The marauding Covid pandemic in India

 I was just watching the reporting of the current Covid catastrophe in my motherland India 🇮🇳 on CNN. It was an objective coverage with some heart wrenching visuals of perpetually burning funeral pyres and Covid patients literally gasping for breath on makeshift beds in temporary outdoor facilities in 100 degree Fahrenheit heat as Oxygen supply was running out. The poor patients left high and dry like fish out of water. The scenes were chaotic and ghastly.  

We may say the Western media projects a negative picture of India. No denying and there is some truth to it. Yet we feed enough fodder to them by adding fuel to the funeral fire. We have a popular Odia Adage - "BAARA BARSA RA TAPASYA SUKHUA PODA RE GALA", transliterated, "Twelve years of penance has been swept away by consuming barbecue dry fish". 

It simply means, down the time travelled road all the accumulated efforts and perseverance in creating the image of India as a powerful, emerging economy, a vibrant, aspiring middle class, a burgeoning global powerhouse - all stand decimated by a single stroke of these devastating visuals. Like the story of the monkey on a bamboo pole, if we climb one foot of development ladder, we are brought down by couple of feet - back to square one.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. In this divided world I can't change someone's perception, nor I thrive to do so. But we can't deny the fact that this marauding virus is claiming lives in droves every day, driving all crazy. It has impacted my friends and relatives - some too close for comfort. A clueless administration is running helter skelter like a headless chicken. How much ever we try to sugarcoat the situation, we have failed ourselves at every level. The truth hurts and absolute truth can hurt absolutely. 

Feel sorry for those who are trying to choke facts, control a section of the media, social or otherwise. We want to be a champion Democratic society. But when it comes to freedom of expression and reporting truth not palatable to the ruling dispension we want to be like China. A la good terrorists versus bad terrorists, we are treating BJP led government in Delhi as good, Kejriwal led government in the same city as bad, or vice-versa depending on which side of the spectrum you are. Blame game and finger pointing at this point is not going to help.

I am remind of this epic Kishore Kumar number :

SACCHAI CHHOOP NAHI SAKTI,
BANAWAT KI ASOOLON SE;
NA KHUSBOO A NAHI SAKTI,
KABHI KAGAZ KE PHOOLON SE.

(Truth can't be suppressed,
By manipulation of powers.
Fagrance can't ever come,
From paper flowers).

Yet Hats off to the less vocal section of people who are doing a commendable job by working tirelessly in a challenging time. Having said that, let's hope we learn our lesson from prematurely letting our guard down to see this day and going forward stay a step ahead of the next crisis. Nothing lasts forever. This too shall pass.

What's in a name

 What's in a name, said Shakespeare. You call Rose by another name it still feels the same. A name of a place, person and street can be a misnomer. Example are aplenty.

In ancient India once a disciple of Lord Buddha complained to the founder of Buddhism and one of the Avatars of Sri Bishnu. The poor disciple was getting ridiculed by others due to his strange sounding name. He asked The Lord if he can change his name to something more adorable, something sounding better and more acceptable.

Buddha advised him to go on pilgrimage for a few days, following which he can consider changing his name. After a month comes back the disciple. The Lord smiled at him and asked - "what do you think about changing your name" ?

My Lord - the disciple bended with folded hands in front of Buddha and narrated his experience from his just concluded jaunt. During my pilgrimage I met a poor beggar. His name, Kubera (named after the legendary rich God from Hindu mythology known to be stinking rich with opulence). 

One day I saw a dead young man being taken to the cremation ground. I asked his mourning folks - What's his name ? The replied named "Jeevaka" (the long lived). Another day he saw a thief with his hands tied to a rope being dragged by soldiers. Upon inspection he found his name as DHARMABUDDHI (The Righteous minded). So, "Oh my Lord" - continued the disciple. I have changed my mind not to change my name.

There was a Bihar politician named Sakuni Choudhury in Laloo Prasad's ministry. He once defended his name to a Reporter - "I am proud of Sakuni, the legendary King of Gandhar" (the chief architect of Maharastra who connived with the Kauravas. He was the main brain behind the war which led to the destruction of the Kaurava clan, with the Pandavas eking out a Pyrrhic victory).

