2021 viral videos: The social media moments India celebrated – BBC News

It has been a tough 12 months but once more – fears of a 3rd Omicron-fuelled Covid wave are rising, simply months after a devastating second wave. However there have been some social media moments that have been celebrated even amid the gloom.

Listed below are 5 moments that gave folks hope in 2021.

In April and Could, a lethal second wave of coronavirus infections swept by way of India, disrupting the healthcare system. At its peak, on 6 Could, India reported 414,000 new infections.

However as each day case counts fell and state governments eased curbs, vacationers flocked to well-liked trip spots.

In July, the federal government urged folks to comply with Covid protocols after movies confirmed mask-less crowds of vacationers.

Round that point, this video, shot in a crowded market in Dharamsala city within the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, went viral.

In it, Amit, 5 years outdated and barefoot, holding a bottle in a single hand and a stick within the different, calmly faucets individuals who aren’t carrying masks and calls for that they achieve this.

The recipients of his consideration look startled or amused – one even pats his chin. However native police have been impressed – they purchased him sneakers and snacks, and mentioned they’d make him a mascot for coronavirus consciousness.

Based on stories, locals additionally promised to assist the boy, who bought balloons to assist his mother and father earn a dwelling.

In February, when Pakistani social media affect Dananeer Mobeen shared a five-second video on Instagram, she had no concept she was about to grow to be a cross-border popular culture star in India and Pakistan.

Ms Mobeen, 19, gestures to a automobile and her pals as she swings across the digicam, saying – “That is our automobile, that is us, and we’re having a celebration”.

She makes use of the English phrase for “social gathering” however pronounces it “pawrty”.

The publish’s caption explains that she’s poking enjoyable at “burgers” – a time period utilized by Pakistanis for wealthy elites who studied or labored exterior Pakistan and converse with an American or British accent. Burger right here denotes a elaborate international product, just like the costly meals merchandise when it first got here to Pakistan, versus the native model, the standard bun kebab.

The video first went viral in Pakistan however India quickly joined the “pawri” after an Indian music producer remixed the clip to catchy beats.

It went viral and a whole lot of individuals, from Bollywood stars to Indian troopers, shared their very own variations of the video.

Even manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and the web exploded with memes.

In Pakistan, the nationwide cricket board shared a video of the crew capturing their very own variations after profitable a sequence towards South Africa.

The BBC wrote on the time that the video cheered folks up in two international locations “who’re often at odds on most issues due to the many years of typically lethal animosity”.

And Ms Mobeen was pleased about her position.

“What may very well be higher than sharing love throughout the border at a time when there may be a lot bother and a lot division around the globe,” she instructed BBC Urdu.

When India started the world’s largest vaccination drive in January, the primary particular person to obtain a jab was a sanitation employee.

Manish Kumar, 34, works on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences within the nationwide capital, Delhi.

“I had a really good expertise. I used to be not reluctant to get the vaccine shot… folks needn’t be fearful,” Mr Kumar instructed ANI information company.

The selection was seen as symbolic of India’s intentions to make sure its frontline employees have been prioritised in the course of the vaccine drive.

Sanitation employees typically work in appalling, unhygienic situations with out a lot protecting gear or social assist.

In a televised deal with that day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at size about medical doctors, nurses and different frontline employees “who confirmed us the sunshine” in “darkish instances”.

The nation’s vaccination drive later bumped into hurdles – attributable to manufacturing shortages and glitchy know-how, amongst different elements – however on 16 January, Mr Kumar was a face of hope for the programme as he took the jab amongst cheers.

Neeraj Chopra threw 87.58m within the males’s javelin to win India’s first ever Olympic athletics gold in August.

It was a historic second that Indians celebrated.

Chopra grew to become solely the second Indian to win a person gold after Abhinav Bindra in Beijing in 2008.

A video of his greatest throw on the occasion went viral, displaying Chopra coolly elevating his arms in triumph with out even checking to see the place the javelin had landed.

“It feels unbelievable,” Chopra mentioned. “It is a proud second for me and my nation.”

Like India’s different medal winners – the nation registered its greatest ever Olympic haul at Tokyo – Chopra returned house to a hero’s welcome.

In April, two younger medical college students from the southern state of Kerala took outing from their busy schedules to bounce to Boney M’s 1978 disco-hit Rasputin, carrying blue scrubs.

The 30-second Instagram reel by Janaki Omkumar and Naveen Razak, shot within the empty corridors of their school, went viral, garnering thousands and thousands of views.

The duo’s assured strikes and Mr Razak’s eyebrow flourish on the finish drew loads of reward.

However the two additionally got here in for some hate after a Fb publish remarked on their totally different religions – the publish additionally cautioned Ms Omkumar’s mother and father about Mr Razak as he’s Muslim and he or she is Hindu.

Whereas the 2 are pals, interfaith {couples} typically face resistance from their households and communities – right-wing Hindu teams even peddle a conspiracy principle alleging that Muslim males search to make Hindu girls fall in love with them with the only real goal of changing them to Islam.

However Ms Omkumar and Mr Razak obtained quite a lot of assist – college students unions in different faculties invited folks to shoot their very own variations of the dance, and a number of other medical college students shared movies of their very own strikes.

In a single model, pals of Ms Omkumar and Mr Razak danced to the tune, with the 2 becoming a member of them on the finish – the caption mentioned “for those who intend to unfold hate, we plan to withstand”.

Faculty hallways became dance flooring as college students flooded social media with their very own movies utilizing #stepagainsthatred.