Actress Shriya Saran has been spending her quarantine days in Barcelona, Spain, which is one of the countries that has been worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe. She is living there with hubby Andrei Koscheev who she married in a hush-hush ceremony in 2018.
Sharing how their lives turned upside ever since the country was put under lockdown, the ‘Drishyam’ actor said in an interview with TOI:
“It’s surreal how drastically things changed around me ever since COVID-19 first hit us. Living in Spain, one of the worst-hit countries, I got to see first-hand how quickly this virus turned our lives upside down. Life was so different just a few weeks ago.”
Shriya also divulged how reality struck her when they went out to celebrate their second marriage anniversary and everything was shut.
“It all changed on March 13, when Andrei and I stepped out to celebrate our anniversary, unperturbed by the coronavirus.”
“We had made a reservation but when we got to the restaurant, we saw that it was shut. That’s when it dawned upon us that things are really serious; the whole of Spain was under lockdown.
“From then on, everything changed. The police passed a rule allowing only one person per household to step out and that too only if absolutely unavoidable.”
She further added that they were also once stopped by the cops, “but since he is white and I’m brown, they didn’t realise we were together, so they let us go,” she said.
She also shared how hubby Andrei turned away from hospital despite showing COVID-19 symptoms as the doctors were overwhelmed, reported Hindustan Times.
“To make matters worse, Andrei began to develop a dry cough and fever. We rushed to a hospital but the doctors were overwhelmed and urged us to leave. “Chances are that even if he doesn’t have COVID-19, he will get it if he stays here,” the doctors told us. So we decided to go home and self-isolate ourselves and get treatment at home.”
“We slept in different rooms and maintained a safe distance from each other. Thankfully, he’s feeling better now, so I hope the worst is behind us.”
Talking about how the mandatory home quarantine is hampering their mental health, she said, “Staying cooped up in one place is frustrating and I try to keep myself occupied with yoga, meditation, cooking, reading, watching movies, to take my mind off things.”
She also shared how people in her neighbourhood come out to their balconies, to clap and sing together. “For about 10 minutes, everyone is united and that is beautiful. It fills us all with that much-needed positivity in these trying times.”
Shriya further added that although the situation is improving, she misses going back home.
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to come home again. My parents are in Mumbai and I’m constantly on video-call with them.”
“My mum has shared some of her recipes and I’ve learnt to make them. But now I’m running out of spices and garam masala, so I’m worried that I won’t be able to eat desi food soon.”
Talking about how it’s going to be an uphill task to get back to normal life, she said, “This pandemic will change the way we look at the environment. I think we will have greater appreciation for things we’ve always taken for granted. It’s a long road back to normalcy, but when all this is over, we will hopefully have a better world.” (sic)
Getting back to the good old days will indeed be difficult, but with our collective efforts, we will definitely win this battle against the virus. Don’t lose hope Shriya, we are in this together and this too shall pass!