Readers Digest

JUNE 2021 `100

PEOPLEPOWER TO THE

MeMetatkhiengCiatiDziefnfeSraevnicoeurs

Volunteers of INTERVIEW
Khalsa Help
International The Ever
supplied oxygen Beloved
to COVID patients Ruskin Bond
and hospitals
TRUE CRIME
HEALTH
He Robbed
8 Reasons You’re Banks—
So Tired and What
To Do About it On a Bicycle!

FOOD

The COVID
Recovery Diet







Reader’s Digest

CONTENTS

Features 68 124

38 classic drama in real life interview

cover story Underwater The Ever Beloved
Nightmare Mr Bond
THEY GIVE US HOPE
All hope was lost for the In conversation with
As the country coped diver trapped in a sub- the grand old man of
with the trauma of a aquatic cave. One man’s Indian storytelling.
second COVID wave, a instincts said otherwise.
new set of citizen heroes by naorem anuja
came to its rescue. by christopher matthews
132
by team reader’s digest 116
true crime
52 inspiration
The Bank Robber
health He Trots the Air on the Bicycle

Why am I So Tired? Her horse stayed by her He chased Olympic gold
side for 25 years. Now it on his bike. Then he used
If you feel pooped all was time to let him go. it as a getaway vehicle.
day, the solution isn’t
always more sleep. by pam houston by steven leckart

by vanessa milne

60 124 photo: m zhazo

memory room reraedaedresrdsidgiegsets.tin.in 33

My School
Desk—in a Bar

The people in his dad’s
saloon gave this boy a
masterclass in life.

by jeffrey sabbag

Reader’s Digest

10 Over to You Better Living 12

Conversations 28 Go with the Flow news from the
world of medicine
in my opinion by leah rumack
36 The Right and
12 We Will Study! health Left of Blood
Pressure, How
by shantha sinha 32 Open Up and Snoring Affects
Say Ha Ha the Heart and
smile Exercise for
by rebecca philps a Better Brain
16 Mom Needs
IT Help Again food photos: shutterstock

by craig baines 34 The Post-COVID
Recovery Diet
it happens
only in india by lovneet batra

18 Not all Masks are 34
Equal and a Near-
Terminal Wait

by naorem anuja

points to ponder

20 Anita Desai,
Bob Dylan and
Noam Chomsky

4 june 2021



Reader’s Digest studio Humour

Culturescape 155 Arshi Irshad 8
Ahmadzai’s Humour in Uniform
interview with Ek Adhuri Baat
pratik gandhi ka Mitna (Erasure 50
of the Unsaid) Life’s Like That
142 Having Finally
Arrived by shreevatsa nevatia 66
All in a Day’s Work
by suhani singh me and my shelf
115
rd recommends 156 Farah Bashir’s As Kids See It
Favourite Reads
150 Films, Watchlist, 146
Books and Music Brain Games Laughter, The Best

review 158 Brainteasers Medicine
160 Sudoku
154 Everyone’s Got 161 Word Power
a Story to Tell 163 Quiz
164 Quotable Quotes
by jai arjun singh

150

photo: getty images On the Cover

Cover photograph by Bandeep Singh

Power to the People: Citizen Saviours Making a Difference ...........38
Interview: The Ever-Beloved Ruskin Bond ........................................124
True Crime: He Robbed Banks—On a Bicycle! ...............................132
Food: The COVID Recovery Diet ............................................................... 34
8 Reasons You’re So Tired and What to Do About it ....................... 52

6 june 2021

VOL. 62 NO. 6
JUNE 2021

Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie
Vice Chairperson Kalli Purie
Group Chief Executive Officer Dinesh Bhatia
Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa
Chief Executive Officer Manoj Sharma

editor Kai Jabir Friese IMPACT (ADVERTISING)
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group photo editor Bandeep Singh
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senior assistant editor Ishani Nandi kolkata: deputy gm (east) Indranil Chatterjee
features editor Naorem Anuja
BUSINESS
consulting editor Shreevatsa Nevatia group chief marketing officer Vivek Malhotra
editorial coordinator Jacob K. Eapen
gm, marketing & circulation Ajay Mishra
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readersdigest.in 7

Reader’s Digest

“I sure hope the negotiations go well.”

james patterson/cartooncollections.com Humour in of the Marines asked that before he arrived,
where she’d been. he complained, “Some-
UNIFORM body moved my piano.”
“I’ve been to visit
My mom was ex-Army, the colonel,” my sister “Why would moving
so during the holidays joked. The Marine the piano cause you to
she and Dad would in- looked confused. miss shaving?” I asked.
vite local Marines from “Colonel Sanders!”
Camp Pendleton over she explained. His reply: “My razor
for dinner. was on the piano.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” he —Robert Rhodes
One night, my said, “I don’t know
sister came home those higher-ups.” Reader’s Digest will pay
from work at Kentucky —Steve Chiales for your funny anecdote
Fried Chicken, still or photo in any of our hu-
in her uniform. One A young airman mour sections. Post it to the
showed up at forma- editorial address, or email
tion needing a shave. us at [email protected]
When I asked why he
hadn’t taken care of

8 june 2021



OVER TO The Old Man Versus
YOU The Mountain

Notes on the ‘Age is just a number’
April issue fits Bill McDonnell
perfectly. What had
Worth Her Weight me enthralled was his
never-give-up attitude;
Body-image issues have been the bane of my his optimism never fal-
existence. Often, people greet me and say I’ve lost tered. It is a testament
weight—they think it will make me feel better. Is it to his courage and
so hard to just say hello, and not comment on a per- spirit that despite the
son’s appearance! Growing up, I would cover up my life-threatening ordeal
legs as I considered them ‘beefy’. I worried that I was he faced, at the end as
shaped ‘like a boy’. My perspective shifted when I he is being rescued, he
discovered the body-positivity movement. Beautiful is sure that given half
bodies come in all shapes. I thank the author for wri- an hour more of day-
ting about her experience; it is hard to love your body light, he would have
the way it is when the opposite has been engraved in made it out by himself.
your brain for so long. Her story gave me hope that Rashida Birmawal-
I too will overcome my issues in the future. wala, Indore

—Surabhi S. Pathak, Nagpur How To Live To 100,
And Love It!
Surabhi S. Pathak gets this month’s ‘Write & Win’ prize of ₹1,000. —EDs
Thanks for an infor-
Kanupriya Durve’s story was so heartening. Self-love mative article on the
should be taught to children by parents, especially secrets of living a lon-
when they are entering adolescence. We all struggle ger and happier life.
with something at that vulnerable age, even if it’s We can certainly in-
not weight or colour. It should be taught that ‘we crease our lifespan by
manifest what we believe’. Often, we are so over- making smart choices
whelmed by judgement on our bodies that we throughout our life.
forget to pay attention to what’s going on inside These choices will also
it. To all young women: You are beautiful. ensure that we have
ATREYEE SHILL, Kharagpur better quality of life.
We must focus on
maintaining a sense
of optimism, conscien-
tiousness and kindness
as these are just as

