As the world welcomes 2021, your editors interviewed several lifestyle gurus who advise a reset of minds and attitudes to practice FRESH — Fitness, Return to minimalist living, Education, Slowing Down and Home Life — to restore the physical, social, emotional and educational well-being of parents and children in the post-pandemic era – Archana N, Mini P & Cynthia John Although officially mandated social distancing restrictions in countries around the world prevented people from publicly celebrating the end of 2020 — the worst annus horribilis in recent memory — publics worldwide were undoubtedly more than happy to witness the end of a year during which the Coronavirus aka Covid-19 pandemic rained disease and death — 82.6 million infections and 1.8 million fatalities worldwide (December 31). In India, thousands of MSMEs (micro small and medium enterprises) have closed shop, GDP is set to contract by 7.7 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31, adult unemployment has risen to 37 million and schools, colleges and universities with an aggregate enrolment of 290 million children and youth have been shuttered for over nine months. But, even as a second wave of Covid-19 infections has hit the UK, Europe and the US, the new year has signalled a new dawn. Several big pharma companies — Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca, Bharat Biotech among others — claim to have invented new anti-Covid vaccines and mass vaccination campaigns are being rolled out worldwide. In India, the first despatches of Astra-Zeneca’s Covishield, manufactured by the Pune-based private sector Serum Institute of India — reportedly the world’s largest serums producer — and Covaxin manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech have begun. India Inc expects business as usual with a bang to begin after presentation of the Union budget on February 1. Yet, though 2020 will be etched in millions of minds for the horrors of the pandemic, it also forced considerable introspection. Stay-at-home orders which forced families indoors enabled family members to spend quality time together; health, nutrition, fitness and mental well-being assumed great importance; and education changed radically with teachers, parents and students quickly adopting digital online technologies to maintain learning continuity. As the world welcomes 2021, your editors interviewed several lifestyle gurus who advise a reset of minds and attitudes to practice FRESH — Fitness, Return to minimalist living, Education, Slowing down and Home — to restore the physical, social, emotional and educational well-being of parents and children in the post-pandemic era. Fitness Fear of contracting the Covid-19 virus has focused the attention of the great Indian middle class on health and fitness as never before. Although gyms across the country remained closed for most part of 2020, living rooms, terraces, and bedrooms have transformed into makeshift workout hubs with parents and children logging on to television channels and Youtube exercise videos and signing up for health and fitness apps. Family workouts and parent-child exercise sessions have become the new normal. Lifestyle and mental health gurus are unanimous. To recover from the trauma of the prolonged national lockdown…
