You have been actively helping covid patients over the last months, how did you think of this initiative?
No catastrophe ever requires an initiative but a humanitarian grounding (a balanced heart that goes out for anyone & everyone without being biased, to be able to help.)
I firmly believe few things just happen to you as a part of ‘God’s plans' for your life. There’s something called “your own calling “, this undoubtedly has been “My calling “, my own Purpose in life “,& this would continue to be “My Path”, chosen by MY DIVINE GURUJI till this pandemic Rests in peace...I will wait for the day we will all jointly shout out “RIP COVID 19.”(it’s like GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WORLD & leave us alone in NORMALCY)
How many people have benefited from this initiative supported by the event industry, what kind of cases have you dealt with?
Apologies but the word ‘benefited’, is a MISFIT with the word COVID it’s like even when a COVID positive patient recoups it has multiple after & side effects that need to be taken utmost care of. Countless hearts started re-beating, countless breathes were restored. Pl Remember it’s NOT just the patient alone but an entire family & extended friends & families that suffer. Our Event industry underlines Pan India presence, we were able to extend our heart & soul for every pandemic need of the hour at a war footing note across India. EEMA task force was divided for blood & plasma cases, Ventilator & ECMO beds in hospitals, air ambulances, on ground ICU & Crematory ambulances, distributing dry groceries, financial aid, death certificates, online doctors consultation & so much more that we handled 24x7 last 1.5 months can’t possibly be summed up in your one question.
I personally dealt with 23 COVID positive expecting Mothers, pushing my way through with the miscellaneous Ministries, local authorities (who were genuinely helpful despite the system collapse) sadly a few lost their battle to COVID, some lost the newborn/unborn infants inside their wombs & in some cases both the Mother & infant didn’t survive as the mortality rate in expecting Moms is very bleak but a few cases both survived which was a BIG SIGH OF RELIEF I would say their own destinies also played a vital role in their survival to some extent.
I was a part of 14 strangers' cremations as some didn’t have families & some lost their families to Covid. All this is gut-wrenching & leaves you in a very hollow space. (I have heart-wrenching messages from patients' families still sitting on my phone.) In short, I have echoed complete strangers' sentiments, pain, sorrow & happiness of returning home safe post-Covid.
Tell us about the multiple teams- you are part of who have been consistently providing support during these testing times?
EEMA of course being my industry consortium played a huge role- Pan India with multiple miscellaneous COVID needs. We had round the clock O2 cylinders & it’s refilling, teams were operating 24 hours & dedicated volunteers were assigned at different timings day & night. We even air cargoed some medicines distribution free of charge across a few B & C class towns, our members in person donated blood & plasma both, including your BW people who volunteered to donate blood which is commendable, our hospital task force team in person amidst this deadly pandemic outbreak, went to hospitals to scout around for ventilator & ECMO beds risking their precious lives, look at this dedication it’s humanity for humanity.
EEMA members even met the Health Minister to discuss a way forward that our Industry could help out with at a war footing note with regards to plasma donors motivating them to step up for donating. Every zone had EEMA reps moving in a swift way last but not the least an online platform to centralize resources was configured along with a central helpline. A large-sized backend team created awareness campaigns.
Team TFC underlined multifaceted, dynamic People from all walks of life giving their utmost attention to every small to big needs of COVID patients from helping out with hospital beds to ambulances to plasma, cremations, meeting the needs of shattered scattered families, their monthly rentals, expenses, kids educational support, rations for the underprivileged by extending the financial aid for 3 months /6 months / annually. TFC Created an online WhatsApp group of Expert Indian Doctors & Covid specialized ICU Heads from NY, Florida & California along with Indian expert doctors who selflessly, tirelessly worked round the clock regardless of the different time zones, helped countless families to get an expert advice on their medical reports, medication & so much more. Indebted to every doctor for our lifetime, they were God sent in its true sense.
Team COVID Care 2021: A very hands on, versatile team from Delhi NCR, a lot of members personally verified every lead & passed on to people in need in order for the end users to save the turnaround time & extended timely help in finding plasma , medicines (including through personal contacts from UK & Dubai at MRP), oxygen / ventilator / ECMO beds & personally motivated the patients families in their distressed times. A few ensured to call up personally known doctors in miscellaneous hospitals requesting them to attend to the critical patients at a war footing note. Currently helping people with vaccination drives through multiple authorities windows across Delhi NCR.
