When a jeweler sells vegetables

Lockdown 3.0 starts. The entire country is its playing theatre. The biggest blockbuster! This seems to be the Corona-directed script. Lockdown extended for another two weeks after May 3. There are a few relaxations on the basis of categorizations: red (where there are many cases, have hardly any relaxations); orange (lesser cases, here there are some restrictions on movement of people within the locality); green (few cases and hence people get still bigger space to come out of total lockdown).   

Big news for the booze lovers! The government seems to realize that people need the potion of forgetfulness to lick their wounds and lie down in peace. More importantly, the industry provides Himalayan revenue also. Thirst people get the taste of life after many weeks. Liqueur shops open. People go crazy and throng the venue of paradisiacal pleasure. Police has to lathi-charge to drive sense into their already intoxicated brains. It was literally a stampede outside the wine shops. All norms put aside. In Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, some innovation worked to help social distancing. People were asked to keep an umbrella over their heads while waiting in the queue. So with their inflated heads they had to stand a bit away from each other. Where is the witch-hunting media? Systematically a particular community was maligned, but here it is passed as a routine infringement. Why? Because almost all the wine-hungry law-breakers are Hindus. Is the crime of a Hindu lesser than a Muslim? The media could have avoided creating Islamophobia. They may take it as a sign of their protruding nationalism, but little do they realize they might be sowing the seeds of further division of the country sometime in the future. Help erase the feeling of alienation among the Muslims, not instigate it.   

How to make China pay if the world has creditable proofs of their wrongdoing in the Corona episode? A dictatorial regime can be penalized in far more subtle ways than a normal one. More importantly, the hit-back hardly involves any bloody consequences like in a conventional war. Hit their ideology, their sorest spot. Pamper democratic voices of dissent in China. Help the flame keep burning in Hong Kong. Later or sooner the bug of democracy will bite the mainland with the same intensity as Corona bit America. China doesn’t worry about a missile strike, it is more apprehensive of the democratic bug! Officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. Raise the issue of Tibetan annexation vocally. These are far more effective measures than bombs and missiles. Use their greed for ‘business at any cost’ against them. Provide manufacturing opportunities for companies to shift bases in smaller countries. An aggrieved party in Italy has filed lawsuits against China asking for reparations. It’s a kind of claiming war damages. Encourage more and more countries to demand war damages from China. The fuming, fire-spitting dragon will turn an altruistic dove. Good for them, better for the entire world.    

Just like Corona overrode everything else to take the hot-seat, a sad news prevailed over the routine Corona talk. Irfaan Khan bade adieu to this character in this life on 29^th of April. It happened so sudden that people cannot just believe it. In fact, we were waiting for many movies from the star actor. He appeared to have recovered well from a rare cancer and even acted in his latest movie, English Medium. The social media is awash with condolence messages. The specter of Corona was veritably washed away from the social media by the teary deluge of heartfelt condolences. The next day Rishi Kapoor also bade adieu to the world, making it one of the most testing phase in everybody’s life.

There is no point in mentioning how many countries are facing Corona threat. Just to mention briefly, 185 countries have borne the brunt, leaving only dozen lucky ones to have been out of the vicious loop. These are mostly tiny island nations scattered in the farfetched distances of the pacific. Turkmenistan, but, stands out as a landlocked surprise with all the surrounding countries having big number of infections. If they maintain their Corona-free status, I think they have every right to celebrate it as an outright victory.

Taiwan has proven that it is possible to stay alive with dignity and prosper right down the line fire, if you have the will power to the effect. Terribly bullied by the mainland communist ideologues and sadly not recognized by any of the main countries, the little wonder has set up an example in the fight against the nemesis. There have been 400 something infections and 6 deaths only. They are entitled to be analyzed as a case study in fighting the pandemic. I think bigger countries can reward them by recognizing their diplomatic status as a separate country. Another apt reply can be to deluge the international court of justice with reparation claims. Lawyers in Nigeria are suing China for the terrible loss of human lives and economic damages. There are massive lessons for African states also, many of whom are heavily indebted to China. There are racial attacks on migrant African workers in China. They get pushed and prodded like second-rung species.

To bring a bit of smile on our gloomy faces! Foreign businesses based in China are reaching out to India. According to sources, about 1000 manufacturing companies are in touch with India. India come on, ‘Make in India’ is a practical dream now. India can replace China as the global manufacturing hub post-Corona! Why wage war against a rabid, war-mongering China? Simply hit their manufacturing! As far as India is concerned, it proves that if you stay normal in crisis and value human life more than dollars, in the longer term you gain economically also as the coming times will prove.

