"Music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch," said Dr Debashish Mridha, an American physician and author of Indian origin. Putting this thought to practice is a 24-year-old Thane-based music teacher. Yogendra Tiruwa, a music teacher, travelled all the way to Bhabha Hospital in Kurla to sing for patients admitted to the CoVID-19 ward.
Tiruwa said, "Music has healing power. It occurred to me recently that patients infected with coronavirus are already stressed and scared. If I can spend at least an hour singing for them and if that makes them feel better, I should do it.”
Tiruwa sought permission from the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and visited Bhabha Hospital on Friday. He also spent an hour outside the CoVID-19 ward in the hospital entertaining the patients and even the hospital staff.
BMC took to Twitter to appreciate Tiruwa's efforts. The tweet stated, "We thank Mr Yogendra Tiruwa and Sur Sagar Music Academy for lifting the spirits of our CoVID-19 patients at Kurla Bhabha Hospital. Mr Yogendra's songs cheered them up and ensured that there were smiles all around!"
Last month, the doctors in Indore started using music as a healing therapy for CoVID-19 patients. To help victims recover, Indore Medical Association (IMA) and local administration have also started to use laughter therapy and motivation speeches. "These therapies will motivate and help patients who are depressed and sacred to recover faster, I feel. The staff of Bhabha Hospital was very kind and appreciated my initiative. I have now sought permission from BMC to let me visit other hospitals too. I will also start visiting hospitals in Thane if I get permission," said Tiruwa.
"The music teacher's gesture was very noble, and well appreciated by staff and patients at Bhabha Hospital. However, before giving him permission to go to other hospitals, we will have to think about his safety too. He will be travelling. But music therapy is a very good idea for CoVID-19 patients and we are looking forward to it," said a senior BMC official.