10 june 2021

Reader’s Digest

significant as diet and communism and the facing the terrible conse-
exercise in living a long, aggressive and chauvin- quences not only of nar-
healthy life. Equally im- istic rules of America row nationalism but
portant is maintaining a and many countries of also of acute intolerance,
healthy social network Europe, which appar- divisive politicking, reli-
and hobbies—garden- ently stemmed from the gious chauvinism and
ing, painting, reading trends of rising nation- even fascist tendencies.
and writing articles or alism found in Germany The letter invokes the
letters to the editor. and other nations prior realization that builders
Beena Mathur, Pune to World War II. Nehru of post-Independence
sounded particularly India had visualized a
Kindness: Pass it On! brilliant in emphasizing nation free of pseudo
that temporal shifts in and thrusted national-
The pandemic has attitude are fundamen- ism and majoritarian-
made acts of compas- tal to the vibrant and ism. It is a fact that in
sion even more relevant. dynamic politics of in- addition to known com-
I experienced kindness clusion by comparing munal organizations,
of strangers first-hand the two phases of India, there are others who
when my father was viz., before and after carry this “narrow influ-
admitted to a hospital Independence. He was ence” and turn people
with COVID. The help prophetic, as demon- narrow-minded. His ex-
I received from people strated by the present hortation to fight these
fighting their own bat- state of politics in India, forces has to be taken
tles and the tireless in asserting that it is pri- seriously by all who have
work of the medical staff marily the narrowness faith in human values
touched me to my core. of mind, most often and age-old positive tra-
Unfortunately my father professed by communal ditions of India. For us
didn’t survive but this organizations, that con- Kashmiris, this letter
has only strengthened tributes towards an generates a lot of hope.
my resolution to spread insidious, destructive M. Y. G. Nairang,
kindness, as life is too form of nationalism. Kashmir
short for hate. KISHORE CHAKRABORTY,
deepali jani, New Delhi Kolkata Write in at editor.india@
rd.com. The best letters
The Costs of Narrow The letter written by In- discuss RD articles, offer
Nationalism dia’s first Prime Minister, criticism, share ideas.
regarding the dangers of Do include your phone
Nehru’s political views narrow nationalism is number and postal address.
exhibit a marked ambi- timely. We are currently
valence—he equally
denounced dictatorial

readersdigest.in 11

Reader’s Digest

CONVERSATIONS

We Will Study!

School closures have pushed rural girls in India back
into a life of labour, underage marriage and gendered

roles. It’s time their voices are heard

by Shantha Sinha

In March 2020, discontinue my classes. They sup-
as the COVID-19 ported me fully and even begun en-
pandemic took quiring about where I should go for
firm hold, govern- my next level of education. The clo-
ment-mandated sure of schools has changed this situ-
lockdowns led to ation completely,” says Sandhya from
a blanket closure Nuthankal, a small village in Telangana,
of schools and col- who had reached the 10th grade at her
leges—staying safe by staying home local school. She has now begun farm
being the need of the hour. Amongst work since further learning is no lon-
the many groups adversely affected ger an option. In the nearby village of
by this policy—and extraordinarily Kandagatla, Lakshmi, an 11th grader,
so—were children, particularly girls in remembers fighting with her parents
rural India, for whom the chance to be for permission to commute to the near-
educated was the result of hard-won est high school eight kms away, assur-
battles against gender discrimination ing them that she could take care of
and social pressures to conform to tra- herself and her safety. Before the lock-
ditional roles earmarked for women. down, parents of these children had
“I convinced my parents not to stopped pressuring daughters to get

12 june 2021

According to a UNICEF report, only one in four children in India has access to the devices
and internet connectivity necessary for digital learning.

shutterstock married, hopeful that a better future dropping out because of the COVID-19
might be in store. pandemic. In fact, the research esti-
mates that as a result of the pandemic,
According to the 2021 UNICEF re- 20 million girls in developing countries
port, COVID-19 and School Closures, may never return to the classroom.
the pandemic and the ensuing lock-
downs in 2020 have impacted 247 mil- With the closure of schools and all
lion children enrolled in elementary residential educational institutions
and secondary schools in India. Need- during lockdown, girls’ education has
less to say, this crisis further exacer- become unpredictable. Learning losses
bated learning opportunities for many have a substantial impact on girls and
vulnerable sections of an unequal soci- young women, much of which extend
ety. In April 2020, the Malala Fund esti- beyond academic progress. For a ma-
mated that 10 million girls at secondary jority of girls in India, schools are the
education in low and lower-middle only channel to meet peers, seek sup-
income countries would be at risk of port, access health and immunization

readersdigest.in 13

Reader’s Digest

services and eat a nutritious meal. Con- lamented that three of her close

sequently, uncertainties about the fu- friends have gotten married and

ture, lack of food and little to no health their dreams of studying further have

support leave families in precarious come to an end. Gugulothu Indu, 17,

situations. The result: much against a 12th grader from Yembamla village

their wishes, girls are being forced into says, “I have kept in touch with my

the gendered roles they so vehemently friends and made calls to Childline to

fought against before lockdown. Patri- report that their marriages were fixed. I

archal values have rebounded and they am glad that their weddings have been

are being pushed into more domestic postponed, if not totally stopped.”

work, forced to abdicate Like Indu, many girls

control over their mo- GIRLS FROM have not yet given up on
bility and freedom and VULNERABLE a brighter tomorrow in
compelled to accept a spite of dire odds made

cloistered, disempowered FAMILIES’ ARE harsher by the lock-

life without choices. PUTTING UP STIFF down. Undeterred, they

Girls have now joined RESISTANCE TO work hard so as to use
the farm-labour force their earnings on mobile
along with their moth- PATRIARCHAL phones that are equipped

ers, recruited to 9-to-5 NORMS. THEY to access online classes—

work such as cotton- MUST NOT devices that can cost be-
seed picking, ginning, STAND ALONE. tween `7,000 to `12,000.
chilli processing and
Fifteen-year-old

