The feedback surrounding the myths and legends on managing the pandemic also borders on the weird
There was a deliberate smashing of pots; people making a clamour. This may be an illustration of a population experiencing traumatic shock. It might have been done in panic but also might have been done to somehow disturb and clear the air,” Hays wrote about a supposed act of an angry God when he described the plague in his book Epidemics and Pandemics: Their Impact on Human History. But he could have been writing about us in the present day and our initial attempts to keep away a disease that has yet not been properly understood.
“The mask is a tool to make us weak.” Our attention turned towards the driver as he detailed the complex inter-relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and the mask. His logic was, as we exhale CO2, the mask forces us to inhale it back, thereby weakening our body’s immune system. This was a novel conspiracy theory in a world filled with absurd theories about the pandemic.
Over ten months into the outbreak, the inventory of rumours related to the contagion has managed to transcend boundaries. Creative and inane, such stories multiply as the pandemic refuses to release its grip. While in the early days, most conversations veered around the potency of the virus and the multitude of ways to cure oneself of this dreaded pandemic, they now tend to dismiss the disease as “just another flu.” The apparent casualness flies in the face of conventional analysis as awareness about the disease is immense and Indians who lived through the difficult times of the lockdown are cognisant of its life-threatening effects.
However, the current predilection of not wearing masks also comes associated with the sense of fatality and fatigue, having undergone painful job losses and social stigma for the past few months. Varying from, “It is all God’s will” to “Nothing will happen to me” to “We have all caught the disease” to “God cannot kill all the poor” to “If it happens, it happens” to “We don’t have money to buy a mask” and a multitude of other reasons, the almost universal lack of interest in wearing a face cover hides an important detail about our social lives. People have been hit hard by the economic impact of the crisis and most have no other option but to step out. They cannot stay in and worry about wearing a mask or maintaining social distancing. They are more concerned about filling their stomachs and meeting their financial needs.
In many ways, the fear of the pandemic, coupled with the spread of fake news in this era of social media and messaging platforms, have led to revisionist theories that at once declare the impact of the Coronavirus a hoax while also pandering to the fear of its supposed effects.
With millions falling prey, there is an outcry that this generation is paying for its sins. However, William Dunbar said it best when he wrote that, “The fear of death disturbs me” in the Lament for the Makers, suggesting perhaps that the human race has faced such threats throughout history. And those dark moments were unique as humanity did not have an answer then just as it doesn’t have one now. People in those dark days were prone to succumbing to fear as the rise of a disease, cutting through society without any discrimination, results in helplessness among the rich and the poor alike. This causal relationship between disease and sin is seen also in Greek literary texts, such as Homer’s Iliad and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Iliad opens with a plague visited upon the Greek camp at Troy to punish them for Agamemnon’s enslavement of Chryseis.
Humankind has time and again let this fear turn into panic, overwhelming all traces of rationality. This facilitates easier propagation of fake news in the community. The feedback surrounding the myths and legends over managing Covid also borders on the absurd. Just as the CO2 theory propounded by the driver, more such theories abound in the markets of Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Delhi, ranging from guzzling copious amounts of alcohol, to being safe in one’s locality, to stopping the consumption of fruits as they are known to carry the virus. The list is endless, and each country, State, city and locality has added a twist to these stories. The challenge for people working in the frontline is to sift through the rumours and convey basic truths about the pandemic and its causes.
However, as we see more complacency creep in, it would do good to understand the underlying fear and weariness that communities are suffering from. For the moment, they face a gun-shaped thermal scanner, an oximeter and endless surveys that have fatigued them. Then there is the unfortunate spread of stigma of an uncommon but not unmanageable disease and the mishandling of dissemination in this very real public health crisis.
The need of the hour is to aggressively push for an overarching campaign that involves all stakeholders and myriad activities such as posters, stickers, banners, wall paintings, murals, street theatre, songs, tableaus, announcement from religious places, radio campaigns, television ads and as many creative outlets as possible.
As we learn from this crisis, it will bode well to recall that literature has been humanity’s constant companion though long periods of uncertainty. And often, when a pandemic hit humankind, there was not much that could be done then as it is now.
The only effective measure back then was what is known today as social distancing and quarantine of the sick which, according to Procopius, the principal Byzantine historian, was done voluntarily by individuals. In this current age, we can strive to be a step ahead, promote social distancing, wear masks and ensure better hygiene in a manner that was not possible in ancient times.
(Sharma is a faculty at Azim Premji University and Bhaskar is an independent researcher)
Reema Debnath is an Indian film actress. She is known for her performances in the film Bodyguard, playing a supporting artist role named Savitha in the film, and Rajkumar Hirani directed film PK.
