a hospital. She also requested for her relatives to be tested.
“My mother had a fever and couldn’t taste anything...even after being
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Saturday took to Twitter to confirm that he has tested positive for Covid-19. Afridi said he’d been feeling unwell since Thursday. “I’ve been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I’ve been tested and unfortunately I’m Covid positive. Need prayers for a speedy recovery, InshaAllah,” Afridi tweeted.
The 40-year-old Afridi is the second Pakistani cricketer after Taufeeq Umar to have tested positive for Covid-19. Taufeeq had tested four to five days ago, my mother hasn’t got her report and now people are saying stay at home. But how will we get her X-ray done? She is feeling extremely weak and needs immediate medical attention. I don’t have contacts in any private hospitals in Delhi and I don’t know where to go or what medication to give her. Whichever hospital I called said keep her at home as we don’t have beds. But with a huge joint family, that, too, is a risk for all,” she stated in the video that has since then gone viral.
The Diya Aur Baati Hum actor’s appeal didn’t go unheard, as her mother was finally admitted to a hospital in the Capital. “Thank you to Delhi Govt & health minister for the immediate response to my tweet & video. Finally my mother got admission in Sir Gangaram hospital. Hoping for her speedy recovery,” she wrote.
When contacted, Singh was unavailable for a comment. announced his recovery a few days back.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal took to Twitter to wish Afridi a speedy recovery. “In shaa Allah you will be fine soon Ameen. prayers are for your long healthy life. Get well soon,” he posted.
Others from the Pakistan cricketing world also extended their wishes for a speedy recovery. Cricketer Sohail Tanveer wrote: “Wish you speedy recovery Lala, get well soon ...” Cricketer Wahab Riaz posted, “Get well soon Shahid Bhai.”
HTC
To say that the coronavirus scare has brought the world down on its knees won’t be wrong. However, this has been a “catharsis of a kind” for singer Sonu Nigam. “I feel reassured that my belief in the true nature of life was actually the truth, and not what the world was trying to make me believe. I was surrounded with people who would broadcast in brazen arrogance that they were the Maai Baaps (creator, provider, sustainer, destroyer) of the music industry and the film industry. I could see the stark difference in my idea of success and their perception of success. I see all that crumble in front of my eyes today,” he tells us.
What came as a big shocker for him was the news of singer-composer Wajid Khan’s demise. “Wajid was someone whom I loved more than he loved me. And I loved loving him…It’ll take me a very long time to come to terms with his loss,” he says.
Nigam, 46, has been stuck in Dubai for nearly three months due to the lockdown. However, despite restrictions being eased amid Unlock 1.0, he has no plans of coming back to India as of now. Furthermore, given that his new house is nearing completion, Nigam says he will not avail the facility of repatriation flights either. “We’ll move there,” he says, adding, “I have a home studio, so I engineer it myself and get my work done. Until the concert scenario opens up, I don’t see any reason for me to leave my son here and stay in Mumbai alone in isolation.”
And even though real-life concerts seem like a distant reality at present, it hasn’t really stopped Nigam from fulfilling his creative urges through the online route. Terming online concerts as “tedious but fulfilling”, the singer explains, “They were my contribution towards the generation of funds for PM Cares Fund. We did a lot of songs, especially one I spearheaded with the Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA), where we brought 211 singers together for one song, Jayatu Jayatu Bharatam. It is kind of a world record of sorts.”
Until the concert scenario opens up, I don’t see any reason for me to leave my son here and stay in Mumbai alone in isolation.
SINGER