Feeding stray dogs, rooftop gardening and more - How Jaya is passing her time
Jaya feeds stray dogs regularly in Dilu Road, Eskaton Garden and Moghbazar area of Dhaka city amidst the shutdown.
Due to the pandemic, like any other people, stars and celebrities are also home-quarantined. Jaya Ahsan, the popular actress of Bangladesh and West Bengal, is also not an exception to this. She is now in isolation with her family at her home in the capital's Eskaton.
Though she is confined within her residence, she is very active on social media. Jaya uploads photos of her rooftop garden, food items prepared by her mother, and sometimes, photos of herself on Facebook.
Jaya made headlines recently as the Indian movie - "Robibaar", directed by Atanu Ghosh and starring Jaya Ahsan and Prosenjit Chatterjee bagged the Critics' Choice Film Award this year in the Bengali category for best script and best direction.
In a conversation with The Business Standard last Wednesday about winning the awards, Jaya said, "It definitely feels very good but the awards came in at such a time which is really very hard for us.
'Robibaar' has got so many awards but the Critics' Choice Award is different from other awards as it was given by the members of the national jury board. Getting awards in two categories from them is not a trifling matter. However, this movie is not for the ordinary audience. In a sense, this movie throws a challenge to the audience; I think many viewers will not be able to connect with the theme of the movie."
The movie was recently released in Bangladesh but due to the pandemic, it is not being screened now.
Jaya also talked about not standing beside people during this crisis. She said, "I am not capable of helping other people but it feels good to see that many people are doing it. I wanted to do something productive like watching movies or reading books but I cannot concentrate on anything now. Thinking over how the coming days will be, makes me anxious. I am trying to pass time by gardening and giving time to my family. Prior to the pandemic, I used to spend quality time with my family but I do not think it is the same now."
The virus outbreak has disrupted her schedule as well; Jaya was supposed to remain busy with shooting and dubbing now but all the work has been held back for now.
However, she feeds stray dogs regularly in Dilu Road, Eskaton Garden and Moghbazar area of Dhaka city during her quarantine days. Her fans came to know about this through the Facebook profile of her brother Adeet Maswood.
As the street dogs do not have access to food due to the ongoing shutdown, she feels the need to feed them; she cooks food for the dogs and feeds them with her own hands. Jaya will continue feeding street dogs throughout this lockdown situation.
But she is reluctant to say anything about it. "I do not want to say anything about it," said Jaya. However, her fans already know that she has a pet dog named Cleopatra through her Facebook posts, whose company she enjoys during her leisure. So, love for animals is not a new thing for her.
Right now Jaya is worried about the ongoing battle against Covid-19. "I am actually worried about the current situation; whether we will be able to win the fight against corona or not. Whether Bangladesh will be able to win or not is a big concern," said Jaya.