Boosting morale on calls: Assam folk singer sings over the phone for COVID-19 patients

Bikramjit Baulia, the Assam folk singer sings over the phone to help people deal with isolation and says that one needs to fight the virus and not the people who get the virus.

It has been seen that the people who contract the novel Coronavirus seem to not only deal with physical illness but also with mental health problems. Keeping this in mind, an Assam folk singer sings over a phone call to COVID positive people aiming to help them release the stress.

Bikramjit Baulia, a Silchar-based singer had shared a post on Facebook about song-on-the-call service. "After I shared the post, a lot of people teased me for it and two days I didn't receive any call," Bikramjit says. He continues, "I started receiving calls from the third day and now, I am very happy for what I am doing."

The 33-year-old singer had started a campaign in 2020 where he wanted people to talk to each other in difficult times. "I had noticed this last year also that people were hesitant to those who were positive. Then and now, I just want to say that we need to fight the disease and not the ones who have got the disease," he says. Through, his NGO Aabeg (Emotion), Bikramjit had distributed ration to 300 families during the first wave.

Bikramjit has been singing since 2004 and also given stage shows. "Music and dance have always been an essential part of my family. However, I also wanted to pursue a fashion designing course but it could not be possible," he says. "Since I could not afford to live in some other city for studies, I kept my focus on music," Bikramjit adds.

While talking about his current campaign, Bikramjit says that he was inspired by a similar initiative by a Bengali singer Lopamudra Mitra. "I receive 25-30 calls daily from the cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chhattisgarh, Raipur etc. Mostly, Bengali people call me. Yesterday, I even received a call from Bangladesh," he says while adding that he also sings Hindi film songs for those who want to listen.

In his Facebook post, Bikramjit had mentioned that anyone who is positive and in isolation can call him and he will sing for them. "It's very important in such a time to not leave people alone," he says. Bikramjit also runs a medical shop and delivers medicines to the respective homes of COVID patients.

Goals that encourage

He is also planning to visit hospitals so that he could sing for COVID patients. "Once this situation becomes better, I would like to visit hospitals and sing for the patients so that they do not feel mentally isolated," Bikramjit adds.

The folk singer also wants to teach music to the prisoners in jail and conduct sessions for them. "I am very much inspired by a Bengali movie, 'Muktodhara' where they had shown such sessions and would like to follow it," he says.

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