India is one of the most hopeful places: Daniel Weber

India is one of the most hopeful places: Daniel Weber

Musician-entrepreneur Daniel Weber talks about how his Instagram-based chat show, Stories of Hope, keeps him stay sane amid the pandemic, the importance of living with family in testing times, and more...

Shubham BhargavaUpdated: Sunday, May 30, 2021, 09:53 AM IST
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How difficult has it been for you to keep negativity at bay during the pandemic?

I have my up days and down days, you get anxious when your routine is flipped upside down. With so many people suffering and the second wave wreaking so much havoc, it is very difficult to stay calm. I think my show ‘Stories of Hope’ has allowed me to become calmer as I have observed that other people are going through a tough phase too. There is not a single person I have met who has said that everything is fine, everyone has been affected in some way or the other by this. After every episode of my show, I have this natural high which one gets after interacting with others.

How important is it for you to have your family around in these tough times?

I want to be around them to make sure that they are safe and I can look after them as a father, as a husband. However, at the same time, I wish they were somehow removed from the situation and I could send them somewhere safer while I waited out in India to weather the storm. I know it is not right to just pick up your stuff and run whenever things go wrong at any place but I have three young children and if I can somehow send them to some place safer, then I would do that. To be honest I don’t know what would be the right answer. It’s bewildering for you, me and everyone else as we have never experienced anything like this and I hope we never have to. Most of my family has a US passport but my daughter has an Indian passport as she has been adopted from India, so she can’t travel to the US. While in the US, the restrictions have been lifted, children have started going back to school and I am happy for them, but it does make me sad that I can’t provide that to my children.

How mentally exhausting is it for the kids to stay indoors all the time?

My boy is 3-years-old and till now he has lived half his life in a pandemic. It is mentally traumatizing for him and the other kids. They can’t even express what they are going through, they can’t physically interact with their friends. For adults it is still a bit easier to come out of it but I don’t know how big an impact it will have on the children, it surely can’t be good but we just have to wait to see.

Are you hopeful that India will defeat the second-wave soon?

Definitely, I am. I have been to a lot of places, but nowhere have I seen people help each other as much as they do in India. From the outside it might appear hopeless, but from the inside, India is one of the most hopeful places. See, you go to a war with the army you have and not the army you need, that’s life. India is facing a monumental challenge but all the doctors, nurses and everyone else is trying hard to get the situation under control. India helped the world with medicines and equipment six months back and now the world has come together to help India. For me, that’s hope.

(Click on the link below and watch the full interview on our YouTube channel)

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