Navya Naveli Nanda's New Hobby Is Crocheting, What is Yours?

The last couple of lockdowns the coronavirus pandemic had people hooked to various new activities like cooking, recreating Dalgona coffee or learning a new language. We saw many celebrities share the same on their social media feeds. With the Omicron variant in the mix and COVID-19 infections surging, the population in India are back indoors. This time, Navya Naveli Nanda, the granddaughter of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, shared her recent hobby on social media.

Navya Naveli Nanda recently posted on her social media feed sharing her new hobby, which had most of the people during lockdown hooked. It is crocheting. Nanda, on her Instagram story, shared a picture of brown wool crocheted into square-shaped crochet along with a tapestry needle, which is also called a darning needle or yarn needle.

Nanda is a feminist and mental health advocate. She started the online healthcare platform, Aara Health.

Suggested Reading: As Omicron Knocks On Our Doors, We Need To Prioritise Mental Wellbeing

She has often taken to Instagram to express herself. On April 27 last year, she took to social media to talk about how the pandemic has “disproportionately” affected women, especially working women. In her IG stories, she attached a report by an international publication with details on the toll the pandemic has taken.

In an interview with SheThePeople, Nanda talked about women's healthcare in India. She said, “It’s not easy for women to talk about menopause, menstruation, sexual health.” She spoke about the experience common to most women – young or old.

The craft helped many people during a couple of lockdowns to fade out the white noise and help the mind to focus on something. The art does not require complicated products or procedures, it needs a ball of wool or thread to get the person hooked to stitching.

Recently, in an interview with SheThePeople, Sheela Bajaj, a 78-year-old woman began her small business in crochet craft. At the age of 77, she decided to turn her passion for the craft-making crochet sweaters and purses – into a profession.

In the 2020 pandemic, like many others, she too was affected by the lockdown, which made her feel low and lose all hope. With a little push from her granddaughter, she started knitting again and her creations were posted on the Instagram account. She became responsible for manufacturing and marketing and thus started her business.