‘Creativity was alive like never before’ – 20 quotes from India’s pandemic 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.

Because of COVID, there is a need for telemedicine and remote medicine. - Eric Grosse, Suki.AI

When India went into lockdown, we did not have a single PPE suit in the country, and the workforce that made those PPE suits, about 75 percent of it were Indian women. - Smriti Irani, Union Minister

Covid has further heightened the need for wellness and immunity across socio-economic groups globally. - Ashok Mittal, TeaMonk

The last two years have demonstrated an urgent need for tech-driven disruption in the healthcare space in order to build solutions that can provide efficient, affordable, and quality care. - Prateek Jain, Fundamentum Partnership

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Organisations need to address burnout, make mental well-being a priority, and approach hybrid working with inclusive and flexible policies that actually work for women. - Michele Parmelee, Deloitte

The effect of the pandemic has led to reversing of gender equality. - Sakshi Vij, Myles

Financially for many, the pandemic was a bad time. - Smitha Cariappa, Adipaaya exhibition

One thing that has become clear in the last two years of the pandemic is that of digital transformation with the massive adoption of cloud technology. - Ramkumar Narayanan, NASSCOM Product Council

This rapid digital adoption by customers and MSMEs has opened doors that were unthinkable until a few years ago. - Meghna Suryakumar, Crediwatch

India was importing almost 70 percent of its active ingredients, and when COVID-19 struck India in 2020, it compelled OEMs to rethink and explore the opportunities that were present in the domestic manufacturing realm. - Arjun N, SolutionBuggy

Once the lockdown happened, I had a lot of free time in my hands and my consumption of content significantly increased so I was inspired by a lot of content creators to start my own content in the personal finance space. - Sharan Hegde, Finance with Sharan

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, we announced a commitment of Rs 250 crore ($33 million) to help reboot Indian SMEs and enable business recovery. - Rajesh Mani, Mastercard

There is an immense merit in cultivating social media presence for startup founders and startups alike, keeping in mind where their relevant audience is. - Alok Mittal, Indifi Technologies

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in at least one positive outcome — a greater appreciation for the value of government schools and organisations. - Vinita Badshilia, Nainital headmistress

‘Gig’ is now a mainstream model. - Dheeraj Khatter, MyMobiForce

Art in different forms helped make the pandemic and social isolation a lot more bearable. Online platforms especially contributed in a major way to bringing art to everyone. - Vida  Heydari, Vida Heydari Contemporary

The pandemic times have reinforced the importance of art in society. It has saved many people from boredom. It opens our eyes and sensitiveness to get a deeper comprehension of our own existence. - Karla Osorio Netto, Galeria Karla Osorio

Art has renewed relevance in the post pandemic era. It is a chronicle of our collective experience, and a source of succour. - Renu Modi, Gallery Espace

The pandemic has shown how important it is to view art in person, we have missed the physical tangibility of art for two years. - Mandira Lamba, Gallery Blueprint 12

The pandemic caused a lot of resets, particularly with job losses and loss of lives. Yet creativity was alive like never before through various forms and expressions. - Somak Mitra, Art Exposure Gallery

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).