It’s difficult seeing my husband go for hospital rounds, says Kamya

Given the health crisis in the country, venturing out is a big no-no, unless urgent. However, for frontline workers, it’s a risk they take every day. Actor Kamya Panjabi says she understands this feeling too well as her husband, Shalabh Dang, is on the management board of a hospital chain and is, thus, supposed to visit the branches across India.

“He has to visit hospitals across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Punjab… He has to travel and go to the corporate office even during this crisis. I’ve seen him wear the PPE kit and go out for rounds; it’s very difficult,” Panjabi admits.

Well aware of the situation in hospitals and the way frontline workers have been working tirelessly, the actor confesses, “At times, I want to tell him that he shouldn’t go, but I can’t say that.”

She had recently taken to social media to help someone in need, asking them their details, so Dang could do whatever was possible. “So many people are dying every single day… Bahut darr lagta hai, aam janta pareshaan hai, itna kuchh ho raha hai. It’s painful watching the news, but you can’t run away from reality. I’m not one of those, who wouldn’t see what’s happening. So, in whatever capacity I can help, I will,” she tells us.

On how she processes SOS requests on social media, Panjabi says, “I check with Shalabh first. If it’s possible [to help] and he says he’ll try, I get in touch with the person. I’m not the one to say, ‘Maine ye donate kiya, vo donate kiya’. At times, before directly contacting someone, I’ve to put it on social media. A person in such a situation is mentally disturbed or busy, so they will check their phone if they know they’re going to get a call.”