Mammoth sized Chinese telecom companies are the backbone of their International revenue. Any spasm there will put many organs in grimace. America may ask the Chinese telecom companies to leave their soil. Already some yawning to the effect has taken place as a circular has been passed over to them asking them to clarify their stand on their exact relationship with the Communist regime. Many feel their security risks, as still many more people view them to be directly under Communist party’s control. With America losing more people than the Vietnam war, they are bound to retaliate in some form or the other. China, on its part, appears to be worried as it tries to downplay its achievement in containing the pandemic and thus stand out as the black sheep, which in turn gives rise to more and more anti-China suspicion theories. So we have the dragon opening a bit. We have more videos of the Chinese managing Corona like any other earthling. Earlier, there was hardly any information emanating from behind the iron curtain. Are they trying to appear like fighting against Corona like any other country? If they do, sorry the plot appears too simple! Meanwhile, an embittered Trump is calibrating to bring a bill against China. China in retaliation calls America a failed state. Objectively speaking, we cannot overlook the American intelligence failure about the pandemic. They were quick to warn of a disaster in India but missed it completely in their own house. Darkness under the lamp itself! Can you believe it? Or was it sheer criminal overconfidence and a sense of invincibility that made them think that pandemics are the affairs of poor massive populated third world countries only. Ironically, this turns out to be a pandemic of the developed nations. A disease of the rich! Lessons to be learnt--there are many, honestly speaking. Trump wants to make China pay, directly indirectly accusing that China fostered the pandemic. China cribs back like a stubborn bully in the class. There is verbal street fight between China and America almost daily.

Beyond the long and winding debate about China, one fact has to be accepted that most of the European countries and America itself plainly sleepwalked into the disaster. Their government’s obsession with economy and people’s still more chronic obsession with individual freedom sabotaged their own safety. The society that cannot ‘sacrifice’ economic stakes and let go of ‘personal freedom’ as contingency measures to ward off greater losses always stands at a risk. The very same applies to the governments in Europe and America. Learn from India. Prioritize human life over bank notes. They lost both. India at least could save thousands of lives, even if every life saved comes at the cost of hundreds of thousands of rupees. In the end, it is always a nice bargain.

The luxury market is lying on the ventilator as a critical patient. Hope it recovers once the basics of life get sorted out. The oil economies are collapsing. Millions of Indian expats, 8.5 million to be precise, in the Middle East may lose jobs. Thousands of oil tankers are stranded at ports world over as there are no buyers. Now, we have to recalculate, how much of running around is reasonable to save us from the burn-out. Either provide a safety valve for the exit, or it will happen accidently.  

There is hardly any intra-human competitive spirit as of now. The IOC has said if there is no vaccine in the coming months, there won’t be any Olympics. No vaccine, no Olympics. It is not advisable to play forever to win only. Learn to live to lose also. Playing to win by all and sundry may in the end result in a scenario where all end up losing. Redefine the parameters of winning and losing.        

We as a species are itching to somehow catch the slippery invisible thing. It being but almost impossible to snare the rascal, it is better to snare the prospective carrier body from a distance. Police have contrived a device to snare the curfew violators without the need to touch them. They use a fork like device with a long handle to catch the culprit from a distance. The only crime as of now appears to be coming out of the house without any reason. The only violation being curfew violation. The world appears better without any more types of violations.

We need to have our moments of triumphs and celebrations. We are habituated to have our heroes and heroines. With our virtual stars turning cooks, washer-men and women, sweepers and barbers, we have to do with less flamboyant, but real nonetheless, stars. They are the Corona survivors. The recovered patients are showered with rose petals as they leave hospitals with the glory of beating Corona looming on their faces. Getting infected carries almost a social stigma, but recovering creates hopes for life and living against the deadly virus.

Policemen are holding drama shows in the open to scare the grown up obstinate children who can hardly beat their urge to run out of the house at the slightest pretext. In fact they even play a full Corona Ramayana with Corona as the evil pitted against righteousness. I wonder, many policemen may join theatre and acting post-pandemic.

Now at least Boris Johnson appears to acknowledge how close he got into the clutches of death. He admits he was scared and the administration had set up emergency measures in case the biggest wicket to Corona falls. Earlier, it was damn funny on his part as the head of the state, when he boasted at a press conference that he has been shaking hands with patients at hospitals. Criminal negligence I would call it, especially from the head of a state! What type of example do you want to set? No wonder leaders like these sleep-walked their unsuspecting citizens into the trap. The British government appeared so sure of their invincibility against the funny thing named Corona that they hadn’t chalked out any planning. In fact, they had exported PPEs to China. So when their turn came, doctors had to fight almost without the basic medical safety equipment. Many doctors have perished due to this callousness. They definitely will pay the political costs once the people are in a position to calibrate over things.

