Bhubaneswar: AIIMS doctor grooves to beat corona blues

BHUBANESWAR: Anyone who has grown up in the 90s is likely to be aware of the song ‘Muqabala’, or more so the dance that catapulted Prabhu Deva into national consciousness and brought him instant stardom with his stunning moves.
Sourav Panigrahi was hardly a child then, and though he may not be as agile or lithe as Prabhu Deva was then, this 32-year-old doctor from AIIMS Bhubaneswar has got himself quite a fan following, after dancing into the hearts of netizens, dressed in a PPE kit. And this, at a time, when Covid is taking a heavy toll on people and especially those like Sourav who are the forefront in the fight against the pandemic.
“I was just entering the hospital when some of our colleagues asked me to dance. I did it just to make them happy. They made the video and I had no idea it will go viral like this,” said Sourav, a resident of Bargarh.
“Everyone is under tremendous pressure these days. All I wanted to do was to create a happy environment in the hospital,” said Sourav, who after obtaining his MBBS and MD degrees, has been working in AIIMS Bhubaneswar since 2017.
In the three-minute video, Sourav is seen dancing to the beats of the remixed version of ‘Muqabala’ from the movie ‘Street Dancer 3D’. From Hip Hop to Shuffle to Break Dance, he tries his skills in all departments and aces them. Incidentally, Prabhu Deva is there in the remixed version as well.
“I am not a trained dancer. It is something of a hobby for me,” said Sourav, who is in the Anesthesiology department at AIIMS.
“These days there is no shift system. We work whenever the situation demands. Sometimes, we are on the job for 12 hours. But I enjoy my work, especially now when there is a greater need for us,” the young doctor said, adding, “I wanted to cheer up my colleagues and that was the reason I decided to dance. If it is helping them, I consider myself lucky.”
Experts say dancing can help one de-stress. “Dancing and singing can help one unwind and when it is performed in front of doctors or patients, it can rejuvenate them as well. The positivity is the need of the hour,” renowned Odissi dancer Meera Das said.
She said that the situation is critical now due to the pandemic and must be worse for those working in hospitals. “Dance or any other form of entertainment distracts us in a positive way. Doctors and patients are in need of such distraction now. They need positivity to fight the battle against the virus,” the Odissi exponent added.