‘Covid is here to stay for a while, but we cannot let it rule our lives’ – 25 quotes from India’s COVID-19 struggle

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a weekly feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our articles of this past week (see the previous edition here). This special series of compilations focuses on India’s COVID-19 struggle. Share these quotes and excerpts with your networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

See also our pick of Top Quotes of 2021 on Entrepreneurship, Investment, Digital Transformation, Storytelling, The India Opportunity, Pandemic Resilience, Failure Recovery, Design, and Art.

ALSO READ

[Year in Review 2021] Lives, livelihood, lifestyle – 60 quotes of the year from India’s COVID-19 struggle

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when healthcare facilities were overwhelmed and unable to manage the sudden demand surge, elderly and chronic care patients were left with no choice but to resort to telemedicine for their regular examinations and follow-ups. - Anurag Khosla, Aetna India

The pandemic has further established that the patients, as well as providers, are looking for affordable healthcare that allows patients to pay for comfortably, as well as allows for healthcare organisations to run commercially viable establishments. - Sunil Raheja, IKS Health

Many yoga practitioners and schools of yoga have adopted tele yoga platform to help people during these crucial times. - Muralidhar Somisetty, Wellnesys

ALSO READ

[Year in Review 2021] Amid COVID-19, these 10 non-profits created social impact this year

For-profit edtech, despite innovations, will not be able to reach the segment of the society who have absolutely no means to devices or the internet. - Pulkit Jain Vedantu

Not being able to visit friends/family over an extended period of time due to lockdown probably led to a certain change in mindset of many people. - Priyashmita, Sanjukta, and Nazneen; Deraj

Take out time for yourselves to rejuvenate mentally. Whether through meditation or exercise, keeping an hour to yourself during the day will help you recharge. - Swati Bhargava, CashKaro

Even during these unprecedented times, there was a spurt in the number of startups entering the startup ecosystem. - Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, 9Unicorns

Whilst the pandemic was masking the entire world, it was also helping unmask the true potential of some startups. - Vinay Kanchan, ‘Sportivity'

With businesses moving online during the pandemic, startups have been able to connect with multiple founders anywhere, leading to higher conversions on deals and more opportunities to invest. - Brendan Rogers, 2am VC

ALSO READ

[Year in Review 2021] Meet the top 10 techies we celebrated this year

Whether you are building a B2B service or you're doing a B2C service, all of these needed to be rethought when the pandemic hit. - Mitesh Agarwal, Google Cloud

Learning happens when you travel and interact socially. To bring them back from this loss, now more than ever you need accelerated learning programmes focused on active discussion to catch up on what is happening in the real world. - Sneha Biswas, Early Steps Academy

With the country getting back on track on the economic front, it would be only fitting to predict that the business of bike taxis will touch even greater heights. - Aravind Sanka, Rapido

Customer engagement is critical to businesses across India, APAC, and EMEA, especially in light of the ongoing impact of the pandemic. - Ravi Mehta, Steadview Capital

The OTT market witnessed exponential growth last year with the coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic-induced lockdown and social distancing norms enabled people to work from home and explore other forms of entertainment apart from the traditional practices of television and radio. - Mohit Kaushal, YouForrte

The pandemic has indeed proved to be a big advantage [for gaming]. - Rajesh Namburu, TENTO

Custody of data, encryption, data sharing agreements, etc., were nice to have in contracts. After the pandemic, it's a must-have. - Nitin Mittal, Zee

If the pandemic has taught companies anything, it’s that remote working is indeed not just possible but highly effective too, in terms of both cost and employee output. - Vineet Arya, COHIRE

Today, in the virtual setup, you have to make a dedicated effort, set up those meetings, and ensure there's active participation. - Hemanth Sheelvant, RBEBS

In the post pandemic world, most organisations will expand policies, programmes, and cultures that explicitly support women in the workplace. - Smitha Hemmigae, ANSR

With the pandemic showing no signs of giving up, 2022 will be the first year of the transition to more hybrid, less full-time working from the office. - Swetha Harikrishnan, HackerEarth

ALSO READ

[Year in Review 2021] Meet the businesswomen who made headlines this year

It’s now easy for women to work from the comfort of their homes, without having to uproot their lives. - Visakha Vaidya, Atlassian

Gig work has seen a boost during the pandemic, which has transformed the way employers and job seekers think about employment especially in the low-skilled segment. - Madhav Krishna, Vahan Inc.

Organisations have been able to trust their employees and provide a more output-based evaluation rather than a face-time based one. - Anuradha Kalakat, Flipkart

Covid is here to stay for a while, but we cannot let it rule our lives. - Namita Thapar, Emcure Pharmaceuticals

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).