“The time is hard but this shall too pass!”
Hi guys, I am Abhishek Gupta, on a mission to Clean India, and I’m here today to talk about something we desperately need in these tough times- a little bit of positivity.! All of us thought that Coronavirus was history but the reality hit really hard everyone with the 2nd wave which was far most devastating.
I’m here to share my experiences of past year and what I’ve learned during this pandemic- lessons that I’m going to keep with me forever. I hope it will help anyone and everyone who reads it.
- Gratitude: Life is not easy and everyone has their own ups and down. During our hectic work schedules, we tend to forget the gratitude we should have towards our life, our family, our friends, our social circle. However, during these uncertain times, it has made me realize how important and meaningful it is to spare precious moments from our life to appreciate and be thankful for the things that we’ve been blessed with. My daughter was born just before the pandemic started and somewhere I am thankful to God that I got to experience these precious moments of her growing up and being more adorable with every passing day. If the pandemic would have not hit us I would have never had the time to spare and cherish the little moments with her. I would have never understood and appreciated how much my wife does for me and my baby. I am also grateful for every passing day when I am able to smell my coffee and taste my ladoos. I am also grateful to God that all my family and friends are safe in these hard times.
- New opportunities: This lockdown gave me a perfect opportunity for introspection. I was able to finally doing things that I’ve always wanted but never really tried towards them- like I’ve always wanted to work from home so I could spend more time with my very young daughter but the very idea that it’s not a very productive method of working has always stopped me.But this lockdown forced me to find a way to make it work. And guess what? It worked! Now I am a full-time businessman and a family man and those who understand, know that this feeling is beyond words.
The lockdown also gave me a big opportunity to try my hand at new business and experiment/ explore new ideas for my existing business. I am sure during my normal times I would have never thought of diversifying and looking at new verticals for my business.
- Healthy Lifestyle- If you would have personally met me, you would know that I am not a fitness freak and have always enjoyed loathing delicious food and sweets. In short, I am a big time FOODIE. However, this pandemic has made me realize the importance of Physical Fitness. In fact, many people I know are taking out time to focus on their physical health and well-being. You can remain healthy through different type of activities like Cardio Workouts, Yoga, Meditation and many such things.
I believe this’ll lead to the foundation of “Fit Hain to Hit Hai” culture for the current and the coming generations. And once the pandemic is over, we can expect to see fitness being taken much more seriously than it was before. Even the Government has been promoting this culture through their Fit India Campaign with Slogan Fit Hai to Hit Hai India. One Small Step can inspire many in your community. Be the Leader and Not Follower.!
- Cleanliness- As someone who is closely associated with the Cleaning Industry, it made me so happy to see the people finally taking it seriously. The risk of contamination has completely thrown the age-old bad habits like disposing of garbage anywhere, spit in public places, etc under the bus. Now, as people have realized the importance of cleanliness, it is safe to say that the dream of a Clean India will become a reality very soon.
My startup Clean India Ventures has always been an advocate of Decentralized Waste Management and our revolutionary range of composters helps to convert most organic waste into various products such as compost, fuel sticks, and Havan Samgri. The Decentralized Waste Management, not only reduces the waste that goes into landfills but the segregation of waste at the source also reduces the risk of contamination.
- Personal Hygiene- Don’t get me wrong, I was never an unhygienic person. However, you can say that I was not that big of a Hygiene enthusiast. However, this pandemic has taught me, and I’m sure most of you too, that even a small act of ignorance can lead to catastrophes. The hygiene standards that we have always appreciated about Europe and other countries, this pandemic has forced us to follow the same.
If this gets into our habits, we can expect a completely new India post-pandemic.
- Focus on Breathing: The one word that we all have been hearing lately, especially in this 2nd wave of the pandemic, is Oxygen- whether it’s oxygen saturation or oxygen levels, or oxygen cylinders. This really shows the importance of clean air in our lives and what could be a better source of oxygen than the trees around us. However, until now we all have been seeing that trees are being cut in the name of industrial development.
Now that we have learned our lesson a hard way, we can hope for a post-pandemic world where the tree plantation is the moral behavior of the people. Clean India Ventures have been working in this direction for quite some time and with our Plant a Tree campaign, we have already planted many trees in Delhi/NCR.
However, the task to make India Green is huge and can’t be completed alone. We need your support and therefore, we’d like you to join our Plant a Tree campaign for a better tomorrow where the clean air is not a privilege but the right of every citizen.
With all that being said, the pandemic has affected and is still affecting the lives of many, and we, under no circumstances, I want to portray that there is something good hidden in it. However, I’m here to share my lessons and remind you that we should never forget them if we want to create a better future. Seeing the World go thru such hard times it breaks my heart every day. I wish for all of this to go away ASAP and let the world be a happier place. I want all of us to go back to shaking hands and hugging my friends without fear. And once again I would like to say, the times may be hard but “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”.
