Visakhapatnam: Busy-bees get closer to their leisure activities

Visakhapatnam: As many confine themselves to staying indoors as they decide to go for self-imposed exile amid the 21-day national lockdown period, the otherwise busy-bees find it a rare opportunity to apply brakes to their active public life and breathe easy.

While some of the people's representatives stay in touch with their party men through video conferencing and restricted meetings, a few politicians grab some 'me-time' to indulge in their favourite activities. Some of them share their experiences with The Hans India team. Take, for instance, Visakhapatnam MP M V V Satyanarayana. When his hectic travel schedule came to a screeching halt due to lockdown, he found solace in his extended workout sessions and quality family time that he longed to spend with.

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BJP MLC gets closer to yoga

Similarly, being a yoga practitioner, lockdown brings BJP MLC P V N Madhav closer to asanas. "Apart from practising yoga, I love to read a book. Earlier, there was no time to flip through the pages of a book but ever since the lockdown was announced, I ensure to read a book at least for a while. Apparently, spending time with family was a luxury then. Now, I am making up for the lost family time," reasons Madhav. Another major assignment the MLC is tied up with at present is making necessary arrangements, based on the BJP national president J P Nadda's instructions, to arrange food and shelter for workers stranded in the city amid lockdown.

Araku MLA cooks

Confining his daily meetings to a few, Araku MLA Chetti Phalguna appears to be busy in experimenting with his culinary arts these days. Wielding a ladle in the kitchen, he says that he is fond of cooking and most of his preparations include a bunch of green-leafy vegetables. "Taking all precautionary measures, I meet a few villagers even now and educate them on hand hygiene measures and social distancing to protect themselves from coronavirus. Apart from cooking, gardening too engages me for a while," the Araku MLA told The Hans India, adding that he doesn't mind wielding a broom as it not only keeps his residence spic and span but also keeps himself fit.

More gym time

For an MLA where hours of fieldwork form an integral part of the daily routine, P G V R Naidu (Gana Babu) finds it hard to do away with it. However, the party men do connect through video conferencing and keep a tab on the Covid-19 updates. But the self-imposed isolation aided in connecting the Visakhapatnam West MLA with gym and family. "Thankfully, I have a gym at home where I can work out for minimum 45 minutes a day unlike the hurried way I used to do earlier. This apart, I never used to enjoy my meal time. But now, I make sure to savour my meals with my family as they tweak the menu according to my preferences," shares Gana Babu.

Beating the lockdown-induced boredom, it is quite interesting to see various political leaders engaging themselves in a positive manner in the little time they could get right now.