“[THANKS TO OUR LATE FATHER], WE HAD THE PERCEPTION THAT GENDER DOES NOT DEFINE WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU CAN DO”

—SAMIKSHA PEDNEKAR

LIKE FATHER LIKE DAUGHTER

If Sumitra steered her daughters to delineate their professional choices, Satish’s empathetic nature helped balance the equation, which inspired Bhumi to become a ‘Covid Warrior’.

“My father was always there for the people. I remember coming home from school and seeing 150 people from the slum next door attending a meeting conducted by my father to solve communal tension,” she remembers. “The pandemic gave me the opportunity to do my bit.”

Bhumi employed her social media network to provide people afflicted during the second wave with oxygen cylinders, hospital beds and plasma donations. Her team swelled from 3 to over 250 people within 72 hours.

“I was already living my dream, but with Covid Warrior I found the piece that was missing, and the experience is incredibly gratifying,” she says. “I remember receiving a video call from a pregnant Covid-positive patient who needed to deliver. She was so sick, we could barely talk. But she made a complete recovery and delivered a healthy baby. There are many such stories.”

Her supportive mother and sister are quick to praise her efforts during the second wave of the pandemic. “The first wave was (largely) consumed in eating,” chuckles Samiksha. “But Bhumi’s work during the second wave was immense and brought us all closer. On some days she slept for only a couple of hours.”

As I reluctantly steer the conversation to a close, Sumitra shares with me the values she expects her daughters and all other women to follow.

“Take responsibility for your choices without blaming others. And help whoever you can. That is what we have always done. Even my husband was like that, which is why we co-exist so beautifully.”

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