Q. What & who inspired you to be in the entertainment & fashion industry?
To be honest, I wanted to become an Airhostess. That year I had cleared all my tests with Indian Airlines. It used to be tough to get into Indian Airlines in those days. I scored well in my exams, still at the end I wasn’t selected because I was overweight by 3kgs. So, my failure to become an air hostess pushed me towards a minor depression. My mom and my sister wanted to divert my mind and they took me for an acting class thinking that I will get over the pain of losing this opportunity. But, as we say, “When God makes you fail in one thing, you must have faith that he is planning for something higher”. My failure to become an air hostess had led me towards becoming an Actor and be a part of the Film & TV or Cinema industry. Being an actor, who worships this art form named “Cinema”, somehow I am not able to define it just as an entertainment industry. And… who inspired? Definitely my mom and my sister but they probably never thought that I will take it very seriously. Loll… Now, when you mentioned Fashion industry in your question… to be honest I am not a big part of that, apart from the amount of fashion needed for me being an Actor. Though fashion plays an integral part in the film industry but, Cinema and Fashion industry, both has completely two different dynamics, but yes, as and when it is needed for cinema or for an actor, we collaborate with fashion. And ofcourse, we have many actors who shifted their career from Fashion to Cinema. But, to be honest, as an actor I personally feel less attachment with fashion. To me, Cinema is my Love and it is much more powerful. “Cinema doesn’t only show the mirror to the society but it has the power to bring Big Positive Change”.
Q. How do you compare Indian fashion industry with the present North-East benchmark industry?
Wow, that’s a lot of pressure. Honestly, I don’t know exactly how to answer this question of yours and how to compare exactly. There is no comparison because we are “One Nation”. See, we all know that our nation is one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the World. Now, when Fashion comes to our mind, we immediately categorize that into two different sections, Traditional and Western. We all know that every state in India has a different pattern of attire which we call our traditional outfit. That could be Sarees, Salwar, Mekhela etc. And, I am sure you have noticed that even Sarees are worn in different ways in each state, for e.g. a Tamilian, a Gujarati and a Bengali will wear their Sarees in completely 3 different ways and even the pattern and texture in the sarees are going to be completely different and beautiful in its own way. Similarly, how Salwar Kameez is traditional in Punjab, Mekhela Chadar is traditional in Assam, Ghagra Choli is traditional in Rajasthan and so on… Now, coming to your question, for some reason North East India has a huge influence of International Fashion (I won’t call it western fashion anymore) apart from the traditional attires what we have in North East. See, I was born in one of the most beautiful states in North East India and that is Tripura. So from my perspective how I will describe is, North East India people are extremely traditional when it comes to their Love towards their land, people, relations, festivals, food and their art & culture like anyone else in other parts of India, But, at the same time on the other side, they are extremely International (I won’t call it Western as I mentioned earlier) when it comes to Education and Fashion. You may visit Guwahati, Meghalaya, Agartala or Itanagar… You will get to see the kids wearing the latest Fashion clothing way before other parts of India will have them into their lifestyle. In North East India, kids really love to stay up-to-date as per the international standards when it comes to fashion. But, unfortunately, not only in India but in the entire World I suppose, we humans in general, we are judged based on our attires in every sector of our life and in every industry. Most of the time people try to judge your knowledge, your status, your upbringing, your entire belief system based on what you are wearing and where you are wearing it, that is, the Fashion/the Attire you chose to wear, could be Traditional or could be International. And, we all know that one should never judge the story inside the book based on its cover. As I have travelled in many different countries and I am a kind of person who observes everything from her heart more than her eyes, I must take the opportunity to say one very important thing while answering your question, that, My North East India kids could be extremely up-to-date in their fashion sense in what they are wearing but at the same time could be extremely traditional in their belief system deep inside their heart. Exactly like any other western countries, whether you visit Italy, Greece, Australia or any other country, even they have their traditional attires and values… even there you will see people wearing what we call western outfits but could be extremely traditional and sometimes conservative in their beliefs. Now, personally I am looking forward to a day when, whether kids are from North East India or South India or West or North or East India they all should blend well with each other, share their culture, food, fashion, their emotions and bond like “One India”. For that to happen, time to time, from each corner of our nation everyone must plan for vacations to North East India. Trust me, you all will have blissful experiences in each and every state of North East India.
Q. From where you have the confidence to be in the highly competitive entertainment industry?
Hmm… I must thank you for asking such thought provoking questions. First and foremost, I believe God or this Universe has really been very kind. Second is, I don’t know how to express it in any other ways but let me try... We are followers of Ramakrishna Math & Mission. I am Educated. I don’t have much fear when it comes to decide on what is right. I guess what I tried to say is when your spiritual belief system and your education are in place then you don’t have to fear to be in any industry. There should not be any fear to be in any industry but the fear should be whether you understand what will really make you happy. There will be struggle and competition in every industry whether it is Cinema industry or a typical Corporate. Now, I personally believe that our spiritual belief system helps us to choose what is right for us and filter out what is not, and, our education helps us to not have any fear of failures because if you are educated you always have the choice to survive with dignity.
Q. what role you would like to play to promote North East art & culture in India & abroad?
So far, I was never approached to promote North East Art & Culture in India or abroad but if in future any government body will approach with any idea, I am open for discussion and it would be my honor.
Q. Role models?
First my mother of course. Always seen her being strong with a big smile on her face no matter how difficult the situation is, and second my father, for being the most kind, supportive and loving person I know. Our families are our core foundation, especially our parents. Your dreams and goals can keep changing. In your choices, sometimes you may succeed or sometimes you may fail. For any child it’s a blessing to have a family who are there for you not only in your good choices which are convenient for them but, also in your those choices which are not for their convenience but for your dreams and happiness.
