Janta Curfew

My journal today.

The day of Janta Curfew called by the PM. A self imposed Curfew is so apt for a democracy. With our country, there is simply no way to predict a likely response to such a call.

I am sure , even absolutely ‘couldn’t careless type’ people must be going through all kinds of thoughts on where the world is heading to.  It is time to record these random thoughts.

The world at large is really at crossroads.

People in the western world, the first world are dying like flies totally helpless against an unseen enemy. When 9/11 happened , US and its allies went berserk and bombed the hell out of who they thought was their enemy. in this case there is nobody to bomb, all the advancements in Science appears woefully inadequate to meet the new threat. It is not that one was not aware of the possibilities of an outbreak of epidemics. One had the confidence in modern science and technology  and the dollars to help overcome the problems. It was the third world that succumbs to epidemics.

Asian and African countries actually seem to be getting along better than American or European countries , at least as of today.

Our own millennials have readily adapted to the western ways and  believe in the ‘scientific’ or economic approach to problems of humankind as against social or spiritual approach. It’s time to pause and think. Is dollars and work efficiency everything? Here we have one problem where you cannot even get out of your house unless every human being on earth is adequately protected. It is not enough to work for individual comfort and dismiss the collateral damage with a  ‘not my problem’  shrug. One really , really has to think of the safety of every human being in every country.

How is India going to deal with this one day curfew ?

Came across a very sensible tweet from Chetan Bhagat .  He  lists a number of activities to spend the day fruitfully rather than complaining of boredom.

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Study. Cook. Clean. Talk to family. Call old friends. Watch TV. Surf the net. Exercise at home. Meditate. Sleep. Rest. Eat. Shower. Repair something broken. Rearrange cupboards. Organise your paperwork. Write down your goals. Plenty you can do. 

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A wonderful todo list . I can add a few more exciting things to do; “write a journal, review a book, maintain a machine, organize music, get creative; make some cute bags, pouches,wall hangings, posters,book marks….etc etc.”

For a generation that glorifies multitasking, these are time to do many tasks ,one by one ,relishing, savouring every minute , rather than getting caught up in a cycle of mindless multitasking.

Today , I saw a story in TOI, “home cooking is back” really?? When did it leave? to come back now? Nobody told me.

These days  I hear /read on SM the kind of language I come across only in western novels.(happens to someone living in the book -world)
Grab a sandwich, catch the movie …
It gives an idea of a world in which you and everything is perpetually in motion.
Why can’t one pick up a sandwich or watch a movie?
These are times to pause; to stop grabbing and catching stuff ; to consider, reflect ,cook, eat , read, watch , every act be savored. Cooking is not just for eating ; cooking is for cooking and cleaning is for cleaning. Every act be enjoyed for itself rather than as an unavoidable punishment to be compensated by reward later ; like the boring act of cooking compensated by yummy moments of eating!

Nothing sums up this attitude as “work hard , party harder” or “work-life balance”;
as if  if work and life are mutually exclusive.
Why not just work happily, party happily ?

Recently , I learnt of a new term to describe my kind of living, “social distancing”

I have always avoided crowded places; may be that’s why I spend so much time in libraries, some of the least crowded spaces. Have always scrupulously avoided the happy hours (that would actually make me unhappy) , some of the most crowded spaces. The happy hours can be absurdly extended to Bacardi nights or Blenders Pride nights where free liquor flows through the most crowded bars at DSOI, Mhow.

Selfies matter, but backdrop to your selfies matter more

Of late there’s a lot of peer pressure or shall we say ‘virtual peers’ pressure to be at all the happening places.

There are  people  putting up selfies of their successfully and defiantly breaking the curfew.

Exciting times ahead. What kind of selfies are we going to see tomorrow ?? Sure there would be the show of support by banging plates at 5 pm. There would also be some defiance by the show of middle finger from some balconies.

Some liberal Italians did a very enthusiastic show of hug a Chinese , about a month back.. will any liberal do a hug an Italian now , anywhere in the world ??

Some liberals are making a big show of their presence outdoors under the belief that their wealth would keep them safe… Collateral damages are not their concern.

Remains to be seen.

Let’s hope for the best!

Rest after 5 PM.

As it happened , the response from the people at 5 PM was overwhelming, taking even the hard core RW by surprise. There were a few jarring notes too, but that’s ok in a land of billion plus people.

But what marred the whole day was the kind of celebrations that spontaneously broke out  across the country , after the 5 PM show of unity. People simply forgot all about  social distancing and moved on to the streets with dholak and bhangra  as if some Corono World cup has been won ! This country needs not one God but 33 crore gods and goddesses to protect the people at  every nook and corner from idiocy and stupidity .