lemon plucking. Large Shailaja, studying in

numbers have also been sucked into 10th grade, is a leader of the Girls’ Com-

family-based labour jobs—vegetable mittee in her village Istalapuram and

vendors, beedi workers, shepherds, is determined to keep up her stud-

cattle-herds and in other such home- ies “to make my mother proud”. “My

based units in the informal sector. father is an alcoholic, abusive and does

They work under the scorching heat, no work. My mother has sacrificed a

with burnt faces and hands, blisters lot to educate my brother, twin sister

on their feet and aches and pains—a and myself. I used my savings to buy
far cry from a life of packing school a mobile phone for `10,000 to attend

bags, doing homework, meeting online classes, watch good videos and

friends and playtime. improve my knowledge. I cannot give

The increasing pressures of early up.” Chandana, also from Istalapuram,

bethrothal is perhaps the most dif- studying in the 12th grade, echoes the

ficult to endure. Sirisha, 19, who is same determination. “I am taking on-

in the second year of graduation, line tutorial classes to prepare for the

14 june 2021

Conversations

photo: shantha sinha For Shailaja, a 10th grader from large rural–urban and gender divide
Istalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, juggling barring the way. According to the
online classes and her job as a lemon Global Education Monitoring Report
harvester is all in a day’s work. 2020, only 12 per cent of households
in the poorest countries have internet
qualifying examinations for entry into access at home, and access to mobile
professional colleges. It is very diffi- internet is 26 per cent lower for women
cult to adjust work and online classes, and girls than for their male peers.
but I do it.” These figures are supported by a 2020
UNICEF report which states that at
Shailaja and Chandana are part least every seventh girl globally has
of a small minority, however. Online been unable to access remote learning
education is a distant dream for when schools are closed.
most rural children. According to a
UNICEF report, only one in four children While these girls from poor, margin-
in India has access to the devices and alized and vulnerable families,’ daugh-
internet connectivity necessary for ters of illiterate parents, are putting up
digital learning. Moreover, there is a stiff resistance to structural inequities
and patriarchal norms, it is imperative
that they not stand alone. Governments
at all levels must propel state action to
reach out and relieve them from labour
force, stop child marriage and protect
freedom and rights of girls. Without this
support in terms of educational mate-
rial, digital tools, food security, health
and hygiene provisions and scholar-
ships, such children are being left be-
hind in the worst way—with lost futures
they are trapped in generational cycles
of poverty and deprivation. Stories of
such girls must become visible. Their
pleas must be heard.

Child-rights activist, Shantha Sinha is
the founder of MV Foundation and a
professor of political science at Hyder-
abad Central University. She received
the 2003 Ramon Magsaysay award
and the Padma Shri in 1999.

readersdigest.in 15

SMILE

Mom Lately, when ‘Mom’ pops up on my
Needs call display, I look at my phone, sigh
IT Help heavily and think, “What now?” At
Again almost 80 years old, my mother seems
to have more tech gadgets than I do,
I’ve become her always- and yet she’s hopeless when it comes
on-call tech assistant to basic troubleshooting. Whether I
like it or not, I am her dedicated tech
by Craig Baines support. I field calls about her laptop,
Illustration by Emily Chu smartphone, printer, scanner, univer-
sal remote, Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth
16 june 2021 speaker and ultrasonic toothbrush,
just to name a few. Twenty-four hours
a day. Rain or shine.

If you have been similarly con-
scripted, here are some tips from
the trenches:

Reader’s Digest

Always take her call. I know, I Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card from helping
Mom figure out where her Spider
know, it can be painful, but you have to Solitaire icon disappeared to? (I have a
trust me on this and pick up. She is your life, too, Sis!)
mom, and she’ll play that card. I usually
get a “Craig, I am your mother.” Plus, Help mom’s Wi-Fi help her.
if she detects even the slightest hint of
my exasperation, she hits me with Recently, while taking a break from
“I changed your diapers!” Well, Mom, looking out her front window, Mom
being your personal Geek Squad is a managed to locate that one corner of
crappy job, too! her home that has a weak Wi-Fi signal.
What prompted her to use her tablet in
Don’t troubleshoot in front of the furnace room I’ll never know,
co-workers. Over the years, Mom but she sure as sugar called me
afterwards to complain about it …
and I have developed a familiar, ‘unfil- followed by an update on her
tered’ tone when we talk to each other. neighbours. Faster than Roto-Rooter, I
My side of a typical call starts with “Yes, was over fixing her network and
Mom?” and quickly spirals from there decided to rename it. I felt ‘Linda Wi-Fi'
to “You can’t do what?” to “I would love was boring. Thanks to me, folks within
to help, but I don’t think ‘thingamajig’ a five-house radius have seen ‘Pick Up
is a $%&# technical term!!!” Such talk, After Your Dog Wi-Fi', ‘Mow That Lawn
while often justified, doesn’t go over Dammit Wi-Fi' and ‘Your Powder
well in an open-concept office. Your Room Needs Blinds Wi-Fi!
colleagues will think you’re The. Worst.
Son. Ever. To avoid raising any eye- Avoid emojis at all costs. Finally,
brows, take the call from the nearest
supply closet. (Pro tip: if you need a word of caution. I mistakenly
something to scream into, a roll of introduced Mom to emojis thinking
paper towel works great!) they would liven up our otherwise
mundane text exchanges. At first,
Share the burden. The next time I needed the Rosetta Stone to decipher
Mom’s messages. For instance, on one
Mom hands you her smartphone to occasion I wasn’t sure if she was
‘figure out’, take a proactive step by cre- describing her garden or curious
ating a new contact called IT Emer- about medical marijuana. But things
gency Helpline and encourage her to turned really awkward last August
use it. But instead of inputting your after Mom got home from the local
number, use your sister’s. (Sorry, peach festival. Her texts describing
Krista!) It’s about time she stepped up. plump, lip-smacking peaches still give
Sure, she may be balancing three kids me nightmares.
and a new job, but since when is that a

readersdigest.in 17

It Happens

ONLY IN INDIA

“I think he is prepared for the Third Wave.”

