“Necessity is something that helps you explore your inner potential” says Md. Shams Aalam, Indian record holder paraplegic swimmer, while sharing his experience on how the lockdown brought him an opportunity to learn something new.

As we are aware that after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in India in the year 2020 , the Indian Government under Prime Minister Modi declared a nation wide lockdown limiting the movement of the entire 1.38billion  population of India on the evening of 24^th March , 2020. Thus the lockdown unexpectedly entered the unprepared Indian household and put everything to a halt. That has adversely affected many lives around the nation creating a flood of tension and worries followed by piles of boredom .

But as they say Every coin has two sides this lockdown didn’t only bring havoc all over the country but it also helped in somehow reducing the spread of Covid 1^st wave along with bringing us closer to our loved ones . Although it was quite boring for the ever busy Indian population yet many people were seen using this time pretty wisely. One among them is Indian paraplegic swimmer Md. Shams Aalam Shaikh ,who holds many records for his excellency in swimming and who’s also one among the 300 most influential people in Asia. In a casual chat with us Shams revealed how the lockdown turned him into a completely self- independent  person .

It has been two years since Shams along with his father shifted to Gurugram from his native place Mumbai for some project. As  he said there he had a househelp who used to prepare food for both of them. But after the proclamation of lockdown she was unable to come to his place. It was just like one of Shams’ worst nightmare becoming true, as he expresses, “that was really a critical situation. You can adjust everything not hunger. I knew I can’t order food as everything was closed and even if any restaurant was open I couldn’t order food from there cause I being an athlete and my father an aged being we both need to have healthy homemade food. Hence I had to take this big step.”

 After being clueless Shams decided to try his hands on cooking. Little did Shams knows this decision is going to bring vital change in his life. His cooking journey remained quite interesting as he said he not only learnt cooking but also many other lessons in this process. As he puts it, “The process was full of ups and downs . It wasn’t at all a smooth journey. I also did mistakes as a result of which I got burnt .Sometimes I didn’t even realise it until I saw the blisters. Here Shams told us about the incident where he erroneously kept the hot tong on his thigh while making Rotis  and burnt his thigh. As he is a paraplegic he couldn’t realise this until he saw the blister on it.

Shams states , “However I never stopped there , as you should always learn from your mistakes and keep trying until you succeed in your goal.” He then Shared a rib tickling incident that happened on his 1^st day of cooking while he was trying to make Rotis. He says , ‘ As I was making Roti for the very 1^st time in my entire life I couldn’t make them properly rather made them in various shapes and sizes .Out of excitement I posted their pictures on my social media handles where I got kinds of comments. Some mocked at me by saying “Am I trying to make a map”, some other encouraged me with their words like “keep it up Shams” , “Practice makes a man perfect” , “ Try making a gol (round)roti  it will bring you a beautiful life partner” etc. Although  making a perfect roti was a bit of a task for me but slowly I mastered the craft. Now I can make perfect round Rotis’. With a bright face Shams states “watching a roti puffing up makes me feel like winning  gold in Olympics”.

According to Shams’ perspective cooking is not something meant only  for women but it is for all to learn and do. In his words everyone irrespective of gender should learn to cook as it make us self-reliant. He told that while he was in U.S. he found out everyone there lives their life without being a burden on anyone for anything . He states, “though we Indians have a different culture but this is no excuse why we shouldn’t learn cooking .

This brings him to the most important lesson he learnt in the journey . He told , “ while cooking , my father like any other elderly person , always keep guiding me saying how much oil to use , how to make this curry and sometimes pointing out my errors. Too much of his interference made me feel irritated quite a few times. Because of which I realised how all the women in our houses feel when we judge the food they prepare for us while completely neglecting the love and effort they put in it. It’s not easy to stand near a stove in the scorching heat and prepare food 4 to 5 times a day”. Shams expressed that this experience increased the level of respect he has for all women who quietly tolerate all the pain to feed their family. This realisation made him took a vow that he will never judge the food prepared by anyone rather show respect to their effort  and he suggested the same for us to do. He says , “ once you start cooking yourself everything tastes good even if it is not in the form as it should be”.

However Shams manifested his greatfulness towards the lockdown as it helped him acquire a new skill , which he says enable him to enjoy his favourite cuisines that are Mutton Biryani, Veg Pulao and Fried Fish without spending a penny on a househelp or on ordering them from outside.

With his dazzling smile , Shams concludes,  “ I started as a newbie but I became a pro now. I can cook whatever I want .It makes me feel really proud that as a paraplegic I can cook and feed myself and my father without being dependent on anybody. .”

Shams’ experience of cooking is indeed an instance of how to convert the adversity into an opportunity. Hope it will drive many towards learning cooking or any other skill by making a good use of this lockdown.

Written By – Elija Priyadarsini Das
Edited By – Team Shams Aalam