From lockdown to revival: Five years on, what have we gained, lost, and learned in Covid era?

Noticed how everyone now divides up life events as pre- and post-Covid? “I used to swim 20 laps a day, but that was pre-Covid.” “I tried that pretzel post-Covid, when I went to Europe.” “He had a breakup, pre-Covid.” “They bought their new house, post-Covid.” It doesn’t matter if it was 2016 or ’19, 2022 or ’24, pre and post-Covid are offered and accepted as satisfactory descriptions. Events before 2020, when the pandemic struck, appear to be behind a giant perimeter wall, giving them an other-worldliness that is unsullied by the scarring pandemic.
Tomorrow, March 24, will be five years since the first Covid lockdown was imposed, which was the beginning of a collective effort to survive the pandemic. Our lives today are outcomes of that experience – we live, work, travel, eat and think differently, yet we are much the same. It’s a new version of normal, a Normal 2.0, that marries post-Covid changes to pre-Covid continuity. Team TOI looks at the changes, both tangible and intangible, in these five years.

Population boom in NCR
No, we aren’t talking about pandemic babies here. Gurgaon and Noida, Delhi’s two major NCR neighbours, saw a big population jump because of the pandemic. It happened for two main reasons.
One, since private offices are mostly in Gurgaon and Noida, many people living in Delhi shifted out to be closer to their workplace and avoid travel. Two, because of pay cuts and the general downturn in incomes, families gave up rented houses in Delhi to move to their flats in Gurgaon or Noida that were lying empty or on rent.
Neha and Rohan Mehta, both working in IT, bought an apartment in Gurgaon (Sector 79) in 2022. “We were looking for a peaceful location with good connectivity to our offices,” says Neha. Gurgaon’s population grew along Southern Peripheral Road and Dwarka Expressway, where the city’s new housing is, Noida’s primarily in three hubs – the 100x sectors off Noida Expressway, the 7x sectors and Greater Noida (west).
In the absence of a Census, numbers are ballpark. Gurgaon’s population since 2019 is estimated to have grown by around 10 lakh – currently, it’s believed to be 30 lakh-plus. The number of people living in Noida, only in the Noida Authority area, has likely doubled in this period, to an estimated 14 lakh today. Greater Noida’s current population is estimated above 10 lakh, a four-fold jump since 2019.
“The pandemic taught us how important open spaces, natural light and good ventilation are,” says Vasant Kumar, GM at a real estate company in Delhi who moved out of his 2-bedroom flat in Najafgarh and shifted to a 4BHK at Jaypee Aman in Noida after the first wave of Covid. “Although Gurgaon is nearer to Najafgarh, Noida offers superior infrastructure and amenities. Our apartment is conveniently located near Pari Chowk, and connectivity is excellent. My commute to South Delhi still takes around 40 minutes, which is the same as it was from Najafgarh. Living conditions here are far better,” he adds.
Reporting by Rao Jaswant Singh & Aditya Dev
3BHK is the new 2BHK
For decades the staple of the real estate market, the 2BHK is now an endangered species in NCR. This is a direct consequence of Covid, which led to a demand for bigger houses because of work from home. A working couple needed two rooms to work from, and the kid needed her own space to attend online classes.
The 2BHK was insufficient for this, so they began looking for bigger homes. Today, both in new supply and sales, 3BHKs have far outstripped the 2. Last year, for example, new inventory of 11,779 3BHKs was available in Gurgaon to 2,272 2BHKS. Noida had 1,331 3BHKs to just 10 2BHKs (new supply). Absorption data shows 10,136 3BHKs were sold in Gurgaon in 2024 (to 2,209 2BHKs) and 1,350 3BHKs in Noida (to 181 2BHKs).
IT professional Gaurav Soni and his wife, who works in HR, who moved to Amrapali Zodiac Noida last year, said space and location were his main deciding factors. “Our society has two parks on either side, so it’s green and peaceful, which is very important. It is also well-connected. Since I WFH, I need a dedicated space, my wife does too when she needs to connect from home and a third room is needed for my parents who visit from Haridwar,” he says
Reporting by Rao Jaswant Singh & Aditya Dev
Hybrid is how it works
The pandemic reshaped the workplace in many ways, but perhaps its most lasting impact is the shift to hybrid mode, which many companies continue till date. Hybrid is predominantly work from office with wfh allowed sporadically (or during weekends for companies that work all week) as a flexible arrangement. Especially for women, this has made a huge difference. For Dwarka resident Iesha Sharma, the ability to work remotely meant she could continue her career without stepping away from her newborn. “If not for wfh, I might have taken a break from work to focus on my child,” she says. Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, an IT company based in Noida says companies with a hybrid work policy have a better talent pool. “Moreover, the hybrid model works toward contributing to overall wellness of employees. Cost saving is another major key factor that has kept this trend alive,” he adds.
