Central Minister, Singer, Actor Baabul Surpriyo On Conquering The Corona

The lockdown  is treating  Baabul Supriyo well.

He  says, “When you are  in a room with a  tiger  , you don’t decide what needs  to be done. The  tiger  decides .  The  lockdown is the only way for  the  human race to survive until  a vaccine is  invented . The  vaccine could take  anything from a year  to  18 months  Only then can we eradicate Coronovirus as successfully as we eradicated smallpox.  It is a difficult situation for everyone.”

How is Baabul   spending  his  time? “If  you are  spending time with the  one you love then  you can never be  bored. So yes, I’m spending time with myself. This is an opportunity for everyone to become more patient  tolerant and  humorous. I am definitely  getting to know myself better during this time. I am  also spending a  lot  of time with my family. Luckily  my father who is 80-plus and  my mother  who is  70-plus were with me from before the lockdown. My only sister is  in New York where the pandemic  is at its peak. So a lot of time is going on the phone catching up with relatives and friends. There’s time  now for you   to have   leisurely  conversations some  carefree chats which you don’t have normally.”

Baabul  is all praise  PM Modi. “Our honourable  PM has given a clear roadmap to us ministers  about how  to monitor the virus. Each minister has been assigned a specific area to monitor and to   keep constant vigil.”

In his free time  Baabul is focusing  on his music. ‘My father who even at  81 has  a terrific  singing voice and I  sing together on  the harmonium. I also had   this  great wish to learn the guitar.So I am taking online guitar lessons. My wife and I  are very health conscious , so no  food binging. In any case with a  2 and a  half year  old around we end up  having random scoop of icecream or chocolate. And with my mother with me, delicacies are being made. My wife is also learning new  recipes.This I am happy about.  We   are watching movies that I missed earlier. I loved Raazi, Neerja, the series Narcos. I am reading two book simultaneously . I also have to attend office at  times with  mask in place.  My elder daughter calls me a Type A person. That means I always have to keep doing something. My dogs   birds and gardening keep me busy.I also  like to just  lie on the sofa and  do nothing. When will I ever get to do that?”

My advice to everyone?  “Find a way of being close as a  nation without physical proximity. If you really  love someone  stay away from that person. I am sure our very robust Prime Minister and  the heroic life-saving work- force  will see us through this  crisis. I am sure we can conquer  the Corona as we once conquered the smallpox.”