Lockdown should be lock, stock, and barrel

Lockdown should be lock, stock, and barrel


Lockdown should be enforced with no aberration of sorts. The choice between life and livelihood can be settled much later as lives are precious and there be no mistaking of the fact that coronavirus is making repeated attempt to set its base. Be it any zone in India lockdown should be enforced with no exceptions. Precisely due to lockdown there have been more than marginal dip in cases and if this trajectory is to be maintained lockdown has to be there lock, stock, and barrel. We shudder to think of the scenario where in the absence of lockdown what would we have been faced with.

Proponents of livelihood don't understand the basic premise that this virus and its virulent nature is in tandem with the desire to give humanity innumerable beating and to prevent it from doing so we need to follow a discipline where human to human contact is minimal and therefore lockdown is in force without giving any leeway for this virus upsurge.

Businesses would have taken a hit, job losses may have surged but these are aberrations which can be set straight had we been living in normal times. The reading of the times we are in suggest though we are in conundrum we have to give preference to lives over livelihood and a complete lockdown with no relaxation is the way out. The decision to let open shops and establishments in the neighbourhood is akin to a mandate where the ruling class/modern czar is not up with the times and such illogical moves can only invite catastrophe and nothing else. Businesses right from top to bottom can wait, jobs can grunt and be not look great and it is prime task to see this virus recedes into oblivion and is not handed on a platter an invitation by diluting lockdown and other such acts. For humanity sake let lockdown be there and there be no tinkering with the same.

The coronavirus is the biggest challenge that humanity is facing since the evolution of mankind

It is high time the spread of coronavirus is stopped and clinical trials for vaccine show encouraging  results

The coronavirus is the biggest challenge that humanity is facing since the evolution of mankind. The process of enforcing lockdown may have helped in containing the spread of this virus by some degree. 

Karuna Shankar Uncle Whom We Knew

Karuna Shankar Uncle Whom We Knew

It was in the latter half of '70s that we visited Dumka where Karuna Shankar Uncle was posted. Belonging to Indian Forest Service Cadre he had no pretensions whatsoever and made sure whichever guest arrived at his place of stay he or she was occasionally dripped with comforts of innocence and a conversation that was far from being haughty. Having served in Indian Forest Service for over 30 years his record was impeccable and his credentials that most cherish to gain. He had three daughters going by the name Baby, Minky and Chinky. When his third daughter was born he sent us a letter at our Safdarjung Enclave residence on the child that had arrived and the threesome who all belonged to the same gender. He shared New Year Day with us in Delhi and occasionally frequented the capital of the country for office work.

We have fond memories of going with Uncle, Auntie Maithili and three children to the State of Rajasthan in December '85 where we longed to stay for long and Surana the pointsman made us feel at home. We visited Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur and other parts of Rajasthan and the visit was memorable for more than one reason. Here we were visiting Khwaja's Dargah for the first time. The awesome food we had and the places we visited including the all encompassing Forts and undiluted enthusiasm extended by Surana who was HT representative in Rajasthan made our stay pleasurable by miles to say the least. We have faint memories of return ride by train from Jaipur to Delhi the ride that made us speak on issues anything under the sun. We visited Patna in May '87 to attend to Baby's marriage and here as well the arrangements were neat and tidy to the last mile. When all the three daughters settled down, Uncle and Auntie made it a point to visit their places on occasions more than once a year. Karuna Uncle cherished visiting new places of wonder high on tourism appeal and he would make it a point to call us to make us know about his whereabouts.

Karuna Uncle served as Chief Conservator of Forest in Bihar and prior to that he was Director Zoological Park Patna when we paid a visit and spent considerable time there. The different ranks he was in he did his best to bring ounces of assimilation and pride. He would be fondly remembered for the services he rendered and unity chip that he ushered in the family. Not to be left out and to be relished for long most prominently are the childhood days spent in Sultanganj in Bhagalpur District in Bihar. Cementing ties with the trio, the three brothers of Uncle and sharing a chemistry with them would be remembered and the occasional banter on Sultanganj days would remain etched in our memories for long.