Helping Hands: Underlined my school’s Alumni (Ex Sherwood & All Saints ,Nainital) wherein, like-minded people from across India, US, UK, Australia & Singapore were a part of helping hands. Under this group 22 villages around Kempty Falls (in Uttarakhand) were equipped with COVID amenities as oxymeters, oxygen cylinders, concentrator, N95 & 3 ply masks, sanitisers, medicines, infrayed, thermometers, nebulisers + generous financial aid from the members to help equip these villages was extended.
A few friends from my wedding fraternity & EEMA also helped move this swiftly.
Everything Experiential: The BW team & a few Pan India EEMA members has been such a driving force to help meet all the misc COVID needs pan India. I can never thank each member enough for all the timely help & dedication. I won’t forget the ease you all extended when the grim situation got us low & out & you all helped get our bearings back.
Global wedding: Our fraternity group wherein members from across India & globally left no stone unturned to be of genuine service to the nation. We were all breathing every sentiment of known & unknown patients & their families by every second. Few members who are into F&B distribute food & dry ration to the needy across India. Our groups have been a rock-solid backbone to countless Indians during this pandemic & were there unfailingly for one another day & night.
‘United we stand’ is the catchline for every COVID group
What kind of challenges do these teams face?
This is a very challenging question in these most challenging times. I may be blocked post this answer by a few but I come from a school of thought where any form of SEWA / HELP is SILENT/ SELFLESS & NOT a SOCIAL MEDIA brownie earning point. You don’t need to make it the ‘talk of the town’, it’s like ‘GET A LIFE GUYS this is a Pandemic NOT an Attention seeking platform’. Having said this I just have to state ‘MEN don’t itch to seek attention as much as women do.’ Sorry about calling a spade a spade but I have the right to freedom of speech.
Multiple frustrating points like mostly none of us are doctors and the patient’s families we deal with expect us to be hands-on with the line of treatment knowledge instantly & some of them don’t display endurance, have had instances where the team was misbehaved with for God sake we are all dealing with countless multiple needs at a go. It’s like the people seeking help need to display endurance (while I do understand their concern about their loved ones) but even we are constantly dealing under immense stress, initially when the O2 scarcity set in we were all so helpless with the system collapse yet did our utmost to help provide O2 & fetch O2 beds by breaking all barriers it’s like what needs to be done needs to be done hook or crook as this is the need of the hour.
Some of us are a part of multiple Covid helping groups, all it takes is self-verification before posting half baked info on groups, it’s misleading. And for GOD SAKE stop spreading wrong rumours on groups, it’s rather depressing & annoying. Some people start sending DM’s for help which is fair but for God sake don’t make that a self-publicity gimmick. Idea is to help solve COVID needs, once it’s sorted please stop jumping to social media instantly to seek attention. This catastrophe certainly is not a MEDAL EARNING PLATFORM.
I remember someone asked us to help equip some C class towns with COVID needs. We invested our souls & got things going in these remote towns. Post a week, we see some NGO painting those towns with their promotions(shameful & appalling ! )
Like they say in any organisation a handful are doer’s rest are there and yet not there, if there’s a serious discussion amidst a bunchful on a group in specific, please don’t speak unnecessarily-- it’s like your gyan is least needed and what’s needed is a robotic execution. Not heaps of uncalled for info as that breaks the genuine doer’s chain of thoughts sorry but it’s like SHUT UP WHEN YOU MUST & ONLY SPEAK WHEN YOU ARE SPOKEN TO (don’t be a “Chowdhary“, (lol) & a control freak please let the others who pushing things forward genuinely leave them alone types) unnecessary noise is No Good.
In your view, how is the event industry dealing with the COVID crisis?
Well, not being biased or siding my own Industry but we are equipped to handle crisis management & do a quick fix backward integration in times of an emergency that being the nature of our work, so a lot of crisis management comes to us quite effortlessly since the variables of our industry are multiple it is like anything can go wrong at any given point of time & we can handle this quite well in our own individual capacities & collectively.
Notwithstanding, it’s been extremely taxing mentally, emotionally as the nature of pandemic needs & cases we were catering to were unthinkable. Some of the cases were so totally unheard of & totally gut-wrenching, but we sailed through, we are still sailing and we won’t give up. ‘Miles to go before we sleep’!
GURUJI BLESS