Someone pressed the mike into her hesitant hands…

She could feel everyone looking expectantly at her. “You can do this,” she told herself.

Just as when she had stepped out of the house to work for the first time; or when she would be returning alone at night after work; or left her daughter with her parents so she could concentrate on her job. So many tough decisions, that had seen them through difficult times. The wrinkles in their life had smoothened out. Until this virus from far away entered everyone’s lives. Suddenly Corona, and lockdown, were buzz words. She couldn’t understand what this new disease was all about, but the uncertainty and helplessness of the lockdown imprinted itself in her psyche. Getting used to sanitizers and cost crunching; wearing masks and changing routines, she made peace with the new normal. Until, a year later, another lockdown. She had never imagined that they would have to relive the trauma again. 

Her nervous eyes searched out the few familiar faces and she steadied herself.

 “I got the injection last week. For one day I had a fever, then I was okay. I was also scared but there is nothing to worry about. I also convinced my husband to get it done. The vaccine will keep you and your close ones safe. “

The women sitting in the shade of the tree clapped for her. Then they surrounded her with questions which the didi whose home she worked in began to answer. 

A year back, when the medical fraternity was confronted by a new, unexplored disease, health care workers were first called ‘covid warriors”. 

For me, a doctor, the term has mixed connotations. At the time, it made me feel as if an uncomfortable, creaky,  heavy armor had been forced upon me. Even flower petals showered from the skies didn’t make it feel lighter. 

It wasn’t just the protective gear that made it resemble a combat like situation. Physical harm at the hand of patients’ relatives, hostility from neighbors and the almost paralyzing fear of infecting our families did make it seem like a battlefield. Feeling more like a worrier and a struggler, I, like many others soldiered on. 

Reality hit home, and we prepared ourselves for a series of skirmishes. More and more warriors, ill-prepared and severely ill equipped were recruited across the ranks. Many workers, not just doctors, toiled for hours longer than a day can hold. Nurses, laboratory personnel, airline and police staff worked in environments of stress, danger, and precariousness. Ambulance drivers, ASHA workers and crematorium staff, hospital helpers sacrificed their time, energy, and lives. Some needed to approach courts for their salary, others had to plead for respite from physical assault. But warriors they had become; and they fought with their might.

The pandemic turned into a long-drawn war. Wars leave no one untouched. More and more people were enlisted. The delivery people who delivered essentials and luxuries alike. The teachers who embraced new methods of connecting with their students. The scientists who raced against time to develop vaccines.

The honor roll expanded as the pandemic raged. Adversity brough forth new champions. Each one was a hero; fighting against contagion and circumstances. In times where apathy threatened to inflict more pain than the spikes of the virus, people showed courage that they didn’t know they possessed. Physical, emotional, financial, and material support was found and offered. Humanity came together and kept hope alive.  Arranging for a breath of air, food, medicines, information and even a dignified death were challenges that no boot camp could have prepared them for. Disengagement and pull back was not an option, even in the face of tragedy. Bound by compassion, people came together, and regrouped to form dedicated squads. No challenge was too big. No effort too small.   Each story is newsworthy and noteworthy. All fill the heart with faith and deserve recognition. As do random acts of kindness like taking a neighbor’s pet into their fold, helping out with chores and pitching in for chores and helping out with chores. These proved that love, has its own place, even in times of war; and that it remains the most uplifting force ever; especially for a warrior. 

But like with all wars, some warriors will remain unsung, unseen, and unheard. 

This is an attempt to document one such warrior. One, out of many like her. The domestic maid who works in your home, and mine. Who, in the lockdown of 2020, was banned from our homes without notice but would call and ask me how I was managing, and if I was ensuring the children get their favorite snacks. The one who had no social security to fall back on, as a buffer from the unkindness of the pandemic. The helper, who, a year later, faced the same uncertainties when we called a super spreader of a microbe that was carried by a mode of transport she will never travel in 

The domestic maid who fought her fears and hesitancy to get the vaccine. She chose not to believe in the rumors in her jhuggi giving a communal tinge to the immunization program; and became an agent of change and motivated others. The one who is accounted or counted for only when another election rolls by; and who is at risk of being left behind in the vaccine drive by a divide of literacy, language, and access to technology. The maid who will never know she is being called a warrior because she has no smart phone or concept of social media; and because the struggle for survival does not offer her any space to realize her achievement.

Dr Shalini Mullick

Shalini is a doctor specializing in respiratory pathology. She is also a writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Shalini empathizes with the challenges and unique situations that women are often confronted with and weaves this understanding in her writing. She has won the monthly short story contest “Muse of the month “by Women’s Web on numerous occasions. She has been selected as a Juggernauts selects author, and was one the winners of the eShe short story contest in 2020. She has also contributed to other forums like Meraki: Soul talk, and Beyond the Box Chronicles.

Prompt based micro fiction and flash fiction is a format that she finds engaging and her stories and poems are consistently featured on Penmancy, Artoonsinn, Mompreneur circle and others.

She has been featured as blogger of the month on Momrpeneur circle; and on platforms like Sharingstories.com, and Qwerty thoughts. She has two contributed two stories to the anthology “Sharing Lipstick”

Shalini enjoys sharing her reflections on life as it happens around us and connecting with her readers. She is also a book reviewer and writes information and awareness pieces.

Shalini has numerous scientific publications in various academic journals. She has also contributed chapters to text books 

Medical humanities is an area that she has a keen interest in. Her poetry has been featured in journals and blogs which focus on this area. She is also copyeditor and on the Review board of the journal ‘Research and Humanities in Medical Education’

Belonging to the era before sorting hats, Shalini is relieved find that she doesn’t have to give up any one of the many hats she wears. She has decided to let the hats figure out how to share space, as she lets the parts sum up the whole.

A late entrant to the parallel universe of writing, Shalini has discovered that writing helps to take her away from the noise, towards silence. A permanent excuse to avoid hitting the gym is an added bonus.

Shalini has lived in Delhi and Bangalore before rooting herself in Gurgaon .

She can be found at www.shalinimullick.com; and reached at authorshalinimullick@gmail.com