One of the big fall outs of the current Corona virus situation is the need for social distancing. People are being advised to stay indoors, work from home, avoid travel and not to go to crowded places or large congregations.

The maid doing household chores at our place travels all the way from Virar by train and has no option to avoid crowded places (read train here) or travel and doesn’t have the luxury of working from home. Ditto our driver, who also comes from Nalla Sopara. Our milkman doesn’t travel from a distance, but has to come nonetheless to deliver milk at our place. Roads are slightly less congested and traffic lighter, but cops and traffic boys and girls are still required on the roads to manage traffic, especially on difficult stretches. There are social media posts on doctors taking all the risks and serving humanity. Above all, there are daily wage earners – construction and road workers, vegetable and fish vendors, auto and taxi drivers etc, who simply cannot follow the advisory to sit at or work from home for they need to go out to fend for their daily bread!

School and college children can rejoice this unscheduled holidays; IT folks can work from home; white collared people can relax at home and enjoy this break; but in a country like ours, there’s hardly any social or governmental support system that can help millions of underprivileged, daily earners, high at risk denizens sustain this sudden stoppage of normal life!

Corona virus has brought to the fore the extreme vulnerability of the mankind to survive in the face of adversity. This Corona related emergency will end one day, but misery of humans may not if we do not imbibe the learning from this! And mind you it’s not just about personal hygiene, cleanliness and healthy lifestyle habits! It’s about how we treat our natural resources and planet in general! It’s a message that has doom written all over it and only mankind can reverse this!

Read a beautiful verse sent by a friend on WhatsApp yesterday that reads:

India has declared Corona virus to be a national disaster. Just heard that Cr PC 144 has been promulgated that bars assembly of more than 4 persons. Already offices are allowing work from home, invoking backup contingency plans (BCP) for the activities that cannot be carried out from home, have banned international travel and severely restricted domestic travel. Schools are being closed and so are the malls and cinema halls. Haven’t seen such an emergency in my lifetime at least.

Social media are replete with preventive measures and possible cures as also rumours. People can be seen wearing masks and wherever one goes, one is welcomed guess with what? Hand sanitiser! There’s fear all around and I think public at large is at wits end about how it all is going to end?

There’s popular singer Narendra Chanchal praying to Mother Durga to save the world from Corona, while a former colleague, who has since taken to Sanskrit and Bhagvad discourse full time has penned Corona Kawatch in Sanskrit literally meaning “Protection from Corona”.

On personal front, a mild round of common cold almost drove me to panic and if I hadn’t felt relief on the second day, I was almost on the verge of going to Kasturba Hospital for test, such is the extent of dread!

Mankind has always faced adversities

Wars that have ravaged them

And diseases that have killed millions

It’s been quite often rather than seldom!

When we thought that advancement in science

Has almost eradicated all the causes of misery

From nowhere emerged this demon called Corona virus

Will it make the mankind a history?

Small small things that concern hygiene

Can save us from this disaster

Let’s be aware, careful, alert

And Corona will be a slave and man the master!!!

I will go to office and observe the rules of hygiene and live each day as it comes. I will pray and hope that like all the adversities, we shall overcome this too and emerge winners!

First it all started with jokes. “Coronavirus will never affect a Bengali. In Bengal, they always say eta koro na, ota kora na and so they are quite used to Corona!” Second joke doing round was “ Coronavirus will not last long; after all which made in product China lasts long?” Third was a bit of self deprecation. It said, “ we Indians, thanks to the street food, unhygienic conditions in our cities and our overcrowded public transport, have a natural immunity against any such virus!

Slowly the reality started biting. Europe came under the impact of this virus and last heard, Italy has shut down for good. But real issue emerged when the virus started showing its virulence near home and Dubai, the travel hub for Indians started reporting cases. It was matter of time before it reached India from there and expectedly, Kerala reported the first of India cases. It’s continuously spreading its wings with the Indian tally now crossing three digits, with first of the cases now being reported from Aamchi Mumbai!

Economy, that was already in the throes of deep recession is going to go down further. Relatively untouched sectors such as aviation, travel and tourism, hotel industry etc are in for a long period of uncertainty. Worst, the Government has decided to cut off India by refusing to issue visas and even OCIs, not requiring VISAS, will have to quarantine themselves for 14 days on arrival in India.