When the Reporter asked - "Wasn't Sakuni the villain of the piece who schemed the Mahabharat war" ? Mr. Choudhury replied - "Sakuni was a patriot. He loved his sister Gandhari and wanted her to marry the crown Prince Pandu. He wanted her to be the real queen of Hastinapur rather than marry the blind Dhritarastra. But Bhisma put a spanner on his desire by asking for Gandhari's hand for Dhritarastra, the blind prince. In spite of his opposition,  the princess of Ganghar readily agreed to the proposal. 

Sakuni never forgave Pitamah Bhisma and Hastinapur. Being a patriot, he avenged Gandhar's humiliation by plotting the destruction of Hastinapur, which was very close to Bhisma's heart (he took a vow to protect it). Sakuni ultimately accomplished his mission. The Minister, Sakuni Choudhury had a point in justifying his name.

There is a lot of hue and cry about renaming Delhi's Aurangzeb road to a more benevolent sounding "Ashok" Road (Incidentally like Aurangzeb, Ashok killed his brothers to ascend the throne. For both Kingship was better than Kinship). Does it change an iota of history by changing the name of the iconic road of Delhi ? Does it make the Aurangzeb road cleaner, its traffic less chaotic or the street less Covid infected ?

Does the impact of Coronavirus changes by calling it China virus, Bengal triple mutant etc ? You call Coronavirus by any name the scourge remains the same, a la same you call Rose🌹 by any name it smells the same. What Shakespeare said during the medieval days of plague pandemic is still valid in the time of Covid plaguing the world.

The saga of PETA GARAM

 During our childhood days in Odisha, a dry cough had a medical term ascribed to it - called PETA GARAM (warmth of the belly). No one really knew what exactly it means, but it was suppose to be the symptom of many diseases, especially related to cold and allergies.

The term PETA is more famously associated with the acronym for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". But here, the treatments for PETA GARAM is associated to a species of mammal called humans, ethically treating the outer belly as a prevention which any day is better than cure.

The cause of a lingering dry cough is always blamed on that elusive PETA GARAM. In case of fever, especially during the summer, it is advised to take a bath with sprinkling less water on head, but a liberal flashing of mugs of cooler water on belly (PETA) to prevent it from going hot (GARAM). If your Pee resembles Mustard oil in color and viscosity, it's the symptom of legendary PETA GARAM.

Shower and ablution those days were a combination of water, bucket and mugs, the fad of toilet paper was still elitist. The concept of toilet paper was as alien as aliens were to me. Toilet and paper were two separate entity, juxtaposing them was strictly fantasy. In 40 degree heat and after hot food water feels a lot better than paper.

An NRI in India once went shopping for Toilet paper. The store was out of it. Said the furious NRI, "What kind of store you have, you don't carry a necessity item like Toilet Paper ?"

"Sorry Sir", The storekeeper responded. We don't have toilet paper but we have plenty of Sand papers. TIKE ADJUST KARANTU or THODA ADJUCT KIJIYE, ("Please adjust a little bit)".

Brahmins were expected to take shower in a semi naked state to prevent their PAITA (sacred thread worn over their shoulder) from getting MAARA (spoiled). And it should involve pouring mugs of water on your belly to keep it in cool and forming a barrage against disease.

It's not uncommon for folks to come out of bathroom with drenched and dipping cloth, a la male version of Mandakini, of Raj Kapoor's "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" fame. In summer such an experience was pleasant. In winter one needs to shiver for minutes before changing to dry clothing.

In our college hostel, there would be a beeline in front of the standing showers when the municipality supply water comes running at noon. The line used to be longer during the winter months as the running water was relatively warmer than the stored one.

The first couple of mugs of water would be poured over the body with a burst of latest Bollywood hit song at top of his voice. That would instantly kill the fear of cold water. The BESURA (tone and beat less) song continues as mugs of water are flashed on the belly to prevent PETA GARAM. The song slowly dies down, as the next person in line keeps knocking on the door, a terse reminder to wrap up with soaked GAMUCHA and tip toe back to your room.