Fraudulent in love curfew restrictions get lockdown in 2020.
All the world loves a in the way. Dutta’s fix: Looks like he wasn’t
lover? The Assam Rent a car, drive over for just answering love’s
police would sigh in a tryst, and, in case he clarion call!
disagreement, having was stopped by the au-
taken into custody a thorities, impersonate a Source: sentinelassam.com
certain Biswajit Dutta district magistrate. This
who, tired of being wasn’t Dutta’s first ro- Back to life
quartered at home on deo—he had previously As we live the conse-
his beloved’s birthday, claimed to be a Juvenile quence of the pan-
decided to take matters lawyer, a member of the demic, the subsequent
into his own hands. District Child Protection policy paralysis and the
Surely love is not love, if Service and even a ensuing decimation of
government-mandated doctor during the first our healthcare delivery
systems, 76-year-old
18 june 2021
illustration by Raju Epuri

Reader’s Digest

Shakuntala Gaikwad’s pages of a notebook as Mask on, Mask off
bizarre case scares the penance. Lockdown In our monthly ‘Covid-
bejesus out of us. Gaik- violators have been iot’ update, we bring
wad who tested positive aplenty, and enforcers you a saffron-clad man
for COVID-19, was being have run the gamut of of god, wearing a mask
rushed to Baramati by punishments, but this of neem. In a viral video,
her family in a bid to one is for the books. the baba can be seen
find a hospital bed, wearing his precariously
when she was found Source: indiatoday.in constructed mask, re-
unresponsive and de- plete with wide gaps,
clared deceased. Much In sickness and in air stuffed with neem. Fur-
grief and, dare we say, Rules don’t apply to the ther, he instructs we do
commotion later, as rich, or so it seems the same to protect our-
Gaikwad was being thought a couple from selves from the virus, but
prepped to meet her Madurai as they took to for premium security we
maker, she woke up on the skies to solemnize would do well to add a
the bier visibly terrified. their wedding. In a move few lemon and tulsi
Turns out, she had only that smacks of pure priv- leaves. The logic, if we
passed out in the car ilege, the duo chartered can even called it that, is
due to the long wait. a Boeing 737, stuffed it “Neem is very useful for
Her happy but shocked with 160 unmasked any illness.” At the pain
family quickly rushed guests for their wedding of gross simplification:
her to a hospital. ceremony, breaking ev- Dear reader, do not
ery COVID-19 guideline swap your masks for
Source: indiatoday.in in the book. As video the neem–lemon–tulsi
and photos of the wed- variant. As for the baba,
Hey Ram ding circulated on social we wish him good luck:
The dominant register of media, SpiceJet claimed It’s bound to come in
the pandemic response the couple told them handy, because the
has not only been one they were already mar- mask sure isn’t.
of exception, it has often ried and were only tak-
ventured into bizarre. ing their guests on a Source: thequint.com
Case in point: In Satna, postnuptial joyride. An
Madhya Pradesh, sub- investigation is under- —COMPILED BY NAOREM ANUJA
inspector Santosh Singh way and the airline crew
came up with the idea of has been de-rostered. Reader’s Digest will pay
making people straying We just think it’s a lot of for contributions to this
outdoors during lock- money to pay to get ev- column. Post your sugges-
down write Lord Ram’s eryone you love, sick. tions with the source to the
name and fill up four editorial address, or email:
Source: hindustantimes.com [email protected]

readersdigest.in 19

POINTS TO PONDER from left: shutterstock, alamy, ani

An old man in Gaza held a placard that read: “You take my water,
burn my olive trees, destroy my house, take my job, steal my land,
imprison my father, kill my mother, bombard my country, starve

us all, humiliate us all, but I am to blame: I shot a rocket back.”

Noam Chomsky, academic

Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no
matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it.

Rick Bragg, journalist

I think there are two major lessons from this pandemic. One, that the
country needs proper planning and decentralised implementation
mechanisms to improve our health system. And two, there can
be no delay in enhancing public investment in healthcare.

K.K. Shailaja, Kerala’s former health minister

Noam Chomsky Rick Bragg K. K. Shailaja

20 june 2021

from left: alamy (3) Reader’s Digest

Destiny is a feeling you have that you know something about
yourself nobody else does. The picture you have in your
own mind of what you’re about, will come true.

Bob Dylan, musician

For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we
are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, 
it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to
tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.

James Baldwin, novelist

Isn’t it strange how life won’t flow, like a river, but moves in
jumps, as if it were held back by locks that are opened now

and then to let it jump forwards in a kind of flood?

Anita Desai, author

Bob Dylan James Baldwin Anita Desai

readersdigest.in 21













Reader’s Digest
28 june 2021

BETTER LIVING

O WITH THEBYLeahRumack How little acts
of spontaneity
G illustration by kate traynor
can make
THE PANDEMIC HAS made me a more
spontaneous person. Weird, I know. F L O Wyour day
Before COVID-19, I was very Type A
about my social life: dinner at 6 p.m.—
6:30 if I was feeling sassy—usually
at a restaurant of my choosing that
I’d researched and booked with three
other moms, four weeks in advance.
The upheaval of this last year
completely changed my Virgo
approach to recreation.

readersdigest.in 29

Reader’s Digest

Now, with so many activities off the your aim—more friends? A new hobby?
table, whenever there’s a chance to do Getting out of a fashion rut?—you then
anything, I jump. Socially distanced need to identify which habits are keep-
falafel in the park? Sounds glamorous! ing you from getting what you want.
Walk with an acquaintance who lives Maybe your weekend routine is too
around the corner? My new BFF! Lawn packed or too rigid, or you keep making
cocktails with the neighbour? Why flimsy excuses to not try that new
didn’t I think of this before? online baking class.

My new ‘Sure, why not?’ vibe has Then you can consciously substitute
been one of the surprising upsides of those spontaneity-killing habits for
this time. I’ve made some new friends, ones that will help you achieve
seen parts of my hometown I didn’t your goal. If this doesn’t exactly
even know existed and become sound spontaneous, that’s because it
extremely good at dropping everything isn’t—at least not at first. “It’s just like
at a moment’s notice. going to the gym,” says Joordens. “You
may have to force yourself in the
I’ve also learnt that embracing beginning, but then hopefully it
novelty and openness to new becomes your new habit.”
experiences can make us happier—
even if it’s confined to small changes in MAKE SOME ROOM
our daily routines. Here are some easy
ways you can give spontaneity a Having gaps in my day, thanks to the
fighting chance to thrive. widespread closures of restaurants,
bars and movie theatres, definitely
FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS helped foster the creation of Brave-
New-Why-Not?-Leah. I could accept
Someone who’s naturally more last-minute invites for bike rides or
introverted or anxious doesn’t need to phone chats, and I quickly learnt the
revamp their entire approach to life to small joys of unexpected fun.
reap the benefits of spontaneity, says
Steve Joordens, a psychology professor According to Edward Slingerland, a
at the University of Toronto, professor of philosophy at the Univer-
Scarborough. The key, he says, is to sity of British Columbia, the first thing
identify which areas are the ones you you need to do to nurture spontaneous
feel could benefit from a little more of experiences is to create some space for
an off-the-cuff approach and focus on them. The author of Trying Not to Try:
changing your habits there. Ancient China, Modern Science and the
Power of Spontaneity, he became inter-
“The first step is asking yourself ested in spontaneity while studying
what’s lacking in your life,” he says. Chinese philosophers who wanted to
“What’s your goal?” Once you identify

