The devastating second wave of covid-19 has hardly left anyone untouched. While some suffered from the disease themselves, others had to witness their friends and relatives go through the harrowing experience.
In such a scenario, it’s important that we bring out the positive stories as well. One way to do that is to share the stories of people who won the battle against covid. This article is our attempt to do that.
We spoke to six people in the asset management industry who recovered from covid-19 to understand what they went through and the lessons they derived from the experience.
Here’s what we found out:
'Social capital is paramount'
MFD Rahul Jain was among the unlucky ones to contract covid after record cases overwhelmed the medical infrastructure.
"It took some efforts to get a bed. Getting Remdesivir was tough too," Jain said. “Due to efforts of a lot of known people, we could finally arrange Remdesiver. And this helped in my recovery.”
Luckily, his week-long stay in the hospital didn't have much impact on his business.
He said that the illness taught him the importance of being positive and building meaningful relationships. "Most of my clients have more of a personal relationship with me than a professional relationship. The care that they showed kept me motivated to fight the virus."
"Jab itne log apki care krte hain tab bhagwan bhi aap ki madad karte hai (When so many people take care of you, the destiny saves you),” Jain said.
'The world beyond work matters too'
"I am a very intense worker. My karmabhoomi is my dharmabhoomi," Vikas Sachdeva, CEO of EMKAY Investment Managers tells us while explaining how much his work matters to him.
But contracting covid has brought about a change in his thinking. "The illness made me realise that there are other things in life that matter too."
Sachdeva got infected in November, which meant he didn't have to struggle for bed, oxygen and medicines. His condition did become serious for a while but proper medical care helped him recover in two months’ time.
The most disturbing bit about him falling ill was the fact that he used to follow the covid safety protocol to the tee. "I used to wear gloves, masks and sanitise myself at regular intervals. Every time I used to comeback from work, I used to take a bath. I am almost a Japanese when it comes to hygiene habits".
Does it mean precautions are futile? Absolutely not, Sachdeva said. "There's no scope for carelessness".
"It's like death. One day everyone will die. This does not mean that you will go and test yourself by standing in front of a moving train. Avoiding the train won't mean that you will survive forever but it will surely raise your chances of living longer," he explains.
'Do not take it lightly'
MFD Hiten Shah was among the lucky ones to escape from the clutches of covid a bit easily. Shah said that he had only mild symptoms and immediate treatment meant he didn't have to get admitted to a hospital.
This doesn't mean he has no idea as to how severe the disease is. Shah, along with few other people, runs a 110-bed covid facility in Pune. This has given him a closer look to the severity of the situation.
Shah said that the experience has taught him that one cannot take the virus lightly. "Many people, including advisors are taking it lightly. I meet many people, who say corona se kuch nhi hoga, mera immunity strong hai (corona can't do much to me as long as your immunity is strong). They don't even use mask and sanitizer. My advice is that people should take it seriously," he said.
‘Don’t be in denial’
Taking necessary actions as soon as one discovers symptoms is important to combat covid, according to Swarup Mohanty, CEO, Mirae Asset Investment Managers. “If you feel any discomfort, assume that you have covid and get tested as soon as possible. Don’t be in denial,” said Mohanty who had contracted covid in December 2020 and had to suffer from high fever for close to a week.
Fortunately, his illness didn’t get severe and he successfully recovered by being quarantined at home. “Except weakness and muscle loss, my post-covid report on all parameters were pretty strong.”
The easy escape from covid, according to him, was due to his good fitness level. “Fitness is very important. If I had comorbidities, the impact could have been larger. This shows that the importance staying fit assumes greater importance as one grows older. This realization has been my biggest learning from the covid experience.”
'Keep yourself meaningfully occupied'
MFD Deepak Jaggi took a unique and a positive approach to deal with the illness.
Jaggi said that he immersed himself in reading and learning while recovering from the disease at home. This helped him take his mind away from worries.
"I think if you are meaningfully occupied throughout the day, you are left with no time to worry. This becomes easier if you get busy with something that you love to do. Try to concentrate on finding ways to serve clients better and expand business," he said.
What's better is that he did more than usual business during that period.
"Lockdowns meant people didn't had much to do with their savings. They contacted us for investment needs. And since I was working from home, I got more time to spend on clients' portfolios," Jaggi said.
‘Pay regular attention to health’
MFD Dipesh Sethia’s covid recovery journey was different from what we generally see. Though the illness never became serious enough to warrant hospitalization, symptoms like cough and headache continue to trouble him despite getting a negative report weeks back.
Sethia said that his work continues to suffer because of these symptoms. “Work wise I am still not at the same level as before. Every time I look at my phone or laptop, I feel a strain in head, which sometimes leads to a headache.”
The last few weeks has taught him the importance of good diet and fitness. He said, “Till the time we are fit and fine we do not concentrate on our bodies. And this is not a good thing. We should not compromise our health for work.”
The MFD shared a very important point with regards to masks. According to him, many people use the wrong way to wear and remove masks. The right process, he said, is to always hold the mask through its strings. The reason: touching the cloth part of the mask increases the risk of transferring the virus to one’s body through the hands.