Well, it’s a real threat and there’s no point in downplaying it, especially when WHO had declared it to be pandemic! But being an eternal optimist, I hope that with the onset of summers, the virus will start getting destroyed, though it’s not confirmed by the medical authorities. Also, may be there’s learning for us Indians to improve our awareness about hygiene (spitting, urinating, shopkeepers selling foodstuff with flies all around, coughing and sneezing without covering mouth and nose etc) and realise the fragility and uncertainty of life and to live life king size rather than indulging in petty stuff. Who knows when Coronavirus virus or even more dangerous stains in future will end or seriously impede our lives!

گو کرونا کی لہر ہے منھ زور
کیا کرے عرض ہم اس آفت پر
پاکے رہتا ہے آدمی قابو
ہر بلا اور ہر مُصیبت پر

Beautiful and an optimistic take on currently raging Corona virus read in an Urdu daily, which is loosely translatable as:

Though Corona is in all its fury,

What can we say about this crisis?

Such is the resilience of man,

He overcomes all the problems and all the crises!

Life will move on and this is at best be a temporary blip that will soon go into oblivion. Let’s be cautious but not stop celebrating life!

جب حالات ہو جا رہے ہو بد سے بدترین
کو رونا ، معیشت، فساد جیسے مسلے بہُت سنگین
شکر ہے اُپروالے کا ایسے مے آئ ہے ہولی
اُمید ہے کالے بادل چھٹکر فضا ہوگی رنگین

The above can be loosely translated as-

When things are going from bad to worse,

Coronavirus, economy and riots are serious matters;

Thank god for small mercies ,

In comes Holi when happiness is all that matters.

Happy Holi to all!

Ask any man who’s the most special person in his life? More than 90% chances are that his reply is going to be either of Mother, wife or daughter. In Indian culture, women have always enjoyed a special place – from Goddesses (Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati, Kali, Vaishnodevi , Parvati or hundreds of other manifestations, to Queens (Rani Laxmi Bai) to poetesses and artists ( Mahashweta Devi, MS Subbalaxmi, Lata, Asha, Amrita Shergill, Begum Akhtar, Noorjahan) to saints (Mirabai, Mother Teresa, Ma Amritānandamayī) to leaders ( Indira Gandhi, Margret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Bhandaranayeke) to our own Grannies, mothers and daughters! Ironically, it’s in this country only that we have victimised our own mothers and daughters through retrograde practices such as sati, dowry system, barring menstruating women from kitchens and temples, purdah system, unequal status in family and society- it’s a long list again- in fact, longer than the laudatory status of women mentioned above.

However, with education, social awareness and general unfavourable male-female ratio, women and girls are surely getting the respect and recognition that they richly deserve. Recently, three large banks had three leaders leading these institutions at the same time- Arundhati, Shikha and Chandra! Sheila Dikshit, who expired recently is fondly remembered whenever one speaks of Delhi and it’s pride- metro network! Indira Nooyi, Vinita Bali, Kiran Mazumdar and the list is endless – these are all top industrial leaders purely on meritocracy and not by any favour! And the trend is only going northwards with more and more women becoming careerists, successfully managing home and children with their full time jobs!

Without going into history of international women’s day, it’s genesis or significance, which can be easily googled, let me give a slightly different perspective to women on this day:

(1) Can we respect prostitutes and recognise it as an industry? After all, World’s oldest profession may not be the noblest, but it will definitely serve an objective- respect women of all creeds, which will obliterate the social evil of rape ! Compulsive sex starved guys can then go to an official channel to give vent to their urges rather than destroying the lives of innocent girls!

(2) Can we restore the licenses of dance bars? When courts have given go ahead, who are these moralists to object? Hundreds of women can showcase their talent of dance and glamour in a respectable, open and civilised manner rather than disguising themselves and making themselves vulnerable to exploitation by rogues and arrest by Police!

(3) Can we provide some social security to maids, household helps, baby sitters by buying them health or life insurance and sponsoring education of their children?

(4) Can we help our mothers, daughters and wives by sharing domestic responsibilities equally rather than watching TV and reading newspaper and expecting them to do all the chores?

It just requires a change in the thought process- otherwise it would just be a lip service to women to celebrate their existence this day once a year and be back to all dogmatic reprehensible behaviour mentioned above for other 364 days!

Happy International Women’s Day to all the women – daughters, mothers, wives, professionals ! For you are not just giver of life, but you also add colour and substance to life!

(1) Around this time last year, we were euphoric, planning our maiden US trip. Travel package was booked, VISA was obtained and last minute finishing touches were being finalised for the visit to be undertaken in July. Come May and we were faced with a grave personal challenge in the form of my wife’s brother having been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer of unknown origin. It’s been almost 1 year now and the battle is still on to buy a lease of life for him.

(2) My brother, who had planned a 10 days trip to China had to cancel all his plans following the Coronavirus attack that started from Wuhan district of China, but now already has more than 100000 people across continents in its throes. India, with its overcrowded cities and public transport is highly vulnerable to this epidemic unless the divine power saves us from this malaise.

(3) An acquaintance, in fact a close friend, had finalised a great property deal for which he had to pay an upfront amount of Rs5 lac forthwith (the seller was in a great deal of hurry to seal the deal , as he was migrating to US shortly), but his bank was imposed with a moratorium by the Central Bank restricting withdrawals at Rs50000. Expectedly, the deal fell through and my friend lost out on what would have been a great opportunity!

(4) In another incident that I came across recently, an acquaintance had accumulated enough money after meeting all his obligations such as daughter’s marriage, son’s business, repayment of loans etc , to undergo a long delayed bypass surgery ! Just before he was planning his admission to the city’s top cardiac institute, he suffered a massive and fatal heart stroke!

When the life is so unpredictable and fragile, why should we not live each day as it comes with happiness and gratitude rather than hating each other, spreading rumours and negativity, hoarding undue wealth and riches and worrying too much about Coronavirus! As Mumbai Police commissioner tweeted yesterday, “ Mumbaikars are so worried about Coronavirus that has hardly impacted anyone, by investing in masks, hand sanitizers and antibiotics; but refuse to wear helmet when head injuries kill 10 people daily in road accidents in Mumbai!

Let’s get our priorities right and live each moment as life is so fragile!

The Wednesday just gone by was Ash Wednesday heralding the period of 40 days of Lent up to Easter.

As aforesaid, Lent is the period of 40 days which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities.

Whereas Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross, Lent recalls the events leading up to and including Jesus’ crucifixion by Rome. This is believed to have taken place in Roman occupied Jerusalem.

The Christian churches that observe Lent in the 21st century use it as a time for prayer and penance. Only a small number of people today fast for the whole of Lent, although some maintain the practice on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is more common these days for believers to surrender a particular vice such as favourite foods or smoking. Whatever the sacrifice it is a reflection of Jesus’ deprivation in the wilderness and a test of self-discipline.

40 is a significant number in Jewish-Christian scripture:

In Genesis, the flood which destroyed the earth was brought about by 40 days and nights of rain.
The Hebrews spent 40 years in the wilderness before reaching the land promised to them by God.
Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the ten commandments on Mount Sinai.
Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry.
Most Christians regard Jesus’ time in the wilderness as the key event for the duration of Lent.

Lent is an old English word meaning ‘lengthen’. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.

Purple is the symbolic colour used in some churches throughout Lent, for drapes and altar frontals.

Purple is used for two reasons: firstly because it is associated with mourning and so anticipates the pain and suffering of the crucifixion, and secondly because purple is the colour associated with royalty, and celebrates Christ’s resurrection and sovereign.

While today there are tensions fuelled in the name of faith and religion and there are posts doing rounds in social media on the teachings of a religion that supposedly encourage violence, 40 days of Lent should help us bring back the glory of great nation that thrives on freedom, equality and brotherhood of all religions. Like Islamic holy month of Ramadan , Christian 40 days of Lent or Two sets 9 days of Navratri of Hindus- all religious teachings leverage the common themes of sacrifice, frugality, fasting, repentance, confession and above all humanity. Let’s ponder over these common messages of all religions this lent, give up all negative feelings of greed, enmity, friction, partisanship, inwardness and celebrate Easter with love and unity.

Our neighbours Vidhi and Sushil provided another opportunity to listen to a discourse by ever reliable and affable H G Ramkrupa Prabhuji and this time he covered the eternally relevant topic the purpose of human body.

He started with the legend of Swaymbhu Manu, the progenitor of the current humanity. He lived a life of great opulence, had sons and daughters but as he started getting old, he started thinking whether he used his body properly? This thought drove him to rescinding all his wealth and luxuries and he started in search of seeking the truth, the supreme Godhead! As Swamiji explained that both – thought as well as shock can compel a person to think about the rationale of his very existence.

One of the very unique things he touched was that while Rama all his life behaved like an ordinary man, faced tremendous adversities , Krishna on the other hand lived like God right from day 1, with miracles started happening immediately upon his birth. In a zest, he said that rather than facing troubles, Krishna in fact troubled those who were close to him or loved him – Ma Yashodhara, Gopis and evening his beloved Radha. But they all experienced inexplicable bliss in all these games played by the supreme Godhead.

