The Art of Falling and Rising Again: Lessons from My Neighbor

Learning resilience — a good practice.

A little about Pavan

My neighbor Pavan is a very cheerful person. He smiles and laughs a lot. We meet every evening. He mostly cycles and sometimes even walks with me and other neighbors. Pavan is so cheerful. He makes the environment lively and happy with his little jokes. Everyone around likes him. He and his family are very helpful as well and it is a pleasure to interact with them.

Pavan calls me Aunty. As soon as I am out of the gate for my walk, Pavan is usually the first person to greet me. Pavan has had multiple falls in the past. He has had Covid twice. Yet he goes on.

How I came to know Pavan

I came to know Pavan during the Covid epidemic when everyone was inside and nobody could go to work. In the evening we would walk within our gated community and he also started walking with us and getting to know us better. Then, quite a few neighbors began to come out and started cycling. Pavan also caught up with this craze. I saw old people who had never cycled also take out their old cycles, get them oiled, and start cycling. What was the result? Most of them fell down.

The first time Pavan fell down he had two fractures and dislocation of the arm. I felt so sorry for him. I empathized and called twice a day sometimes. After six weeks, I saw him back. He was refreshed and with renewed energy. It was wonderful to see him back on the tracks cycling again. Most of the other cyclists fell one by one and stopped cycling. Pavan, however, came back.

Pavan now formed a program. He did 66 rounds in one and a half hours. I must add that the circular area that he cycles in is less than a mile/Kilometer. The area where walkers walk and cyclists cycle is not only small, but the path is also not smooth and there are too many corners. In this area, walkers walk, cyclists cycle, pets roam around with dog helpers and people come and go from their homes in cars. You can imagine the chaos that happens. Due to Covid, cars were moving in and out less than usual. However, it was easy to fall and hurt oneself without being careful.

Pavan is down with Covid

Pavan was cycling one day but the next day I did not see him. I asked everyone if they knew what happened to him. People just thought he was taking a break. In the Ishwar Nagar Residents Welfare group, we got a notification of those who were down with Covid and that we were to take care to avoid those houses and be careful with our walks even though it was a small and gated colony as we call our vicinity in Delhi.

Pavan was down with Covid. Some of his family members we also ill with Covid. Since Pavan was also a heart patient, proper care had to be given to him (he was hospitalized and in the Intensive Care Unit). Pavan was very, very sick. His pulse dropped, and he had a high fever. We all prayed that he would get well soon. We sent our good wishes to his wife and family members.

After a few days, he started improving; he was then discharged. His wife told us he was recuperating, and we could talk to him on the phone. I called up Pavan, and he was very cheerful and told me he would resume walking soon.

Pavan begins cycling again

A few days later, Pavan was there beaming and laughing. “I am fine”, he said. He started by walking in the evening as the doctor had told him to take it easy.

Two weeks later, he was cycling again. I noticed he did not talk but did smile while cycling. I thought he was being extra careful now.

I asked him, “What happened to you?” He said that he was praying while cycling because he was unable to complete his daily prayers and did so while cycling.

Pavan had Covid again

COVID episodes were getting much less than before, and some organizations had begun operating. People started moving in and out of their homes but with caution. Pavan had not yet begun his work operations. He was back to his old spirits until one day right in front of my eyes he crashed with a car. He was badly hit.

Although his wife protested, he did not listen. He kept his spirit up. He decided to begin walking again. He tried, but he could not walk. The doctor had strictly given instructions to stay at home and rest his legs. In the meanwhile, the second wave of COVID started, and he again contracted Covid. Can you imagine why this happened again? His immune system was down.

I really have to learn from Pavan how to be so resilient and high-spirited. I am high-spirited, but Pavan takes the cake. A person who has gone through so many falls and rises again and after every fall becomes more determined.

Pavan is cycling again

Two days ago, Pavan’s wife was asking him to stop cycling as he had already done too much but Pavan stopped at the gate and drank some coconut water and offered me too. He has a bandwagon of people working for him. His own gateman logs in every round that he takes on his cycle. He asked him: “How many rounds have I done?”

The gateman replied, “61 rounds, sir.” He told his wife that he would be back in a little while because he would chat with us after completing his rounds. His wife is very good-natured and agreed to his promised return. 10 minutes later, I saw him walking back with two people the gateman and the house help. I asked him what happened. “I fell down, Aunty, but it was a minor fall,” he said. Yesterday I met him, and his wife and they were going out somewhere in the car. His wife showed me his bruises on the arms, legs, hands, and sprained foot. He was bandaged everywhere.

My recommendation is to be resilient like Pavan

This is the nth time he has fallen. There was a smile on his face, and he said, “I will be back after a break. These are just small bruises. I will get well soon.” I am full of praise for Pavan. He has truly taught me that a fall does not mean failure. You must bounce back and defeat failure. A great lesson learned.

We fail and then leave. Or maybe bounce back once or twice. Pavan has fallen so many times and is determined to rise again. He sees a silver lining on the other side. It is good to meet people like him and learn lessons in being resilient and happy.

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