Friends and Family

Though not a cat person, now, we are surrounded with Cats. Guess the number of kindle around us? Today we were congratulate for new ones. This could be the fourth generation moving around? Last August blacky was almost about to die, and my mother-in-law wanted her indoors. The day before she passed away, on the evening of 14th August, she was just lying on her bed as human do. Soon after she passed away, she gave birth to 4 kindle - Silli, Mily, Baboos and Junie. Their father Hitloo too would linger around. It's been just six months now, and Blacky has had her next set of Kindle. Yet to get confirmation of how many they are.



And this Covid lockdown period, Blacky has given birth to another set of kindle; increasing the feline headcount to 10.

CAT's

Villa where we stay for rent has a new president, and she don't like pets. It seems earlier dogs were not allowed here. Before few days her son and another neighbours son was walking around with the placard saying no pets allowed here. We thought they had the problem with us feeding cats, the kids started throwing stones at the cats. One day Rajesh said this cannot be done, if something happens to the car, we will come and throw stones at your car, would that be okay. He even contemplated of the Idea of putting a board no kids allowed here. Then secretary came and spoke to Rajesh. And they have asked not only to let go the cats ASAP and share with them the plan but also stop feeding the pigeons. Since when did pigeons become pets?



PIGEON's

Mother-In- Law would feed them twice a day; at around 6.30 am and 4.30 pm; but now we feed them only in the mornings. Old habits die hard. We could not stop it just like that, and they are now fed in our terrace. First day, they did hesitate comming, but now they are fine.

At this rate what is the guarantee they will not ask us to stop keeping food for crow? We do that as ritual on a daily basis. The one legged crow, has always been there.

When there are many, the rule is; when food is kept out, the crows, once they see the food, will start crowing. First the big, fat, dark black will come and have; just a little, then a couple in the next round, and so it would go for 2-3 rounds, no overcrowding, or overeating.



CROW's

We also did have sparrows, squirells, who had build her nest, outside our kitchen, and once a snake came in search of the egg.



Our owner said neighbors might be worried if pets bring Corona virus. I think I heard in a video that pets cant give us corona...it will be the opposite. But difficult to convince everyone and now that people are so scared of this virus issue. No amount of logic is going to work sadly. Nature appears to be at it's best, and here are a few click from our neighbor of animals around us:



All said and done, they indeed are our Friends and Family, without them our life would be incomplete, they give meaning and purpose to our living, and take life forward.

Migrant's Saga

Heart Yearns for Love & Understanding - Praying for Peace - During these trying times - Part 5

A hard hitting truth. It has always been the poorest people who pay the highest price. Before shut down, the well to do migrants were brought back, and there are discussions to bring back the rest; but what about the poor? What are they to do, living in a place where social distancing is next to impossible, and they are robbed of their daily lively hood? Instead of blaming them, what could have been done are as Pattabhi Ram Sir said: " Planned evacuation could have been one option. These were done in some cases. Assurance could be a second. This is where leadership comes, in terms of telling what would be done and doing it. Three, if this was handiwork of propagandists, find them and penalize." Between, where are the intelligence?

There are three types of migrant - and their issues; which are dealt with three different ways:
1) The rich - who have all means, to reach wherever they want; by hook, crook or influences. Even emergency air transport is made available in the name of export/import for them.
2) The middle class - who move out of state/country for jobs - among them some came back home, before the shut down, making calculative judgement, some decided to stay back wherever they are and go with the law of the land and yet others, wanted to come back; but with last minute preparations, and immediate announcement got stuck with where they are - of these some are alone, some with families and yet others with friends. A few of them do not have cooking provision where they stay, and find it difficult to manage; therefore would want to come back ASAP.
3) The poor, who live a hand to mouth existence, who had no clue of what was coming; and was worried only of their next bread. That becoming an issue, the the means of livelihood having come to a standstill, they prefer going back to their hometowns as soon as possible.

Courtesy Darshan Mondker. Well articulated.

"The migrant issue was like a ticking timebomb waiting to explode in our faces, from the moment Modi announced the first lockdown with a 4 hr warning and then conveniently cut off all means of long distance commute.

