NEW DELHI: The novel coronavirus pandemic has left the whole world in a lurch with people going through a tough time. Quarantined in homes, there is a lot of regular hustle that the working class is missing these days but according to Shifa Maitra, the creator of ‘Smile India’ podcast for IVM, what these days of social distancing are rightfully teaching the world is that life is much more than being in mad rush all the time. 

Currently working from home, Maitra feels it is a welcome change to not rush to work through maddening city traffic. However, she makes sure that she is well dressed and works regularly and takes brisk walk during the breaks. 

She is looking at the brighter side as she does with her podcast. Speaking about the same, Maitra told us, “The idea behind the podcast was that as Indians we put a lot of premium on goodness and values. But somewhere across all the media, be it newspapers or television, or social media, we are only hearing the negatives. We are only discussing what is going wrong. But there are many things that are happening right as well. I thought there is a need to highlight that.”

She reveals that listening to podcasts like hers and watching meaningful and educational content, which many creators are working on for these times, one can look at things differently and relax a bit. 

She also lauded the efforts that medical practitioners and several other people are making to contain the virus. “When you are sitting and cribbing about the fact that you can’t go to  movie hall, there are a lot of people who are leaving their families behind and are working in hospitals.”

Maitra concluded that people should use this time productively and not let their spirits go down.