Many schools too remain in hybrid mode, which allows them to tide over annual problems like pollution spikes and cold and heat waves by switching to online mode instead of suspending classes altogether. But it’s a double-edged sword. Those practising screen-free parenting have had to say goodbye to it. Generally, concern about kids getting hooked to phones has grown. “Devices initially used for online classes are increasingly being used to play games and for entertainment. This has affected structured learning habits. Besides, with online learning, students have the option to respond or ignore virtual lessons, fostering escapism behaviours,” says Neha Sharma, principal of Apeejay School in Noida.
Reporting by Ashni Dhaor & Ayantika Pal
Pivot & new beginnings
Layoffs, financial uncertainty, or just a reassessment of priorities, Covid has put many among us on entirely different professional paths. Noida resident Navraj Joshi (55), for example, is a fulltime yoga instructor today with 150 students. A techie all his life, he was laid off a week after the first lockdown was imposed in March 2020. “I may have been one of the first people in the country to be laid off during the lockdown. I had to borrow money from family and friends just to make ends meet,” he says. Looking for a way to earn, he settled on yoga, which he had done for himself. “I went for a certification course in Rishikesh and decided to teach, charging Rs 1,500 a month. People were happy to pay,” he says.
Ankur Singhal (43) didn’t lose his job, but a friend’s passing during Covid left him deeply disturbed. “He had left nothing behind for his family. It struck me, what if the same happened to me?” he says. So Singhal quit and switched to entrepreneurship in 2022. “Covid made me take that leap. I took a franchise of Xero Degrees in Sector 142 in 2022. Encouraged by its success, I acquired a second franchise, Desi Vibes, in Spectrum Mall, in 2023,” he adds.
Kalpash Garg, then in his mid-20s, had just relocated from Gurgaon to Bengaluru when the pandemic struck. As layoffs began, Kalpesh found himself without a job in a new city. He returned to Gurgaon and decided to start a cloud kitchen since the demand for home-cooked food was very high during the pandemic. “It was tough. I had limited cash, logistics were difficult and this was already a very competitive market. But focus on quality, hygiene and timely deliveries helped gain a toehold,” says Kalpash, who has found his feet, employs two dozen workers and has only one thing on his mind – expansion.
Reporting by Ashni Dhaor & Ipsita Pati
What’s your side gig?
The uncertainties of Covid created new certainties in the mind – a contingency plan is an absolute must. Thus have emerged side gigs, part-time explorations by people in full-time jobs of other career paths. Some are doing it for a little more financial security, some just to keep the door open for a Plan B. Gurgaon resident Amrita Kumar felt the need to diversify her income sources after Covid. “I wanted a second source of income, outside the corporate environment in which I work,” she says. So, she began a home-cooked food service within her society. “Everyday, I cook for myself, so I began cooking a little extra and making money from it. It’s also satisfying doing something I love to do.” Hundreds of people have been taking up online or weekend vocational courses after the pandemic to upskill, either for a side gig or to rise in their current careers. Avnish Singhal, executive vicepresident, India & APAC, of Emeritus, a global organisation that provides online courses, says their learner base in India has grown 30 times compared to pre-Covid. “Upskilling is no longer optional, it’s a necessity for growth and survival in the professional world,” Singhal says. “India is leading the global skilling movement, with 81% of professionals increasing their focus on skill-building in the past year, well above the global average of 61%,” he adds.
Reporting by Bagish Jha & Ashni Dhaor
10-minute everything
Whether it’s a fresh pack of mushroom while cooking is already halfway through or a sudden need to take a printout — almost anything you ask comes home in 10 minutes. The 10-minute delivery model, which was a product of the pan -demic, is now an FMCG mainstay, the range of products available to pick from ever-expanding. From haldi to the iPhone, no ask is out of the 10-minute delivery bounds. “One night, my broth -er paid me a sudden visit. I had nothing of his size so I ordered a pair of pajamas and a T-shirt for him online. It arrived in eight minutes,” said Swagatam, a Noida resident. Paresh Parekh, partner and retail tax leader at EY India, says since the onset of the pandemic, Delhi-NCR region has seen a transformation of consumer behaviour. “The post-pandemic phase has seen a meteoric rise in instant delivery services as consumers have grown accustomed to the convenience of having almost anything delivered to their doorsteps in record time. Instant delivery, instant gratification, and hyper-personalisation are the grand troika to emerge during Covid and are only getting stronger. Brands are evolving their target audience, strategy, supply chain, pricing and consumer communication to capture this market, which is unique to India,” explains Parekh. This means the gig economy has exploded. India’s gig workforce is estimated to be around 10 million now. Zomato had over 1.5 million delivery workers on its platform in 2024, co-founder and group CEO Deepinder Goyal revealed in a letter to shareholders.