J&J halts trials after a participant falls ill. This shows why developers must not cut corners under political pressure
Before there is a sense of desolateness, let’s go by certain facts. First, vaccine trials are a time-consuming process of trial and error, of meticulous checks and balances and a constant re-assessment of risks and formulaic tweaks if any to ensure that the final product is safe and effective for the human body. Second, there are a lot of vaccine candidates being tested at various advanced stages of trials with encouraging outcomes so far and there is no reason to lose hope. Which is why Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that India would have a vaccine for the novel Coronavirus from maybe more than one source by early next year. Currently, two indigenously-developed vaccine candidates, one by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and the other by Zydus Cadila Ltd, are in phase II of the human clinical trials. The Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine candidate, is conducting phase II and III human clinical trials. So though pharma major Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has halted clinical trials of its variant after a participant fell ill, probably slowing down US President Donald Trump’s ambition of rolling out a vaccine commercially before the November polls, there is still hope. The company said that the participant’s illness is being evaluated and that it would share more information after a further study into the cause for the adverse reaction to the trial vaccine. This comes on the back of British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca stopping its vaccine tests after a volunteer fell sick. Though the tests have resumed in a number of other nations like UK, Brazil and South Africa, they are still on hold in the US for further scrutiny. Why people are upset about J&J’s sudden halt is because it is among a small group of vaccine makers which has progressed into final-stage human studies. The firm is dosing thousands of volunteers in the first big trial of a Covid-19 inoculation that may work after one shot. Others probably need more than one.
Though J&J is in a mad race to find the silver bullet along with rival drug firms from around the world, both scientists and the healthcare fraternity have time and time again cautioned that pharmaceutical companies must balance time pressures with safety considerations in the crucial last stage of testing. And the fact that two of the frontrunners for the vaccine have halted work on their samples is actually a good sign that developers are not throwing caution to the wind in order to claim the highest price that awaits the one who comes out with the vaccine first. Plus it is a sign that companies are not giving in to political pressure that they are under to deliver a cure fast as the contagion continues to spread and sicken people and economies. No compromises can be made to meet the improbable timelines that are being set by Governments keen to reassure their citizens. Developmental processes that usually take years have been compressed into months, raising genuine concerns over the safety and efficacy of the quick fix shot that will come out eventually. However, the people’s faith in the vaccine that comes out eventually will be vital if health authorities hope to be able to convince millions globally that they must get a shot. That’s why developers have publicly pledged not to compromise on any scientific requirements for the vaccine. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates gave voice to people’s concerns when he said that normalcy would return to the world “when we have not the first generation of vaccines, but one that is super-effective and widely available. Only then all the problems created by Covid-19 can be solved.” Then there is the politics of distribution, what with rich nations having already booked the lion’s share of an expected rollout and poorer nations having to wait in the queue. For a country like India, it needs to ready a cold chain infrastructure real soon to preserve the vaccines so that they don’t lose their efficacy. In that case, normalcy will be a long time coming because we have not even got the first generation of vaccines yet. Till then prevention is the best cure.
WHO on Corona
On 20th April 2020 WHO held a historically important press conference at its headquarters in Geneva. The main theme of this was Covid-19 with only a passing reference to some other issues like Ebola cases and violence against health care workers.
Of the two events which emphasized the importance of this conference, the first one preceded it by two days. It was an eight-hour-long musical evening with participants of international fame. The show was named as " One World Together at Home" and was a fundraising event. A whopping US $ 127million was the total yield from it, including the US $ 55million for WHO's Solidarity Response Fund. This fund within the next two days had collected a total of US $ 194 million from more than 270,000 individuals, corporations and foundations.
This date 20th April 2020 was also the date on which WHO for the first time held a press conference with instant facilities for translation, interpretation, and questioning, available to both Zoom and live attendees in all its six official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic & Chinese.
The main speaker of this session was no less a personality than the secretary-general of WHO himself Dr. Tedros Adhanora Ghebreyesus who as a part of his declaration of the importance of the upcoming event, a day before the said meeting, addressed the health ministers of the G-20countries. The effort of these participating G20 nations was to accept the WHO's coordinating role and seek technological guidance from the world body. The G77 and the NAM member countries too had sent their vote of confidence on the occasion.
Yet another pointer to the importance of this session was the cancellation of the regular monthly press conference in the previous month of March'2020, evidently because everyone must have been busy preparing for this mega event. In May-June'20, though the meets did take place, they were lackluster events compared to the April'20 affair as the point by then had already been made.
My purpose in pointing to the emphasis factor of this conference is to remind all working in the field, that as world leaders in health management WHO meant to warn the whole world in no uncertain terms, of the fast-spreading disasters of the pandemic and to provide direction and stimulus to decision-makers in every corner of the globe to buckle themselves up to face the hazards expected from the disease. It (WHO) seemed to be telling us that a sluggish approach of acting within the available means would fetch tragic results, the time had arrived for upgrading the health delivery systems; starting from a lifestyle change of every single individual of the society to analyzing the genome sequence of the virus and finding effective vaccines and treatment for the infection.
The path chalked out by WHO for fighting the pandemic and reducing its spread & deadly effects was one that required sustained efforts on the part of individuals, communities and governments to continue suppressing this mortally pathogenic virus. An epidemiological approach, it was said, would ensure mass scale detection-covering maximum populations, adequate testing for the disease, isolation of affected individuals, care for every positive case and sincere tracing of contacts.
Validation of tests to detect Covid-19 antibodies which guide us to understand the extent of infection in the population was another development which was welcomed.
Though as per the analysis of data available till then, the suggestion was emerging that only small percentage of populations may have been infected even in heavily affected areas (not more than 2-3%), the organization (WHO) declared its commitment for providing technical, scientific and financial support to projects on seroepidemiological surveys across the world.
Differences in the interpretation of the antibody detection test and those that detect the virus (RT-PCR as an example) was also explained in this conference. It was said that while the antibody test only tells us about who is infected, it is the tests which detect the virus in the individual's throat swab sample which provide information on the case being an active one or not (being an active case means a patient who can pass on the infection to others) and also therefore help in the exact diagnosis, justification and therefore effectiveness of isolation and finding correct treatment. Here it was added that one of WHO's priorities was to work with partners to increase the production and equitable distribution of diagnostics to the countries that need them most. Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, it was told, were working with WHO to identify and validate five tests that can be manufactured in large quantities. UNICEF, Unit Aid & Global Fund were helping WHO in making these tests available to the needful countries.
The World Food Program and the UN supply chain had come forward to help WHO ship consignments of millions of kits for protection of health care workers and deliver masks, goggles, testing kits, face shields and other lifesaving medical equipment to 120 priority countries (of course most of these were in African region).
To read the first article please visit: https://opinionexpress.in/making-sense-of-world-corona-figures
(In chapter 2b of this series, which would follow soon after, we will take up the most commonly asked questions and other related issues that concern WHO directly.)
World Food Programme rightfully wins the Nobel Peace Prize as it fights a global nutrition crisis caused by the virus and war
It was a long time coming but in the end, the United Nation’s (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the coveted Nobel Peace Prize 2020 for its efforts to combat hunger, its “contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.” It is in a long time that a cause has been prioritised over a face. The WFP, which was set up in 1961 at the behest of then US President Dwight Eisenhower, combines humanitarian work along with ensuring peace in war-torn regions because it firmly believes that without tackling war, hunger cannot be eradicated. How much effort the WFP puts in and how much the world needs its help can be gauged by the fact that there are 690 million hungry people around the world and around 60 per cent of them live in conflict-torn nations. In 2019, the WFP assisted 97 million people, the largest number since 2012, in 88 countries. It manages one of the world’s largest logistics chains as on any given day, it has 5,600 trucks, 30 ships and nearly 100 planes on the move. The Nobel Peace Prize to it couldn’t have come at a better time as the UN has been under a cloud with its health watchdog, the World Health Organisation (WHO), mishandling the Coronavirus crisis. The honour is also a validation of the UN’s yeoman’s service to humanity and has silenced its detractors.
Like all other countries that have benefitted from the WFP, India, too, has a long association with it. The aid organisation has been working with respective governments to eradicate hunger since 1963, when India was a major food importer and was battling shortages. Now the WFP is working to reform our notorious Public Distribution System (PDS) through its Annapurti initiative whereby automatic grain dispensers — or ATMs for rice — will be set up across States. It is also working on fortifying food distributed under the mid-day meal scheme. Now, with the pandemic disrupting food security, it is setting up supplementary nutrition production units in Uttar Pradesh. Its mobile storage units in Odisha have contained starvation deaths there. The Nobel Peace Prize, which has often been under a cloud of controversy due to the selection of people who are deemed “undeserving” or “unworthy” of it, will be heartily endorsed by the global community, which owes the WFP a lot. This year the selection committee has got it bang on.
Govt, IMA clash on Ayush Covid protocol; doctors say evidence merely anecdotal and a placebo, not clinically proven
When Kerala, the hub of Ayurveda with some of the best practitioners, arrested the spiral of the pandemic in the early stages, its Health Minister KK Shailaja made a crucial observation. That once the disease had set in, there was no alternative to the clinically proven and medically tested protocols. And that traditional systems of medicine, like Ayurveda and homoeopathy, were good for overall well-being and body resistance. So they could be used only as part of a protective or convalescent routine. The deadly virus itself had to be treated with proven drug combinations. This distinction is very important in a country growing up in a culture of naturopathy and home remedies, and, therefore, prone to trusting conventional wisdom. But this is a novel virus we are dealing with. There is no doubt that traditional systems of medicine in India have not only survived but flourished over the centuries and there are virtues embedded in our huge herbal heritage that are good for disease prevention, improving immunity and overall health management. So far, the evidence of their curative potential has largely been anecdotal than empirical. But overplaying our herbs as part of a COVID-19 medicare protocol, when they are yet to cross the threshold of medical reason, comes with the attendant ills of misconception that they are just as effective as allopathic drugs. Particularly in a country where most cannot understand the fine line between preventive care and cure. This is the reason why the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has taken umbrage to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s upgradation of protocols on October 6 for managing and treating COVID patients with mild symptoms in Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidda and Homoeopathy) hospitals and by Ayush practitioners. It asked the Minister to authenticate efficacy claims made from studies done on asymptomatic COVID patients, make them public and available for scientific scrutiny or else be responsible for “inflicting a fraud on the nation and gullible patients by calling placebos as drugs.” In a sharp attack, the IMA asked how many of Vardhan’s ministerial colleagues have so far made the informed choice of getting treated under these protocols. It wondered if the proponents of this claim and his Ministry would subject themselves as volunteers to an independent prospective double-blind control study in the prevention and treatment of COVID. This is a pertinent question considering almost all of our Ministers have chosen private multi-speciality hospitals with advanced allopathic protocols to treat themselves when they got infected. The IMA even asked what was stopping the Minister from handing over COVID care and control to the AYUSH Ministry. The problem with the AYUSH protocol at hospitals is that it legitimises Ayurveda as a line of treatment when fact is that there has not been a sustained trial and a consistent similarity of results to prove that it works in arresting the spread of the disease. Till then, AYUSH treatments can at best be prophylactic in nature and must be emphasised as such in officialese.
It is true that a few Ayurveda pharmaceutical companies have been working on simulation studies where few plant molecules have shown the ability to halt the alarming multiplication of the SARS CoV-2 virus in an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling. Researchers at IIT Delhi, in collaboration with Japanese scientists, have found that properties of the Ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha have “therapeutic and preventive value” against COVID-19 infection. But they are working on more conclusive proof that could allow for pharmacological interventions. Let us not forget that callous official endorsement can lead to outrageous claims like the recent one made by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev that he had found two new medicines — Coronil and Swasari — that had shown a 100 per cent recovery rate in patients within just 14 days. He quoted clinical trials at the Jaipur-based National Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMS) which denied them subsequently. He applied for a licence duplicitously, claiming that his was a cold, cough, fever drug with immunity-boosting properties. And once the licence was got and the time for a rollout came, he claimed it was a cure. Besides, Ramdev’s Patanjali group sidestepped the Drug Controller General of India, whose approval must be sought before a medicine is put out in the market. In our search for a cure among herbs, we are doing a disservice to what Ayurveda stands for. It is not just about COVID prevention but a holistic system of medicine involving herbs, diet, lifestyle and other measures that helps the body fight off all kinds of pathogens and diseases. Ayurveda has never been in conflict with science and is actually about scientific management of life. The IMA statement is all the more significant because it draws attention to the flawed pandemic management in India as we race to become the worst affected country. With the disease expected to see a painful peak by November, in no small part aided by the festive season and the opening up of every sphere of human activity, spare a thought for our overworked healthcare personnel. Most of them are battling depression, exhaustion and pay cuts even as the stream of patients is constant. Hundreds of them have lost their lives while on frontline duty and the IMA has been demanding martyr status for them as they went down fighting a new age battle. The infrastructure, even in bigger cities, is still short of handling a bad winter surge should it happen as predicted. Rather than upgrading AYUSH protocols, we need to upgrade practical solutions.
This is an unfathomably vast subject therefore a summary restricted to the latest figures of affected cases and deaths, along with WHO's stand on the issue and the acrimonious economic outcomes of the pandemic is the least & the best that can be written on the subject, As for, the foremost important issue of human life & health, the best guide to it is the daily 'Virus Tracker (VT) chart of 'Worldometer' which provides the latest daily figures on these. We give here an analysis of these numbers in respect to India & Delhi incidents.
Total Till Date (30-9-2020)
Region Cases Deaths Percentage
World 36,247,199 1,057,656 2.917
USA 7,735,943 Figures not available -----
India 6,832,600 105,572 1.545
Delhi 298,107. 5616 1.883
Last 24hours
India 78,746 978 1.241
Delhi 2871 35 1.219
Though the percentage of national death figures that has emerged from these charts has shown a descending slope compared to the figures of just a week before, (on 30-9-2020 these were national total average of 1.5674 and the same in previous 24hrs was 5.193! while for today 08-10-2020 as we see above both figures have graduated to lower values) it is still not a picture which allows us to relax or think that the pandemic is vanishing and our doubts about the overall situation get worse by the given report from ICMR of 30th September 2020 which says that till date India has tested 7,41,96,722. total samples of which 10,86,688. were done in the last 24hours; that makes the total tested population a mere 5.7%. The final scenario that emerges from these figures is that the tests done are much too less for them to depict correctly the prevalence of the disease in the country and that its control will worsen in the coming months.
Quoting the (VT) chart of today the 30th of September' 2020 the five most affected countries are (1) USA, (2) India, (3) Brazil, (4) Russia, & (5)Colubia The point to be noted in this chart (if you don't count Russia as a European country-because of it being as much Asian as European) is that the entire Europe has managed to wriggle itself out of these charts, when till April- May this year so many names from there like Italy, Spain, France & UK, remained at the top positions in these lists.
Drawing a conclusion from this observation, that Europe has managed to conquer the enemy, will be erroneous, while on 30-9-2020 the fifth position in this list was that of Columbia today a mere eight days away Spain has got back into this list of top five most affected countries and is now on fifth position, displacing Columbia a South American country) Sliding the view back to the early history of spread of the disease from China to the outside world we will notice that this happened at the peak of winter season of December'19 to January'20, and winters are known to be more conducive to the growth and therefore to the spread of the virus, also the exchange traffic & business ties between China, Europe & USA are at a much higher level than they are between India & China, these, thus were the factors responsible for early and fast spread of the disease in Europe. Even the USA was drawn into the field much later. The same reasons which affected Europe first, in reverse order, became the cause of delay in India's appearance on the scene. But once here, with our overpopulated cities, low development status, poor infrastructure & inadequate health services, it was bound to make us catch up with the toppers and then beat them.
Now that the winters are returning news is trickling from various European nations to get back rising trends in their graphs of affected cases. This is not to disregard the advantages they possess of having much better health delivery systems coupled with incomparable low populations, which will make the effects of return of the disease there much more blunt. Even China is seeing a re-emergence of the disease after its initial enviously heroic conquest of it. Returning the discussion to our motherland; we saw a noticeable effect of the pandemic for the first time in March-April which proceeded relentlessly throughout the peak summer season. This means that in previous winters we were spared from the initiation of the Corona attack here, and now that it has found a footing in the country it has not cared for its extreme heat for spreading its tentacles.
All the socioeconomic factors of this land, make it a soft target for any pandemic. However respiratory diseases show their worst effects during winters and are known to exacerbate in that season. Corona being basically a respiratory disease,, by showing its trampling attack during summers here has broken that trend and we should expect its ferocity to get more violent in the approaching winters unless an effective vaccine comes to the rescue of entire mankind and to us as a part of the crowd.
The presence of hormone-disrupting Bisphenol-A in microplastics not only stymies growth and development, it undermines the body’s immunity
Microplastics are harming our health in more ways than one. At a time when humanity is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, natural human immunity is essential and of incalculable importance. However studies have shown that microplastics undermine human immunity. The presence of hormone-disrupting Bisphenol-A in microplastics not only stymies growth and development, it plays havoc with our hormones and severely undermines the body’s natural immune system. Apart from this, there has been an exponential rise in health problems pertaining to the gastro-intestinal tract. Research is increasingly showing that invisible microplastic particles and polymers in our immediate environment, such as drinking water and food, are emerging as a major cause for worsening human health.
The problem is not new but the symptoms are exceedingly assuming new dimensions as newer human health and environmental problems are emerging. According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the European Chemicals Agency’s classification, any plastic bit that is less than five millimetre in length conforms to the definition of a microplastic. Any ingestion of this directly exposes human organs to a variety of harmful chemicals and pesticides present in them that cause adverse health conditions such as obesity, gastro problems, developmental issues and other body organ related damage. Microplastics that are less than 25 microns are able to enter the respiratory tract and those that are five micron in size are able to get lodged in the lung tissue. This can cause serious health problems. Across the world, microplastics are now considered as the new atmospheric pollutant and the near invisibility of these fragments makes them even more harmful. One can judge this by the fact that at many locations across the world, the average microplastics and fibres in our ambient environment are less than 300 microns in size. The average human hair is of 50-70 microns in diameter, whereas the smallest particle a human eye can see is about 40 microns. This gives us a perspective regarding the pollutant and its size and how this creation of mankind is escaping all global efforts to rein it in.
As we relentlessly create a “plastic planet”, the scale of its generation is growing by leaps and bounds. According to a study published in Science Advances, some 420 million tonnes of plastics were produced in 2015, which is up from just over two million tonnes in 1950. This 65-year period saw nearly six billion tonnes of plastic ending up either in a landfill or in the environment. The oceans, too, have not been spared with nearly 51 trillion microplastics floating in them today, according to a study published in research journal IOP Science. The conditions closer home are not encouraging as studies are showing how India’s coastlines are suffering from the impact of microplastics. In southern-most India, microplastics are emerging as a major pollutant and the marine environment, especially along the Kanyakumari coast, is falling victim. These findings came to light in the recent study conducted by the Department of Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu. The study covered eight different sampling stations along the 71-kilometre- long coastline comprising both urbanised and non-urbanised natural beaches. The tourist beaches and fishing hotspots saw high incidence of microplastic concentration, thanks to human influence. This study gave baseline data that helped researchers understand the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in near shore sediments.
The role of microplastics can be curtailed through impactful Government regulations and policies. India has both but what is missing is the comprehensive and effective implementation of the same. Even today, at all urban centres, one can still see shoppers and business owners using plastic bags and covers. It is surprising how the Government is unable to come down heavily on the manufacturers of polythene bags and covers. Neither is the Government concerned about waste segregation so that plastic carry bags do not get mixed with recyclable waste. These conditions point to the apathy of the Government towards this rising problem.
In order to flush the system of plastics, the Government must conduct an audit of how much demand exists for these products and identify the suppliers. Then, District Industries Centres (DIC) in areas where these manufacturers are located must ensure that notice is served for ending production. Later, the DIC, along with a financial institution and a technical expert, can work out an alternative and eco-friendly product portfolio for these businesses. The Government must address the concerns of the manufacturers regarding profitability and viability besides addressing technical hurdles. This alone will help prevent them from slipping back to producing plastic products.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)
Khanabadosh offers a slice of exotic gypsy life
Long back, a little girl listened to stories every night-stories of valour and friendship, love and spiritualism, wealth and magic, struggles and religions. With them, her young mind wandered the battlegrounds of Ancient India, sat by the mighty rivers of the East, shivered in the cold snow bound mountains of the North, danced in the magnificent temples of the South. She travelled through those stories, like a gypsy, awestruck and falling in love with something new every evening. Years later, she craved to go back to them, to bring out that gypsy again, to make her travel to new lands,
live in different homes, wake up to different sunrises…and tell those stories. To do that, she moved out of the city and chose Mashobra, in beautiful Himachal Pradesh as her first home. The endeavour was for this home to absorb the local colours, aromas, tastes, stories and culture of HP and then move on in a few years, to a new environment, a different place. Just like a gypsy. And this is how Khanabadosh, the travelling Bed & Breakfast came to be!
Ever visited some place, where you felt you belonged? Where you breathed easy and your mind became quiet… where you instantly saw beauty in everything you looked at, not because it was there but because you were never more, in the now. Khanabadosh in Mashobra is one such place, a beautiful, luxurious, modern B&B in soulful touch with the local earthiness. The magical quality of mountain air coaxes you to chug, not sip; the slow pace—of your feet, heart and soul; the need to stop ever so often to gaze amazed, hear in awe or smell in rousing. Children, women, men of all ages, colour, religion or sexual orientation are welcome here. Artists, writers, poets and people who appreciate their skills will especially rejoice. You’d want to return, for sure. Here, in Mashobra or who knows where. For,Khanabadosh will surely move when it needs to as it’s blissfully oblivious of boundaries and gleefully aware of soul-stirring places.
If you are an early riser, you’ll see the sun come up in front, winning battles with villainous fluffs of white and grey. You’ll also see tiny wildflowers wake up, and smile at the effulgence, blood apples in the trees shyly joining in. Look hard enough, and you’ll see cobwebs in the Jurrasic grass, tiny spiders glistening like moon dust. Butterflies dutifully say hello to suede soft pansies that hold lens clear drops of water, like proud trophies. Vagabond poppies line the fringe of the garden. Dew drops glisten on gigantic Colocasia leaves like mini moons. There is a magical scent in the air and you’ll instantly recognise it as geosmine - the smell of the earth and when you close your eyes and breathe in deep, the melange registers as a sweet mix of apples, roses, love and grass vapour. A clean, heavenly, intoxicating smell. This is the little village of PuraniKoti in Mashobra where Khanabadosh is located. 18km from the madding crowds that throng Shimla, this place if the perfect refuge for those seeking peace and tranquility.
With just 4 beautifully appointed rooms, it is a truly private escape with impeccable service. The decor is quirky, yet elegant with plush beds piled high with pillows and cloud soft eiderdowns, antique wood furniture and unique flourishes. Our favourite was The Kings Room, the only room on the second floor. Originally an attic, it now boasts of a 200 yr old four poster bed, exquisite jamawar throws and antique brass statues.
Elsewhere on the property, framed handwritten notes from the owners mother adorn the walls and tell stories of shared laughs and conversations . Antiques painstakingly collected from around the world are placed throughout the property and reflect the the gypsy soul of the place.
Guests delight in a fabulous assortment of luxurious amenities when they travel, and rightly so. Here at Khanabadosh, they truly push convention and try and give their patrons something unique. Beyond the lotions and potions, guests get a choice of coloured and white towels and fluffy robes that one could get lost in, in heated restrooms. Every room has a tea/coffee caddie with a selection of teas including Green Pea Flower, Jasmine and Matcha.
Undoubtedly the heart of Khanabadosh is its hearth. Heavenly aromas waft out of the kitchen, that is not out of bounds for anyone, another first. Infact, if there’s something that you particularly liked during a meal, they’ll happily invite you to learn and try your hand at it - all this, at no extra cost. Sumptuous food is available all day starting with an elaborate breakfast feast with freshly squeezed apple juice (fruit from their own garden), moving on to afternoon tea, pre-dinner snacks and a elaborate dinner spread served lovingly by the host herself in the gorgeous living room.
And oh! Then there’s “The Secret”. For those who wake in the dead of the night, hungry, each day at Khanabadosh, they organize a snack or make some cookies and conceal them in someplace accessible. Its location and the fare changes with each sunset. Make sure, you find out what’s on and where. For in the mountains, nightly hunger pangs aren’t uncommon!
You could just stay here, unwind, sleep, meditate, eat, read, paint, write, sketch, dream, laugh, fall in love, find yourself. The possibilities endless, the choices yours. Discover a beautiful trail, go out bird watching or hunting for mushrooms and baby fiddlehead ferns. They also have mountain bikes if that’s your preferred mode of discovery. Yoga by the huge Stone Buddha in the garden can do as much, if not more, for your soul, as it would for your body. Nothing like a crackling fire late in the evening… the aromas from the kitchen tantalizing, the laughter with friends unforgettable, the fire-gazing theraupetic, the star-gazing magical. Cozy up on the couch in the library or just soak in the warm mountain sun sitting under the parasol.
There is an extensive Library in the house, books bought and collected from all over during Khanabadosh’s varied travels. But they understand how difficult it can become sometimes to decide what to read…fiction or history? Philosophy or maybe a book on travel? So they’ve made it easy and hopefully some fun for the guests. Head to the first floor lobby. The table there has a selection of some favourites, albeit covered in brown paper, with a short description on the cover. Try your luck with a ‘Blind Date with a Book’. Who knows, you might end up falling in love!
Team work is imperative in the successful running of any establishment and it is no different here. Often guests find themselves being served by the original Khanabadosh herself. Her man Friday can be seen flying around the house, sans his broom. A shy but cheerful lady comes in everyday, the clinking of her bangles announcing her arrival. She is the housekeeper. This is the team that runs Khanabadosh to perfection. But the real owners, are the three over-sized Goldens, Gabbar Singh, Bruce Lee and Sultan. They eat fallen apples, sleep, roll around in the vast gardens and cuddle with guests - not necessarily in that order. The biggest attractions of this place, they’ll welcome you with vigorous tail wags and wide doggie smiles!
Geeta is a self-representing contemporary and impressionist artist. She was born and educated in India. She graduated in Masters of Art (Sociology) and Bachelor of Education. During her course of formal education, she also took in training for five years with renowned Indian artist Rameshwar Broota at Triveni Kala Sangam Institute in Delhi.
Geeta has traveled very widely. Since 1997 she has been living and traveling out of India with her husband. She left India in 1997 and lived in Estonia, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Bosnia and now spends most of her time between India, Singapore, and the United States. Traveling and living in different countries opened her vision and understanding of art. She appreciated the diversity and uniqueness of art in different cultures across European countries and is reflected in her paintings apart from a great touch of Indian culture.
She had her first individual exhibition in June 2011 at Zenica, Bosnia. She has participated in many exhibitions and art colonies in Europe. At present she regularly participates in exhibitions in Bay Area, California and has won well-deserved awards. She is a regular contributor of her artworks for charitable causes. She uses oil and acrylic paints, loves to do textured art with a pallet knife on canvas. She also does watercolor paintings on paper. She expresses herself through paintings by using vibrant colors and texture. Paintings are enriched with a variety of themes including landscapes, portraits, flowers, Hindu Gods and abstract forms.
Before becoming a full-time freelance artist, she worked as a professional school teacher (the profession she also loved). During that period, she also painted and designed many stage backdrops, magazine covers, murals and signboards for schools. She has authored a book “EASY GOING AND INTERESTING WORLD HISTORY."
Visit www.artbygeetataneja.com to explore her work.
AIIMS report rules out murder or foul play in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Let’s admit that he had a mental health issue
Finally, the nation may get closure over the sudden death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his family may find peace with confirmation that he did, indeed, commit suicide. An AIIMS panel led by Dr Sudhir Gupta, which has re-evaluated the actor’s post-mortem report, has ruled out murder and has submitted its findings to the CBI. According to the experts, there were no injuries on the actor’s body other than those caused by hanging and there were no marks of struggle or scuffle on the body and clothes to indicate that somebody had forced him into the act. So we have to accept that for all his outer success, he was a deeply troubled and broken personality who couldn’t handle the pressures of living very well and tragically chose to give up on life. Hopefully, we can accept his frailties with as much grace and dignity he deserves as his success. Hopefully, we can honour his work as an actor/social entrepreneur. Hopefully, we can respect his memory enough and not milk it for ruthless politicisation, blame games, running pointless news cycles and spinning conspiracy theories. Most importantly, we need to stop beating around the bush and look at facts as they are — that he had a history of severe depression and though a “hero” in public perception, was too fragile, vulnerable and weak inside. One that made him take an anti-hero plunge into death. This should have been the real conversation all along, that of mental health issue becoming a new pandemic of our times and unsparing in its grip on individuals, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. His death should also open up a debate on performance pressure in the entertainment industry where a slew of actors took the extreme step as they ran into financial difficulties during the lockdown. In fact, the post-millennials are more prone to depression given they are facing the worst doom and gloom of our lifetime. We need a dedicated mental health policy and must think about healing and coping mechanisms in our societal structures.
What was initially reported as suicide — and duly confirmed by the autopsy report given by qualified doctors who are expected to know what they are doing — quickly turned into a murder conspiracy involving the actor’s family, embezzled money, black magic, an allegedly exploitative live-in partner, a political bigwig, Bollywood mafia and nepotism, insider-outsider debate, a media circus and what not. But above all, this tragedy was weaponised by political parties to settle scores among themselves, using his starry aura. For Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has a severe image deficit, the case of a “son of the soil” exploited in faraway Mumbai couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Since the aam Bihari considers Sushant his “hero”, Sushant was iconised as “the pride of Bihar” though none of these politicians are known to have had an association with him. As for the BJP in Maharashtra, it spares no effort to pull down the Shiv Sena-led alliance Government on some pretext or the other. In Sushant’s case, its troll army played up an alleged association his girlfriend had with Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray, raking up more muck than proof. And finally, we must stop the witch-hunt against his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty for pushing him over the edge. Let us accept that Sushant may have been a recreational drug user like others in the industry and though her confession and complicity in procuring drugs for Sushant may help trace the drug racket in the industry, there is no need for further character assassination. Let us stop the venom and instead focus on the devil in our minds.
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