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#corona wave in india

newscast1 · 1 year

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China slams 'distorted' reports on Covid response, eases further curbs

China slams ‘distorted’ reports on Covid response, eases further curbs

China will resume issuing passports for tourism in another big step away from anti-Covid controls, that isolated the country for almost three years, as it further eases curbs amid a massive spike in infection. A health worker waits for people to take swab samples to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus inside of a compound in the Jing’an district in Shanghai. (Photo: AFP) By India Today Web Desk:…

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rudrjobdesk · 2 years

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Coronavirus Update: रफ्तार पकड़ रहा है कोरोना, जानिए पिछले 24 घटों में कितने मामले आए

Image Source : FILE PHOTO Coronavirus Highlights जून के आखिरी हफ्ते में देश में एक लाख से ज्यादा (1.04 लाख) नए मामले सामने आए जबकि, जून महीने के ही पहले हफ्ते में केवल 29,450 केस आए थे। दूसरे हफ्ते में 55,239 और तीसरे हफ्ते में 86,128 नए मामले आए थे। Coronavirus Update: देश में कोरोना धीरे-धीरे रफ्तार पकड़ रहा है। पिछले 24 घंटों में देश में कोरोना वायरस संक्रमण के 16,135 नए मामले सामने आये हैं।…

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wanderingthedesertalone · 10 months

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Corona Alone a Diary Revisited: An American’s Experience of the Covid Lockdown in Mumbai

Lockdown In Retrospect

Mediocre Graces: In any case, by the end of the Pandemic, I had somewhat been restored to good graces, not that I was ever greeted in Anand Nagar(8) at least with the Atithi Devo Bhava(11) spirit, I got on the good side of the local gang and befriended a Muslim woman who sells fish in a roadside stall, but it was too late, lonesomeness and faithlessness in humanity had grabbed a hold of me. Sadly, I am no longer able to speak to the fish merchant. She married, her husband is conservative and doesn’t allow her to speak to men.

On Lonesomeness: It’s worth noting that many endured the Corona epidemic in complete isolation. According to The Wall Street Journal, 35.7 million Americans, including myself, lived alone (Byron) around the time of writing the first journal entry. However, not just did I live alone, I was an expat, I lived alone in Mumbai, India. Regardless of the negative stigma that goes along with living alone, solitude never bothered me, in fact, ever since I was divorced, in 2012, I’ve preferred to be alone. Besides, I could always grab a cup of coffee and talk to strangers, I have the gift of gab when needed, but the double-whammy of isolation and becoming a pariah had pushed me to the brink of insanity. I’ve come to believe that those things that don’t kill us make us weaker and since the Covid outbreak I’ve become impatient, nervous and have lost faith in humanity, as I’ve already said.

Too Much Fluff: In all, the NPR article is woefully misguided and simply tried to make a buck off of Covid lockdowns, like so many other news outlets were doing at the time. A better story would’ve been on those who live alone before the Pandemic, whether for reason of mental health, a willful solitude or social ineptitude, that chronicled each persons’ descent into madness; I despise fluff journalism, maybe because it reminds me of the way that Bollywood paints India as an endless serene landscape of humorous follies in love that can easily be overcome when it’s something else all together, not easily, or that I would like to, put into words. This isn’t just fluff, there’s comedy for sure, there’s humor in all tragedy but there’s a reason for sharing the gritty details of lockdown in India, I feel it’s important to share these stories lest we live them again! In the past year, I’ve filled 6 volumes with recollections of lockdown, I hoped to get them published by a newspaper, that failed.

Diary Excerpts and Commentary

A Note to the Reader: The following excerpts are from the journal of an expat living in Mumbai (recorded between Feb 2019 and Feb 2021), during Covid lockdown(1). Dates have been replaced with titles because, unless indicated in commentary or prose, they’re irrelevant:

It Begins: There’s a few cases of Covid in China and other places but I’m not too worried, this will have as much effect on me as the 2003 SARS outbreak(6), there’ve been many such scares in my lifetime. Besides, I caught the virus from a wedding party in Sri Lanka, it was like the Flu, high fever, mild delirium and a little trouble breathing. Interesting thing about Sri Lanka, all of the land and wealth seems to be in the hands’ of the Nords, the locals have very little and the price of food is like that of America or Europe. Also, airport authorities took a child’s Queen Conch shell away right before boarding, she was clearly enamored by her seemingly magical wave machine. After they took it from her, she cried all the way back to Mumbai.

The Flasher: A few Covid cases have been confirmed and I’m beginning to feel like an unwelcome guest in a foreign land, an unusual notion in a land where the locals say “Atithi Devo Bhava(11).” Typically, Indians are hospitable, on my travels to the South they were, of course, taxi drivers tried to scam me there, but cabbies the world over are a special breed of scum, you should’ve seen the way they took me to the wringer in Hong Kong, hospitality is a source of national pride here. This afternoon, there was a knock on the door, it was my landlord. I found myself baffled by what he said. I opened the door and he began to speak, timidly and slowly in broken English: “there’s been a complaint,” he said. “What’s wrong?” “A man is walking around outside naked.” “Oh, I see. Thanks for informing me,” I said and shut the door, believing that he was telling me of a dangerous predator lurking among this slum’s numerous tightly knit alleys at night. Later, I came to find that the landlord was attempting to tell me that the neighbors had accused me of going on moonlit strolls in the buff, I was the predator. I was shocked and enraged when I found that I was, according to gossip, a flasher, but consoled myself by telling myself that none of this is the landlord’s fault, he just wants to prevent other tenants from rioting. People are scared and looking to point a finger at an invisible assailant. This will be forgotten quickly and my name restored, I guess it’s not contradictory to be both hospitable and two-faced. Why do I care about my reputation in a slum? I don’t want any trouble.

Last Days of Freedom: Worry has set in, even chain restaurants no longer accept cash, not from me at least, I tried to buy something to eat with good ol’ paper money at McDonald’s and they refused to serve me. Worse luck, as the Chinese say. I’m working on a project here and I’m paid in cash, so credit isn’t something I have access to. This doesn’t just affect me, a large portion of the population is paid, untaxed of course, in cash and most likely doesn’t have a bank account. Also, everywhere I go my temperature is taken.

Days of Optimism: Lockdown began, I went to get groceries for the 2 days that we are told we must shelter in place and plan to go to bed early. There was hoarding and ransacking of shelves at the local grocer, but I’m sure that it’s just hysteria and this whole thing will end soon. Another interesting thing happened at the store today, two women got in a fight over the last box of cookies, the first woman, a pudgy mother with a bad attitude towards everyone that I had had the bad luck of having a few encounters with before, used to admonish me saying “smoking is a bad addiction,” I wagged my finger and said “sugar is a bad addiction,” laughing my way out of the store. It was the first time I’ve laughed in days, I’ve been in a daze, everything is quickly changing and feels so dire. The fowl woman, she lost the battle and the box of cookies. A word about change, I’m often told that nothing changes in this little hamlet and I believe it. It’s hyperbole, things change here, but slowly, there’s digital gadgets for sale, but there are also oxcarts that sell food and other remnants of the past. It’s not that nothing changes, It’s that time seems to go by slower here, like the locals heartbeat at a slower pace. I always feel rushed but they take as much time as the seasons.

Two Days In: The two days passed, but lockdown continues, the food I bought didn’t last. Even worse, I wasn’t informed that lockdown part 2 had begun without the first installment ending, I slept through the grocery shopping time, 6AM. I snuck out for an evening walk despite lockdown, 2 interesting things happened on my covert walk, I saw many others outside as well, they all spoke of the cow that wandered into the open air temple that’s adjacent to my apartment complex, some are feeding here, even the Muslims, having taken up many of the folk traditions of the Hindus they live among, agree that a sickly heifer wandering into the temple is a good omen, the other interesting thing, The Green Eyed Lady (an Indian with green eyes) made me some Khichdi(24). There were also Chinese in Haiden, Beijing, a district home to many Russians, who have green eyes. Isn’t genetic splendid? In any case, the woman asked me if I had eaten, usually more of a salutation than invitation here, I said “no,” so she brought me a bite to eat. The food supposedly heals the sick.

Big Changes in a Little Town: Since implementation of the Janata(5) Curfew, many continue to sit along alleys in large groups or participate in sports, not wearing masks(4). Yet, as I walk enroute to purchase groceries, these intrepid individuals say “here comes Corona” and cover their faces with their dupatta(7) or a handkerchief. This change of attitude towards me is, although slight, I’ve always had my fans and detractors here, is palpable. Maybe it’s just my nerves. Before lockdown, I sometimes played Teen Patti(19) with neighbors at least, never understood the rules though. Anyway, the shelter-in-place decree will be lifted on Passover, this must be a good omen, not that I sincerely believe in such things, I think to myself and reiterate my resolution to weather the storm in Mumbai. One concern about the transmission of Covid, Indians don’t have a sense of proximity, they always crowd.