Some people are now talking about how the migrants are creating a nuisance for the people by coming out on the streets, breaking the lockdown and wanting to go back home even when they are being provided with food and rations by the respective State Govts.

Some have even suggested that the Army should be called in to control these migrants and keep them under lockdown!!

But the fact is that most of us who are making random comments about the migrant issue come from a privilged position and are doing so from the comforts of our home.

These migrants are 100s 1000s kms away from their homes and families.

They usually live in small rooms of 10X10 with anything between 6 to 8 people living in one room, with a common toilets at the end of the corridor which is used by 20-40 people.

Their rooms are in areas where the sewers line their streets and the streets themselves are not more than 3ft wide. To give you an idea, that's just about the width of your bedroom door.

They have meagre means of survival even on a normal day and earn their bread based on their daily wages.

Their bank balances are zero and most of their savings are sent to their families back home.

Back home, in their villages, they at least have a decent sized house, their families living together and in some cases a small piece of land with a bare minimum agriculture produce which can suffice their family.

At the moment, with the forced lockdown in effect since the last 21 days, they are strapped for cash, tired, fighting a daily battle of survival, with the help from State Govts falling quite short.

They Just Want to Go Home..... So excuse them for being poor, hungry, defeated and thinking that their village is a better place for them to be, at the moment.

They do not understand what's happening around them, most of them are uneducated, don't have the intelligence to check WHO sites or understand the terminologies being thrown at them.

They are not the ones having BBQ parties at home and posting "My New Recipe" videos on their social media profiles while cribbing about the Covid19 statistics as if this is the biggest disaster ever. For them every day that they don't make money is a disaster.

They are confused, agitated and uncertain of their future.

So, it might be a good idea for all of us privilged people to first try and have some empathy towards them.

The sudden lockdown, while entirely necessary was done without any planning.

It was perfectly possible to anticipate the woes of the migrant workers and have a solution ready to send the migrants back home even during the lockdown with proper screening at the exit points, had the States and the Center worked together.

But unfortunately their plight was completely ignored, probably because the ones taking these decisions also came from a similar privilged position and were unable to anticipate their plight.

Now, it is of utmost importance to sort this issue of migrants either by sending them back home or by ensuring their comfort wherever they are and this is our number one priority.

But do stop blaming the migrants for coming out on the streets.

They have as much right to survive as you, me or anyone else does. Their right to survive does not reduce because of them being underprivileged, uneducated or poor.

Disclaimer: The main reason why privileged people are blaming the migrants for coming out on the streets is because they are afraid to die themselves because of the migrants, they don't really care how many of those migrants die in their slums. That's the fact... Face it."

For lighting diya and clapping on the streets modi gives 4 days notice but just 4 hours notice for lockdown. He is a FAST PM - First Action, Second Think.

I wonder what else has been swept under the carpet that is waiting to blow in the face. Wait and watch. When it blows up it could get covered; like the near zero news on Surat.

We had protest in Kerala, Kottayam the day after lock down was announced, and the CM immediately arrested the leader of the migrant worker and quarantined the whole participants, with food provided. They asked that they be given uncooked food and provision for cooking their own, and arrangements were made for that even. Migration issue is a global phenomenon. The rich gets sanctions while the poor pay the highest price, falling prey to petty Politics.

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/coronavirus/news/kerala-congress-functionary-migrant-worker-arrested-for-spreading-rumours-violating-lockdown-regulations-in-kottayam/articleshow/74885974.cms?fbclid=IwAR1SO1hdWDkjWyQGZOy-4XyHMsFTMKpcZha297w_H8wR0gwkrmxEd0-xIQ4

Migrant workers issues in New Delhi - it was highlighted and Arvind Kejriwal blamed, saying he did not provide water and electricity to only the workers from UP and Bihar!! That was soon after the first lock down announcement.

Now after the second announcement, the same issue has popped up in Mumbai. Why?

Was it the Anti CAA protesters?
Was it the Anti Islamophobia?
Was it Anti BJP?
Was it the act of congress?
Was it out of genuine need?

Why was it in Bandra near the mosque?

Hope and wish these kind of activities do not spur up, and we have the virus under control soon.


