Hyderabad: In a city that never stops honking, one sound still pierces through the chaos with purpose — the siren of an ambulance run by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Health and Care Trust. Behind the wheel is Twinkle Kalia, and beside her sits her husband, Himanshu Kalia. Together, they are not just life partners but also partners in emergency response. Known affectionately as ‘India’s Ambulance Couple,’ the Delhi-based duo has spent more than two decades serving as a lifeline to thousands.Their journey began in helplessness. In 1992, a 14-year-old Himanshu watched his father bleed and slip into a coma as he rushed him from hospital to hospital in an autorickshaw. No ambulance came. No system offered help. “Seven hours. That’s how long it took to reach AIIMS. By then, it was too late,” Himanshu recalled. The tragedy pushed him into two years of child labour. “I worked in a factory to fund my education and that of my sister, who was just nine,” he said. A decade later, when Himanshu was getting married, his in-laws offered the traditional dowry — a car, fridge, TV — despite his objections. He made one unusual request: “Then give me an ambulance.” That ambulance became his mission. From late-night accident victims to people in need of emergency transport, he drove across the city offering help, even shifting dead bodies between homes and hospitals and vice versa. Twinkle never imagined she would one day be an emergency responder. In 2006, they had their first daughter. The following year, Twinkle was diagnosed with late-stage Hepatitis B. Doctors gave her months to live. “I asked every patient I helped to pray for her,” Himanshu said. Then came what they describe as a miracle. The infection turned negative. Their second daughter, born years later, was Hepatitis B negative too — a medical rarity. “That’s when I knew this life had been returned to me for a reason,” Twinkle said. “I told Himanshu, teach me to drive. I want to help too.” Twinkle believes she may have been the first woman in India to drive an ambulance. From that point on, there was no looking back. By the time the Covid-19 pandemic struck, they were operating 14 ambulances across Delhi-NCR and Jaipur. Every penny of their savings went into purchasing and maintaining the fleet. “We don’t charge. Not a rupee,” Twinkle said. The ambulances carry not just stretchers, but food packets, first aid kits and hope. Then came another curveball. During the deadly second wave, Twinkle was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She underwent radiation therapy during the day and answered emergency calls at night. “People called us sobbing — parents dead in separate rooms, no one to cremate them. We did that too. We lifted bodies when no one else would, not even neighbours,” she recalled. Despite losing her hair and enduring chemotherapy, Twinkle never turned away from a call. “I have carried children as young as seven, bleeding and swinging between life and death, and I had the privilege of watching them survive. This service has saved my life, too,” she said. Their work has earned them more than 600 national and international honours, including felicitation by the President and Prime Minister, the Stree Shakti Award, Mother Teresa Sadbhavana Award and Delhi Gaurav Award. Praise has also come from hospitals, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and spiritual leaders. But the couple keeps no trophy shelf. “The real award,” said Himanshu, “is when a child calls us their parents because we got them to the hospital in time.” Their message to the public is simple: “Be human first,” Twinkle said. “If you see someone in need, don’t just stand there or shoot a reel. Be strong enough to save a life,” said Twinkle.
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