Bell Curve

India is currently into the third leg of battling COVID19. Apparently it should not be called a lockdown, because unlike the prior two, plenty of easing up is seen in restrictions with zonal divisions of the nation based on disease load.

The inept governance that GoI is known for under Modi means, the number of amendments and revisions of guidelines in itself need a large folder to sift through!

https://caravanmagazine.in/health/surge-in-covid-cases-proves-centre-wrong-pandemic-response-marked-by-theatrics-not-science

A graph that brought much muse to the scientific world is the prediction of how a bell shaped curve and dip in cases were projected into the third week of May. Whilst there is progressive ramping up of testing, and per million deaths continue to be one of the lowest in the world, this needed quite a stretch of imagination apart from its peculiar sync with the terminal date of the third leg of lockdown.

So what benefit does it serve in the midst of a pandemic, to undertest, under report and under diagnose COVID19? For all the sensationalism that this virus creates, it still has a very low mortality rate in comparison to its predecessors SARS and MERS.

Narendra Modi, all throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, always makes it a point to have his signature on every move. He prefers a distinctive path that centres all the actions as distinctly emanating from him.

It has been reported at large, how he sidelines every expert and we will have to just stand by and watch as things unfold perilously.

Currently we are in the rising phase of the curve. Unlike other countries, with better transparency indices than India, we are going to be having a persistent prolonged Bell curve in this pandemic.

The worry remains perennially on Indian healthcare workers as undertesting and under reporting would mean repeated exposures to viral loads, shortening the crippling healthcare system.

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Debate on discourse

Last week was all about the language being used by our oh so great politicians of India. Crucifying Rahul Gandhi for saying the right things is the norm in India. Modi and his goons have managed to set the discourse early in his national political ambitions to decimate any perception of righteousness that could emanate in the country. Modicracy involves Modi being in the centre and everything revolving around him based on his whims and fancies.

The fanatics revolve around him revering him. Fanaticism is rampantly seen and identified in social media. The learned expose their bigotry, communalism and hatred in public. Under a leader that exudes pride in dividing people on communal lines, the inner darkness seen in most Indians have come to the fore. The modus operandi for the last 5 years or so and over the last decade in much of the world has been this. Newer generations would see liberalism as one in history books as autocratic leaders keep slicing the pie of life.

So where does it leave us centric people? Well, if that means forgoing relations – so be it. Change is the only constant.

The fungus that keeps growing.

As a citizen of India, it pains for each one of us to actually see what exactly is happening right now within the country. The government apparently feels fulfilling all of its promises is the way forward, even at a time when the country’s economy is in doldrums.

So what exactly are the priorities of the government? Should we as common citizens be worried that the onion prices are going up? Or should we be worried that we aren’t taking care of persecuted minorities of other countries. Persecuted minorities is what they say. In a land where we are unable to provide basic amenities to its own citizens, we are talking about providing support to the lesser privileged in other countries.



The ineptitude of the opposition is there for everyone to see but what happens when the young voices of India get to the streets asking for their own rights?!

Who would have imagined that in the third decade of the millennium we are actually talking about having internet shutdowns in different states of India.

I am only in my 30s and this is the first time I am actually seeing a government that is so scared of public opinion. This is the anti-thesis of democracy where the ruling regimen fears any form of disagreement and wants to work autonomously. Voices of dissent are vehemently opposed, so will the original India rise back again is the question.

The denigration of CBI

I went home after work last night to wake up to three to four trending hashtags on Twitter of the mire caused by CBI in Kolkata. Every move in this electoral season is definitely going to be seen from a political perspective and it is amazing how the ruling central government is willing to shoddy their names in this front.

When the going gets tough, those who realize they aren’t going to make it try to make moves that might be counterproductive and this looks just like that.

One thing is for sure, this election season will be soaking up the TRPs like any other.

Inspired by the Uma Bharti Tape

I was watching Arnab Goswami on the News Hour last night vociferously gunning down the members of his panel when this thought crossed my mind. The BJP representative stated opinions change over a period of time. The tape related to an incident 7 years back. Now irrespective of why she has a different opinion about the BJP priministerial candidate at this point of time, it just made me think of how even we change our opinion of people over a period of time.

Just last day I texted a friend of mine on facebook, only to realize the last time we texted was a year back. Looking into the archive, I was rolling back the years reading the text messages stored there. More than the conversations, what was striking me was how I was changing as time grew.

This deserves a long post and I will be back re exploring this but am thankful for being active in the internet. Be it updating a status on facebook, or tweeting about the goal Manchester United scored, just like photographs, we leave small tags time and again to relive the moment that is eternally stored in our neuronal hard disk.