‘but why, all of a sudden?’
‘It’s never all of a sudden. Nature bears all, suffers for centuries before attempting such catastrophes. The eternal war between the sea and the land. When men forget to take care of his land, the sea finds its own ways.’
~ Sethu, ‘Marupiravi’

Scams, Scandals, Speculations and Society

History rhymes - events will always repeat . The players differ. New players have no idea of past events, or worse choose to ignore them thinking “this time it is different”. Hence history repeats.

Misuse of common man's hard earned savings is a cardinal sin: Deepak Parekh. ... Amid the crisis at Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC), HDFC chairman said it is "brutally unfair" we have regular loan waivers and corporate loan write-offs but no financial system to protect the common man's savings.

The fate of families who had plans for their health care, their daughter’s wedding, children’s education, or family travel get wrecked; the retired are forced to get back to work. People make harsh decision like, never to have children; given the uncertainty around. People lose jobs and the worst affected are those in the age group of 45-55 years as no one would be ready to recruit them for their skill set and pay.
Top Financial Scams during recent past continues to be:

1) Enron where the balance sheets were inflated using mark to market valuations and income statement was inflated using future probable incomes of investment done at present and making huge payoffs to the top management..
2) Worldcom, attempted to falsely inflate the earnings on its profit and loss statement by nearly $4 billion. It was a household name and one of the world's largest telecommunication companies, and also a core dividend-paying stock that many retirees held in their portfolios, This shook the world in 2001
3) Lehman Brothers, came to light on Sept 15, 2008; Lehman's loss resulted from having held onto large positions in subprime and other lower-rated mortgage tranches when securitizing the underlying mortgages. They first got into mortgage-backed securities and CDOs in the early 2000s before acquiring five mortgage lenders. The firm posted multiple, consecutive losses and its share price dropped. CDOs, or collateralized debt obligations, are financial tools that banks use to repackage individual loans into a product sold to investors on the secondary market. These packages consist of auto loans, credit card debt, mortgages or corporate debt. Lehman’s big investment in mortgage securities made it especially vulnerable as the housing market started to crash.

