It’s Friyayyy! Not that it makes much of a difference since all hell broke loose courtesy the Coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Did I get that right? Oh, how the world works. We are to the dreaded virus what the Great Wall might seem to the average ant crawling about. But it’s bringing us all down to our knees. Again.
Our leading national daily reported that “Patient no. 1” (ugh, we’re back to numbering people again) in Bangalore allegedly “fled” his hotel to Dubai before his genome sequencing. Everyone is in a tizzy. The WHO says we must not panic. In the meanwhile, people from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana are being kept away with the equivalent of a ten foot long broomstick, wherever they go. Let us all go back to eating Tide-pods and dunking veggies in disinfectant or toilet cleaner or whatever the hell it is we used to ensure a fast and relatively painless passage to doom. Food for thought for governments, to booster or not to booster?
The strange thing about reading the news sometimes is that you do not remember where you began or where you finished. And this ceaseless “doomscrolling” is now a habit. Where shall I start my recollections today?
China? Or must I be politically correct, People’s Republic of China. Or, PRC, sounds more like you’re swearing at someone (I just said sounds. I don’t mean it). Oh the stress when you talk about China. Actually the sheer uncertainty. Lots of mentions in today’s Hindu. Their growth advisers/analysts/whatever they are say they need to be conservative with future growth estimates. Bring it down to 5-5.5% they said, on conditions of anonymity. Why the anonymity? Is even a wrong projection potentially life-endangering?
Freedom of speech is a real thing there. Not this half-baked desi thing that we’re used to out here. Tennis player Peng Shuai disappears off the face of this earth (from the looks of it) for opening up about abuse at the hands of her country’s omnipresent ex Vice Premier, whom apparently not many citizens can properly identify, but all know he exists. Sounds like one of those characters everyone knows exists but doesn’t acknowledge the presence of- a creepy in-house specter, gliding about in the dark, when everyone is asleep, knocking heads off one-by-one. So the WTA called off tournaments in the country, concerned about her well-being. And the Chinese don’t want to politicize the sport. Another wing of the respectable folks was incensed by what they called India’s “outrageous interference” in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna Peninsula about an energy deal. Pot calling the kettle black? India has offered to help SL out with its present crisis, and it’s a Maldives-China energy deal now, btw. Yaay! I finally know something business related about Maldives. So far it’s been mind-numbing doomscrolling through pictures of OMG sun-kissed sizzling vacays of celebs and their beach bods #wanderlust #lifegoals. Ananya Panday (or was it Jahnvi Kapoor?) sets temperatures soaring and we just can’t handle it! Dabs misty eyes. Did I get the hashtags right? Pardon me, I am not on social media, you see. I try to be millennial though.
So where were we? Dear trustworthy fellow Asian buddy, China. The US “slammed” them for hypersonic weapons. The Americans seem to be doing a lot of that. Russia. China. Why so insecure, bud? I should indulge in American media a bit more to get into their heads and feel for them, I think. Also, it is really no surprise that a lot of us these days think the world is going up in flames and that we need a daily Xanax equivalent to survive. Patient “fled” (Were we sent into a “tizzy” when that happened?), US “slams” China, Kerala High Court is “fuming” about something, the poor ground staff at a Mumbai indoor stadium, where our revered and respected cricket team was practicing, were sent into a “frenzy” because of the perfectly natural phenomenon called rain. Such stress-inducing words. Adani meets Mamatadi, talks investments. Gasp. Guys, car companies are raising prices because of increased costs. But tell me one thing (a literal translation of ek baat batao), head of Audi India says the new price range (3% increase) will ensure the brand’s premium price positioning? Have I confused marketing terms out here, or do I not understand the heavy implications of the 3% rise across the entire model range? Wasn’t Audi always premium price positioned! So anyway, back on earth, Maruti Suzuki also had to raise prices by 5%-ish to offset increased input and operational costs.
I learnt the name of the MEA (external affairs) spokesperson today. Arindam Bagchi. Had lots to say about no curbs on international travel and took serious offence to the comments of the UN human rights agency on a Jammu and Kashmir related issue (Are Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh still referred to as J&K now?) I remember a government agency taking offence to a report on malnourishment and nutrition rates in the country. What else? Our (read: government) ultra-sensitive hearts and souls have been deeply offended by reports on… freedom of press, our handling of covid, CAA, farm laws (remember Rihanna?), oh the list goes on. But sure, we’ll embrace with open arms the tweets and statements that a certain Padma awardee (how?), Kangana Ranaut says. No mens rea established there. With her, you seriously start questioning freedom of speech and personal opinion on social media/public platforms.
A rather scintillating piece about crime in India, though. Amit Shah said the crime rate in Uttar Pradesh has come down under the BJP. “Earlier, police used to fear mafias, now criminals sit in front of the police like”… wait for it… “roosters,” he said. Yeah, and I’m Queen of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll (had to Google that one, couldn’t possibly remember it). The stars are indeed aligned, folks. Only we don’t know what comes under the definition of crime and criminal any more, do we? 😊
We have a committee overseeing the speedy completion of the Central Vista Avenue. Delays on account of COVID-19 lockdowns (obviously, the country somersaulted, backflipped, cartwheeled mentally and physically in four hours when we began our first 21-day battle against covid last year) and the excessive rains! Only, things are sort of on schedule. Possibly the only such project that is running on actual IST and not vision 2050.
I read what, in my opinion, was a very nice opinion piece by Mr. Arun Maira, former member of the Planning Commission. Apart from the information and message that he conveyed, I was struck by the significance on 26/11 in Indian history. The day 26/11 brings to mind extreme grief, terror, and helplessness, on account of the horrific terror attack in Mumbai in 2008. This year marked 13 years. November 26, 2021 also marked the 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution. It also marked one year since farmers started protesting the farm laws launched last year (that have now been repealed). We adopted our constitution on November 26, 1949.
I didn’t mean to get so serious. Just coincidences and food for thought. I’m wrapping up for now. Here’s wishing you don’t need a day to recover between Sunday and Monday. Have a great weekend!
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