Asha to those flouting lockdown: Has God given you immortality?
At 77 and amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, Asha Parekh is taking it one day at a time. But she loses her cool when she sees people aren’t ready to “face the reality” and are putting lives in danger.
“Ye beemari bahut taqleef deti hai; aap saans nahi le paayenge. Aur jo log soch rahe hain unko nahi hoga, I want to ask them, ‘Has God given you immortality?’ Emergency care providers are working hard. Please think about them. What angers me is the way educated people are behaving,” she rues.
Parekh stresses that “it isn’t right to complain when you’re in a better position”. She’s doing her bit by not stepping out of her house, and gives due credit to her driver and security personnel for getting her essentials.
“I know it’s claustrophobic at times, more so when seven or eight people share a room in a place like Mumbai. Par yeh socho ki aap phir bhi surakshit hain. Agar main ab rone baith jaun ki kab tak ghar mein rahungi to kya hoga? Isse achha hai main khush rahun, positive rahun,” she says, adding, “There’s not much pollution, and it feels so nice.
The world is changing, so are we all…”
Parekh starts her day with yoga, reads books, watches TV, and talks to her family members and friends over video calls regularly.
“My brother (Jayesh Parekh) calls me every day at 5.30pm... My best friend (Vandana Shah) stays in Birmingham, and she was telling me how depressed she feels at times. The other day Shabana (Azmi, actor) called and said, ‘Tu akeli hai, kuch chahiye to bataana’. Waheeda (Rehman, actor) aur uski beti bhi call karte rehte hain,” she shares.