To be
Whilst we are grappling with COVID crisis globally, I’m using this time to reflect on my learnings having seen death straight in the eyes. Living through not just the incidence but gleefully adjusting to a new normal life, I know what it takes not just to survive but also thrive in the adverse situations. It’s actually not that difficult after all, just find one simple reason, to be and not to be will not be a question anymore .
Today, I’m celebrating the 3rd anniversary of the D-Day that changed my life forever. I encountered my death at the jaws of a full grown crocodile, in a pursuit to save my dog. If you haven’t read about it you can read the full incidence here.
One of the defining moment of the entire incidence was when I was underwater, with my left arm in the mightiest jaws of the nature and the time literally froze for me, I was going through my life, all the memories flashed and I had the choice to come out and fight or just give up. Whether it’s prince Hamlet (in Hamlet) or Prince Arjun (in Mahabharata) the dilemma is real and the biggest battles are fought in the mind of the individual. I had read hamlet before but only got the true meaning then:
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die — to sleep,
— Hamlet, W. Shakespeare
I knew life is going to be tough if I come out of this, but that moment I made a conscious decision to save myself. Give that one mighty push with all that I have and beyond!
I performed a summersault that severed my remaining arm, detatching from the clutch and giving me just enough time to swim back to shore.
But, it was never going to be just about me, a lot had to do how people around me responded. It required everyone around me to give me that boost of inspiration I could cling on to make most of life. I firmly believe we are mathematical average of the people we spend life with. There are 4 people I would spend 80% of my life with and they all responded near perfectly.
Parents — One of the hardest battles I fought was not with the crocodile but what followed. Telling the incidence to my parents before they come to know from any other source. Wanted to tell them myself so that they don’t over imagine, it’s crucial for them to know I’m still in charge of the situation. So, I dialled them with one hand severed, mind playing tricks and blacking out but, somehow I was trying to maintain calm.
But, the way every one held strong, it became one of the most amazing moment of my life. I had nothing to worry after that phone call. Teaching me a crucial lesson — Many times we overthink delaying the swift action, avoiding the dreadful but in hindsight it’s just a conversation. Stay calm and just dial straight in!
Life-partner — There was another person there in that incident, who saw all this gruesome grappling — my then girlfriend, now wife. We just got married on Jan 20, 2020. She became the biggest support in the toughest of the times, whether I was frustrated at the shoe laces. Many times my generally tough happy exterior broke at smallest of things but she has always been there to gather me. To take my tantrums and still be happiest — I owe you everything.
Co-Founder is no less than wife in terms of good and bad they know of you. I had actually turned in my resignation from the post of CEO of our startup after the accident. Gaurav though just turned it away without even thinking, inspiring and challenging me to be better than ever. We later also worked together to built the arm that I wear — I won’t let you down for the trust you have shown.
The Rise
There was only only one direction the life could then move — upwards, so I fastened the seat belt once more. We launched Dozee, the contact-free vitals monitor with AI driven analytics engine for predictive analytics, last year winning half a dozen awards including Startup of the year, Most innovative product, GCE India (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).
What’s been truly heart warming for me has been that our innovation saved 42 lives and is proving handful in India’s fight against COVID converting standard beds into Step down ICU with Remote Monitoring. Dozee is enabling multiple state governments in India set-up COVID Care Centers and roll out TeleMedicine Programs.
COVID-19 has shaken the world, making us adjust to the new way of life, innovate on the go to see the invisible. Adversity gives us an opportunity to find the best of ourselves and then it’s totally on us — to be or not to be.
