NEW ORLEANS– With a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl as his instruments, Natesh “Mo” Mohan is making music of sorts—a thank you song to first responders for the whole neighborhood to hear.
“Thank you policemen, firefighters, ambulance workers, sanitation workers, teachers, doctors, and nurses,” he chants as he walks up and down Laurel Street.
Gratitude is his attitude. For two months, every single evening at 7 p.m. he bangs the mixing bowl and lets out chants to show unity, solidarity, and respect for our front line workers that have been tirelessly working to fight Covid-19.
“There are so many people making sacrifices. I first decided to do it to say thanks to my neighbor who is a doctor,” he said.
Since he started doing this nightly, many other neighbors have joined in with tambourines or whistles, anything to make noise to join Mo.
“It has taken off. People come around with tambourines, pots, whistles, all kinds of noise makers to just say thanks. It really is about saying thanks for all the first responders are doing for us,” Mohan said.
Mo moved to New Orleans a few years ago to be closer to his daughter and his grandchild. It is evident that he knows what it means to love New Orleans.
“It has brought us all together. We hardly knew each other before this, so in the last 8 weeks we’ve become friends,” he said.
Therefore he shares his heart with his city. He says he will continue to do this until the curve flattens completely.
“There are still people in the hospitals, people getting sick, we just need to keep up that awareness,” he said.
He says he will continue to do this until the curve flattens even more.
If you’d like to join Mo as he thanks our first responders nightly at 7 p.m, he’ll be on the corner of Laurel & Robert Streets. Don’t forget to bring something to make some noise!