30 june 2021

Better Living

cultivate a state of Wu Wei, or effortless mental breakthroughs that can occur
action, and saw spontaneity as an when we let our minds wander.
important goal.
You’re not going to strike up that
“We overstructure our lives and plan interesting conversation with the
too much,” he says. “Most people don’t person next to you in line if both of your
have any gaps in their day to play.” faces are buried in your phones.
And you’re not going to notice that
And while Slingerland admits that you’ve just passed a cute new bakery if
leaving those gaps is definitely trickier you’re too busy checking email as
if you’re juggling things like work, tak- you scurry by. So put your phone
ing care of family members or a busy down and embrace the unexpected
volunteering schedule, even just having world around you.
the mental goal of not overscheduling
yourself can help change your EMBRACE FAILURE (NO, REALLY)
approach. Many rabid list checkers
(guilty!) might also be initially baffled Learning to not fear failure is a daunt-
as to how to put this into practice. ing but essential step in the path to
becoming more spontaneous.
“Spontaneity is this weird combina-
tion of trying and not trying,” says “The hardest thing for a non-sponta-
Slingerland. He suggests giving yourself neous person is going to be that risk,”
a very loose goal—like, say, going for a says Joordens. Even though we’re not
walk without a particular destination or necessarily talking about capital-B ‘Big
just put ‘leaving the house’ on your Risks’ here, even making small changes
agenda—to help build the scaffolding to your routine can be enough. Your
for interesting things to happen. You partner might not like that new bed-
just have to get comfortable with the room idea; you will perhaps look silly if
idea that you might not  always be you take up tap dancing (okay, you will
‘accomplishing’ something, per se. look silly); it could be a flop if you
stream that movie you know nothing
Another quick way to give spontane- about. The trick, says Joordens, is to
ity a fighting chance? Stop scrolling. take a cue from the entrepreneurial
Screen time, says Slingerland, is a world and try to reconceptualize failure
‘black hole’ for adults and children as a learning opportunity.
alike. “Digital addiction is a real barrier
to spontaneity,” he adds. The modern “Entrepreneurs embrace failure and
instinct to reach for our devices at the the notion of learning from it,” says
first hint of empty time (guilty again!) Joordens. “The upside is if you’re spon-
eats up both actual time when we could taneous, you’re more likely to discover
be engaging with our environment in a something new, and that could turn out
more present way and the sudden to be something you really love.”

readersdigest.in 31

HEALTH

Open Up and Grandma always said
Say Ha Ha that laughter is the best
medicine. But what do sci-
The surprising reasons entists say? While chuck-
laughing is good for you ling can’t cure cancer, it does have
some measurable health benefits—
by Rebecca Philps it’s good for your heart, your brain,
illustration by Michelle Theodore your relationships and your overall
sense of well-being.
32 june 2021
Laughing is considered a sign of
happiness, but it also brings it on, trig-
gering the brain to release feel-good
neurotransmitters: dopamine, which
helps the brain process emotional
responses and enhances our experi-
ence of pleasure; serotonin, which
buoys our mood; and endorphins,
which regulate pain and stress and
induce euphoria. A recent study even
showed that laughing with others
releases endorphins via opioid recep-
tors, which suggests that laughter-
produced euphoria is like a narcotic—
but without the obvious drawbacks.

Beyond a mood lift, laughing often
may help prevent a heart event. Com-
mon daily challenges—big workloads,
overdue bills or conflicts with loved
ones—can cause chronic stress as they
continually trigger our ancient fight-or-
flight response, in turn causing our
blood vessels to constrict and our blood
pressure to rise. That can lead to myriad

Reader’s Digest

health problems, including increased we’re alone. These shared giggles act to
risk of heart attack and stroke. But like reinforce and maintain our sense of
cholesterol-lowering drugs and aerobic togetherness by way of endorphin dom-
exercise, a good laugh can actually inoes: when someone starts laughing,
counteract the effect of stress. In 2005, others will laugh, even if they’re not
researchers at the University of Mary- sure what everyone is on about. Laugh-
land Medical Center found that laughter ter is, quite literally, contagious.
increases blood flow by dilating the
inner lining of vessels. Your heart And when you laugh, you’re accessing
doesn’t have to pump as hard, which an ancient system that mammals have
reduces your blood pressure. evolved to make and maintain social
connection, according to Sophie Scott,
WE’RE a British cognitive neuroscientist. That
social connection is vital to our physical
30 TIMES and mental health—it strengthens our
MORE LIKELY immune system and lengthens our life.
People who feel more connected to
TO LAUGH SOCIALLY THAN others have higher self-esteem, lower
WHEN WE’RE ALONE. rates of anxiety and depression and
are more empathetic.
Laughter is also an antidote to pain,
and so increases our endurance. A Babies inherently understand the
2011 Oxford University study showed importance of shared laughs, says
that subjects’ pain thresholds were sig- Dr Caspar Addyman, a developmental
nificantly higher after laughing, due to psychologist and director of the Gold-
that endorphin-mediated opiate effect. smiths InfantLab at the University of
This means that sharing a joke with a London. “Babies can make you laugh
friend can help you squeeze out a few and you can make them laugh almost
extra reps at the gym or go further on instantaneously, no jokes involved,”
your daily walk. A good belly laugh he says. “It’s all about connection.” As
also happens to be a bit of a workout on Scott points out, even for adults, laugh-
its own—it exercises several muscle ter isn’t always connected to humour—
groups, including your abdomen, back, we laugh to show people we under-
shoulders, diaphragm and face. stand them, that we agree with them,
that we’re part of the group and that we
Joking around is also a boon to our like or even love them.
social life, and laughter is 30 times more
likely to occur with others than when So go ahead and be silly with some-
one you care about—it’s the quickest
and easiest way to lighten your mental
load and improve your physical well-
ewbeing. It’s pretty fun, too.

readersdigest.in 33

FOOD

THE POST-
COVID
RECOVERY
DIET

5 best foods to help
you bounce back

By Lovneet Batra

Beating back the SARS-CoV-2 ALMONDS
virus is no mean feat, but the Healthy fats in almonds are a rich
process of regaining your full source of oleic acid, which helps stabi-
health can be a long, arduous journey lize high blood-sugar levels and fights
too. Due to lingering after-effects that inflammation—one of the most harm-
vary in intensity from person to person, ful long-term effects of the COVID virus.
COVID-19 can continue to make you Just about 20 almonds a day can pro-
feel poorly, even after testing negative. vide 37 per cent of vitamin E and
20 per cent of magnesium require-
Fatigue, inflammation, pulmonary ments, both essential for recuperation.
fibrosis—scarring on the lungs leading Vitamin E helps protect our cells from
to shortness of breath, chronic fatigue oxidative damage while magnesium
and dry cough—hair loss, joint pain, in- increases energy and muscle strength,
somnia and feelings of depression and boosts restful sleep and reduces stress.
anxiety, are just some of the symptoms Higher magnesium intake is also linked
you might be feeling. Here are some to reduced symptoms of depression.
foods that can help a speedy recovery.

