Mumbai DJ swaps deck for doctor's scrubs to fight coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, plays music inside his home after returning from a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani

As India's financial capital Mumbai battled a growing number of coronavirus cases, local DJ Sanjay Meriya set aside his turntable and dusted off a long-unused medical degree in order to help out.

Meriya, 30, known as The Spindoctor in Mumbai music circles, began work last month as a medical volunteer after spotting a government newspaper ad asking for help.

FILE PHOTO: Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, wearing a protective gear stands in a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani

He has chiefly been visiting a slum in one of Mumbai's worst-hit suburbs, clad in a protective suit and gloves, to instruct local residents about the precautions they should take to ward off the coronavirus.

"I'm very patriotic. I can battle this way (as a doctor)," Meriya, who signed up as a volunteer for at least three months, told Reuters.

Mumbai accounts for more than 32,000 of India's 150,000 cases of the coronavirus, making it the worst-hit city. With government hospitals short of beds and health officials overworked, volunteers like Meriya are all the more important.

FILE PHOTO: Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, composes music inside his home after returning from a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani

Meriya began to dabble in DJing as a hobby at around the age of 20 while studying for his medical degree, but said it then "took over me" - much to his family's dismay.

"They hated it. They still hate it," he said of his decision to devote himself to being a DJ.

Although worried about his potential exposure to the virus, Meriya's family is thrilled to see him back in medicine.

FILE PHOTO: Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, interacts with a neighbour before heading to a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani

"They now have a lot to share with all our relatives, if you know what I mean when it comes to Indian families," he said.

(Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Mike Collett-White)

FILE PHOTO: Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, takes rest in a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani

FILE PHOTO: Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, wearing a protective gear checks temperature of a woman in a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani

https://twitter.com/levie/status/1265842958147792897Sanjay Meriya, 30, also known as the Spindoctor, leaves from his car after he returned to his home from a temporary health center where he coaches slum dwellers on the precautions they should take to avoid being infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani