Apne liye, jiye to kya jiye, tu jee ae dil zamaane ke liye ...

“What? I’ve never heard of something like this!” 

Parth was amazed when his friend Kaushal called to invite him for a special event at the Ahmedabad branch of Indian Red Cross Society. 

Kaushal’s father was voluntarily donating blood for the 100^th time.  

“Kaushal, I am getting goosebumps. People are afraid of the sight of a needle and your father donates blood every three months? Wow.”

Kaushal’s chest puffed up a little. Yes, not many had a father like his.

“Will you join me, Parth? I also intend to make my first blood donation. Incidentally, the 14^th of June is also celebrated as World Blood Donors’ Day.” 

“Yes, I will be there! Tell me, can I also donate blood?”

“Let’s check with the doctors on that day at the Blood Bank.”

 

14^th June 2021, was a historic day for the Parekh family. It was a landmark event for Rameshbhai Parekh, Kaushal’s father while young Kaushal was making his debut for a noble cause. Parth also donated blood for the first time.

It was not easy to convince his parents but after a chat with Kaushal’s father,  they finally relented.

Soon after, Parth went to Rameshbhai and asked: “Uncle, would you like to do an InstaLive with me?” 

“InstaLive? What is that?” Though Rameshbhai had been active on LinkedIn and Twitter, he was unfamiliar with the social media world of the Gen Next. 

“Oh Uncle! How do I explain it to you? It’s like your live TV interview, but on a social media platform called Instagram. It is very popular amongst our age group.” 

Parth was very active on Instagram and used to do many “live” events every now and then. So, when he announced the event for the same weekend, he could still get more than 100 registrations. “Wow, a century of registrations for a centurion blood donor’s show!” Parth’s excitement was palpable.

 

“Good evening, Insta buddies. We are back again for yet another show. Last Monday was a special day of my life. I took the proverbial first step in the journey of a thousand miles. It would make my parents proud. Well, I donated blood for the first time in my life. And my chest is swollen with pride. However, this show is not about me and my achievement. Friends, today I am going to have a chat with the person, who inspired me to take this first step, Mr. Rameshbhai Parekh, a centurion blood donor. This week, he donated blood for the 100^thtime. And mind you, this was voluntary donation – without any expectation.”

The Instagram chat box started buzzing with “Wow”, “👍”, “🤩”, “😮”, “Oh my” …..

One comment read; “Wow, 100^th donation? And I faint when I see a drop of blood ☺”

“Mr. Parekh, welcome to the show and thank you for accepting my request today.”

“Pleasure is all mine, Parth.”

“I was really thrilled to donate blood for the first time in my life. We both know that it was you who inspired me to do that. Could you please tell us how you got started?”

“It was my second semester in the engineering college. …”

 

Ramesh Parekh, a first year student at L D Engineering College was rushing to the canteen with his usual gang. A social worker had come to their college to give a lecture on behalf of Indian Red Cross Society. “Another lecture on first aid. They will talk about snake bite once again. Professor se khatarnaak koi saanp dekha hai, kya?” 

“Arre chal na, dimaag bahar rakh ke sun lenge. Kya bolta hai?” 

“Nahin yaar, I don’t want to come.” Ramesh said.

“Abe chal na. My father knows him. They worked in the same office. I have to attend. At least mere liye chal.”

And that is how Ramesh entered the assembly hall that day. The social worker from Indian Red Cross office had recently retired from his job as an officer with the Government of Gujarat. This tall, well-built, bald man had a very impressive personality, though he was dressed shabbily. 

A little over an hour later when the students came out of the room, the world looked different, though apparently nothing had changed. 

The next day, Ramesh and some of his friends were at the Blood bank at the Indian Red Cross Society. The first step was taken.

 

“Wow, so this social worker seems like the greatest motivator. Can you tell me more about him?”

“Yes Parth. His name is Mr. Mahesh Trivedi. He spent his life in the area of Voluntary Blood Donation movement for years. And, needless to say, he has been a centurion blood donor himself. I haven’t seen anyone with such energy levels. It is rare to see someone, who can so easily engage with any age group and with people of different stature with equal ease.”

“Looks like we must get him here for a chat. Can you help me get him here, uncle?”

“If only I could. We just lost him two days ago. After a long battle with COVID-19, he succumbed. But then, his life is a lesson by itself. You must have read that quote from Swami Vivekananda: 

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. 

Mr. Mahesh Trivedi personified that. He took up the idea of voluntary blood donation and lived for it. Even in his last days, he was busy helping people.”

“Uncle, can you please elaborate on that? What happened in his last days?”

“Yesterday, I got a call from Sriram, someone I knew through the Red Cross connection. I still get goosebumps when I think of what told me.”

 

“Rameshbhai, how can this happen? This is impossible.” Rameshbhai could feel the grief in Sriram’s voice. He continued, “I cannot believe that Maheshbhai is not with us anymore. Just a few weeks ago, he saved my brother’s life, by helping us get plasma. How can God do this to him?”

“Sriram, I can understand your grief. We have all lost a great man.”

“But what happened?”

Rameshbhai told Sriram about the coronavirus infection and subsequent hospitalization for almost two months. “Two months in the hospital? That is not possible. Just hold the line. I need to check something.”

Rameshbhai waited for a couple of minutes before he heard a sigh at the other end. And then, Sriram was sobbing on the phone. 

“Rameshbhai, this is unbelievable. Maheshbhai was himself in the hospital undergoing treatment when he helped my brother. It was the 30^th of April when he helped us get plasma.”

Rameshbhai had constantly been in touch with Mahesh Trivedi’s family throughout his hospitalization. A chill passed through his bones. Mr. Mahesh Trivedi was put on a BiPAP machine on the 28^th April. 

Even when he was unable to breathe on his own, he was still saving lives. 

 

“Parth, I am at a loss of words.” Rameshbhai’s voice was already shaking. “I remember an old song by Manna Dey – Apne liye, jiye to kya jiye, tu jee ae dil zamaane ke liye.”

Parth had tears in his eyes. “Thank you Uncle for coming over to my show and sharing about this Dev Purush. My bad that I missed a chance to meeting him personally.”

“Parth, Maheshbhai had lit a torch. It is now our duty to keep the flame on.”

“Yes Uncle. My sincere thanks to you for coming over. And I close today’s show by taking a pledge that every three months, I will donate blood. I also pledge to spread awareness about voluntary blood donation.”

Amit Trivedi

 

 

The story behind this story:

My father, Mr. Maheshbhai Trivedi, worked as a volunteer / social worker with the Indian Red Cross Society’s Ahmedabad branch for 50 years. He also served Red Cross as Secretary, Ahmedabad Branch. The three primary areas in which he worked were:

1.     Voluntary blood donation movement

2.     Eye donation

3.     Eradication of Thalassemia, a genetic disorder

On 24^th April 2021, he was admitted to hospital due to COVID-19.

1.     While waiting at home for the ambulance on 24^th April, he coordinated to get plasma for a COVID patient

2.     On 25^th April, while in the hospital, he made a few phone calls to help someone get blood at Jaipur and saved a life. (The relative of the patient, who spoke to my father later told my sister, when he got to know about the demise of Papa.)

3.     Few days later, while he was unable to breathe and was on the BiPAP machine, he organised plasma for another COVID patient (we do not know the exact date, as the doctor on duty told us after a few days)

Papa was in the hospital from 24^th April onwards and then he was shifted to ICU few days later. He never came out of the ICU.