Not sure if those preventing measures against PETA GARAM really prevented us from common ailments. But am sure, it is just another name for dehydration. By drinking plenty of water one is better off than flashing liters of cool water on the torso.

I would like to end this blog with an ode to the talented, blind author of many Odia short stories known for his sarcasm laced writing. His description of minute details was amazing - especially of the human feelings. As he was very young when he lost his eyesight, he could never fall in love at firstsight. He described his blind feeling of love in Odia - "PETA RU GARAM PABAN BAHARI CHHATI KU KUTU KUTU KALA PARI ABHINGAYA" (Love is the feeling of a hot air emanating from the stomach and tickling your heart). I fell in love with that expression of a person who could see it without able to see anyone. Such a feeling of PETA GARAM isn't too bad.

Persecution and pampering

 The saga of two eminent personalities of our history - Chhatrapati Shivaji and Subash Chandra Bose whom our Right wingers treat as their idols. Both were undoubtedly great patriots who fought for the freedom from occupation. Shivaji built the Maratha empire from scratch, strived for independence from Mughals, troubling Aurangzeb to no end to earn the sobriquet "Mountain Rat". The eloquent and charismatic Subash Bose was a perennial throne to the British Raj. Like Shivaji, Subash escaped from the clutch of the mighty ruler to organize resistance from outside.

Yet both were smart unlike their current Right wing eulogizers not to antagonize the minority community by playing  divisive politics. Both ran their Military not based on a Hindu fanaticism platform. They had Muslim soldiers and Generals in their armies (Bose had his Azad Hind Fauz) who served with extreme dedication, loyalty and professionalism.

Why were both successful ? Because both leaders realized the value of secularism. Both knew very well that persecution and pampering of minorities can backfire. Subas Bose recruited POW (Prisoners of War) from the British Army which included good number of Sikhs and Muslims. He treated them professionally - neither pampering them or making them dwell in fear of getting persecuted. Shivaji Maharaj never destroyed any Mosque he captured, nor mistreated any Muslims, their women folks included. By doing so he just neutralized any Jihad (Holy war) card by the contemporary Muslim Kings to be used against him, for he was surrounded by multiple kingdoms ruled by Sultanates. He treated all his subjects, Civilian or Military equally, without any fear or favor, pamper or persecution, irrespective of caste, creed or religious. Being just, his strategy paid well.

In contrast the unjust Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb followed both principles of Persecution and Pampering. He established Zizia (Religion) Tax on Hindus and Sikhs. During his tenure many temples were destroyed, Hindus were persecuted, the Sikh Gurus were brutally tortured and killed. He overturned the long time secular policies of his predecessors. Akbar treated Hindu scholars highly, had many friends including Birbal, the witty close to his heart. Jahangir preferred wine, women and opium to sermons from Mullahs, keeping them at bay. Sah Jahan maintained the status quo. The fanatic Aurangzeb changed that policy, as an end result only to oversee the beginning of the end of his empire.

In modern days, blatant minority (aka Muslim) pamperism by Congress at the national level and Mulayam, Laloo etc at local level led to the rise of BJP. More recently, the abject pampering by Mamata Banerjee in Bengal has led to a spectacular rise of BJP in that state where it was virtually a non entity not so long ago. But a growing BJP hasn't learnt any lesson from the past. Its divisive policy of pampering one community versus persecuting the other is going to backfire sooner or later.

Moral of the story - a balanced, secular approach has led to building of nations. A parochial, right wing with Fascist, supremacy attitude may have led to temporary success but ultimately led to failure. Best examples are Hitler and Mussolini who pampered a section and persecuted another, leading their nations to gotterdammerung. The end - Hitler committed suicide and Mussolini was killed.

History vindicates that neither Persecution nor Pampering a section of society has succeeded on the long run. It's a lesson History has taught us over centuries. No wonder those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.