While Iranian government appears more serious about developing ballistic missiles against the visible enemy America, common people decide to wage their own wars against the virus. Some even pay a huge price in terms of faith, for they break the Islamic injunction against drinking alcohol. There has been a king of fool’s expert advice that alcohol kills Corona even within the system. Some experts said it kills with external use as a disinfectant. People derive natural corporally that if it kills outside, it will do the same inside also. So there they go guzzling spurious liqueur. Around 800 people have died in Iran because of drinking spurious alcohol. Lost the battle of life, in addition to slipping from their strong hold on the rope of rigid faith also! To a Muslim, dying because of drinking alcohol must be a big stigma.

Rail tracks and roads taste the touch of passenger on their sinuous bodies after many weeks. Special trains and buses have been permitted to take stranded students and migrant workers to their native places. I don’t think many of them will dare to return for many months. 

The equation of animosity has been turned upside down. Corona strikes humans as one spices and as one nationality, if at all, earthling. So militaries must be yawning with boredom over the globe. Military has turned almost mute, side-watching civilians in the current war. The real soldiers being policemen, medical staff, doctors and cleaners. So quite fitting for the moment, the Indian army decides to be a civil celebrator to honor the brave fighters in the Corona war. Now they will at least know how it feels to be applauding civilians showering petals on the soldiers. Helicopters are not showering bullets; they are showering flowers over hospitals, the war fronts in the current war. Military bands play to honor those who have fallen while bravely fighting. Light and sound shows along the coasts celebrate the spirit of indomitable hope against all odds.

With my amateur assessment, I can see more into the air-spread theory than they accept. How will you explain 1.4 million infections within such a short period of time in America? Touch-born contagiousness is expected to show a bit of linear growth graph, not such ballistic missile type exponential surge to hit the cosmos.

In our village, a minor skirmish with the enemy took place. A man serves as a security guard at Azadpur Subzi Mandi in Delhi, where there have been many cases. Haryana government has totally sealed its borders with Delhi in order to stop the virus-spread in its territory from the national capital. The Delhi that pulled millions with its dreams now repels. Internal borders within countries are more important than the national borders for the time being. Doesn’t it prove that all these so called borders are our mind constructs on the basis of fear? Well, the security keeper from the village panicked after staying away from his family for weeks and then decided to walk across the countryside to reach home in two days. People in every locality are the scouts in the war against Corona. He can hardly take a glass of water before the ambulance, the armored vehicle of the war, arrives to handle the latest encroachment by the mischievous virus through the scared body of a human. Someone dutifully telephoned the police and thus fulfilled his quota of nation building by helping our village stay safe. Well done. The enemy is cordoned off. Interrogated sternly and taken into quarantine. The entire family is locked within the house for at least 14 days. Sonipat has entered the ignominy of being in the red zone. Thousands of people work in Delhi. Corona spread from Delhi was almost unavoidable. Till now 80 cases have been reported from the city. Local administrators have been given the authority to operate like autocrats for the time being. They in turn have handed over the message to local elected members of the governing committees. Let there be a single case of unreported arrival in your area and you are suspended. District police and civil administrators hold their fiefdom with Hitler like alacrity. ‘Don’t dare to encroach onto my territory, even if you happen to be a police personnel yourself!’ they admonish.

How can one expect things to be free from politics in India? Corona politics will raise hood later or sooner. A bus from Nanded in Maharashtra carrying stranded Sikh passengers arrived with a busload of scared pilgrims. A political storm is brewing. A few positive cases among the pilgrims and all bonhomie scatters like broken glass. Punjab government is accusing the Maharastra government for not testing the pilgrims before putting them overboard. The Maharastra government hits back why the passengers weren’t quarantined upon arrival.            

Slovenly dressed, frayed hair, rumpled casuals, and all waddled inside, who the hell is even bothered about jewellery in such times. A jeweler in Rajasthan can be counted as the person with the most profound realization of the time. He has stashed away his jewelry and put fruits and vegetables in the racks. One lesson: why need jewelry which we cannot even eat. At least fruits can be eaten!

And last but not the least, adding to the long list of celeb cooks, sweepers and washermen, one famous hairdresser adds to the list. None other then the Nawab himself. Saif Ali Khan is going to give a haircut to his son Taimur.