Reporting by Bagish Jha & Ayantika Pal
Feeling trip-py all the time
Covid brought the idea of the ‘workation’ to people – since work was anyway remote, one could take a trip with the laptop, attend to work calls from a villa in the hills or a hotel room next to a beach, and soak in the sights once work was done. That’s no longer possible, but hybrid work does allow many to take a day or two of wfh and go on short road trips, which travel companies say is one of the biggest getaway trends to emerge from the pandemic.
“The hybrid work model has fundamentally reshaped travel behaviour. We’ve observed a 50% rise in bookings for weekend stays, particularly for destinations within a two-to-four-hour drive from NCR. This trend is no longer limited to holidays or extended weekends but a regular part of the urban lifestyle,” says Nikhil Sharma, MD and COO, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group. According to MakeMyTrip’s India Travel Trends Report, homestays and villas have seen a sharp rise in demand since the pandemic. Cofounder & group CEO Rajesh Magow says travel within 300km of Delhi-NCR has surged. “People are taking multiple trips a year, so travel has become more frequent than ever. At the same time, experience-driven travel is gaining momentum, immersive stays more rooted in local culture and nature. This shift has established weekend getaways and staycations as mainstream choices.” Kashish Jain, who runs a travel firm in Delhi, says religious tourism has also increased, not just among the elderly but younger travellers heading, to places like Mathura, Vrindavan in UP, Kurukshetra in Haryana, and Pandupol temple in Rajasthan.
Reporting by Ashni Dhaor
What’s your step count?
These days, this is the conversation starter, not what your zodiac sign is. Covid stirred a fitness awakening, most visible in society common areas and parks where people are always walking, jogging, running or exercising. Many use wearables to keep track of the step count, heart rate, calories burnt, and more active, less active or inactive days, among other things. In Noida, the number of registered gyms has surged from just 45 in 2019 to 300 in 2024. Greater Noida West resident Abhishek Kumar said Covid was a wakeup call to get fit. “I weighed 98kg before Covid. Now, I weigh 76kg,” Kumar told TOI. Kumar has joined a running group that participates in marathons. Bhawna Gaur started Super Women Athlete Group (SWAG) in 2020 during the lockdown. Since gyms were shut, SWAG became a group that cycled together and is now a full-fledged fitness community. Noida resident Meenal Pathak, who has been running Mee Studio, a fitness centre, since 2014, says enrolments after the pandemic have shot up. “Before Covid, I primarily taught zumba and pilates to women in the neighborhood. Now, I am teaching yoga to men and women in their 30s, 40s and 50s,” says Meenal. Gurgaon resident Surbhi Mehra (28) began walking when she gained weight during Covid as physical activity reduced with work from home. “It led to other complications, like aches and pains that I started to feel. I am diabetic as well. So I started using a fitness tracker to monitor my daily steps and physical activity,” she says.
Reporting by Ashni Dhaor & Ipsita Pati
More care for health
The nature of corporate health plans has changed since Covid, with many companies now offering OPD covers, free telemedicine consultations, and super top-up insurance plans. Plans also cover mental health support, general tests and wellness tests like vitamin deficiency. “Around 70-80% of employees are opting for topups alongside their basic health plans,” says Dhirendra Singh, HR manager with an IT company. Policybazaar data shows the share of super top-up in health insurance went up from 10.5% of health insurance premiums in FY19 to 34.6% in FY24. “During Covid, there was big demand for online consultations and at-home care, along with additional Covid cover as part of employee wellness and benefits. However, post-Covid, while the need for at-home Covid care diminished, tele/online consultations remained a key part of employee benefits. Among large corporations, 99% offer this benefit to employees and their families. Additionally, HR teams saw a notable rise in employee demand for voluntary parental and top-up policies over the past 2-3 years,” Sajja Praveen Chowdary, director, Policybazaar for business, told TOI.
Reporting by Ayantika Pal & Kritika Sharma
It’s all in the mind
And yet, the biggest change we have seen since Covid is perhaps in the mind. “The pandemic wasn’t just a health crisis, it was a massive psychological shift that forced people to rethink everything from relationships and careers to their sense of purpose,” says Aishwarya Raj, a Delhi-based clinical psychologist. One of the most noticeable changes is heightened focus on health and wellness. But while many have adopted better hygiene and self-care habits, for some, this awareness has led to persistent anxiety. The way people think about work has also changed. Socially, the pandemic acted as a filter. It strengthened some relationships and made others fade away. On a deeper level, it pushed people into existential reflection. I have seen an increase in individuals questioning their purpose, re-evaluating their priorities and seeking therapy, not just for immediate stress, but for long-term emotional resilience. One of my patients, a 60-year-old retired teacher, described it best: ‘Pehle lagta tha ki retirement ke baad sukoon milega, lekin lockdown ne jo dikhaya, uske baad lagta hai ki waqt sirf guzar raha hai, jee nahi rahe hain hum’ (I would think there would be peace after retirement. But the lockdown showed us time is just passing by, we aren’t living it).”
Reporting by Kritika Sharma