34 june 2021

Reader’s Digest

AMARANTH ginger is traditionally used as a flu
Muscle wasting, body aches and fighter and has been found to help
exhaustion are commonly seen due to control high blood sugar post-COVID.
hypermetabolism and excessive nitro- Ginger juice helps in reducing mucous
gen loss during the COVID infection. To and soothing a sore throat. It improves
overcome this, try amaranth which blood circulation and cell oxygenation
offers good quality protein, iron, sele- and is a natural prebiotic, meaning it
nium and magnesium. Protein and acts as food for good gut bacteria.
selenium are also needed for the anti-
bodies we make as an immune
response. This pseudo-cereal also pro-
vides a balance of nutrients that
reduces hair loss after COVID.

shutterstock SPROUTED CHICKPEAS ANTIOXIDANT-RICH
High bioavailability of nutrients in POMEGRANATES CAN HELP
chickpea sprouts makes this an ideal
dietary element during recovery. Not RESTORE RESPIRATORY
only do sprouted chickpeas have an STRENGTH AFTER COVID.
amino acid profile that is better suited
to digestion than unsprouted ones, POMEGRANATE
their phytic acid content is also low Pomegranates are rich in punicalagins
thereby enhancing our ability to easily and punicic acid both of which have
absorb its vitamins and minerals. high antioxidant properties. This
Chickpeas are also a great source of nutrient-packed fruit helps restore
fibre. Studies reveal that a high-fibre respiratory strength by boosting the
diet is related to lower levels of concentration of nitrates in the blood
inflammatory cytokines and enhanced and its powerful anti-inflammatory
levels of short chain fatty acids—a key compounds aid in reducing joint pain
factor in maintaining healthy gut and swelling.
microbiota, which plays an important
role in better immunity. Sprouts are Lovneet Batra is a clinical nutritionist
also rich in critical B and C vitamins, and natural remedies expert.
which supports our energy production
and tissue-repair abilities.

GINGER
Packed with potent metabolites
including gingerols and shogaols,

readersdigest.in 35

Reader’s Digest Grin (or Grimace) top left: shutterstock. right from the top: ake2008ake/getty images. mactrunk/getty images
and Bear Your
News From the Vaccine

WORLD OF If a needle jab makes
MEDICINE you wince, that might
be a good thing. Ame-
EXERCISE PROTECTS rican participants in
THE DECLINING BRAIN a study were asked to
make various facial ex-
It’s not unusual for some cognitive decline pressions while getting
to occur as you age, and it’s nothing to worry injected. Those who
about. But if you have more difficulty with wore either a grimace
judgment, language or memory than is ex- or a genuine smile
pected for your age, a doctor may diagnose with both mouth and
you with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), eyes reported about
a condition that raises your risk of progress- 40 per cent less pain
ing to dementia. However, in a Korean study than those with a
of nearly 2,50,000 people with MCI, par- stoic poker face.
ticipants who exercised more than once a
week were 18 per cent less likely to develop Alcohol
Alzheimer’s disease. Physical activity may Impairment
protect us by increasing blood flow to the Begins Below
brain or by aiding the production of the Legal Limits
molecules that help neurons grow.
In many countries,
36 june 2021 it’s illegal to drive
with a blood alcohol
concentration (BAC)
above 0.05 per cent.
Now new research
suggests that the abil-
ity to process visual
motion can be com-
promised with a BAC
as low as 0.015 per
cent. So call a ride
even if you’ve had
as little as half a beer.

OBSTRUCTIVE
SLEEP APNOEA’S
TOLL ON THE HEART

As one of the most prevalent sleep disorders, ob- Taking Your
structive sleep apnoea (OSA) affects around one bil- Blood Pressure?
lion people worldwide. For those with this condition, Check Both Arms
the muscles in the back of the throat relax too much
during sleep, creating a narrowed passage for air and The ideal way to take
causing breathing to stop and restart repeatedly. Each blood pressure is by
time this happens, the sleep cycle gets interrupted, measuring it in both
which often leaves sufferers feeling tired all day. But arms, according to in-
the potential consequences don’t stop there. Un- ternational guidelines.
treated sleep apnoea may also raise the risk of dying In real life, this happens
from heart disease by up to five times. at best only half the
time—even at the doc-
A recent Finnish study explored one of the rea- tor’s office. Checking
sons for this by recording OSA patients’ nighttime both arms is important
heart rhythms. When the body runs low on oxygen because when arteries
and suddenly awakens, this causes a surge of ac- stiffen and harden, one
tivity in the sympathetic nervous system—and re- side is usually affected
leases stress hormones in the body. The longer a more than the other in
participant’s breathing was interrupted, the faster a way that blood pres-
the heart raced and the more the short-term heart sure testing may detect.
rate varied. Over time, too much of this strains the A slight disparity isn’t
cardiovascular system. cause for concern, but a
difference of 10 mm Hg
Fortunately, there are treatments in the systolic number
that work well for OSA. Mild cases could be a sign of car-
diovascular problems.
may improve with lifestyle So the next time you’re
changes such as quitting smok- at a doctor’s appoint-
ment, if they check
ing or shedding excess weight. only one arm, encour-
For more serious cases, the age them to take a
most effective solution is few extra moments
a continuous positive air- for the other one.
way pressure (CPAP) ma-

chine that pumps a constant
stream of air into your throat
by way of a mask.

readersdigest.in 37

COVER STORY

THEY GIVE

US HOPE

38 june 2021 As the country
coped with the
trauma of a second
COVID wave, a new
set of citizen heroes
came to its rescue

By Team Reader’s Digest

PHOTOgraph by
Bandeep Singh

Reader’s Digest

With Gurpreet Singh Rummy (centre,
in white) at the helm, Khalsa Help

International stepped in to provide
medical oxygen to COVID patients
when hospitals were overwhelmed.

