President’s Message

Fellow Rotarians,

Very Warm Greetings!

Most of us are confined to the comforts of our homes, working from our homes and limiting our travel for essentials, while on the other hand, there are those many who are expected to do, and are doing, exactly the opposite – yes – the doctors, healthcare workers, police, sweepers and waste pickers, delivery boys, kirana walas, provision stores, local chemists, restaurants, bakers, farmers, bank employees, social workers, NGOs, journalists, etc. to name a few. There are others who are trying to make life easy for us to help us get over ‘boredom’. Also, we see an increased sense of community living.

Medical staff are overwhelmed and facing physical and mental exhaustion, the torment of difficult decisions, the pain of losing patients and even colleagues, all in addition to the infection risk. Alongside concerns for their personal safety, health-care workers are anxious about passing the infection to their families.

Then there is the police force. The cops too are working abnormally long hours and tirelessly to make sure that people do not step outdoors for their own safety. Recently, some have come up with innovative ways of spreading the message of staying indoors, practising proper hygiene, and following government directives. Some seen to be dancing in the street in comical coronavirus helmets, or singing a song of hope, using humour to spread the message of tackling the novel coronavirus.

There is a silent group of people who work tirelessly to ensure sanitation and hygiene. It is our army of safaiwalas, sweepers and garbage collection staff who are working hard to keep localities and city roads clean. It cannot be overlooked that the sanitation workers, waste pickers and other informal waste collectors too are our frontline of defence against the spread of coronavirus and are at par with doctors, healthcare workers, policemen and others.

When all are staying inside their households fearing infection, there are some people who never fail to provide you what you require to eat from time to time. Were it not for this fearless army of delivery boys, life would have been even more difficult for most of us.

The old kirana stores are taking the coronavirus battle head on as large supermarket chains and online grocers are struggling to resume operations and cope with demand in the lockdown situation. Once again, they have become the main and unending suppliers of daily goods to urban Indian families through the length and breadth of the land. The transition from malls to the local kiranas might not be a happy one for every urban and privileged Indian, but let’s accept that if it hadn’t been for them, we would forever be stuck in long queues outside departmental stores for the simplest of items. And the same with the local chemists.

In this situation, we all need a little something to keep us smiling. Most entertainment channels and houses are providing plays, concerts and shows on the electronic media, while the Taj chefs have shared their secret recipes through videos and cook book.

Let’s express our deepest gratitude to, and salute, each of these and many more, who are contributing to our safety and well being as ‘givers and providers’ in this pandemic.

Preeti Mehta
President