Lockdown games: Ludo, carrom are call of duty

CHANDIGARH: Home-arrested city and Mohali have dusted

ludo

and

carrom

boards after getting bored of shooting down virtual enemies on Call of Duty. If not, they have picked up frying pan and paintbrush.

Some look at the negative side of the lockdown, while creative minds see an opportunity to learn new skills. Nostalgic board games such as carrom, ludo, and snakes and ladders have come back. At 26,

Jatin

of Sector 38 has taken out his boyhood carrom board after 11 years and marked a time slot for play “every single day”.

Panjab University

student Anwesha of Sector 18 told TOI: “Locked down? Do not crib. Download two games of ludo and cookery videos on your tablet.”

Creative mind Anjali has at last found time and solitude to follow her passion of painting. She said: “College schedule never left me with time for this therapeutic hobby. Art cuts you from the outer world for some time.” In the evening, families play badminton in front yards. Shuttle-bug Shrey Puri of Sector 23 said: “An hour of badminton with the family is the best fitness programme in these lockdown times. Thankfully, I have a shuttlecock stock to last many days.”

People have also used this time to join online courses for upgrading their skills. Asees of Sector 36, student of

SD College

in Sector 32, said: “Apart from helping my family with chores, I learn about audio-visual industry and 3D architecture design tools on the internet, which will help me in my CBT (

cognitive behavioral therapy

) course.”

(Story by: Piyush Sarna)