CORONA is not a laughing matter – The lighter side – 27

CORONA is not a laughing matter – The lighter side – 27

Today, May 20, is the second day of phase 4 of the lockdown. Things, it seems, are slowing limping back to normal. But, obviously, it will take time and we are to live with the situation in the days to come. The figure of positive cases in India has crossed one lakh and that of dead more than three thousand. The recovery rate of about 39% is gratifying. The news that the US scientists has succeeded in making a vaccine is welcome news to fight the virus. President Trump of the US has reciprocated in offering ventilators to India. It is good that our health diplomacy to provide medicines to about 100 countries has been appreciated by the international community. The Vande Bharat flights are bringing back the stranded Indians abroad. Our diplomatic missions are working overtime to do the job. My first hand experience with CGI Melbourne and HCI Canberra in Australia in facilitating the return of two of my extended family in Jalandhar was satisfying. Thanks to my colleagues in IFS fraternity, CG Raj Kumar and HC Gitesh Sarma for doing, as always, a good job.

Back home, the financial package announced by the government to sustain the economy in the run up to fight the pandemic failed to excite the masses and the business class and also the opposition. It is bad. We are to watch and see as to how we proceed further. One major worrying aspect remains to be handled, the challenge of

A Santa Banta Joke

migratory workers. The governments, it seems, have failed miserably all over. The blame game is the norm to justify and defend the indefensible. The reports on the misery and sufferings of the workers and their families walking on the road are alarming and pitiable. It has been amply proved again that poor people remain at the receiving end. Is it not a mockery of the principle of “One vote – One value”? I am reminded of Sahir Ludhianvi’s famous lines - Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Pe Woh Kahan Hai.

Coming to the lighter side to kill the resultant boredom, though some restrictions have been removed, let me share with you a couple of gems received from here and there:

A hapless husband after a prolonged confinement at home shared his take on marriage:

Do you know what all these years of marriage comprehensively taught me?
I AM ALWAYS WRONG!

The wives have, in the given situation, really become ‘Vocal” as advised by the Pratham Sewak:

पति-पत्नी में किसी बात पर बहस हो रही थी

तकरीबन घंटे भर की तू-तू मैं-मैं के बाद,

पत्नी की एक पंक्ति ने सारा विवाद खत्म कर दिया...!!

"तुम जीतना चाहते हो

या,

सुखी रहना चाहते हो"

Yet another gem – a sarcasm on the efficacy of the financial package of FM Nirmala Sitharaman:

गली से आवाज आई,"100 रुपये में पूरा परिवार जिंदगी भर बैठकर खाइये!"
बाहर निकल कर देखा तो चटाई बेचने वाला था!
इसलिए घोषणाएँ और वादों से सावधान रहें और सोच समझ कर यकीन करें!

I conclude today with a poetic expression of my friend Lakhwinder Johal of the Punjab Press Club depicting the current situation on the road: