“With great power comes great responsibility”. Still hooked to the dialogue, ain’t it? But what if you were just human and not even a sidekick. Does that stop you from saving the world? The answer is no.
Anyone and everyone can make the world a better place and this has been proved time and again by a lot of people living amongst us through their noble deeds. One of them is Ashok Kurmi aka Spiderman of Mumbai.
Kurmi was seen dressed as Hollywood’s favorite superhero with sanitizer spray in his hands which he put all over several public spaces including Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, bus stands, and several other nearby areas. His message is clear – to make the city safer for the public.
Earlier in December, Kurmi dressed as Santa and distributed face masks along with a similar sanitation drive across the city to spread awareness.
The sanitizing Spiderman, Ashok Kurmi, works in a pharmaceutical company and additionally serves as the president of the Sion Friend Circle. To do his bit in spreading awareness regarding the pandemic, Ashok decided to carry out the initiative.
Speaking to LifeBeyondNumbers, Ashok said that he has been dressing as several characters and doing much more activities to remind people of their responsibility to curb COVID and make public spaces safer.
“Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, we have been doing several activities across Mumbai to generate awareness and secure the public. We distributed ration and mask in the first lockdown and carried out a sanitization drive. Then I dressed as Santa and did the same. We also created large paintings and a structure made out of masks to alert people. Our intent has been to help people get through this tough time,” says Kurmi.
PPE Kits are a must in sanitization drives but Ashok wanted to draw the attention of the public to spread the message so he thought of going for a superhero costume, especially for the children who are now more prone in the second wave.
“General norms for sanitization drive include mandatory PPE kits, but since we wanted to spread awareness we thought of going for superhero costumes. I tried on a lot of them and finally selected the Spiderman costume as it is like a bodysuit and covers the whole body. Also, I wear a mask and glasses under the costume and cover the legs with double socks. We wash them every day after coming home,” informs Ashok.
Sion Friend Circle has been doing a lot for the city during the pandemic. There are around 18-20 members in Kurmi’s circle who contribute to the initiatives. They also sanitized and provided masks and soaps to migrant laborers who were fleeing from Mumbai last year. And they didn’t keep their work limited to sanitization. In the month of June 2020, Sion Friend Circle set up a book van for kids who did not have access to the internet.
Moreover, they used to travel the whole city on a cycle named Hungry Animal Savior, feeding the strays.
On being asked if he was scared of the consequences of the second wave, Ashok said, “Since COVID was slowly coming under control in previous months; everything started to get on track. I started to go office but then suddenly it’s back and even more fiercely. Now I am again working from home and everyone’s businesses are again affected by the shutdown. Initially, I was scared but then I realized that if we didn’t stand up for our fellowmen, who else will do it.”
“We were offered help from a few politicians but we refused it. We want to be independent and keep up the good work. But of course, we are thinking about crowdfunding in the future,” added the social worker stressing that all their good work has been a result of personal funding.
Kudos to Ashok and Sion Friend Circle for being the light in these dark times. Hope we make it through.