“Front Line Monologues narrate the emotions of those who put their lives on the line as they feel tragic, uncertain, tired, funny, privileged, scared, angry, impatient, hopeful, proud, but most certainly brave.”
Dr. E. Vijayakumar, a 67-year old Critical Care Specialist based in Boston (USA), is the subject of a 99-sec piece I wrote and performed for Front Line Monologues – a YouTube series by Toronto based The Hive Performing Arts.
As actors we often draw inspiration from real life characters. This was one such instance but far more real for me because I know Dr. E. Vijayakumar. I know him not just as my mother’s Medical College mate, an experienced professional but also as a kind man with a sweet disposition and a smile that warms his eyes. It is the latter image that sticks in my eye whenever I think of him.
From the Whatsapp messages we sporadically exchanged over the last few months, I also know what he went through as a frontline worker during this COVID-19 outbreak. This piece is my tribute to him and those terrible weeks from March to early May when things were at its peak. When all this is behind us, I want the world to remember him not just as a doctor who did his duty but also as a caring, family man and a human like you and me made vulnerable by circumstances.
The series premiered on The Hive’s YouTube channel on Thursday, June 11, 2020 and includes theatrical anecdotes of frontline workers by other artists who came forward to show their solidarity. The theme line “I hope this ends soon, but if it doesn’t, I am here to take care of you” owes its origin to David MacDonald, a frontline Nurse Anesthetist from Belmont.
May we never forget this patch of human history and the lessons it has taught us. May we also remember each day that whatever the circumstance, “This too shall pass.”
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