“My lab result has come. It is negative. The doctor also has approved my discharge. As I told you all, be fearless. This coronavirus won’t affect us,” says a cheerful Shakir Subhan, better known as the ‘Mallu Traveller’, in Malayalam in one of his latest videos, which shows him still sporting a mask.
The avid vlogger from Iritty, Kannur, whose videos documenting his three days in an isolation ward at a Government hospital have gone viral, is happy to be home. The globe-trotter had been on “a solo world bike tour” when he was forced to discontinue his odyssey in Azerbaijan just as he was to enter Georgia, due to the global coronavirus outbreak . His videos, posted in his YouTube channel the ‘Mallu Traveller’ that has over 6,62,000 subscribers, attempt to bust some quarantine myths and throw light on what life is like in an isolation ward.
“I reached Iran on January 28 and was in the country till February 16, a period when reports about the spread of the virus were rife there. Throughout my trip, I had been wearing helmet, gloves and jacket. But I had travelled to several places in Iran where, it later turned out, many cases of coronavirus were reported,” says Shakir.
Shakir Subhan
On February 16, he crossed the Azerbaijan border, at a time when news about the spread of the virus in Iran started coming in. “Though borders with Iran were closed by most of the adjoining countries, Azerbaijan had kept one open. Gradually, cases were reported in Azerbaijan too. After a few days, when I was about to enter Georgia, they stopped me,” he says. Shakir then handed over his motorbike, a TVS Apache RTR 200, to the customs department and was stranded in Baku, where he soon billeted at the apartment of a Malayali friend.
“For four days, I was cooped up in a room. Then something scary happened. I came down with a cold and soon decided to come home as I realised perhaps there was no other way. I managed to buy masks and sanitisers, which by then, were already in short supply in Baku. There were at least five confirmed COVID-19 cases in Baku by then,” he recollects.
On March 5, he took a flight to Kannur, with a stopover at Dubai. “There, I tried to isolate myself as much as possible and sat in a different terminal. I knew that, perhaps, followers of my vlog would easily recognise me and come forward to take selfies and shake hands. Also, most of the people travelling in that corridor are usually from Kannur. I didn’t want to be noticed,” he says.
Shakir clicked a photo of the passengers seated near him for identification in case of an eventuality. As the flight touched down in his home town, he informed the airport authorities of his travel history and was soon taken to the hospital isolation ward in an ambulance. “All the airport staff were wearing masks and all counters and corridors were cleared for my carriage; I felt like a VIP,” he says with a chuckle.
Shakir had already disposed of most of the articles he was carrying in Baku, except his phone, laptop and cameras. He had also informed his family not to come to the airport and apprised them of his plans of getting himself admitted into an isolation ward.
A grab from Shakir Subhan’s vlog at isolation ward in a Kannur hospital
“During my admission, I continued vlogging. The ward was much better than what I had anticipated, unlike the dystopian world many imagine it to be. It was hygienic and a safe distance was kept between the beds. However, interaction with other patients, all under observation, was not permitted. My blood and body fluid samples were taken for testing,” he explains. After the positive news that the test results were negative, he was discharged on Sunday (March 8).
Shakir, who is in the habit of video-documenting his daily life, says he wanted to show others what an isolation ward would be like in the time of such a pandemic. “I think it’s a mystery place for many. The truth is there’s no need to be apprehensive,” says the 30-year-old. He maintains the importance of staying positive, while at the same time taking requisite precautionary measures. In fact, Shakir’s prudent thinking and voluntary hospital admission later came in for praise from State Health Minister KK Shylaja.
Shakir, who previously gained notice with his vlogs on his pan-India hitch-hiking trips and travels in other countries, says he plans to resume his world odyssey from Baku at a convenient time later.
