The third edition of Indulge’s weekly Instagram series ‘Saturday Night Insta Live’ featured popular Chennai model Sameea Bangera. During the 20-minute-long live session, Sameea, who’s also the daughter of Chef Ajit Bangera (Executive Chef at ITC Grand Chola) spoke about how she's been dealing with the lockdown, her experiments in the kitchen and what she's enjoying on Netflix during this home quarantine period.
"The lockdown is going pretty good. There have been ups and downs just like everyone else would have had. But right now I'm in a good place," Sameea, who appeared in white casual wear, began.
“I have a few different things that are helping me keep occupied. We have no help at home right now so we are handling all the cooking and cleaning ourselves. Also, I do my workouts, I meditate and have started studying as I have taken up a few online courses so I have been keeping a good balance of different activities.”
Talking further on how she got into a routine in order to avoid stress and anxiety of being stuck at home, she said, “The main thing for me was to find a routine that works for me. It was about finding the right balance and not doing just one thing like working out. If you have different things on your plate, you won't get bored of any one activity and every part of your brain will be engaged. With working out, studying, music, drawing and chilling on my terrace, I have various activities that are helping me go about this lockdown.”
When asked about how her fitness regimen has gotten affected with the gyms being closed down, she had something interesting to reveal. She said, “I find myself working out more during this quarantine. I’m not a big fitness person. I never really found my niche in it. Even before lockdown, I would do simple at-home workouts so the quarantine has not affected my fitness regimen that much. In fact, I think it’s gotten so much better because there are so many fun workout routines that everybody is sharing and I try some of those as well."
And like most others, has she also gotten into cooking these days? “I’m someone who does intermittent fasting. I have never been a breakfast person as I start eating only from afternoon onwards. I have always preferred cooking my own meals even before this lockdown. So I'm just continuing that. Right now the challenge is making the best of what's available in the market. I definitely have a passion for cooking and I think I got that from my dad.”
When asked if she thinks she’s inherited her dad’s cooking skills, she added, “My dad doesn't stick to any recipes. He loves to experiment and create new dishes. I don't think I can do that. But I do love baking so I have a few go-to cake recipes of my own.”
Having been considered as the poster girl for body positivity, Sameea’s photoshoots had opened up discussions on how everyone should strive to feel comfortable in their own skin. When asked about what motivated her to address this issue, she went on, “I don't think I was trying consciously to be the poster girl for this cause but I did a few shoots that were really comfortable for me, but were considered as outside of the norm of what is generally done, in Chennai, at least. Here it was considered as an out of the box idea. It just took off really well and opened up discussions. I have been comfortable with my body my whole life. It’s something that came to me naturally and it's nice to be able to encourage girls who might be a little self-conscious of their bodies. Everybody comes in different shapes and sizes and we have to love ourselves.”
As the session drew to a close, she went on to talk about the many strong women who she considers as her role models, including her mother and cousins and how they influenced her to become better -- to be able to speak her mind, be herself and love herself for who she is.
Watch the complete video here: