COVID forced me to have an isolated b’day: Manan Desai

early symptoms started showing up around October 16, and I immediately isolated. The next day I got my blood test done which confirmed the early signs of COVID-19. On October 19, which is also my birthday I was tested COVID-19 positive. I’m someone who makes sure to spend his birthday with family. So this year I was in isolation and celebrated my birthday virtually which was the worst part,” says comedian Manan Desai, who is happy to complete his home quarantine.
‘I WAS SCARED INITIALLY, BUT EVENTUALLY FOUND MY WAY’
Initially I found the going tough. Though I was living with my family, I still couldn’t meet them. That isolation overpowered all my positive thoughts and started to take an emotional, physical and psychological toll on me. For instance, this one time my fever and pulse rate had shot up and had to get some medicines delivered at 2 am, then another time I got breathless and had to do my breathing exercises to feel better. 2-3 symptoms react , at that time I focused on doing breathing exercises and followed diligently.
‘COVID-19 MADE ME REALISE THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD HEALTH’
This phase has made me realise that health has to be my priority and can no longer ignore it. In the past, I have had a bittersweet relationship with my weight issues, and while I lost close to five kilos in 15 days, my friends who have recovered from COVID-19 tease me saying that I would gain back that weight in a matter of few days. I want to maintain my weight loss journey so will be continuing with my breathing exercises and will be closely watching my calorie intake. During the isolation, I ended up watching a lot of health and fitness videos giving me a better sense of weight management.
‘MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER WERE MY PILLARS OF STRENGTH’
I really started to enjoy the process of meditation and breathing exercises in isolation. Music has been my first love. In fact, someone on social media suggested me to play the harmonica as it helps in your breathing process. Incidentally, as my dad was a harmonica player, I had one at home and surprisingly it helped me a lot. But it was Dhyana and Vidya who helped me pull through this tough phase. Dhyana would keep sliding handmade cards in my room with designs of me, my car and things around us, along with ‘get well soon’ and ‘I love you’ written on it, every day. I made a small wall where I had stuck all her cards and our family picture and it was like my go-to motivational wall.
‘HAVING A SCHEDULE HELPED TO FOCUS DURING THIS PHASE’
Having a thoroughly charted out schedule helped me to stay focused. During isolation, I jotted down some ideas for my next gigs which were inspired by my COVID-19 experience. I also worked on a movie premise and did some vlogging. It gave me time to introspect and brainstorm new ideas.