Kanta Prasad and his wife — the elderly couple owning the ”Baba ka Dhaba” that made headlines after a video about their struggle making ends meet in the pandemic went viral — on Tuesday underwent cataract surgery.
The medical procedure was offered to the couple by Delhi’s Sharp Sight Eye Hospital free of charge.
Soon after the video went viral, highlighting the plight of the old couple struggling hard to make their ends meet during the harsh Covid times, people started flocking to his roadside eatery.
What got missed out was an eye to figure out how to help the couple manage their health especially their vision.
“We spent so many years with hazy, unclear vision. But now we can see everything crystal clear. It’s like getting a new eye. Our economic condition is such that we could have never afforded cataract removal,” Kanta Prasad said.
“We saw the video and more than his helpless state, we were moved by the spirit of the old man and his wife to fight hunger and earn a livelihood for their family during these challenging times. While many of us are confined to our homes fearing Covid-19, “here’s a couple who have a bigger worry and that is to survive and have no choice but to open their eatery every single day “ said Deepshikha Sharma, CEO, Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals.
With video becoming viral, many celebrities from Bollywood, Sports and politics too took to Twitter and promised help. However, after a short span of stardom, their life has gone back to what it was.
People like Baba Kanta Prasad and his wife are the true ambassadors of change who even at this age are determined to strive for their survival instead of asking for help and are synonymous with our line of thinking and ethos “ Aao Acha Dekhe “ which encourages everyone to look at the brighter side of life.
When our team saw their plight we decided we had to do something about it and as we are a specialized eye care chain we decided that the best way to help them would be give help them recover their vision so that they need not be dependent on anyone and are able to lead a good quality life said, Dr. Kamal Kapur, Director, Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals.
“Our team escorted the old couple to our hospital and did a thorough eye checkup and during investigations realized that their vision had deteriorated due to Cataract. We decided to perform cataract surgery along with implantation of the latest type of Intra Ocular Lens as our way of giving them support.”
As a result, the old couple can lead a new life independent of Glasses and see the world around them brighter and clearer once both their eyes are operated said Dr. Samir Sud, Director & Senior Ophthalmologist, Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals.
Dr. Sud further added that Surgery had been performed in one eye for both of them and the second eye is scheduled to be operated on next week.
“I have no words to express my gratitude to the team of doctors who removed our cataract. I am thankful to the Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals for giving us this gift of vision. Otherwise, our economic condition is such that we could have never afforded cataract removal in this lifetime,” said Kanta Prasad of Baba ka Dhaba, New Delhi.
The couple brimmed with joy after regaining their sight. “We spent so many years with hazy, unclear vision. But now we can see everything crystal clear. It’s like getting a new eye,” said the couple as they left hospital premises with a new hope to face challenges.
