This clown walks the streets of Mumbai, spreading the word about pandemic awareness among kids

Ashok Kurmi dresses up as popular characters and interacts with children in the slums of Mumbai, while sanitising localities

Spiderman is often at Dharavi. Santa Claus, too, is a frequent visitor. Only, last Christmas he doled out masks instead of candy. All thanks to 37-year-old Ashok Kurmi, a benevolent shape shifter who changes his getup at the behest of children living in the Mumbai slums. An employee with a pharmaceutical company, Ashok took it upon himself to spread not only joy, but also the message of hygiene, social distancing and the importance of masks, when the pandemic took the country in its grip last March.