CORONA is not a laughing matter – The lighter side – 26

CORONA is not a laughing matter – The lighter side – 26

The third phase of the lockdown will end tomorrow, May 17 and next phase, with relaxed conditions, will start on Monday, May 18. It is difficult to say as t how long will it go. But one thing is certain that we would need to live with the virus for longer time. We are to prepare ourselves accordingly. As the testing facilities for the

corona virus increases and restrictions on movement lifted, more positive cases are detected. The figure of detected cases is about to touch 90 thousand, more than China, and that of dead 3 thousand. At the sometime the recovery rate, currently at 35 %, is also improving steadily.

The central government has announced the financial package of 200 hundred crores to meet the immediate needs and also the challenge of bringing back the economy on rails after the shut-

down. We are a big country with big problems. The financial package has been received with mixed responses and reactions from various quarters. Only the time will tell as to where do we stand? It will be a testing time for the government as well as the public, particularly the poor.

A couple of things which worry me, which I would like to mention even at the cost of repetition, are – problem of migration of poor and hapless workers. Their sufferings are unending. Both the state and central governments have failed to address the issue. I still feel that the central government should handle the situation, particularly

arrangements of the smooth travel back to their homes, with cooperation of state governments – respect the federal system of the polity to avoid unnecessary acrimonious exchanges between the centre and the states and also among the states – control and stop some of the TV channels who encourage and spread communal divide under the guise of ‘free and fair media’ but in fact promoting their limited and vested agenda. If it goes on, it will do a big harm to the polity and society in the days to come. I only hope that the authorities listen and act to set the position correct.

 I am reminded of an Urdu poet Mirza Galib

हमने माना की तुगाफील न करोगे लेकिन;

हम तो खाक हो जयाँएगे; तुझ को खबर होने तक !

Now, as usual, I come to the lighter side of the matter. PM Narendra Modi’s recipe of “Atam-Nirbhar” has generated lot of inputs to give air to the “lighter vein” of the situation. Let us share some of them to lighten the burden of lockdown.

Here is a Santa-Banta joke:

Girl: Hey, are you dating someone?
Me: No, I am Aatm-Nirbhar!

Yet another gem – a over-stressed husband living at home in the lockdown:

कल से बीवी का मिजाज भी बिगड़ा हुआ है! अपनी 2 रोटी बनाती है और कहती है...
.
तुम अपनी रोटी खुद बना लो और आत्मनिर्भर बनो!

Some people are confused on the PM’s advice on “Swadeshi’:

एक प्रश्न है...
अगर कोई विदेशी कंपनी कोरोना का वैक्सीन बनाती है तो लेना है या आत्म निर्भर रहना है।

The second aspect is recently opened Thekas – Wine Shops. Different people view the situation differently. See the one of confinement:

अति आवशयक हो तभी घर से बाहर निकले...
.जैसे शराब लेने!

FM Nirmala Sitharaman may get a lesson or two from some of the comments on the financial package announced by her:

देखा दारू का कमाल एक हफ़्ते बिकने के बाद ही आर्थिक पैकिज देने लायक़ बना दिया सरकार को!

This one really explains the situation of confusion and indecisiveness by the authorities:

सरकार द्वारा व्यापारियों के लिये जारी दिशा निर्देश:
थोड़ा खोलो, थोड़ा थोड़ा खोलो, ज़्यादा मत खोलो, थोड़ा बन्द रखो, थोड़ा थोड़ा बन्द रखो, बेशक थोड़ा खोल लो, लेकिन थोड़ा बन्द रखो, मतलब थोड़ा खोलो, ज़्यादा मत खोलो, बिलकुल बन्द भी मत रखो, एकदम खोलो भी मत, थोड़ा खोलो जितना ज़रूरी हो, जितना ज़रूरी हो उतना बन्द रखो यानि जैसे तुम्हें ठीक लगे वैसे कर लो, समझ गये ना, सब साफ़ है ना?

I close today with a romantic poetic expression on confinement and social distancing shared by Amit Garg:

कोरोना उन्हें होगा जो बाहर रहते हैं..!!
आप तो मेरे दिल में रहते हो....!!!!