One Good Deed: The endless bad news has left me exhausted. A few thoughts before bed, having lived in other parts of Asia and meeting many people from Europe, India is like America in one way, heterogeneity. It’s a type of melting pot, not a melting pot of strangers from far off lands but a mixture of old kingdoms, who have their own languages and cultures, forced under one, possibly too small, umbrella. Adding it up, Indian society, due to its long history, caste system and numerous religions is exceedingly complex, for example Muslims created the first free public institutes of higher learning, yet in some regards they’re treated like would-be separatists (Khurshid). Thinking about the day’s event, I sit on the small broken cot that’s my bed, I have to get this fixed soon, it’s interesting, the cost of handwork is very cheap here, in the US, anything that artisan might do is expensive and it’s more cost effective just to throw the old away. I’m reminded of this Chinese woman I met in Beijing, she told me “I’m not Han(23).” “Interesting, which ethnic group do you belong to?” “I’m Miao.” “Is there anything unique about the Miao?” “We don’t eat dogs. All Chinese people are the same, we are one people, the only difference between Han and Miao is that we don’t eat dogs.” I was teaching adult English at the time for extra income. India is more like America than China or Europe, diversity is endless.

Anand Nagar Has a New Song: The decree wasn’t lifted. Another day, thousands more Covid cases and locals have begun to shout “go home Corona!” Despite the taunts, I’m staying where I am. I don’t have much of a choice, there aren’t any flights anyway, the airports, in a panic, have shut down, everything, with a mere 2 day warning, has come to a grinding halt. I guess this isn’t merely more sensational media. Besides, the situation is becoming bleaker in the US and airports are havens for communicable diseases, they pack people in, from all over the world, like sardines. Have you ever seen the projected distribution of an epidemic? It all starts with airports. Resolute that this virus will blow over, I buckle down for the Summer of Corona in India.

Foreigners Have it Too: Nothing good has come from lockdowns so far, it has fostered hysteria, mob mentality, greed and anti-foreigner sentiment. This “City of Dreams,” has become a nightmare! The nation has fallen into the clutches of fear of contracting the virus from a foreign national. Hysteria, I tell you! I only hope that this all ends soon. Despite an anti-foreigner hysteria, according to The World Health Organization there are a total of 1637 people infected by Covid-19, a mere 49 of which are aliens(3) (The WHO). Yet, the locals blame it all on Tablighi Jamaat(13)(BBC), why not? Trump is calling this outbreak “The China Virus.” The borders have closed, looks like I’m staying here for a while, I didn’t plan on leaving anyway. Besides, there’s talk of easing restrictions. Back to the human condition, I had always been considered an outsider here, I had always been greeted with mocking and mistrust, to some degree, but there were those who accepted me. The first day I arrived the children called me names and adults mimicked the way I speak with derisive tones and gestures, I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery? I despise epigrams, I really do.

Nostalgia for Slightly Better Days: Before lockdown, there was a woman with a fish tattoo on her arm who often invited me to play cards but I shied away from her after neighbors had told me that she “accuses people of rape to blackmail them for money.” I don’t usually listen to gossip but wanted to play it safe. Other than that, I was at least invited to weddings, funerals and dances during the Graba(22) celebration. Funny story, the first year I refused to dance, a man jokingly told me that if I dance with a girl I have to marry her. I didn’t actually believe him, I’m not that gullible, I’m just not fond of Indian music. Back to the present, it’s not the time for nostalgia, although I can’t think of a better pastime right now, maybe if foreigners in India practice social distancing, unlike the locals, they won’t catch the virus and the stigma will dissolve. The other night I went for a walk just to break the monotony of watching time go by and hoping the world would heal. This morning, I was again accused of perverse behaviors by my landlord. I wasn't walking the alleyways naked, but I am being watched. On the walk, locals barred the alley and told me “no foreigners allowed.” Yet, they daily gather to play Cricket while sentinels watch for cops so that they can quickly disperse.

There’ Gestapos In This Movie Too: I guess I should mention something good too. Lockdown has caused a sort of hush here and now daily I can hear the sound of an infant being bathed through the one tiny window my studio apartment has. Through the 4 foot square aperture I can hear the infant laughing as warm water rushes over it. I now hope that things will return to the way they were before, just subpar not “holy crap the world is on fire and we are all going to die!” A combination of police and concerned citizens, working with the police, now stand along the main road with bamboo canes in hand. They remind me of stories my grandfather told of the Gestapo. Both are poised for violence. The police, they resound the sentiment of the concerned citizens, ridicule the foreigner. Now, I usually get an escort, something that is only afforded to me, to stop “roaming” as I go to get essentials. There are now dots painted on the sidewalk, we are supposed to stand on them to ensure social distancing, the locals don’t obey this. If I do the same, I’m informed, thwack would go the cane. I’ve begun to see in black and white, not metaphorically but literally, I feel as though I’m watching a movie about a distant authoritarian time. The brutalist architecture(24) is reminiscent of Russia and North Korea, it doesn’t take much imagination for the arabesque attributes to obscure. I haven’t slept much.

Building a Wall: This hamlet is bluffed by a river by a river on one side with a small foot bridge for crossing into Neilam Nagar. The police have blockaded the entrance to the crossing and are building a wall to, I believe, keep the several hundred thousand impoverished residence of this hamlet trapped like mice on a sinking ship. I truly fear the wall, perhaps it’s because of my education, having been forced to read the line ‘Something there is that doesn’t love a wall(20),’ throughout school, it’s almost a national anthem. Walls and golf courses have always seemed as despicable things to me. Neither the rich nor the influential politicians are suffering the same as we are in the slums. They play golf in their gated communities…

The First Stone Tossed: As the situation in India worsens, so do the jeering. Now, a few individuals throw rocks at me, a tactic usually reserved for thwarting the region’s menacing wild dogs, as I venture into the ever more dangerous streets at the permitted time, 6AM, to get essentials, in an attempt to diffuse their frustrations over the region’s spreading epidemic. Yet, returning to the political quagmire that is America keeps me hopeful that sheltering in Mumbai will become easier. Rocks tossed or not, I’m staying in place. Oddly, despite not eating much, I’m gaining weight, it must be stress. Supplies have run thin, some are hoarding and there’s talk of a 2 week prohibition on supply trucks entering Anand Nagar.

Insomnia: Depression has set in and money has mostly ran out. Immediately before lockdown, I was given a promotion but as of yesterday, the company I worked for has permanently shut their doors. I’ve just now realized that I haven’t left my house, let alone gotten out of the broken cot for days. I look at the clock, it’s 5:50 AM, the allotted time for shopping. Getting groceries at dawn isn’t a matter of waking at dawn; I haven’t slept in days either, just sat on this cot watching time go by. Insomnia is starting to take a toll, I’m beginning to hallucinate, time has lost all meaning, at times days go by in minutes yet other times, minutes last for a small eternity. It has been days since I’ve had a face to face conversation with another human.

Home Invaders: Somewhat dazed, I sit on my bed contemplating the meaninglessness of time when there’s nothing to do. Jolted from my daydream-like state, there’s a pounding sound on the door. The sound is getting louder. I hear shouting. The words come into focus, “foreigner, we’re coming in! We’re breaking the door down,” says the unfamiliar voices. I spring to my feet and bolt the door. The pounding becomes more and more rapid and fear takes a hold of me. But then I hear a familiar voice, the voice of my neighbor, she shouts something in Marathi and the marauders leave. I fall into a sleep and don’t wake for 2 days. Food was cut off for 2 weeks, I had to get a bite to eat from the Hanuman Mandir(18). They handed out plates of rice and lentils.

Vigilantes: Days go by and panic worsens among residents of this Mumbai chawl(8). Due to rising fears, vigilantes begin to safeguard the streets from “roaming.” These sentinels attempt to impose restrictions of their own device on me: they inform me that I am not permitted to walk along certain roads because they are afraid that I carry the virus, this happened once before on a late night walk but now it’s the norm, although I’m merely in search of a store to buy necessities and wearing a mask. In the end, these vigilantes won’t cause a reduction in hanging out on the street, this I know, but a few of this slum’s inhabitants get to feel empowered because they are the new sheriff in town. I guess we all need a whipping-post and there’s good among the wicked, a local temple and a few individuals are handing out grains to the needy. We are all needy here. At this point, the lockdown has gone on for months.

The New sheriffs in Town: Currently, there’s two police along Mumbai’s backstreets, those who were given authority by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MNC) and vigilantes. Feeling harassed and completely rejected by society, loneliness takes hold of me, I begin to search for a way out of this “city of dreams,” maybe returning home while a buffoonish leader (Trump) who makes a mockery of the US isn’t so bad, I think to myself. All things considered, it’s nearly impossible to abide by laws set by both the government and a hysteric mob anyway.

No Payment Until April: At least I have a roof over my head, I think to myself, an article in Aljazeera, Foreign Tourists Face Hostility in India Amid Coronavirus Panic informs that an Israeli woman was evicted from her home in Goa due to locals fear of contracting COVID-19 and others were forced out of their hotel (Purohit), I can go a day without milk, but not without a bed, not to mention, the police had recently found tourists living in a cave because they are trapped in India and have ran out of money (NBC). I haven’t yet been evicted, but am also out of funds and live under constant threat of eviction. Rent payment is suspended until April (Delhi High Court). I lay on my broken cot, I will try to get it fixed on the black market, and continue to doom-scroll taking note of the day’s death tally and searching for any sign of things getting better. Passover has passed but Covid hasn’t.

Nobody Goes Home for That Price: I do some research and come to find that the US Department of State is offering “repatriation flights,” these flights carry a $2000 price tag (a promissory note for the aforementioned amount must be signed before boarding the plane) and a random port of arrival is where I’ll end up if I choose to return home through the ever so benevolent government, how can anyone pay this price during a Pandemic (this thing has been upgraded to a Pandemic, how lovely words are). Upon arriving at this port, the returning expat must find their way home through barricades and the threat of being infected by Corona (Genter). I harden my heart and again resolve to weather the storm in Mumbai. Besides, if the promissory note isn’t paid, I will be banned from international travel. I’m a Digital Nomad. I travel, work at an incredibly low rate and can only afford to survive in developing countries.

August’s Heat: The death toll jets upward and 75 degree angle, it’s updated daily. While bombarded with an endless stream of bad news, jeering has morphed into threats of violence, sleep is still a rare occurrence, heat rash has caused the parts of my body covered by clothing to become as freckled as Little Orphan Annie, I’m as poor to boot, my field of vision is filled sprawling geometric patterns and my temper is quick.

Worse Than the Daughters of Temperance: As the situation thickens, stores begin to deny me service. A shopkeeper refuses to sell me certain items that are in stock and we aren’t barred from sale, I have just been informed that liquor and tobacco have become contraband. The more than nagging need to satiate addictions during lockdown aside, this proprietor allows Indian nationals to purchase products, but denies me the same goods. He’d have me starve to death! I, like all outsiders, have become the face of a faceless virus that has ruined lives, in fact “Muslims were initially blamed for the spread of infection (Siddiqui),” a group that is no less a part of India than Sikhs(10), yet, like Jews anywhere in the world, are perpetual outsiders. All things considered, this is mass hysteria! Nobody I know has died from Covid yet. A sampling error? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I sit in my room without a breeze (I don’t have A/C) and ponder what society has come to, Freud’s mob mentality.

They’re Trying to Starve Me Out: That shopkeeper has changed his mind, I returned to him to buy groceries but he yelled “go away foreigner white face.” He then insisted that a clerk not give me an old box, although I was carrying a heavy load and had no tote. The hypocrisy of people here is an in the face classism, a rule for me and a rule for them. The Covid cases are increasing exponentially! So are my headaches. They’re not headaches as much as a feeling that every nerve ending in my body is being prodded with a needle and the inside of my brain shrinking. Now, I sit at home alone, the rats scurry across the floor, the heat comes in waves, time stands still and there’s nothing to laugh about, Covid cases are in the hundred thousands and the death toll is staggering as well.

Befriending the Gang: August’s heat, insomnia, constant dread and lack of nutrition are getting to me, I don’t know how much longer I can go on. Even local pharmacists have begun to convey a fear of me and insist that I have a cough when I go in to ask for something for heat rash. Unlike the grocers, the pharmacists sell me goods, but with great hesitation and suspicion in regards to my presence in this chawl. Finding tobacco is now the chief task of every day. It’s sold on the black market, along with chocolate, alcohol and meat, at exorbitant prices. So, like a heroin addict, I slink up to a back alley leant-to and buy a pack of smokes. It’s just like buying illicit drugs: there’s an obligatory period of making small-talk, ambiguity over whether or not the man actually has tobacco, razzing, phone calls and scurrying about to find it. In the end, I walk away with cigarettes at European prices and a dirty feeling.

Suicide Among Death: Lockdown continues and most in this chawl have lost morale. The neighbor sent her son over to tinker on my electric piano. She told me of what has been dubbed The Flower House Girl. A young woman hung herself from rafters due to endless confinement to her home and the bleak picture of tomorrow that the daily news paints. What a shame! I had wondered what the fire department was doing on the main street. They took her out of the third story window with the truck’s ladder.

Another Year Another Onion: Did I mention it’s a New Year? I didn’t even notice that the year had changed, the date passed unceremoniously and with festivities. Again, the police have rebuilt the wall that surrounds this chawl, tightening the perimeter, I’m not sure if it’s to keep Covid out or us in. In any case, food has scarcely made it through the makeshift wall and news is that food supplies will be cut off for 2 weeks, again. In any case, that which makes it in is mostly sequestered by the gangs, anyhow. It’s that I’ve got the most onions mentality(12). Despite rarely eating, I continue to gain weight. Speaking of onions, there are now over nine million confirmed Covid cases and farmers are protesting the price gouging of seeds, stating that “We are the ones who have provided food, milk, vegetables when the whole country was in lockdown, we were still toiling in the fields. It is the government” not gathering in New Delhi “that has put us at risk by introducing these laws during Covid (Hollingsworth et al).” My heart is with these brave men and women and if I had the strength I would be beside them. All things considered, despite the news and friends’ proclamations that a new year brings new hope, this may be an onion of a year too.

The Walls Close In: Yet again, the police have reduced the circumference of the wall. I feel claustrophobic or like I’m slowly, very slowly drowning. I go to bed, but sleep doesn’t come. I hear the rats fight over the last morsels of food in this chawl, when I wake, there’s inevitably a rodent corpse on the footpath in the ally that leads to my house. Food has been cut off for 2 weeks. I gave the last of my supplies to a family, in total it amounted to a pound of rice and a pound of lentils. Now, the cot is less of a fishing net with big holes and more of an empty frame. I lay on the floor instead, will I be able to get somebody to fix it, I don’t know. I have to get my family to send money first.

An Altercation: We are now allowed an evening walk, so I venture out to the usual chants, a ragtag team of would-be thugs follow me. A wave of exhaustion washes over me and my pace slows to a crawl in front of the BJP(14) Office. As I cross in front of the office, beneath the flag, a scrawny slum-bastard walk up and says “are you British?” “I’m American,” I reply. “I hear they call you Hari(15).” I can smell the alcohol on his breath as he speaks. “What of it?” “More like Harry Potter.” “I guess that’s funny,” I say and try to walk away, but he grabs me by the collar and takes a swing, he misses. I return the blow, my fist makes contact with his face. My heart is racing. I fear an all out retaliation when, like roaches from beneath rot-wood, members of the local gang emerge from the alleys and come to my aid. I had been buying tobacco from them, at highway robbery prices for weeks, and so it’s in their interest to act as my vigilante guardians, in some regards, the gangs are better than the police, or at least their corruption and self service is laid out on the table for all to see, where the cops are supposed to protect and serve, protecting and serving often isn’t the case here, it comes down to ethnic and caste schisms.

Two Deaths and a Ghost: It’s another day and the death toll has spiked again. Feeling that I escaped death and death being the only thing the news reports on I begin to wonder, had I been killed by a mob, would my death have been reported as a Covid death? Is the death toll real? There’s a little hospital in this chawl, it’s certainly not inundated with the dying and morticians don’t walk the streets singing “bring out your dead,” as they did during the Black Plague of 1665. In fact, of the 3 who purportedly died in Anand Nagar, one was an elderly with Emphysema, the other was a suicide and the last one, I saw him walking down the street the other day, risen from the grave as by some Covid era miracle. Truth be told, he had gone back to his family home and returned. Not an easy task, much like during the Holocaust, traveling papers are required to go anywhere, there’s not even any trains, minus a few for displaced workers. A combination of lack of food, a growing mistrust of the government’s intention with regards to lockdown and dire times brings these lyrics to mind: My wife fixed up a tater stew/ We poured the kids full of it/ Mighty thin stew, though/ You could read a magazine right through it. Always have figured/ That if it’d been just a little bit thinner, Some of these here politicians/ Coulda seen through it(21).

Are the politicians duped or am I? What about herd immunity? I feel like I’m living in the Dust Bowl, except there’s no storm of dust and the sky isn’t black. The enemy is invisible. Or, am I the enemy? So much for relativism.

Police and Indians: On another outing, again attempting to purchase essentials, those things that whether for sustenance or pleasure, an invisible hand has decided that I may indulge in, I find that even local authorities seem misinformed about the number of foreign nationals in India with Covid. Recently, police stopped me for questioning and informed me that “foreigners are the cause of Corona Virus.” After looking for a quarantine stamp on my hands several times and not finding one they insisted that I run back home and followed me on motorcycles. This was witnessed by several locals who cheered the police on. As the police resounded sentiments of this chawl’s inhabitants, it reinforced negative feelings. I didn’t eat that night. The days following the police harassment, locals continued jeering me by saying “the police will come and hit you,” while mimicking the thwack of a cane on their posterior. Not just are they misinformed, they’d like to see me hung.

Read the Sign: In case you feel incredulous in regards to my claims about placing a stamp on the hands of foreigners and the police’s blindingly Orwellian allegiance to the BJP, the party who blamed Covid on Muslims and foreigners, The National Library of Medicine has this to say about it: tourists who arrived in India from affected countries were put in quarantine for 14 days in their port of arrival, their “left hand was stamped with ink” to maintain the date and time of their home quarantine, “a move that could risk assault, due to stigma towards Covid suspects [foreigners].” Individuals violating the quarantine can be penalized via Indian penal code Section 188, 269 and 270 (Siddiqui). The police, like the locals, are looking for a whipping-post and have a draconian view about foreign nationals in India during this crisis, what a hoot it would be to cane them. Bollywood is no “City of Dreams,” in fact, misinformation abounds here, signs, obviously posted by Conservative and nationalistic Hindu Vegans, reads as so: ‘Ways to avoid Covid/ Don’t eat meat/ Don’t smoke/ Don’t talk to foreigners.’ I no longer see the good that I jotted down in an earlier journal entry. Also, tired of the word “misinformation,” not sure who gets to decide what’s misinformation, although I myself used it in this entry, just tired: days crawl by and the feeling of isolation causes a pressure on my cranium and a meaninglessness to all things.

Mending a Bed: Despite having become a pariah, I was able to get the cot fixed, for a small fee, a tailor was willing to come over, and work against the law, they despise me, but like money enough to look past it. The work doesn’t look great, it’s rigged. Most everything here is rigged. I’m never sure if this is the ingenuity of a race of impoverished people or the result of an attitude that declares good enough is good. In the end, most everything is a hodgepodge of corrugated steel, broken bits of wood and rope with exposed electrical wires that run through water and the elements in general. I’ve always said, if the manpower here became a collected force and decided to stop pollution, get the rivers clean, enforce something like an ADA, demand fair housing they would be an unstoppable force. Instead, they divide themselves along ethnic schisms.

A Pickpocket: Food has returned to the stores and shopkeepers are serving me, but I was pickpocketed at the register. I took my wallet out to pay, right before my eyes a man reached in my wallet and took a 500 out, it was the last of the money I had. I came home empty handed. For the first time since my divorce, I broke down and cried. Now I sit wiping my eyes. Is all hope for humanity lost? I cannot answer. Besides Covid, there’s so much political turmoil! It looks as though there won’t be a smooth transition of power this time.

What I’ve Learned From the Steppenwolf: I’m concerned for the nation’s migrant workers, other visiting foreign nationals and those who descend from Mizoram and Assam, these individuals may be more prone to the psychological effects of loneliness than myself. Culturally, Indian life centers around an extended family, whereas I’m more akin to Herman Hesse’s Steppenwolf. All in all, it’s tough to live overseas in the best case scenario and down-right depressing when you’ve become public enemy number one. But, as I said, I have a tough enough skin to survive this, but there are those who’ve been cannibalized by their own society. Anyway, lockdown should end in 3 weeks, the infection rate is on the decline. We are now aloud out in the evenings and I have taken to sitting with friends in front of the Rukhmini(16) Temple. It’s like the opening line of a joke, a Jew, a Muslim and a Hindu… Among us, there’s a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian and a Hindu priest. All in all, I need them not, but it’s nice to have some companionship, even if there’s little communication. I have returned to good graces.

Family Matters: Although I feel alone, I’m not jealous of India’s family structure. Locals often ask me about my family, casual things like “how is your mother?” “I don’t know. I don’t keep in touch with my family very much,” I respond. It’s a matter of privacy and staying out of gossip. Here, grown men never grow up, they are fed and coddled by their mothers. I had recently met a man who can’t cook for himself, nor wash his own clothes and still occasionally sleeps in bed with his mother. Speaking of men, spouse abuse, along with drinking, is on the rise. It’s not uncommon to see and hear it. Too often, after dark, I witness, when I sneak out for a walk to break the munatiny, men hitting women by the open air temple that my house is adjacent to. Speaking of temples, Hanukkah recently passed. I lit a makeshift menorah, but even that gave me little joy. As for now, the best thing is drinking chai by the little Rukmini temple.

Down With the Wall: The wall has come down! Lockdown isn’t over, but the wall has come down. Alas, air travel has returned, the government has announced “air bubbles” and I’m returning to America. After everything, I was never again treated as more than a second-class citizen in that chawl but it matters not, I’m leaving! In the end, the locals’ reaction to me and the psychological impact of the loneliness, their words and actions heave upon me, have caused deep scars. On a more disappointing note, all local newspapers have declined to publish my recollections of lockdown. An earnest question, were we fed false dichotomies, ones that stated wear a mask or everyone dies and get the vaccine or everyone dies, just for some political experiment or agenda? It’s just odd that after the farmers protested the Covid number began to decrease.

Integrity Intact

No Amnesty for the Wicked: One might say, you’ve survived the worst, why bring this up at all? Isn’t it time for amnesty? I feel the answers to this was best put into words in the video Pandemic Amnesty: Do you Forgive and Forget and so I will summarize what the author said, “there were things that happened that there needs to be a recognition of, and there needs to be a public apology. There needs to be a promise that this never happens again. There needs to be people who actually pay for their behavior, potentially criminal behavior. […] Until the people who did harm admit that they did harm this kind of thing will just keep repeating itself. […] Some people were victims, other people were perpetrators, and then there [were] also enablers (Wand).” For instance, The Deccan Herald reports that there have been “attacks on people from India’s northeastern region […], suspecting them of being carriers of the virus.” Assaulting your own people is like cannibalism, that’s all there is to it! As it was written in the newspaper, apart from being called “Corona” or “Chinki(9)” India’s [Asiatic] people were spat on and forcibly quarantined, despite showing no Covid symptoms, all because of their looks and an ignorant fear that anyone who looks different are the root cause of the Pandemic. Also, they were denied entry into their apartment complexes, evicted, merely threatened with eviction or forced out of restaurants to make others comfortable and none wanted to share transport with them (Karmakar). Of all things, it’s not time for amnesty.

Ignorance isn’t an Excuse: There needs to be punishment for these wicked deeds! There’ll be no retribution for foreigners who suffered in India, but locals, those from minority communities, who had just days before lockdown been upstanding citizens, deserve retribution and possibly reparations. There those who died from the virus and those who died at the selfishness and ignorance of mankind, for those who died by the hand of man have this to say: “To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time ( Elie Wiesel).” Ignorance, for good reason, has never been, nor shall it be an excuse for breaking laws and committing atrocities. The Atlantic is wrong in their assertion that we should just forgive and forget (Oster). Perhaps, in the name of healing, it’s time to forgive, but should never forget!

A Clear Conscience: During The Covid Outbreak, I may have lost my mind, found myself in complete isolation and on the brink of starvation at times, but at least I kept my dignity. I threw no stones and attempted to obey the laws, even those that actively brought hardship into my life. I defended myself when needed, I live by the adage “walk gently and carry a big stick.” As for the war of the ethnicities in India, I guess it’s none of my business, alone, I can’t defend the minorities. And in regards to retribution for the wicked, my hands are also tied. However, I won’t give amnesty, not in my heart. Forgetting and moving on, as Oster’s article suggests (Oster) is, to reiterate, akin to allowing the cycle to repeat again. In the end, my travels have provided me with armor to protect against cabin fever, I’ve endured hardships and loneliness in remote villages of Nepal and have been “the stranger” in the metropolitans of Hong Kong, Bangladesh… But there are those among the Indians whose identity and self-worth come from a tightly knit family and friend structure, many of which took their own lives due to isolation. Others starved to death because of lack of income and others died due to the rejection of medical services. Luckily, I was not immune to the effects of isolation, but well insulated from the threat of Corona by a chawl that exists off the radar and societies’ fear of foreigners, local inhabitants keep me at arm’s length and so, I didn’t catch the virus during lockdown.

Notes

1: The views herein are not the of WTDA but the author. At WTDA we publish a variety of news, depending on what we deem to be an interesting story at the moment.

2: At the time of writing, Covid hadn’t yet been declared a Pandemic.

3: Citation no longer available at The World Health Organization.

4: The author of this journal wants it to be known that they don’t, nor did they ever, believe that masks are/were an effective way of preventing Covid-19 but were forced to wear a face covering by Indian law. At the time, they obeyed the law.

5: Public.

6: Hyped media, having no real effect on the life of the author.

7: A long scarf worn by Indian women.

8: The Marathi word for neighbourhood which is colloquially used to denote a slum.

9: North Indian slang for India’s Asiatic population.

10: A religion that combines attributes of Islam and Hinduism and originated in India.

11: Guests are G-D.

12: In 2019, due to flooding, there was an onion shortage. An entrepreneur had been hoarding onions. At the time, not only did he declare that “onions are the new gold” he purportedly sold the onions for 3 times the market value. To the author, it serves as a symbol of the selfish psychological state that caused some of the worst aspects of Covid lockdown.

13: A 3 day Islamic spiritual event in India’s capital hosted by a 100 years Islamic Missionary Movement. Due to the cases reaching over 300 after the event, the meme was coined: China is the “producers” of the virus, and Muslims are the “distributors.”

14: A political party, of which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the leader of. Every neighborhood has a BJP office.

15: A common male name in India and regional pronunciation of the Anglo name Harry.

16: The primary wife of the Hindu G-D Krishna.

17: The name of the slum in which the writer lived during lockdown.

18: A temple in the slum in which the foreigner lived during lockdown. The temple is dedicated to the monkey G-D, a deity who helped Rama in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.

19: A poker-like card game in which the players make melds with three cards.

20: Mending Wall by Robert Frost.

21: Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues by Woodie Guthrie.

22: A dance form native to the west Indian state of Gujarat, performed in October to honour the Hindu Goddess Durga. It is also celebrated in Maharashtra. People gather on the streets, dancing in pairs of men and women where they rhythmically click sticks together.

23: The largest ethnic group in mainland China, about 91% of the population.

24: A South Indian dish made of rice and lentils. It’s a comfort food that’s supposed to aid in healing.

25: Brutalist architecture emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era.These buildings characterised by minimalism and bare building materials. They are commonly seen today in old Soviet Union countries and Central Asia, reminding many of totalitarianism.

#lockdown #travelogue #Covid-19 #memoir #India #autobiography #travel #online diary #memories of Covid #Pande #coronavirus #pandemic #mumbai #maharashtra #expatliving #overseas #police #mob mentality

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diaaviewz · 2 years

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My NEET Journey

NEET, a medical entrance exam in India, hmm is it tough? Maybe, Is it competitive? Yes! There's a lot of competition in it, nearly 15-16 lakh students enroll each year and the number of seats there is 40-50 thousand, in each and every nook and corner we can find a Neet aspirant but someone who becomes an actual medico from being an aspirant is rare. I'm one of those aspirants too, an NEET 2022 aspirant.

Today : 17-06-2022,

1 month prior to NEET 2022. All emotions are running in me, the happiness if I would get selected and the emotional damage I'd have to face if I didn't. Sometimes feeling that I wouldn't have to go through these if I hadn't spent my past 2 years in vain. 2020, I had passed my 10th ICSE exams, well even though we wrote the exam we were labeled as " THE CORONA BATCH " lol. well now, my 11th was online and it's obvious if it's online there would be cheating. And my fate I did that too, and then 2021 again another lockdown, I felt, "Did our life seem like a joke to covid? " well I guess everyone's life did seem like a joke to it, nevermind. I tried to focus on my backlogs and my 12th and the cheating tempted me again, and neither did I clear my backlogs nor did I focus on my 12th. In September 2021, our government announced that they would conduct our First-year exams, there's it, had to put my NEET books aside and focus on my first-year public exams, well maybe my luck I did pass them with a good percentile. November, our NEET schedule began again, I lived in a boarding school, hmmm did I study well there? No :( I couldn't even grasp a single thing they taught, I wasted my 2 months there, doing nothing but staring at the blank space while they taught. January 2022, corona third wave, well it wasn't that long, thankfully but soon it was about to end when our government said they'd conduct our second-year exams. In February, we had practicals, March, our college started our NEET revision, and honestly I regret for not concentrating then, March passed, April arrived, Our public exams were in May and we started preparing for them, NEET aside for one month more.

On May 23rd, the short-term batch for NEET began, I know I wouldn't study there but the devil called and had to go, there wasn't a single day where I didn't cry in the washroom regretting my decision and not raising my voice that I cannot concentrate here. On June 10th after a lot of struggle, I got out of that hell, came home, and started studying. Now I'm here, one more month to go, still completing my syllabus, and giving some tests, in a hope that something magical would happen in the end if I pour my whole blood sweat, and tears. I'll wait for it.

#neetexam #neet 2022

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saptrishisastro · 4 months

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youtube

Will New Variant of Corona Resurge in India Again? Vijay Chawla's Analysis

Dive into the current state of COVID-19 and the potential resurgence of new variants in India with Vijay Chawla Sir. In this thought-provoking astrological analysis, Chawla ji explains the influence of the possibility of another wave hitting the country.

#COVID19 #coronavirus #India #VijayChawla #healthanalysis #stayinformed #Youtube

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uj453 · 1 year

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what will we see on the other side of this...

30/4/2021

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I have now attempted to write about this more than 2-3 times. But what can be said about corona that hasn't already be said? The horror of it? The madness of it? The way the state has handled it? The way the right almost across the world have been able to take advantage of it? The way we had this opportunity to re look at the whole system and re imagine it, and instead as a society as a whole we have just somehow managed to justify this profit driven attitude ahead?

The multitude of levels we have failed ourselves is quite something. And in this individualised setup that has been created and we so pride ourselves, we fail to see beyond our own plights even now. Now that the virus has exploded in India, people here are in shock, and it's an emotion that is far away from the apathy shown by the state and in the larger narrative, where it was apparently Shiva whose lineage was protecting us all.

It is amazing how we value human lives. It only gets triggered when it is someone we know. In abstraction, it just remains an idea. Somehow in these times of the virus, we talk about how it afflicts the rich and the poor, but fail to talk about who comes out on the other side and in what condition. Someone once told me that being poorer in a rich country, is better than being rich in a poor country. If we can't see that now, I don't think we ever will. We are just blind. The rich, are so blinded in their convenience, and their luxury, that they can't really see how this kind of a social situation is killing themselves.

When the second wave was hitting India, and the other countries started announcing border restrictions, the first action of the uber rich was to get the fuck out. There were apparently around 10 private jets, some probably privately owned, some leased from the middle east, that landed in UK before the 4 AM flight ban that was instituted. It is everyone for themselves. And when it is that, you want to be in a state where the facilities are better. Where the provisions are universal, and even there you will demand for an eXclusive premiere facility of course. How can we in our blindness not see that if this place here, this situation here was more just, then it will be better for all of us. And then you won't have to protect yourself from the other.

It is always this other who is a problem. Be it the muslims who were the super spreader, against the holy dippers, who are purifying the world with the virus. Be it the poor. Be it the class that serves you. They should be sanitised, they should be kept at bay. The upper middle class Indians, love to talk about how the country has progressed, prospered. Mind it, I say upper middle class, because the middle class doesn't really exist. For whom is this progress, and prosperity? The other day on a news channel was an appeal for a vaccine for a child who suffers from a genetic disorder. The whole treatment is supposed to cost around 16 crore rupees (around 1.8 million euros). And the channel in all it's open hearted charity is asking for charity from everyone. Of course this is an English news channel. How can we in our blindness not see that a health system which is so profit oriented will inevitably lead to situations like this. Is it really so difficult to see through the facade of all of this. Instead of the blind short sighted privatization of everything (health education), is it really so difficult to see that this whole situation could probably have been better.

In celebrating the rich, in idolising the ambanis, in trying to be the adanis, in awe of the tatas, the ruias, the jindals, lost in this creation of the myth of 'the indian dream', can we all really not see that it's just better to have a stronger national system? Ambanis made a hospital. How many state run hospitals could have been run with the cost of that one hospital. How many tons of oxygen cylinders be bought at the cost of the opening ceremony of that hospital. Mind it, the opening ceremony had who's who of bollywood, and of course Modi flying in specifically for that. How much more could have been done had Ambanis at least paid the real cost of the land, on which they made a hospital which only the uber rich can access.