Some major financial scandals that have taken place in India or in the world in which the ORDINARY MAN lost money are:
1. Sharada Group - Value of scam about USD 2 Billion from about 20 Lakh Depositors. The group collected around ₹20 to 30 billion (US$4–6 billion[5][6]) from over 1.7 million depositors[7] before it collapsed in April 2013. In the aftermath of the scandal, the State Government of West Bengal where the Saradha Group and most of its investors were based instituted an inquiry commission to investigate the collapse.[8] The State government also set up a fund of ₹5 billion (US$70 million) to ensure that low-income investors were not bankrupted. The scam has often been compared to the Sanchayita investment scam, a multi crore rupees scam that occurred in West Bengal in the 1970s, complaints related to which led to the formation of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act of 1978
2. Heera Gold - USD 1 Billion from about 1.72 lakh Depositors . The Enforcement Directorate pegs the scam to be worth Rs 3,000 crore, and the number of Heera Gold victims to be around 1.72 lakh. The Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) pegs the scam to be over Rs 5,460 crore and called the 15 companies floated by the Heera Gold as shell companies. Halal investments, is a form of non-interest-paying investments conforming to the Islamic Sharia laws. Unlike fixed bank interest rates, which are considered to be anti-Islam, halal schemes sell their plans as a form of partnership business with the promise of high returns. Nowhera Shaikh the chairperson, CEO and founder of Heera Gold; the company director Biju Thomas; and General Manager Mary Thomas were arrested in relation to this case.
3. Quest Net Gold Quest - USD 1.20 Billion 2 Lakh Depositors ; Gold Quest is the previous avatar of QNet, the multi-level marketing (MLM) company. QuestNet and GoldQuest, which all but closed down in 2009, emerged bigger and stronger as QNet. But the hype and hard-sell by this MLM company to ensnare people into enrolling distributors and hawking lifestyle products such as watches, gold coins, bio-discs, herbal products and travel packages was worrying. Such a model can be represented as a binary tree with each node representing a person and the 2 children nodes under it representing the referred friends. It is also called “Pyramid scheme”. Top level would be occupied by promoter and family members. By the 30th level, the entire population of the earth will be in the system and the last 3 billion people who just entered the system into the 30th level have nobody else to refer. If each member is allowed to refer 6 friends, then the entire world population will be covered by the time it reaches 13th level itself . Everybody they try to approach is already a member. The forerunners would have made huge amount of money by now and would go absconding, leading into a fraud. Vihaan, a franchisee of QI Group in India being marketed under the brand name of QNet. According to the police, Vihaan, formerly known as Gold Quest and Quest Net, is a Hong Kong-based direct selling/multi-level marketing (MLM) company owned by the QI Group. They were targeting software employees, unemployed youth and homemakers.
4 The Arbuthnot Bank crash of 1906 where everyone from the Governor downwards lost money..So scams are not a modern day invention, or something that has erupted only in free India. The Arbuthnot Bank crash led to the fall of Arbuthnot & Co, a premier British-owned financial institution in Madras Presidency, British India. In October 1906. The incident is considered to be one of the key events which influenced the Indian independence movement in Tamil Nadu. In the last quarter of 1906, Madras (now Chennai) was hit by the worst financial crisis the city was ever to suffer. Of the three best-known British commercial names in 19th-century Madras, one crashed; a second had to be resurrected by a distress sale; and the third had to be bailed out by a benevolent benefactor. Macfadyen, one of the partners, engaged in speculation, in the process losing huge amounts of the firm's money. Prior to its collapse, Arbuthnots employed between 11,000 and 12,000 people, had 7,000 creditors and £1,000,000 in liabilities. It was ascertained that the liabilities of Macfadyen's were £400,000 and there were 1,000 creditors. It was agreed by the English trustee in bankruptcy and the official assignee in Madras that the assets of the two insolvent firms were to be treated as one and the same business, all creditors were to be entitled to share rateably in the pooled assets.
5. Yes Bank/PMC, - NPA assets being concealed, depositors unable to withdraw their money. In FY16, Yes Bank’s NPAs were at over Rs 4,900 crore, while it had reported an official number of only Rs 749 crore; PMC Bank; by concealing the default on loans to the tune of Rs. 6,500 crore taken by real estate firm Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).
6. DHFL and related UPPCL/EPF, through layers of shell companies allegedly siphoned off Rs 31,000 crore; UPPCL deposited its EPF money with DHFL
7. IMA Ponzi scheme scandal – compared to others a 4,000 crores scam, but over 76,000 investors not getting back their deposit and interest. Promoter-director Mohammed Mansoor Khan is the brain and beneficiary behind it.

Some other major corporate scams are:
1. KETAN PAREKH SECURITIES SCAM (2001) =_ Parekh was involved in circular trading and stock manipulation through 1999-2001 in a host of companies. Like his mentor Harshad Mehta, Parekh too borrowed from banks like Global Trust Bank and Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative bank, and manipulated a host of stocks popularly known as K-10 stocks.
2.SATYAM (2009)An accounting scandal where Ramalinga Raju confessed to having cooked up the accounts of Satyam Computers and inflated its bank balances. He has, along with his family members, also been accused of laundering money through a mesh of hundreds of companies.
3. SAHARA (2014) Sahara - SEBI case is the case of the issuance of Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures issued by the two companies of Sahara India Pariwar to which Securities and Exchange Board of India had claimed its jurisdiction and objected on why Sahara has not taken permission from it. Sahara group grew with political support -- the samajwadi party when amar singh was a strongman there. It had its genesis when the yadav patriarch was a central minister.The group's promoter raised a lot of money through political funding (euphemistically called crowdfunding). So long as the group's business enterprise was limited to UP the funds needs were manageable. With the launch of the Sahara airlines and the foray into real estate , the funds need grew by leaps and bounds . The tradition of crowdfunding was tweaked into accepting public deposits and simultaneously the political funding dried up with the waning influence of amarsingh / yadav patriarch in SP , resulting in cash flows of the magnitude that was required to run the conglomerate, drying up.Sebi initiated prosecution and the supreme court came down heavily on the promoter as he failed to encash the real estate assets and pay off the depositors- genuine as well as benamies. The promoter was consequently jailed and the group met its deathbed status.
4. KINGFISHER SCAM After acquiring Air Deccan IN 2008, Kingfisher suffered a loss of over 1,000 crore (US$199.5 million) for three consecutive years. Payment problems(Delayed salary, Fuel Dues, Aircraft lease rental dues, Income Tax,Non-payment of dues to lenders).Ncorporate ethics were compromised in the merger. Allegations of money laundering were first made when it was speculated that Mallya had used loan money received from the banks and diverted them overseas to various tax havens. Mallya laundered the money with the help of shell companies with dummy directors that were controlled by him. The shell companies were located in seven countries, including the United Kingdom , USA, Ireland and France.

