As India’s financial capital Mumbai battled a growing number of coronavirus cases, local DJ Sanjay Meriya set aside his turntable and dusted off a long-unused medical degree in order to help out.
Meriya, 30, known as The Spindoctor in Mumbai music circles, began work last month as a medical volunteer after spotting a government newspaper ad asking for help.
He has chiefly been visiting a slum in one of Mumbai’s worst-hit suburbs, clad in a protective suit and gloves, to instruct local residents about the precautions they should take to ward off the coronavirus.
“I’m very patriotic. I can battle this way (as a doctor),” Meriya, who signed up as a volunteer for at least three months, told Reuters.
Mumbai accounts for more than 32,000 of India’s 150,000 cases of the coronavirus, making it the worst-hit city. With government hospitals short of beds and health officials overworked, volunteers like Meriya are all the more important.
Meriya began to dabble in DJing as a hobby at around the age of 20 while studying for his medical degree, but said it then “took over me” – much to his family’s dismay.
“They hated it. They still hate it,” he said of his decision to devote himself to being a DJ.
Although worried about his potential exposure to the virus, Meriya’s family is thrilled to see him back in medicine.
“They now have a lot to share with all our relatives, if you know what I mean when it comes to Indian families,” he said.
To work in nature conservation is to battle a headwind of bad news. When the overwhelming picture indicates the natural…
Amid the surge of extreme weather events globally, billions of dollars are pouring into developing cutting-edge weather forecasting models based…
On Friday, April 26, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi retaliated against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his attack on the grand…
Climate change has not traditionally been seen as a health and human rights concern — but that may be changing…
Food loss after harvest has economic implications for the farmer and also impacts the environment due to loss of agricultural…
The global market for e-bikes is surging. These bicycles, usually equipped with pedals and an electric motor assist, are popular…
This website uses cookies.