The irony of the situation is that now the celebration is of the philanthropy of Serum Institute of India's Poonawala. How graciously he reduced the price of the vaccine for the state government by 25 % to 300 rs. The same person who said that even at 200 rs, they were making profits, but NOT super profits. And they would of course want to make super profits. But he is our hero, our saviour in these times. He is the one who tweets the federal government policies before even the state governments know it. No there is no corruption in this efficient hard working government. How blind are we, when we do not see what we don't want to see (a digression to Rafale, Adanis, Ambanis being refrained). And the aforementioned English News channel host is criticizing the state governments for wanting to make the vaccines free for people. Of course it is with the political agenda, of course it is a populist measure, but shouldn't people of India the ones who have to make a choice on what to spend the money on, still get vaccines? Of course this host who only talks to the upper middle class again, says that when the state makes vaccines free, we are the ones who will pay through our taxes. But how blind are we to not see that if the society en large is vaccinated, we are all better for it?

Somehow this ingrained notion of the individual right, and might, is so ingrained, that you would rather take a chance on the fact that you will be able to protect yourself, than work towards living in a more healthier, more just society. A social situation where you do not have to make a choice. What is amazing to me is how we are still not seeing this. I have had to face a lot of critique and debate about this in the social circles that my privileged position helps me occupy. This i feel is the folly of this situation. Even now, even in this crisis, even when we are seeing things really crash down, we are unable to see, to imagine a world order which could be different. We cry about the deaths of our own. But we are unable to connect to the pain of the death of others. The corona deaths are just horrific. But so is a person who died in the riots in Delhi, or in Ahmedabad, or in Bombay, or in Amritsar. These are the places where in the past 4 decades in India, there were major riots, against the minorities. The last two against muslims being co-ordinated by the ruling party's commanders (and then there are the countless other atrocities that happen on a daily basis). And somehow the hindu majority population now claims it's victimhood. Somehow the hindus are under attack here.

And with this comes the silencing of the voice of critique. In Uttar Pradesh, NSA (National Securities Act) has been invoked for people asking for oxygen for their relatives on Twitter. People have been asked to maintain discipline and watch the tone of their voice. The aforementioned English news channel apparently does a sting operation on people in Delhi who are black marketing oxygen cylinder. Where as the celebratory news is that in Srinagar an organisation is hoarding up oxygen cylinders. A muslim business owner who is coordinating their city's oxygen response is being celebrated. He started using his own monies to get oxygen in and slowly the city apparently handed in the whole organisation of the oxygen cylinders to him. Of course, he is different than the muslims who were attending the tablighi jamaal. Would the hindu mobs coming back from the char dhaam yatra in the neXt riot care about that?

Of course, Indian understanding of diversity and inclusion is that the muslims celebrate holi and diwali with the hindus, in the spirit of one India. That the dalits be celebrated for the work they do, because it is god's work. What will the majoritarian in power hindu castes would do for the inclusion? Claim victimhood, because somehow muslims and dalits are taking what is rightfully theirs. Claim victimhood when the muslims and dalits and other minorities are being killed by them. It's an attack on their sentiments, on their way of life.

We do not have to go that far of an 'other' to see how this works. This last year we have seen the sights of the migrant labourers being given almost no notice of an imminent lockdown. Of all the house helps being viewed suspiciously. Again ppl in my circles were so condescending about all these ppl on the street who don't wear a mask, who go around in groups. Who don't care or understand.

This wave has been different. This wave has hit this class too, and now you can hear them cry fowl. This wave has hit the young too. Now the apathy of condition in hospitals is being talked about. And that too has become a thing about state govt vs central govt. The narrative seems to be the key. Thousands are dying. It is quite an overwhelming situation of distraught. Death of one person affects so many. Of course it also depends on how 'valuable your life is'. In villages in UP and bihar, where people pass away with TB still, death is more of an everyday reality. It is like how it is so horrible when europeans die, but not so much when Indians do. Had the virus been contained in europe early enough, I really wonder what the perspective of the whole world would have been. It is like how when 3000 USAnians die is far more important than the million Afghanis. What about the refugee crisis in Europe, and the Trump policy on mexicans migrating to the US. Interestingly, the upper middle class Indians, might empathise or relate or connect with this emotion, but would largely be blind to the 30,000 odd rohingyas who were seeking refuge in India who were kicked out. Or the thousands who have been disenfranchsed due to NRC/Citizenship registry in Assam. What about the people who killed themselves due to that?

Death has become more of a reality in the larger Indian psyche with corona. We are hearing of people no more all around us. The numbers that are being shown, seems quite comparably smaller to that. Now a days my friends, people around me, overwhelmed with all of this, are unable to fucntion much. Especially for those who can work from home is there but it's difficult to concentrate and so on. My only thing is that let's just sail past through this, let's see each other on the other side of this. That is important. We need to take care. This too shall pass, at least for some of us.

My fear is what will we see on the other side of this. We are blinded by so much.

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trylkstopocket · 1 year

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Covid BF.7 Variant Explained!! New Variant Symptoms & Precautions

sssamiti.org

Covid BF.7 Variant Symptoms and Precautions: There is a havoc in China due to the Corona virus as hundreds of people are dying everyday. Hospitals are over crowded every day. Covid is wreaking havoc in China since the restrictions were relaxed in December. Omicron’s sub-variant bf.7 is now the reason for increasing cases in this country. The infectivity rate in this variant is quite high as the R value of the BF.7 variant is 18.

That is, a person infected with this variant can spread the virus to 18 people. This is the reason why Covid is spreading so fast in China. Here in this article we will update you about Covid BF.7 Variant, New Variant Symptoms & Precautions so read this carefully.

Since the beginning of November, cases of corona virus are increasing worldwide. The matter is under control in India now, but China is struggling very badly with it. According to some estimates, due to the recent increase, China is at risk of death of about two million people. An epidemiologist has even tweeted that 60% of China’s population could be infected in the next few months.

Corona outbreak in China is causing concern for many countries, but there is no serious threat in India. There were restrictions related to Covid in China till a few months ago. Due to poor medical policy, the situation in China is getting worse. Omicron’s bf.7 variant is also making a serious impact there. While this variant had arrived in India several months back but it had no effect here.

Covid XBB 1.5 Variant

Avatar 2 Box Office Collection

How does the new variant get the name BF.7?

BF.7 is actually short form. Full name is: BA.5.2.1.7. This is a sub-variant of Omicron’s BA.5 variant. Omicron’s BA.5 variant has the highest number of reported cases worldwide. About 76.2% of the total cases. However, the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants did not spread much in India. We have the highest number of BA.2.75 cases.

The corona virus is mutating and mutations can create many variants and sub-variants. This process is called convergent evolution. These sub-variants have been given names like BA.2.75.2, BF.7 and BQ.1.1. These names are determined by the fact that which sub-variant is derived from which variant.

How dangerous is the sub-variant Omicron?

The reports that are coming in China indicate that BF.7 is more dangerous than the rest of the Omicron sub-variants. It has the highest transmissibility as it spreads rapidly. A person infected with BF.7 can infect many people.

The remaining variants of Omicron can infect an average of 4 people and the incubation period of the variant is also less. The incubation period is the time between exposure to the virus and the appearance of the first symptoms. Meaning, as soon as you come in contact with BF.7, you can catch it immediately.

Has BF.7 arrived in India as well?

The BA.1 and BA.2 sub-variants of Omicron were found in the wave earlier this year. Later on BA.4 and BA.5 also came. However, both of them caused more devastation in European countries. Similarly, very few cases of BF.7 were observed in India. One case of this variant was reported in India in July, two in September and one in November and this variant has been found in Gujarat and Odisha in India.

New Variant BF.7- Symptoms

The symptoms of this variant are similar to those of the other subvariants of Omicron. An infected person may show symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhoea. This sub-variant can cause severe disease in people with weakened immune systems. If someone is having body pain for a long time, then he should get the Covid test done. Apart from this, sore throat, fatigue, phlegm and runny nose can also be symptoms.

Omicron BF.7: Precautions

Physical distance: Corona is caused by coming in contact with an infected person, so it is very important to maintain physical distance from people to avoid it. According to the CDC of America, to avoid infection, keep a distance of at least 6 feet from people in public places. By keeping distance, you can avoid getting droplets from someone who is coughing or sneezing.

Wear a Mask: Do wear a mask when you go out of the house. With this you will avoid drops of infection. Apart from corona virus, the mask also protects against other infections like flu, cold and cough. Throw away the mask after wearing it once. Also use a good quality mask.

Get a booster dose: If you haven’t got the booster dose of Covid yet, get it done immediately. There is no cure for Corona infection, so at this time only the vaccine can save us from its severe symptoms to a great extent.

Avoid going crowded places: To avoid corona infection, you also have to avoid going out and spend maximum time indoors.

Take care of cleanliness: You can also get infected by corona by touching an infected surface or person, so wash your hands to avoid infection. First apply soap on your hands and rub them for few seconds and then wash them with water.

Use a sanitizer: When you go outside use a sanitizer, if soap and water are not available then use a sanitizer.