Then there are stories like that of Jet airways, ADA'S reliance.

Systems are fragile. We need to be alert where we keep our money. No institution is guaranteed to be safe.

Indian New Year's - One Nation, Many Celebration

Vishu

The Ancient indian subcontinent influence; New year, not only in some states of India, but also for her neighboring states like, Burma, Compodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Tailand. The route of Rajaraja Chola.

Those regions which follow the Solar calendar, the new year falls on Baisakhi in North and Central India,Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh Rongali Bihu in Assam, Tamil Putthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Bishuva Sankranti in Odisha and Poila Boishakh in Bengal in the month of the calendar, i.e., Vaishakha. Generally, this day falls during 14th or 15th of the month of April. Those following Lunar calendar consider the month of Chaitra (corresponding to March-April) as the first month of the year, so the new year is celebrated on the first day of this month. Similarly, few regions in India consider the period between consecutive Sankarantis as one month and few others take the period between consecutive Purnimas as a month. The traditional New Year in many South and Southeast Asian cultures is based on the sun's entry into the constellation Aries. In modern times, it is usually reckoned around the 14th of April.

Have celebrated Vishu since time immemorial, and being a Sun person, No wonder this day is of special significance for me. It's been 8 years, since I was gifted my home this day, which adds to the importance of this day.

Happy New Year dears!

God is a Gamer - Ravi Subramanian

Yet another amazing read by Ravi Subramanian. I have started loving his books. A bit of the Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham schools of writing; I keep waiting for his books like that of Dan Brown.

The book opens with a introduction on the U.S. Government’s clampdown on online payments to Wikileaks; an intense discussion between two corporate honchos, Vijay Banga, President of Mastercard International and Joseph Saunders, the CEO of Visa International. A senior U.S. Government official gets bumped off in the next chapter and things are just warming up; Senator Gillian Tan is killed pushing FBI into a vortex of mad chase. Stanford graduates, incompetent high profile bankers turned entrepreneurs, corrupt politicians, stereotypical FBI agents (and their Indian counterparts from the CBI) and a lot of other such people battling each other. This book is rapid. Aditya runs a gaming company that is struggling to break even; Varun his son join him, and turns the fortune of the company. In India, things are taking their own course; a prominent banker dies after slipping from the rooftop of a building in the middle of a party. The finance minister has made some promises that he is finding hard to keep. The LTTE has unleashed terror in America that sends the FBI on a wild goose chase, bringing them to Mumbai. Enter Varun, parttime drug dealer and fulltime genius. He turns around the gaming company before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, the investigators plunge headlong into the shady world of bitcoins and the Dark Net, websites that only exist for illegal transactions—drugs, sex and money. The book takes you from the by-lanes of Mumbai to the beaches of Goa, to the imposing buildings in Washington to the financial capital of New York. God Is a Gamer culminates in a stunning climax where money means nothing, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing is as it seems.

I have always been a fan of Ravi's gripping novels and this is no exception. The book is packed with an adrenaline rush which will not let you sleep till you finish reading it. If some bits and pieces of this book leave you in awe, horrified that such things do happen, rest assured, most of the jaw dropping moments in this book have been inspired by real life events. (23 of 2020)

8 Ways Costco is Providing a Leadership Clinic Through its COVID-19 Response - Michael E. Perry, Ph.D.

8 Ways Costco is Providing a Leadership Clinic Through its COVID-19 Response

This might sound a bit like an advertisement. It is not. I receive no compensation from this corporation (…but would accept it with great joy). If you do not have a Costco membership, you are currently missing out on one of the most compelling demonstrations of corporate responsiveness, responsibility, and leadership you will ever witness. One disclaimer: I am describing the Augusta, Georgia store. If your experience is similar in your location, please comment and let me know. If you have had a different experience, I want to know that too!

