Beating Covid stress through gardening, kite flying and more
KHURSHEED AKBARI, 80, A RETIRED LECTURER OF PERSIAN AND ARABIC, NOW SPENDS MOST OF HER TIME READING RELIGIOUS BOOKS
PRAYAGRAJ: Forced indoors due to Covid-19 concerns, people are reviving old passions and interests to divert attention from stress and fear.
Instead of watching TV or social media, that are full of news related to Covid disease and deaths, many have revived their interests in forgotten hobbies like gardening, reading books, listening to music and learning to play musical instruments.
Some are flying kites while many others are playing carom online. Retired government employee, Syed Mohd Zaki, 72, a resident of old city area in Rani Mandi, for instance, had been a national level carrom player.
As he got busy with job and family, carom took a backseat.
Recently his sons downloaded carrom game app in his smartphone. Ever since, Zaki has been busy. “Carrom was my passion once and these days, I play the game online. It helps me beat stress and negative thoughts,” he said.
Similarly, Savitri Verma, 75, resident of Gangotri Nagar in Naini area, revived her interest in gardening. These days, she spends her time attending to the plants in her garden.
“My garden is greener than before,” she said. “I had a passion for gardening since long but was not able to give attention to it due to responsibilities at home. Now, with not much to do, gardening helps me stay engaged,” she added.
Khursheed Akbari, 80, a retired lecturer of Persian and Arabic, now spends most of her time reading religious books while Deepak Srivastava, 50, a resident of Katra area, has begun writing a book.
“These days the social media is full of negative news. It was having negative impact on me. I used to feel ill myself. I am a writer so now I quit social media and have started writing a book. Moreover, I have collected about a hundred plants on my terrace and am also pursuing my passion for gardening,” Srivastava said. There are many others like them who have either started learning how to cook new dishes or begun flying kites. Some others have started watching old movies or listening to olden melodies on their smartphones.
Senior psychiatrist Dr Rakesh Paswan said diverting attention from negative news is the best way to beat stress and depression. “Engaging in other activities will distract people from social media and other news platforms which are full of news about deaths due to Covid which is leaving negative impact on people’s mind and is affecting their immunity,” he added.