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legalupanishad · 1 year

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Disaster Management: A study of the legal framework in India

This article on 'Disaster Management: A study of the legal framework in India' was written by Jignesh Parmar, an intern at Legal Upanishad.

Introduction

This article will focus on “Disaster Management” and highlight the agencies that deal with disaster management in India and it will also discuss the types of disasters. Disasters may be Natural, Man-made, Complex emergencies or Pandemic emergencies. One should be aware of disaster and disaster preparedness. Disaster hurts the poor and vulnerable the most. In a country like India, where every year floods and cyclones damage properties especially in the Eastern and North Eastern part of the country, directly affect the country’s economy at large. The disaster not only affects life but also the working conditions of the poor. To illustrate, a person who owns a small shop that was destroyed because of disaster, might not be able to recover that loss in the future.

What are disasters?

"Disasters are serious disruptions to the functioning of a community that exceeds its capacity to cope using its own resources, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies”.

Types of Disasters

Natural Disaster Natural disasters are occurred by natural phenomena. A natural disaster is also described in law as an ‘Act of God’ also known as ‘vis major’ which means ‘act which is unstoppable created by nature and destroys one’s property. There further sub-classification of Natural Disasters and they are as follows: - Geophysical – (eg. Volcanic Eruption, Tsunamis, etc.) - Climatological – Occurred because of extreme change in climate for eg. Drought, Extreme Temperatures, etc. - Hydrological – eg. Floods, Limnic Eruptions, etc. - Meteorological - eg. Wave surges, Storm, Tornado, etc. - Biological – Spread of disease in large (eg. Plague, Corona, etc.) Man-made Disaster One may feel that the concept of Man-made disaster is not a type of disaster because they might only be aware of natural disasters which were taught to them from the beginning of their life. But there is some man-made disaster which has essential elements of human intent, and error that includes failure of the man-made system, and negligence. In the famous case of M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1987 SCR (1) 819; AIR 1987 SC 965), due to the poisonous gases released from the premises of Shriram food and fertilizers Ltd, the majority of people suffering from various types of diseases and court applied the doctrine of absolute liability for the first time in India was an example of Man-made disaster.

Disaster Management: A study of the legal framework in India

Disaster Management Agencies of India

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) National Disaster Response Force was created after the Disaster Management Act, of 2005 with the objective of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters. The NDRF also constitutes the members from Central Reserve Police Force, Border Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) National Disaster Management Authority is the apex body of disaster management in India. It is headed by the Prime Minister of our country and also consists of a Vice-chairperson who must be a Cabinet Minister and eight ministers with the status of minister of state. As per the Disaster Management Act, of 2005, the creation of the National Disaster Management Authority will be for laying down the guidelines, plans, and policies regarding disaster management. State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA) also need to be made at the state level which will be headed by the Chief Minister of that respective state. National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) The National Institute of Disaster Management was created to handle the responsibilities of human resources development, training, research, documentation, etc. in the field of disaster management. It also provides technical support to state governments through Disaster Management Centre (DMC) The National Institute was created by the Act of Parliament with a view to being the main institute for capacity development in India and the regions. NIDM also hosts the SAARC Disaster Management Centre and provides assistance to SAARC Countries. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) International Strategy for Disaster Reduction was created to perform work including ensuring disaster risk reduction (DRR) in December 1999. UNISDR is the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The work of UNISDR includes conducting responses and recovery programs, development policies, and planning, mechanisms and capacities to build resilience to hazards, etc. Disaster Responses / Relief Stage (Essentials to protect and provide relief to the affected) The coordinated multi-agencies response is vital to this stage of Disaster Management. It helps to reduce the impact of disaster and its long-term effect with relief activities including - Rescue - Relocation - Providing temporary shelter - Repairing services which include Telecommunication and Transport etc. - Providing Emergency health care and - Providing Food and Shelter etc.

What is Disaster Preparedness?

Knowledge among people of disaster may save lots of money, speed up recovery, and helps people to move on from the effects of the disaster. It includes stock of things like food, clothes, etc., temporary shifting from the area of disaster, etc. Red Cross and Red Crescent societies have established a National society that creates awareness of disaster management through its various programs. National Society also created the ‘Preparedness for Effective Response’ approach which is made up of five phases viz. - Orientation - Assessment - Prioritization and Analysis - Work plan and - Action and Accountability

Suggestions to improve Disaster Management Program

- More help should be taken from NGOs for minor tasks like the distribution of food and clothes because it will help the task force to provide relief as early as possible. - Government should increase the promotion of volunteering programs conducted for disaster management. - Increase in assistance and help from other countries and also provide assistance and help to other countries which are affected by the disaster.

Conclusion

Disaster Management is not only about providing food or clothes to the affected citizens but also includes the task of normalizing the environment and daily life of affected people. The volunteers or task force must ensure that there is no obstacle in way of transport and electricity in the affected area. Repairing Telecommunication services is also essential to look upon during disaster management. There are some duties that need to be performed by the government such as it is the duty of the state and central government to relief compensation to affected persons which will help them to start their life from a new beginning.

Reference

- Disaster Management Agencies of India, GK Today, available at: https://www.gktoday.in/topic/disaster-management-agencies-of-india/amp/ - Disaster preparedness, IFRC, available at: https://www.ifrc.org/our-work/disasters-climate-and-crises/disaster-preparedness - What Is Disaster Management? Understanding Emergencies From Prevention to Mitigation, Tulane Univesrity, 3 September 2021, available at: https://publichealth.tulane.edu/blog/what-is-disaster-management/ Read the full article

#Disaster #DisasterManagement #LawsinIndia

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rudrjobdesk · 2 years

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फिर से हजारों में आने लगे कोरोना के मामले, जानिए 24 घंटों में कितने आये मामले

Image Source : FILE PHOTO Corona Cases Highlights विशेषज्ञ दे रहे हैं चौथी लहर को लेकर चेतावनी विशेषज्ञों के अनुसार चौथी लहर जुलाई में आ सकती है यह लहर जुलाई से अक्टूबर तक रह सकती है Corona Cases: देश में कोरोना का ग्राफ फिर बढ़ने लगा है। पिछले 24 घंटे में देश में कोरोना के 17,073 नए केस सामने आए हैं। वहीं देश में कोरोना पॉजिटिविटी दर बढ़कर 5.62 % पर पहुंच गई है। वहीं सक्रिय मामलों की भी संख्या…

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#Corona cases #Corona Cases Increasing speed of Corona scare #Corona in India #corona news #corona news today #Corona update #Covid -19 India #covid cases #experts said about the fourth wave #highest number of cases in 100 days #Maharastra #mumbai #National Hindi News

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chandramurty · 1 year

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!! Adductor Magnificus !!

Long back,I had the opportunity to dissect the Adductor muscles of a Frog in our Zoology Lab and that was my last acquaintance with the Brevis, Longus and Magnus muscles. But, now again I have been bombarded with the images of some similar, not so magnificent, but desiccated Adductors in provocative colours, which have created a turmoil all over the nation even putting behind the olive green muscle show by our Army !!

The thighs of Frog are said to be a delicacy in some part of the world. But this show of the adductors, without any delicacy, has put a bad taste in the mouths of the people with a delicate sensibilities.

However, the Mahanayaks, got into the act and opened their mouths in a safe haven of lotus eating liberals, berating the common viewers for not allowing them the freedom to flaunt their Adductors/ 6 Packs/Cleavages, forgetting that the poor viewers, too, have the freedom to exercise their discretion and express their favourite points of view !!

If we digress a bit from the dissection of the desiccated adductors, we now have another fresh wave of Corona staring at us. The Head of the Uniting India walk n’ talk show, when served with the Advisory to ensure the Covid Appropriate Behaviour or stop walking for the time being, took recourse to the conspiracy theory. In his opinion, the Corona was just a figment of someone’s imagination, invoked to stop his walk n’ talk show from uniting the Country !!

And then came the case of the famous Journalist, who nursed a Big Persecution Complex and put forward a Conspiracy Theory that the Big Bro has asked one of his Big Shots to buy out a debt burdened TV Channel, just to throw him out of his job !!

Pray, why the Big Bro didn’t take recourse to the far more simpler, direct and cheaper methods for getting his way? Just to thicken the plot maybe??

One head of a state, which has borders touching a neighbouring country, has a running feud with the Nation’s Security Forces deployed at the border.

The area under the control of the Border Security Forces was proposed to be increased by a few kilometres to facilitate increased surveillance on the infiltrators and smugglers.

But the Head of the State, suffering from a perennial Persecution Complex, and a self proclaimed victim of many a Conspiracy Theories, opposed it vehemently and exchanged sharp words with the Security officials at a high level meeting, as if they were encroaching upon the state’s territory or were working at a cross purposes with the State !!