At every stage of this COVID-19 crisis, Costco has met and exceeded guidelines instituted by government entities at every level. Choose your favorite store. Whatever they have instituted, Costco is probably better. From the front door, to the checkout and exit, it is clear they are going above and beyond to protect their customers and employees so that people can get what they need and go home safely. I should note here that Costco is not perfect, but I believe that effort does count in this case. I’ve seen no one that matches their level of effort. Read on, and see if you agree…

Let’s start at the front door. The first thing I noticed a couple of weeks ago were hundreds of pallets configured to form a pathway that snaked its way to the entrance. This ensured people were guided into a single file line, with at least six feet between customers from side to side. Wondering how far to stand from the person to your front? No worries. Markings on the pavement help to create a precise 6-foot barrier to your front and rear. Impressive? Just wait.

This pallet-laden path occupies the entirety of what used to be the cart storage area, and then some. I know you are curious about the whereabouts of the carts, right? At the end of the path, a customer service agent greets you (with protective gloves on and with appropriate social distancing, of course), and asks you to wait until the way ahead is clear. When the person to your front enters the store, you are invited to move forward toward the door where another representative and a cart awaits—a freshly sanitized cart. That’s right. They have taken control of every cart on the lot. The carts are all returned to a single point, where they are wiped down and placed in the cue. There is a team of 3 to 4 employees at the front of the store. Their only job is to manage customer flow, clean carts, and distribute them to customers. Am I kidding? No.

I can be a bit of a germophobe on my best day, so as you might imagine, I have my senses set to 100%. Costco was made for people like me in this moment. There is normally a jewelry counter not far from the entrance. It’s gone. No need to have people touching surfaces on non-essential displays. Next, I found myself hesitant to open the freezer. “Do they wipe those handles down?” That was my thought. In a very few minutes, there she was—the employee responsible for wiping down freezer door handles and pretty-much anything else in the store that might be grabbed or touched. They were really talking my language at that point, but they were not done.

As I moved toward the checkout, those wonderful pavement markings appeared again. There was a staging line just as you approach the registers. All avenues of approach were blocked, except one, where the line formed. At that point stood an employee whose job it was to direct customers toward the proper check-out line. If you are a Costco regular, then you know that their registers are not marked with numbers. Minor inconvenience. They created numbers. At each checkout line, there were more markings on the floor, ensuring that we knew what 6 feet of distance looked like at every point where people might cluster.

As I approached the register, one rep took control of my cart, as the other scanned my card with a reader—no exchange required. Only a week earlier, they would have grabbed that card without hesitation. Both employees wore protective gloves, but it didn’t stop there. Costco has installed plexiglass barriers—I would assume to shield cashiers from random sneezes and coughs. After all, they have to assist hundreds of people, at close range, every day. Working at a cash register has become hazardous duty. The last step was to grab my own receipt (which I have ALWAYS wanted to do anyway), and I was on my way. Did I mention that they wipe down the checkout area after EVERY customer?

At the exit, where someone would normally grab your receipt to verify your purchase, they had me hold it up for a quick scan…hands free. If this experience were all there was, then I would be satisfied, but wait…there is more. The gas pumps…

Gas pumps are constantly being grabbed by human hands from sunrise to sunset. Costco is acutely aware of this fact. I have taken to wearing protective gloves at gas stations, but Costco is the only place where I’ve thought I might have nothing to worry about. Why? They spray and wipe down the pumps after EVERY customer. No need to adjust your screen. You are reading that correctly. Every. Single. Customer. There is a team whose sole job is to monitor the pumps in use and ensure that the nozzle, buttons, and touchable surfaces are cleaned immediately. I could probably sleep there.

So, what does all this have to do with leadership? “You shall know a tree by the fruit that it bears.” Leadership is apparent in many things that don’t scream “Look at us…we are leading!” Costco is demonstrating those things in 8 distinct ways: Anticipation. Social responsibility. Care for people. Doing the right things without being forced. Going beyond “just good enough” to possibly overdoing it to create a sense of comfort and safety. Investing what it takes to do things the right way. Responsiveness. Adaptability. Everything I witnessed at Costco suggests that this company is well-led and responsive to the needs of its employees and customers. If you read the news, Costco is not untouched by COVID-19. With such a massive workforce, that’s inevitable. But based on our conversations with employees and our observations onsite, it’s difficult to find any other establishment going to such lengths.

