Pune: Orphaned in Covid pandemic, student finds hope in poetry, bright future

With nearly 1.50 lakh Covid deaths across the country during the second wave of Covid-19, which started around March 2021, Maharashtra was among the worst-hit states. Pune district reported 17,108 deaths during the second wave. Manisha Biraris, officer-in-charge, Women and Child Development (WCD), Pune district, says 110 children, including Shridhar, were left orphaned during the second wave.

A student at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) at present, Sridhar, who will turn 21 next month, is no stranger to tragedy. Between 2017 and 2021, he not only lost all members of his family, but his pet dog too.

“Losing Amma in 2021 was hard. I was just 17 years old (in 2021). I lost my father to a heart attack in 2017. My older brother died in a road accident in 2018, followed by my puppy, Leon, in 2019,” says Shridhar.

Now, Shridhar is pursuing a master’s degree in microbiology from the School of Bio Sciences & Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (Express Photo)

He says it all started with him attending a relative’s pre-wedding ceremony late in March 2021. “I got a fever after that. Amma was asymptomatic, minus an itchy throat. When we visited a Covid testing centre at Market Yard (in Pune) a little while later, both of us tested positive for the virus,” he says.

Though he kept a check on his mother’s blood oxygen saturation levels, Shridhar recalls feeling terrified as soon as the doctor told him that she had to be hospitalised.

“I hate hospitals, especially since my father’s death… but most hospitals were fully occupied in May 2021. Some private ones were demanding an advance of Rs 25,000 for admission,” he says.

Shridhar says the days leading up to her death were a “complete nightmare”. Struggling with body ache and relying on meals provided by a kind-hearted neighbour, he turned to an uncle and a few other relatives for updates on her condition.

“I was recovering, but her condition kept worsening. Then, doctors asked me to arrange for Remdesivir (a broad-spectrum antiviral medication used to treat Covid-19),” Shridhar says.

Remdesivir was being sold for Rs 80,000 then, significantly higher than its maximum retail price, due to high demand, Shridhar recalls, adding that his uncles and he raised the amount somehow “but it was too late to save Amma”.

Though he tries to stay strong, all reminders of Covid end in grief. “It is extremely hard to forget the helplessness I felt when Amma fell sick. I could not be with her in her final moments. I still remember crying loudly in our empty house when they told me that she was no more. I last saw her on May 18, 2021, at the crematorium. Her body was sealed in a bag as per the protocol,” he says.

Recalling how his mother had stepped up after his father’s death in 2017, Shridhar says, “My father was a tailor who supplemented his income by working as a pundit. After his death, Amma would roll 1,200 beedis daily for a small firm. My elder brother, who was pursuing computer science, started working at a fast food joint in the city to help her. I was in Class 10 then.”

Still grappling with his father’s loss, Shridhar’s brother died in an accident in Lonavala in 2018. “I came home after my exam, only to discover that my brother was dead,” he shudders, adding that his mother refused to let him out of her sight after that.

To help him cope with the situation, he says his mother got him a puppy, Leon. “He too died in December 2019. We adopted another dog, Ramu, after that,” he says.

Unlike many others, Shridhar remembers the first lockdown, announced on March 24, 2020, fondly. “Amma and I were alone at home. She soon became my best friend. Talking to her felt like magic. She would read holy books and we would watch Telugu serials together. She would scold me for eating too much cheese,” he says.

Though he can’t recall much about the days after his mother’s death — “I was in a daze” — Shridhar remembers his pet Ramu clinging to him, nudging him to eat. “Eventually, my aunt, uncle and their children moved into my house. They encouraged me to resume my classes too,” he says.

On May 29, 2021, the PM CARES for Children scheme was announced for minors who had lost both parents or a surviving parent or their legal guardian to Covid-19 between March 11, 2020, and May 5, 2023. According to data shared by the WCD Ministry in Parliament last week, 4,543 children across the country are beneficiaries under this scheme. Of these, the maximum are from Maharashtra (856), followed by Uttar Pradesh (467) and Madhya Pradesh (435).

Shridhar says he received Rs 10 lakh under the PM CARES for Children scheme. Kept in a fixed deposit, he will get that amount in hand when he turns 23. “Soon after I turned 18, I started getting Rs 5,500 as interest from that fixed deposit. I used it to pursue higher studies. The Maharashtra government also gave me a fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh under a similar scheme. I will receive that amount when I turn 21,” he says.

With the interest he received from his PM CARES fixed deposit, supplemented by the money he made from performing small pujas that his father had taught him, Shridhar managed to pay for his bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Pune’s Fergusson College.
Calling Shridhar a “hard-working student”, Meghana Kulkarni, head, microbiology department, Fergusson College, says, “He was passionate about his studies.”

Meanwhile, Shridhar, who has turned to poetry to cope with his mother’s loss, says he can’t help but think how proud she would have been of his academic achievements.

“My 8.5 CGPA got me admission in a master’s programme in microbiology at VIT. Amma was a simple woman from a village in Telangana. She was not educated. I remember the delight with which she called up all our relatives after I scored just 69% in my Class 10 board exams,” he says.

With the fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh given by Maharashtra government set to mature in April, Shridhar hopes to use it to pay his tuition and hostel fee. “Most importantly, I want to get back Amma’s mangalsutra, which was converted to a necklace. I had to pawn it to pay my first-year hostel fees at VIT.”

(With inputs from Abhinaya Harigovind)