Recently, a Minister of a state declared that he has sent his children abroad to safeguard them from being persecuted here because of their faith. But strangely, the Minister himself has stayed put !! The statement has been reportedly retracted since then.

However, the Social Media space still continues to be abuzz with various conspiracy and persecution theories. Hopefully, in 2023, we may see less of the armchair persecution and conspiracy mongers, but more of some well shaped Adductor Show in all kosher hues !!

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usatricks · 1 year

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Corona: Random sampling of international passengers started at airports, government alert amid threat of corona - Corona Alert: Random Sampling Of International Passengers Started At Airports In India

Corona: Random sampling of international passengers started at airports, government alert amid threat of corona – Corona Alert: Random Sampling Of International Passengers Started At Airports In India Health worker testing for coronavirus Photo: amar ujala listen to the news The world is once again shaken by the new wave of Corona. Infection is increasing rapidly in many countries including…

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arclantis-blog · 1 year

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Hunger Grips COVID-Ravaged India; GFA World Responds

WILLS POINT, TX — India’s devastating “second wave” of COVID-19 is overshadowing another deadly tsunami of suffering — rampant hunger.

Global humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reports growing desperation across India as it supports efforts to feed those facing starvation amid the pandemic’s continuing onslaught. The Texas-based organization has helped feed hundreds of thousands since the pandemic began.

“As COVID-19 ravages India, we’re seeing hunger on a massive scale,” said Bishop Danny Punnose, vice president of Gospel for Asia (GFA World), spotlighting the accelerating crisis on World Hunger Day, May 28.

In the nation’s pandemic hotspots, so-called “corona curfews” and lockdowns make it very difficult to get groceries — even if people have cash to spend.

‘Deep Silence’ Everywhere

“Markets are closed… no shopkeepers are willing to open their shops. People are struggling to get grocery items. (There’s) deep silence at all places,” local relief workers reported.

In India’s densely populated Uttar Pradesh state, local church members are going door-to-door, delivering free meals to COVID-impacted families in strict quarantine.

Many day laborers — among the poorest of the poor — have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, have no source of income, and no other way to get food.

HUNGER’S DEEP SILENCE: On World Hunger Day, May 28, Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reports growing desperation in India as it supports efforts to help thousands starving in “deep silence” amid the pandemic’s continuing onslaught.

Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs in GFANews from Gospel for Asia.

#Cycle of Poverty #Coronavirus #COVID-19 #Poverty #Christian News Sources #Christian News Today #Poverty Today #Poverty Alleviation Program #Gospel for Asia #KP Yohannan #Generational Poverty #Extreme Poverty

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e24bollywood · 1 year

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Madhur Bhandarkar's 'India Lockdown' is a story of helplessness, pain and hope

Madhur Bhandarkar’s ‘India Lockdown’ is a story of helplessness, pain and hope

India Lockdown Review, Ashwani Kumar: During the first wave of Corona, when a 21-day lockdown was suddenly announced across India on 24 March 2020, there was panic everywhere. We all did the first two things, first filled the ration for the whole house and second sat by opening the TV, to know what is happening in the country. News channels kept showing us long queues outside ATMs, ration shops,…

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#Bhandarkars #helplessness #hope #India #Lockdown #Madhur #pain #story

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drsudhirgiri · 1 year

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A Compassionate Edupreneur Determined to Serve Humankind “No one should have to choose between life and death because of the affordability factor of a treatment” ~ Dr. Sudhir Giri

Dr. Giri has been using his expertise and competence in setting up educational institutes, universities, and healthcare facilities across India.

Dr. Giri, hails from a rural background, and has achieved so much in life with sheer hard work and determination to challenge every obstacle.

He has seen how much a middle-class man suffers at the hands of corrupt bureaucrats, especially in terms of medical aid.

These days, falling sick is also a luxury, as affording healthcare facilities can burn a common man’s pocket.

There are very few privileged people who still use their powers to help the weaker sections, and Dr. Giri is one such personality.

Along with affordable education, he has been working industriously towards Affordable Healthcare and Medical Facilities for the underprivileged classes, as Dr. Sudhir believes in equality for all.

He believes everyone deserves to study and attain medical facilities despite their social status. The growth of a nation majorly depends upon skilled and educated youth and their well-being is also of great importance.

If we deprive the youth of a nation of proper healthcare and education, then the nation would suffer at large.

In order to make his dream come true, Sir founded the Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) to offer quality healthcare facilities for all.

During the unprecedented pandemic situation, VIMS created a record by curing over 2000 corona patients during the first wave of Corona.

When India was hit by the second wave, doctors and healthcare workers worked tirelessly, and as a result, VIMS was amongst the institutes that recorded the lowest number of deaths in the country.

Even the testing times of COVID-19 saw Dr. Giri working diligently, leaving no effort to provide healthcare facilities to the public. Apart from the pandemic, the Venkateshwara group is always at the forefront to serve the public in various domains.

Under Dr. Giri’s excellent guidance and leadership, major healthcare initiatives are being undertaken by the group.

India administered 100 crore doses in October 2021 owing to the efforts of institutes like VIMS, which acted as committed vaccination centers.

Dr. Sudhir Giri mentored their operations and constantly worked with the healthcare officials for the betterment of facilities by adding the latest equipment and services.

Sir has received various honors for his social work. Her Excellency Anandi Ben Patel, Governor of UP, honored Dr. Sudhir Giri for doing laudable work in healthcare.

She also applauded the commendable work executed by private medical colleges & institutions, especially during the pandemic situation.

He also received the “Excellence Healthcare Award” for performing excellent work during Corona at an event organized at Ram Manohar Lohia Medical College in Lucknow.

Dr. Giri extended his heartfelt gratitude and stated how special receiving this award was for him, and such salutations motivate him to work more diligently towards serving the multitudes who are in need. He received the award for persistent & dedicated service in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without a strong pharmaceutical setup and knowhow, the medical facilities are incomplete.

Hence, along with the 750 bedded hospital at VIMS, Dr. Giri established the VIT College of Pharmacy (VITCP) and Venkateshwara Institute of Pharmacy (VIP) in the year 2018 and 2019.

All India Council of Technical Education, GOI, and Pharmacy Council of India, New Delhi, have approved both the institutes, and the Board of Technical Education, Uttar Pradesh has granted their affiliation.

We established the Pharmacy Institutes with a mission that the faculty and students will be innovators and leaders in transforming health care to create positive outcomes through discoveries and research.

Dr. Giri plans on venturing into many more projects that would be beneficial for the masses.

Along with educational institutes, the Shri Venkateshwara Group also keeps organizing medical camps where we provide free of cost healthcare facilities to the economically weaker sections of the society.

These medical camps provide medical advice and medicine to underprivileged people and suggest treatments as per their requirements.

These camps ensure people are getting healthcare at the correct time; before a minor health problem balloons into a serious illness.

Dr. Sudhir Giri aims to increase disease awareness and aims to provide cost-free medical facilities.

Through these free medical camps, he offers ECG, OPD, Diagnosis, Blood Tests, Maternity, Oncology, Radiotherapy, Radiology, Physiotherapy, and Urology facilities available to the deprived population of the country.

These underprivileged people cannot afford, nor have access to, basic healthcare services about the diseases they are suffering from.

Dr. Giri envisions a nation where no one has to compromise on their health, only because of finances.

#vgi #svu22

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movieknown · 2 years

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Liger movie review and detail analysis:

Liger is a upcoming movie of indian sport segment type gener. Liger movie written & directed by puri jagannadh. This movie provide next level story and emotions to the bollywood cinema. Movie shoot in different language like hindi, telugu language. In this movie show chemistry between Vijay deverakonda and ananya panday

liger shooting location:

movie shooting starting at 20 jan 2020 in mumbai with tentative title of fighting.

Liger movie shooting stop in February 2021. Next schedule was shot in hyderabad (india).

movie was again delayed in April 2021 due to second waves of corona virus. In November 2021.

The cast and crew flew to Las Vegas to shoot the part with boxer Mike Tyson. Movie was completed in February 2022.

liger movie plot:

Liger Movie is based on boxing type film. Vijay deverakonda is a son of ramya krishan.vijay affected same problem with speaking and society will said vijay not a perfect boy. ranya krishan decided to her son as a great boxer like Mike Tyson. so at that time Vijay deverakonda will play as a kick boxer and he is following strict diet & exercise, hard play to martial arts & kick boxing as a demand on role. Vijay deverakonda accept mother challenge and get complete transform in to the boxing champion.after accepting mother challenge facing new problems with her life. Vijay try to face different problem.

Vijay has gone to thailand for training. After complete boxing training in Thailand return to india. Vijay win step by step all tournament. Vijay deverakonda debut in hindi movies and ananya pandey debut in telugu . In this movie professional boxer Mike Tyson play important lead role.