Vikas Khanna is chilling at home The chef speaks from New York on coping with the Corona shutdown

It’s the only thing everyone is talking about the world over: how COVID-19 has disrupted everyone’s lives and taken over normalcy. We spoke with popular star chef Vikas Khanna on the telephone who’s at his New York (NY) apartment to find out how he was coping with the changes and social distancing thanks to Corona.

Excerpts from an interview:

How is the lockdown in NY, and how does it affect you?

VK: In NY, there is way too much panic-buying and fear, as also too many test clinics and precautions. It makes me re-think about the vulnerability of life.

Many of my friends stay in the same building as I do here in NY, so we are all in this together. I am catching up on all the backlog of chores at home, which I never got to attend to while running around. In all, I am keeping myself busy and staying positive.

How are you spending time these days?

VK: Reading, writing, testing new recipes. Sometimes, I am also editing new movies and documentaries. In essence, I am consciously trying to use this time to be most productive and creative, never allowing myself to get depressed.

Does it make you wonder about the uncertainty of life?

VK: Yes. A year ago, on 24 Mar 2019, I was working in a factory of publishers to produce my biggest book so far, called The Sacred Foods of India, which was to take readers on a food pilgrimage. And here we are instead. Sometimes, we feel we are in charge. But we really are not.

Someone from above can change all our plans in a jiffy. All the seeming certainties are not real. The reality of life is different from the way we would like to see it.

Are you working from home now?

VK: All restaurants and catering companies are shut down for safety reasons.

We are, each, one another’s safety today. And while we may not be in control of our times, we can use this time to do our best. Write, think, create. Focus.