readersdigest.in 39

Reader’s Digest

No one, it seemed, had Versha Verma, whose free hearse service photos: versha verma
warned us about the second offered COVID victims a dignified final journey
COVID wave. A spike in the
number of infections set While some COVID patients needed
some alarm bells ringing in ambulances and medicine, there were
March, but none were loud enough more who, by then, needed hearses.
to prepare us for the devastation we Amidst the ensuing chaos, most of us
saw barely a month later. As hospital were left with little idea about which
beds and oxygen became scarce, our number to call, where to go and what
very Indian rules of privilege ceased to do. Finally, it was some brave,
to apply. COVID-19 was, suddenly, committed and selfless individuals
the great leveller. Regardless of our who stepped in to create that support
position on the ladders of caste and system. Here were ordinary Indians
class, we all fought hard to access showing extraordinary courage.
critical healthcare. We gasped
together. We were all desperate. Helping shore up India’s frontlines
were volunteers and warriors who
Governments in the country, at often put themselves in harm’s way
the levels of both centre and state, just so that they could alleviate
were visibly unprepared. Their distress. Social worker Versha Verma,
complacency created a vacuum. for instance, transformed a moment of
great personal loss into an opportunity

40 june 2021

Cover Story

to serve her city of Lucknow: “I lost of community, not by a want to profit.
my best friend to COVID in mid-April. With every life they save or better, they
I waited at Ram Manohar Lohia give us an India to hope and root for.
Hospital with her body for four hours.
No middle-class family could afford the *****
`10,000 to `15,000 that drivers were
charging. The crematorium was only Breathing Life into Us
four km away.”
By the third week of April, watching
The next day, Verma rented an the news had become an anxious, often
Omni van and returned to the same horrifying experience. Hospitals were
hospital, holding a placard that turning away severely ill COVID pa-
read ‘Nishulk Shav Vahan’ (Free tients. They had no beds, and, in Delhi
Hearse). The 42-year-old remembers specifically, many had no oxygen.
performing the last rites of five COVID Pradhan of Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gu-
patients on her very first day. “At rudwara in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad,
the crematorium, there were 70 to Gurpreet Singh Rummy remembers
80 bodies burning. I was wearing PPE exactly when the second wave crescen-
in the scorching sun. I thought I would doed at his doorstep—it was 11:30 p.m.
melt or faint. Slowly, however, I got on 22 April. A 55-year-old woman had
used to it.” When people saw her work been brought to the gurudwara. Her
tirelessly for over 13 hours a day, they SpO2 levels had dipped to 50 per cent.
decided to fund her initiative. Verma “We, thankfully, had some cylinders,
used this money to employ 12 workers, but not a lot of knowhow. We some-
adding to her fleet three more vans how brought up her levels up to 95 per
and an ambulance. cent in about an hour,” recalls Rummy.
“We made a video of this and put it
Ever since the pandemic struck in up on social media. In about an hour,
2020, Verma hasn’t stopped to either 100 to 150 cars showed up. They also
breathe or despair. She has helped had nowhere else to go.”
distribute food packets, rations,
medicines, blood and plasma to After Rummy, 44, helped set up
those who need it most. Like her, Khalsa Help International (KHI) last
there are others whose efforts are year, he ensured that the needy get ra-
bringing comfort to countless Indians tions, LPG and free COVID tests. The
in these dark, uncertain times. organization even helped patients find
From drivers kitting their rickshaws hospital beds and treatment. Since
with oxygen cylinders to school April this year, however, the scale of
children coordinating relief efforts on KHI’s operations has increased tenfold.
WhatsApp, these modern heroes all In just three-odd weeks, Rummy and
seem to be motivated by a deep sense his volunteers had provided oxygen to

readersdigest.in 41

Reader’s Digest

Members of the Oxygen on Wheels team in Shantiniketan, West Bengal

approximately 12,000 people, but to do us that none of his colleagues have yet photo: manisha banerjee
this, they had to source cylinders from been vaccinated. “The work we do is
Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Utta- non-stop. People are sometimes down
rakhand. Rummy remembers weeping for two or three days after a vaccine. If
when KHI’s oxygen stocks once dwin- we’re short even one person, many pa-
dled: “Everyone put up their hands, tients would suffer, patients for whom
saying we’ll supply hospitals first, but we’re the only hope,” he says.
what about those who didn’t get a bed,
people who can’t afford one?” In comparison to Delhi, says
Dr Abhijit Chowdhury, chief advisor
In the end, it wasn’t just individu- to Kolkata’s Liver Foundation, the
als who benefited from KHI’s unique second wave peaked later in West
oxygen langar—health-care facilities Bengal. “When it became clear that
did, too. “At least six hospitals had us oxygen would be needed, we felt
on call in case they ran out of cylin- we needed to rise to the occasion.”
ders. The government couldn’t help On 7 May, using two ambulances
them, but they were able to save lives which the state government had lent,
with the oxygen we supplied.” Even Liver Foundation volunteers started
though six of KHI’s 90 volunteers have taking the organization’s 11 oxygen
tested positive for COVID, Rummy tells concentrators to those who needed it

42 june 2021

Cover Story

urgently. It didn’t take long for donors in the morning. After having fallen
to see the merits of this initiative. In seriously ill, an old lady had come
less than a month, the organization to ask if Sawant could take her to the
had received over 140 concentrators, hospital in his auto rickshaw. She had
and with them, greater resolve. already been turned down by three
other drivers in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar
Oxygen on Wheels, Liver area. “I took her to a nearby hospital,”
Foundation’s 24x7 oxygen-delivery says Sawant. “I thought What if it had
service, was never meant to be an been my mother, ill and unable to get
urban, Kolkata-only drive. Dr Partha to the hospital. What if it had been
Sarathi Mukherjee, the foundation’s me? I figured why not use my auto as
secretary, says, “News of the oxygen an ambulance.”
crisis itself created massive panic
among people living in small towns In metropolises like Mumbai, there
and villages. Without big-city facilities, are often more critical COVID patients
they had no idea about what to do than there are ambulances. Also, as
or where to go.” As Liver Foundation Sawant saw in the case of his ageing
looked for partners in rural and remote passenger, even non-COVID patients
West Bengal, Dr Chowdhury reached were finding it hard to sometimes
out to Manisha Banerjee, headmistress make that life-saving journey to the
of a school in Shantiniketan. “I told him hospital. He decided he would not
[Dr Chowdhury] we want to launch an differentiate between the two: “I
all-women effort.” she says. take everyone who comes to me.” In
Sawant’s rickshaw, you can now find
Made up of teachers, students an infrared thermometer, sanitizers
and homemakers, Banerjee’s team of and a pulse oximeter. Sawant protects
10 women does everything from run- himself with PPE and a divider he
ning a helpline to driving concentra- has installed. In just five weeks, he’d
tors around the districts of Bolpur ferried 77 passengers, 42 of whom had
and Birbhum. In villages, says Baner- tested positive for COVID.
jee, cylinders are either unaffordable
or unavailable, “so this seemed like a Sawant, who is also an English
good initiative”. Moreover, she adds, “It teacher, has not let the dangers of
is also helping break stereotypes of the his brave endeavours deter him. “All
ways in which women can contribute.” essential workers such as doctors,
nurses, ward boys go to work and
***** stay in contact with COVID patients
24x7. What if they stayed home?
Driving Us to Safety What would happen to us then? So, I
thought it was nothing for me to ferry
On 15 April, Dattatraya Sawant heard a few COVID patients.”
someone knocking on his door at two

