New Delhi: The video of a doctor from Assam wearing PPE and dancing to cheer up Covid-19 patients is winning hearts across social media platforms.
Dr Arup Senapati, an ENT surgeon at the Silchar Medical College in Assam, was seen grooving to the tunes of the hit song ‘ghungroo’ from the Hrithik Roshan starrer War. He can be seen even replicating some of Roshan’s signature steps.
The clip was shared Sunday evening by his colleague Dr Syed Faizan Ahmad and it has so far garnered three lakh views, over 33,000 likes and over 7,000 retweets.
Sharing the clip Monday, actor Roshan wrote, “Tell Dr Arup I’m gonna learn his steps and dance as good as him someday in Assam. Terrific spirit.”
Meet my #COVID duty colleague Dr Arup Senapati an ENT surgeon at Silchar medical college Assam .
Dancing infront of COVID patients to make them feel happy #COVID19 #Assam pic.twitter.com/rhviYPISwO
— Dr Syed Faizan Ahmad (@drsfaizanahmad) October 18, 2020
Speaking to ThePrint, Senapati said, “I didn’t train as a dancer as such. I love the dance moves of Roshan, Prabhu Deva and Michael Jackson. As a child, and even now, I am hooked to videos of these amazing dancers. I have learnt from them…watching them move, still trying to replicate their moves.”
“The patients and my colleagues were there when I danced. We try our best to keep the patients happy and motivated. In these grim times, if my dance can bring two minutes of joy into their lives, then that is an achievement,” said the 34-year-old doctor, who is from Guwahati.
Netizens on Twitter, meanwhile, have showered praises for Senapati, thanking him for the gesture, and performing his duties as a frontline Covid warrior amid the raging pandemic.
MP and Shiv Sena Deputy Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also shared the video and said she can watch it all day.
I can watch this all day! Good moves and good intent Dr Arup Senapati! ?? https://t.co/HlVpmzPMcz
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) October 19, 2020
Actor Richa Chadha also shared the video on the micro-blogging site.
Oh bless him! ❤️❤️❤️
So sweet. https://t.co/1emWUIxGrU— TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) October 19, 2020
Thank You for doing this. My momma was a Covid patient as well, and she said hope & happiness divert all the fear. Hats off ?
— Na-I-Saka Toi (@NAISAKATOI1) October 19, 2020
i am 200% sure he will win top award if he joins any dance competition , he is too too good !
— Romeo Sierra (@sierraromeo98) October 18, 2020
this made me smile..seriously it's wonderful? #humanity
— ANUDHYAN #TeamShreya (@AnudhyanDatta) October 18, 2020
There is lot of ppl like this, who is doing selfless work during this covid suitation.
So many of the them martyred their life.
Still so many are servicing others to help them in difficult timeSadar pranam to all them… ???
— ಶ್ರೀಕಾಂತ್ ಭಟ್ (srikanth Bhat) (@Kannadi93543434) October 19, 2020
Also read: Father of 2-yr-old, farmer’s son, 76-yr-old charging Rs 2 fee — the doctors who died of Covid
‘Trying to keep people around me happy’
The video, Senapati said, was shot Sunday, which was also the day before he was to go for his seven-day quarantine. According to protocols in Assam, doctors on Covid duty work for seven days and are in quarantine for the next seven.
This video was shot in the recovery room of the Intensive Care Unit at the Silchar Medial College. “The song was playing on my phone, which was kept inside a plastic bag. We edited the video later and placed the song in the background,” Senapati said.
Dancing, Senapati said, was not only a hobby for him but also a passion. He has won numerous prizes for his dancing skills — the first prize in Alcheringa, 2005, the annual cultural festival of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati; and a couple of others in inter-institutional competitions, including in his alma mater Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
He had done his MBBS from the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital in 2010 and is now enrolled in the first year of his masters in surgery, ENT, at the Silchar Medical College.
“This pandemic has been extremely hard for all of us. There have been times when I saw a patient and thought he or she will survive, but the next day when I am on duty, the bed is empty and I am informed that the virus had killed him or her. This is why I try my tiny bits to make people around me happy. These are unprecedented times,” Senapati added.
Also read: Kerala Covid surge not linked to ‘errors’, can’t stop spread — ‘rockstar’ minister Shailaja