the world grappled the medical effects of the pandemic to unimaginable proportions but its psychological impact even for those who didnt get covid continues to be a concern several people found succor in art and creativity to distract themselves from what was going on outside their door what started as a temporary relief in the lockdown has now become a vocation for many chandigarh residents also dug into their internal well of inspiration to paint make pots embroider and some beat metal into figuresnot about painting the medical emergency but my immediate surroundingdr prabhdip brar former chairperson of university institute of fashion technology vocational development panjab university rekindled her passion for painting last year in the lockdown my mother passed away on the day of the lockdown in march 2020 says prabhdip whose medium is watercolours so i began painting again and did 20 canvasses in four months in the beginning i started with painting her and her state during the last few days she adds of course the fact that i had more time at hand as classes were shut gave me space to paint but the entire reorientation from outside world to things that are personal or emotional for me happened during the pandemic as we were shuttered behind closed doors from her insides prabhdip started going outside and painted her friends on request the animals in her surroundings and the integration of nature with humans a subject that was highlighted in the pandemicmetal art has held me together mentally amid the pandemican industrialist by profession and metal artist by passion pritpal singh matharoo sought refuge in the clanking sounds of metal to create harmonious figures called bots though pritpal had started creating bots few years ago this time around the extra spare time gave me the impetus to experiment with bigger structures however for him this time around the other more pressing reason to indulge his metallic pursuit was psychological i began making bots again mostly to keep myself sane and not get mentally pressurized by how the pandemic was affecting people he says adding creativity is a rather good way of keep oneself mentally engaged during stressful times taking a cue from what he was reading and watching on the screen pritpal named the bots accordingly the difference between my other bots and these ones created amid the pandemic is the size these are bigger as i find them more challenging to create they are more refined and require more detailing and that has kept me absorbed even though i was also firefighting for oxygen cylinders for friends in the second wavepurging of environment played my muse anu singh a corporate executive also took up the brush and easel again last year as her company made work from home mandatory an artist is usually inspired by nature and what was happening to the environment amid the lockdown was so inspiring the purging of the environment the clear skies compelled me to take up my brush