readersdigest.in 43

Reader’s Digest

Much like Sawant whose initiative a distance of five or six km. What is a
has the financial and emotional poor person to do? Get himself treated
backing of his wife, Mohammad Javed or pay for the ambulance?” asks Khan.
Khan has also found similar support Once the 34-year-old had decided he
in his Bhopal home. When he told his would use his rickshaw to ferry COVID
wife that the cost of filling the oxygen patients in need of transport, help
cylinder with which he had kitted his started pouring in. After a journalist
auto rickshaw was `700 to `800, she shared his Google Pay details, Khan
agreed to sell her jewellery. received enough money to put
together and distribute ration kits.
In April, Khan saw on his WhatsApp
chats and Facebook wall, pictures we Although Khan now has an e-pass
all did—people carrying their ailing that helps him move across the city
parents on their shoulders, young during lockdown, he recalls a bitter
men and women suffering outside experience with the Bhopal police.
hospitals. “If an ambulance did turn On his way to ferry a patient from
up, it would charge people `8,000 for one hospital to another, he was

Mohammad Javed Khan began ferrying COVID patients for free and set up an oxygen photo: mohammad javed khan
cylinder in his auto rickshaw to help sustain critical cases on the go.

44 june 2021

apprehended by city cops. They
accused him of illegally selling
oxygen. By the time this ordeal was
over, the patient had passed away.
“Why harass those who try to work
for a good cause? People need to rally
together, not leave each other alone
to fend for themselves,” argues Khan.

In Dhar, a tribal district in Madhya
Pradesh, Aziz ul-Rahman Khan had
also seen harrowing pictures on his
social media—husbands carrying on
their shoulders their deceased wives,
a man pulling a COVID patient in a
thela (cart). “I thought I have to invent
something that is within everyone’s
reach,” says the engineer. The 46-year-
old Khan’s invention—portable am-
bulances that can be attached to
motorbikes—will soon be provided to
16 community health centres in Dhar.
At the peak of the second wave, Dhar’s
10 ambulances were in no way enough
for its thousand-plus COVID patients.
Khan is helping plug that gap.

*****

photo: source Marshalling Our (Clockwise from top) School students
Resources Rishay Gupta, Ansh Garg and Avani Singh
set up a lead verification and resource
While it was possible to foresee a management effort to help connect
spike in our collective distress in people in need with reliable information
March, no one had predicted a sudden for COVID treatment through WhatsApp.
collapse of the nation’s health systems.
With testing kits and oxygen cylinders
both in short supply, people soon took
to social media. Some were looking for
medicine, others for hospital beds. The
pleas that circulated on Twitter and

readersdigest.in 45

Reader’s Digest

The medicine bank started by doctor couple, Marcus Ranney (second from the right)
and his wife Raina, services impoverished communities in seven cities.

on WhatsApp groups made one fact Sahayta Kendra and Sahayta Kendra photo: marcus ranney
clear—the few resources that were Volunteers—to verify various leads.
still available needed to be managed. “India is a country with a large youth
Samaritans, one saw, stepped up population,” says Garg, 16. “If not us,
before governments. then who will work?”

Seeing havoc unfold around The groups, now overseen by
them, Ansh Garg, Rishay Gupta and more than 300 volunteers, check
Avani Singh, three students freshly information from across the country
entering class 12, decided they must to help connect people in distress to
do something. The teenagers from those who can help. The students work
Meerut and Saharanpur had a student in shifts, with calls coming in until
organization—they put it to use. In two a.m., then abating for a few hours
the melee of appeals for medicines, before resuming at five a.m. Garg
beds, oxygen and other requests, there says that as 16- and 17-year-olds it’s
was also a lot of information that was sometimes tough to deal with this
either outdated or false. The trio set much pain and grief on a daily basis,
up two WhatsApp groups—COVID-19 but they do their best.

46 june 2021

Cover Story

Efforts such as these have sprung up “We don’t just amplify requests, but do
across geographies. In Mumbai, doc- our best to not let a case go without a
tor couple Marcus and Raina Ranney resolution.” The 180-odd volunteers,
began collecting unused medicines divided into eight sub-groups, have
in early May. It started with trying to successfully assisted more than 300
help someone they knew, so they put people in the state, including those
the word out over WhatsApp in their in underserved parts. “We try to be a
housing society, asking if anyone had bridge between patients, the adminis-
unused and unexpired medicines to tration and available resources,” says
spare. This simple effort then became volunteer Umesh Talashi.
an initiative, one which soon metasta-
sized to cover seven cities where dedi- *****
cated collection centres and logistics
are all now in place. Dignifying Our Dead

“If one building can save a life, Having worked as a hospital super-
then imagine what a city or a country visor for 10 years, Majeed Bilal had
can do,” says Marcus Ranney. They grown used to death, but last year, he
have collected more than 200 kg of was moved to tears when he saw an old
medicines so far—mostly medication woman die of COVID. “This happened
required for light to moderate COVID during the first lockdown,” he tells us.
treatment, including Fabiflu, Dolo, “No one was ready to touch her dead
anti-allergics and other drugs for pain- body, not even her children.” After hav-
relief. With the help of non-profits, ing seen municipality officials throw
these medicines are then sent to areas the lady’s body in a pit, Bilal decided
or communities that need them. “Oth- he would start conducting the last rites
ers have also been inspired by this tem- of COVID patients himself. “Soon after
plate and we are happy to share it,” says starting, I quit my job. No one wanted
Ranney. The doctors hope to continue to be near me.”
running their medicine bank in some
form even after the pandemic abates. Though Bilal’s organization, Hu-
manity First Foundation (HFF), was
In Jammu and Kashmir, a group of given two hearses by a donor, he
volunteers called SOSJK offers a motley found that not many people in his
list of services—connecting people to area—Karnataka’s Bidar district—
resources, liaising with hospital au- were similarly generous. “We needed
thorities, arranging tele-medicine con- food and new PPE kits. I knew I’d
sultations, sourcing RT-PCR tests and have to raise the money myself, so I
medical equipment. “We are a one- sold my two plots of land.” With the
stop shop for all COVID-related things,” `10 lakh he received, Bilal has already
says Khushboo Mattoo, a volunteer. facilitated 790 funerals. In the last two

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