COVID-19 put all of us in a dilemma about what to do and what not to. There were times we all thought how useless it was to try anything new but alongside we also tried and started learning new tricks and techniques.

Like all of us, Luniva who is 18 and just completed her high school started exploring what she could do in the time when everything around stopped. As someone who was always interested in cooking and exploring recipes, she decided to try that. Unknown about where this journey had great plans for her, Luniva gave it a go.

Luniva always wanted to try something new with her cooking skills; all she needed was a gentle push. This got her into starting tik tok. We can see a number of people who love eating and exploring and similar things happened to Luniva. She was interested in trying new recipes and exploring food. Food being the basic highlight of her life, Luniva created this space as hers to share her experiments and experiences. 

“Since I was a kid, my mom used to cook very delicious food and everyone in my family is interested to cook and I even enjoyed just looking at the vegetables being chopped. The process of cooking itself made me very curious. When I came back from school I always wanted something more with my Rotis which slowly made me cook for myself and was a baby step to my journey with food.” says Luniva, talking about her start of the journey. Taking another step on her journey and making the best out of the COVID situation was out of the blue for Luniva. Tik tok was a sudden decision with no plan of getting this much love and support. It was just a platform to share what she loved to do with no high expectations. She posted a few videos and remembers one video on “How to make an ice cream”, getting lots of love and support. She was encouraged by her sister to post more, which she did and it started being a huge part of her cooking journey. Ofcourse the popularity gain had its own good and bad side for Luniva. The normal tik tok addiction has been one of her downsides but with the same came support and connection from so many people, a push towards what she only saw as a random hobby.

Luniva explains how the lockdown pushed her limits to do more than what she usually did. Doing nothing in free time was not worth it and she realized it pretty quick. She started cooking and trying out new recipes which ate up her boredom and slowly it made her get engaged with something that actually felt productive. Food was the best way even to connect with her family, they enjoyed eating together which also healed the bond that the busy life has created a gap in. Obviously, food is the best way to get to the heart which Luniva easily got herself on. Even before lockdown she enjoyed cooking but time management took a huge toll and led her to make the best out of her skills.

It wasn’t always fun and frolic to cook and try new recipes and there were obviously failures with the experiments but that didn’t stop her from trying something new. There were times when food was wasted and she was reconsidering things but with time she got careful with choosing what to make and generating new ideas to make tik tok recipes. Luniva adds, “Food is always on the top of the list but I mostly gravitate towards Italian food due to my love for pasta and other dishes but later I learned how to make it on my own and it isn’t that difficult. I slowly started learning food recipes that I have always loved. But if i have to choose one food that i enjoy the most, I would definitely choose Momo. The entire process of making it on how everyone in the family gets involved in one way or the other and it's all fun and laughs. I just feel like it pulls everyone closer.”

“It all starts from small baby steps and the amount of love and support from social media has always been a boost to strive for more, it might seem very less for anyone else but for me it was a very huge part of my life. I am grateful to everyone I reach through my videos. I appreciate anyone who stops by to let me know that they like my videos. For the future, taking the food journey to the next level was always a sudden decision and I will always love making videos on it, improving it but career wise I have never thought on the same field. I would never like to make my hobby feel like a burden or compulsion which is why I would love to keep it as simple as I can.” she adds.

At the age of 18 when most kids are out there just roaming or involved in video games, Luniva has created an example of how it all starts small. Cooking was her way of expressing creativity and the videos have been her form of connecting people. The journey started with great support and whether it goes at the same pace or not, she will always be satisfied with the way it connected with her.

 

Everyone has a weird combo that they keep to themselves and try out when cravings hit in. it might sound different to others but it's just a way to define the unique taste difference from each other.

 Here are some Luniva’s Weird food combination 

  1. Rice and Bhujiya Combo
  2. Donuts and spicy sauce Combo
  3. Milk and Daal Combo