‘Lockdown good for family bonding’ : Juhi Chawla

Like most across the country, actress Juhi Chawla is confined to her home. In a candid chat she reveals her daily routine since the lockdown and everything new she’s started on.

The lockdown has not been too nerve-wracking for Juhi, from what she tells us. “I feel the time spent at home passes very well. Being behind the four walls is being safe. I am also doing a few household chores as some of our house helps haven’t been coming to work,” Juhi says.

Household chores aside, Juhi’s day starts with filling in for her priest who hasn’t been visiting since the lockdown. “So, the first thing I do at home is to perform the puja, which feels great. A little later, I head down to water my garden,” says Juhi, who tells us that she’s been planting greens such as fenugreek and coriander.

“I’ve understood that while sowing seeds, some compost is important too. The coriander that had begun to grow in the trench I’d dug in the garden died without the compost. While I am sad about that, I am happy I’ve learnt a few gardening mantras. And if my plants grow well, I may even share those mantras on social media.”

Of her two kids, Juhi managed to get her son Arjun back home from his boarding school abroad before the last call for the lockdown. Her daughter, Jhanvi, is with her paternal grandparents in Uganda, who live in an estate far from town.

“They’re all fine. And it’s wonderful to have Arjun home and to eat together at mealtime. I feel this lockdown has been good for the family-bonding time we’ve got,” Juhi says.

IPL postponed

In addition to her star-studded film career, Juhi made a mark in 2008 when she, in partnership with her erstwhile co-star Shah Rukh Khan, purchased rights to the ownership of an IPL team the Kolkata Knight Riders. The team won the title twice in 2012 and 2014.

So, it’s natural that neither Juhi nor Arjun are happy about the IPL being cancelled for now. “Yes, it feels bad. We’re just hoping that sometime this year after everything gets back to normal, we will have the IPL,” expresses Juhi. So, does she discuss the IPL preparations with Shah Rukh Khan? “I spoke to him after we returned to Mumbai, not about IPL though. That’s something he and my husband Jay discuss mostly,” says Juhi. “We just spoke about the prevailing conditions and their changes.”

A time to restore

But nothing about the lockdown seems to bother Juhi. “Honestly, while talking to you, I am sitting in my balcony and enjoying the fresh breeze. Have you noticed how these days we can hear the chirping of birds and are experiencing unpolluted, fresh breeze? Even last week, all of us could see a very clear moon in the sky. A friend just told me that she could see the clear blue waters of the sea from her house. It’s as if nature is restoring itself… as if God has designed these times so we can experience the beauty around us, which we had taken for granted and even stomped over.”