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Business News/ News / India/  To skip chores, millennials move in with parents during lockdown
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To skip chores, millennials move in with parents during lockdown

Millennials have moved back in with their parents to ride out the lockdown with a sense of safety and comfort

Staying with family certainly brings a sense of safety and comfort, but it comes with a sudden loss of freedom that youngsters are not always happy with.Premium
Staying with family certainly brings a sense of safety and comfort, but it comes with a sudden loss of freedom that youngsters are not always happy with.

NEW DELHI : Jaswinder Singh was on a Zoom call with his manager about the progress on a project when his grandmother appeared behind him with a plate of food. The supervisor let out a chuckle, while an embarrassed Singh escorted his grandmother out of the room. The next day, Singh, who has been living with his parents in Rishikesh for more than a month because of the coronavirus outbreak, moved to the first floor of the house to get some personal space.

Across the country, a number of millennials and post-millennials have moved back in with their parents to ride out the lockdown with a sense of safety and comfort and unburdened by the daily chores that come with living alone without help.

However, staying with their families brings with it a sudden loss of freedom that youngsters are not always happy with.

Living with his family for a month after 14 years of staying alone has been a bittersweet experience, admits Singh, 31, who left his Delhi apartment just four days before the nationwide lockdown was announced. “My parents were getting worried so I decided to go home to be with them," says Singh, who works for an interior design firm.

Photo: Ravindra Joshi/Mint
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Photo: Ravindra Joshi/Mint

Adjusting to the laid-back life of a smaller city, even for a few weeks, has been a challenge. “I’m used to the fast pace of Delhi. Here, I can’t smoke or drink. Personal space is also an issue, but the advantage is the safety of home and eating ma’s food," he says.

Make-up artist Manya Leekha, 27, can’t wait to return to her life in Pune. She and her husband moved to his parents’ house in Delhi, a joint family with nine members and live-in help. “During difficult times, you want to be near your family. We don’t have to worry about buying groceries or about the other chores, so it’s convenient," she says.

Despite this, Leekha wants to head home once the lockdown is lifted. “Living here, I have to adapt to someone else’s ways. I like organized chaos; but here, everything has to be prim and proper," she says.

Shivani Somani, a second-year MBA student at Mumbai’s Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, is tired of explaining to her family that she likes to sleep late, after reading a book or watching Netflix. “Every night, they will remind me in subtle ways that I should be asleep by 11pm so that I wake up early. Like me, they are also used to my absence and can’t get used to my way of living," says Somani, 27, who moved to her childhood home in Chandrapur, Nagpur, from her Mumbai hostel just before the lockdown.

The first week at home was like a vacation for Somani. She could laze around as long as she wanted and eat the food she’d missed. However, the honeymoon period did not last long. Somani is glad to have family support and does not shy away from doing household chores.

However, the small things bother her. “I do not understand the need for elaborate meals that require so much cooking," says Somani, who cannot eat meat in her pure vegetarian household. She’s been away from home for over 12 years and misses her family of friends. “I have a close circle of friends who are like family," she says. “I can’t wait to return to them once this lockdown is over."

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pooja Singh
A journalist with over 15 years of experience. A Chevening fellow and graduate of Columbia University, New York
Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
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Published: 05 May 2020, 03:22 PM IST
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