Photographer Kunal Daswani and his friends used to be regulars at Chennai’s Presidency Club. Clutching cue sticks, they would chat around the snooker table, with the sharp taps of the coloured balls punctuating the conversation. When the pandemic forced pretty much every place in India to shut down for several months, since March 2020, Kunal missed two things: a sport he liked to play and a social circle. Both, during the lockdowns, were essential — for physical and mental health — yet difficult to engage in. That’s when he did something that changed his life: he rode his brother’s bike.
“My brother had a cycle. He said it’s a good sport but he didn’t really like it. So, I took the cycle out once or twice. I started liking it a lot,” he says. Cycling was among the few outdoor activities allowed throughout the lockdowns. Soon, his snooker gang started meeting up for early morning rides.
Kunal, 39, calls this a lifechanging activity because it helped him, among other things, to wake up early, shed excess bodyweight, optimise his heart-rate, improve his mood, think of creative ideas, and make new friends. The traffic-free rides also allowed him a chance to explore the city more extensively than he has before.
