PUNE: Circa 1918: A two-year-old Dev Raj Aggarwal survives Spanish Flu even as the pandemic sweeps through his Pakho village in
Punjab, claiming hundreds of lives. A year later, he loses his mother to the influenza outbreak.
Cut to March 5, 2021: Aggarwal, now 104, is wheeled into the Kamala Nehru Hospital, Pune, for a shot of the Covid vaccine, along with his 84-year-old son AP Kansal.
“My grandfather did not speak about the Spanish Flu till Covid hit us in March last year. That brought back memories of stories he had heard from his brother about those troubled times,” his grandson
Anand (51) said. He uses the Kansal surname along with his
father and others. He was supposed to get the Covid shot on Friday but had to postpone after he developed slight fever.
Initially, Aggarwal was reluctant about getting the shot. “We told him that it had been made compulsory by the government. We told him that we will take him in a car and then in a wheelchair to the hospital. In comparison, my father was looking forward to the vaccination and did not have any apprehension,” Anand said. All of them stay in the same flat at Ranka Park Society on Sadhu Vaswani Road.
In fact, the seniors did not have to wait for their jabs. “The staff at the hospital was very nice. They did not let them wait for a minute. Within a few minutes they were given the shots. They were kept under observation for 45 minutes. Then they allowed us to take them home. Both my grandfather and father were absolutely fine after the vaccination and showed no symptoms,” he said.
“My grandfather has been fine during the Covid and lockdown. We have an in-house attendant who looks after him 24x7. He does not have any ailment. No heart issues or hypertension,” Anand said.
“He used to walk a lot. Till the age of 102, he would take walks. Even in his 80s, if he had to go to somebody’s place, he would just walk 5-10 km very easily,” he said. Aggarwal has vegetarian food and leads a very disciplined life. Till a few years back, he would get up early in the morning and do yoga before going for a walk. “Now, he has become weak. He needs some help to get up from the bed and do other things, but otherwise he is fine,” said Anand.