Gratitude Fills Social Media as Indians Observe 'National Doctors' Day'; Words, Songs Spill Love

India on Wednesday joined many other countries around the globe in marking “National Doctors’ Day”. Even though doctors and healthcare professionals don't seem to reflect a particularly celebratory vibe, people from around the world are offering gratitude to the front-line “heroes” of these Coronavirus times.

Usually, the fanfare on social media gets fancy, with cool hashtags. Today, India’s top trending hashtag is simply #ThankYou with an emoji of hands clasped in a 'Namaste' gesture. It’s almost like no words could be appropriate enough to express the heartfelt emotion that people have felt towards doctors in the last few months.

​Contemporary writers are sharing touching words honouring medics – who are being called “warriors” and “soldiers in white” on social media today.

In fact, a mesmerising tabla rendition of one of Bollywood’s recent popular patriotic songs – “Teri Mitti” is going viral on social media on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day. The song, originally written for soldiers, has been tweaked to now honour the white-clad doctors in the country.  

In March, even before India went into a lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indians to cheer for doctors and healthcare professionals in a supremely grand gesture. A lot of Indians collectively came out in their balconies, climbed up their terraces, and clapped for their doctors. Even poor people who reside in roadside tents joined in to thank the doctors.