Swamiji very deftly explained that how the first of grey hair forces the change of perspective. He cited the examples of the eternal beauty Bridgette Bardot ( who confined herself indoor never to come into public view once she noticed grey), King Dashrath, who thought but was the time to handover the reign to Rama and why the first of the grey appear on the ears, because Yama whispers in one’s years that you are a step closer to death and why then people start worrying about the next phase. Swamiji jocularly narrated that how his disciple despite his advanced age managed to have black hair. On being questioned whether he inherited this from father’s side or mother’s side , his answer was that it was neither mother nor father side but peroxide!

He beautifully explained that the body was like a house, when it was locked from inside. However, when it’s locked from outside it becomes a prison.

In another incident related by Swamiji, Sanyasi went to a king and the King asked him as to what he wanted. Sanyasi told the King that he’d take something that actually belonged to the King. Sanyasi said that the Kingdom and its palace belonged to people, his body belonged to family. King was perplexed and Sanyasi finally asked the King to give his ego! Swamiji offered an altogether new perspective of Ego by expanding it to Edging God Out( EGO)! He said that only oneness with Krishna can free a person from ego!

He beautifully explained the legend of Haridas thakur, who was born a Muslim , but found peace in chanting Hare Krishna. People complained to Nawab, who offered him riches to stop chanting Hare Krishna, but he refused. The king ordered him to be punished by flogging his body in each of 22 market places. As they started beating Haridas, there was no change as he was continuously chanting Hare Krishna. The floggers sensed some divine play and they fell at Haridas’s feet begging for their lives as Nawab would get those floggers slaughtered for not killing Haridas. Haridas went into Samadhi and he was thrown into water ( considered inauspicious in Islam) where he continued chanting Hare Krishna and survived unscathed thanks to the Lord’s mercy.

In short, Swamiji tried to drive home the point that adversities test us our faith and those who surrender themselves to the God with sincerity and consistency are never let down.

Like always, it was an ethereal experience listening to Swamiji, chanting the mahamantra and eating delicious Prasadam towards the end.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare

Hare Rama hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Two statements aptly sum up the malaise that has set in and that needs to be urgently arrested and uprooted. First was by a prominent AIMIM leader that right now our lionesses have made the life of the Government miserable; imagine what’ll happen when all of us come out to protest – 15 crore will prove too much for 100 crore! Very deplorable, very provocative! Unfortunately, at this programme only, a highly radicalised young girl started shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans that made the atmosphere extremely charged up.

There was another statement that our predecessors made a big mistake by not packing off all Muslims to Pakistan at the time of partition. As a result , we are facing all these consequences today.

This is not the India of our dreams or of the dreams of those who fought for its independence. And both the statements unfortunately also have one big thing in common – deliberately or inadvertently, Pakistan and it’s existence is weighing heavy in the minds of so called nationalists or anti nationalists, whereas a behemoth super power of 125 crore people should not even be paying any heed to the existence of that minnow in our neighbourhood.

Can we restrict our tongues, wild thoughts and pens (rather fingers for nobody writes these days but only types and spits venom on social media, especially Twitter) for sometime at least and kill this negativity flourishing in the name of religion all around?

The man asks her woman and she, in turn responds to him-

“Tell me o damsel who’s your beloved and heartthrob?

Oh I don’t know his name ,

But every moment of my life,

He’s in my heart and that of millions others,

Who remember him and add to his fame! “

The man then asks again and gets the reaction-

“Who is the most unique in this world?

At least tell me some of his traits!

He’s a simpleton, wearing garland of snakes

He’s multi faceted and his real self is disguised in the fakes!

Only he’s my beloved and heartthrob!

The lady goes on to describe her beloved further-

“ My heart is his abode and life bequeathed to him

Doesn’t ride horses or elephants but is happy with his bull calf

He resides on Mount Kailash and in return to simple prayers

He bestows the deliverance to the mankind

Only he’s my beloved and heartthrob! “

Who says Bollywood songs are all about cheap and shallow expressions? You ought to listen to the above ditty from the evergreen hit “Milan” called “Bol gori bol tera kaun piya” , where the eternal beloved is the God of the gods, the supreme lord Shiva, whose birthday we are celebrating today on the occasion of Mahashivratri! This is a most mellifluous ode to the God of contradictions- angry yet kind, raw yet refined, secluded yet sublime!

Happy Mahashivratri to all!