Did you ever wonder if some packages of medicine lying around in your house which you probably don’t even remember could be nectar to those in need? Poverty speaks so high in India that the poor can’t even afford medicines. We have probably never thought how many die or suffer because of not being able to take medical help. And no one ever thought of doing something regarding it except an 80-year-old man Omkarnath Sharma. Let’s get into his story and know all about him.
How did it happen?
Omkarnath Sharma is a retired blood bank technician. In October 2008, an under-construction flyover in east Delhi collapsed. This caused 2 labourers’ life and 30 got injured. However, he saw that the nearest hospitals turned those injured labourers away by saying that they don’t have the required medicines. These injured people roamed from here to there in search of help but to no avail.
This hit Omkarnath Sharma deeply and he took a vow to never let this happen to anyone else again. That was the point in his life when he was about to become the Medicine Baba of India.
The whole journey of becoming the Medicine Baba
After getting influenced by that incident, Omkarnath Sharma decided to collect unused medicines from those who could afford them. He started roaming around Delhi from door to door to collect unused medicine. He would ask people not to throw the medicine but rather donate it. Initially, people would insult him and call him a beggar. But now everybody appreciates him and regards him with the utmost respect. Omkarnath is happy that so many people recover to good health because of him. There is nothing more in the world he could have done to get this happiness and satisfaction.
Though in this age especially it is difficult to travel from place to place and roam around to collect the medicine, this doesn’t however budge him. It’s all worth it when somebody gets better in health because of his help. He collects medicines worth 2-3 lacks every month. He stores them in a rented room near his house. Whenever and whatever money he makes he gets the donation, he donates it in form of oxygen and hospital blankets etc. He even donates medical supplies to dispensaries and some hospitals where required medicines are usually not available.
What do we learn from the Medicine Baba?
Despite his old age, he took a vow to save people’s lives by working physically hard. Roaming from here to there by himself isn’t easy, especially in old age. But Omkarnath has been selflessly working for the poor people. He has saved and changed at least hundreds of people’s lives. If there were more people like him in India, we could witness more positive changes around us.
If he being a single person could think and feel for the poor who are deprived of medical help, then why the supposed authorities have been neglecting this aspect in our country? Omkarnath Sharma has shown us a picture of our country by taking this initiative. Hopefully, he would become a message and a mirror to our government to wake up and improve the country’s medical conditions.
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Author: Simran K Parmar
A post graduate in English Literature, secular humanist, critical thinker, an outspoken atheist, follower of equality and a lover of philosophy. craftedfashion94@gmail.com
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