How might Costco’s approach inform your approach to leadership? In what ways are you demonstrating these leadership behaviors—especially during crisis? Review these and consider what they might look like in your day-to-day actions:

• Anticipation
• Social responsibility
• Care for people
• Doing the right things without being forced
• Overdoing it to create a sense of comfort and safety
• Investing what it takes to do things the right way (not always monetary)
• Responsiveness
• Adaptability
If these behaviors describe you or your organization, there will be more good days than bad.

Dr. Mike

Lady, You're The Boss! - Apurva Purohit

Apurva Purohit is the President of the Jagran Group, one of India's largest multimedia conglomerates. Her second book - Lady, You're the Boss!: The Adventures of a Woman at Work – Part 2; is from one sister to another - for the force to be within us. To begin with it says success is not a matter of aptitude and talent but attitude and perseverance. 22 of 2020

This book is broadly divided into two parts:

First part dealing with life-changing events like a minimum life, imposter syndrome, Strengths not weaknesses, need to feel needed, Learning to let go, last woman standing, The lioness and the dormouse, subconscious bias, ass the single ladies, token woman, Finding sisterhood, real life role models, menopause, midlife crises and somebody's something.

The second part - post interval stage preparing us to soar further higher, above and beyond the limits of imagination. It covers tough love, taming the underling, great communicators, Prioritizing, curiosity, No choice - but choose, perseverance, planning the implementation, measurement and monitoring, Creating winning team, Kehna Karna Nibhana, culture vulture, Personal accountability.

Core of leadership is about positively influencing people and helping transform them into their best version. Most important skill to teach children is resilence. Courage is needed. Good quality reins that can help execute a project successfully or run a business well combine two things, high quality dashboards with regular reviews that have a cadence and momentum and are implemented with military-like rigour and second and more important is the ability to get the measurement metrics right.

Creativity Unleashing

Heart Yearns for Love & Understanding - Praying for Peace - During these trying times - Part 4

We are living in challenging time, and it brings opportunities. Opportunity of a lifetime, to do things we always wanted to do. So nice to see creativity unleashing from friends and family members - variety food recipes, short stories, songs - music composition, paintings, gardening, craft work....wow...the list seems endless. Some to cherish for future:

Creative talents unleashed, team work, across borders, linking together old friends and talentes.....Amazing job Mili Pallath and team.....Undoubtedly Mili is amazingly talented in Singing, dance and art, and has been making so many wonderful paintings these days - but these days, the novice was bringing out this video with friends across....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O54jD6X6mEo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2-C6yRTDxfS7UwI9mYsdNDZr5cgnVMpjzo3OudadDXUnl-o7--RyGiHgE

There's a new little thing in town
Which until sometime ago was an unknown
It came out of nowhere
Now making headlines everywhere..

Capturing the attention of nations
Making governments pass resolutions
Scientists hunting for vaccinations
Its given us a few realizations..

Corona.. Corona.. Corona..
There's something about this virus Corona
Corona.. Corona.. Corona..
A worldwide pandemic called Corona...
We all feel the same fears
A dear one lost brings down tears
Humans everywhere are one and the same
Though differences minor in how we play our game...

Powerful heads of states have humbled
As stock markets crashed and tumbled
It's making us live inside bubbles
As we fear the worst of its troubles...
[06/04, 22:23] Mili: There's a new little thing in town
Which until sometime ago was an unknown
It came out of nowhere
Now making headlines everywhere..

Capturing the attention of nations
Making governments pass resolutions
Scientists hunting for vaccinations
Its given us a few realizations..

Corona.. Corona.. Corona..
There's something about this virus Corona
Corona.. Corona.. Corona..
A worldwide pandemic called Corona...
[06/04, 22:23] Mili: It's going to be a rough ride
But surely the tide shall subside
Prevent it by keeping good hygiene
Stay indoors, healthy, strong and clean...

This is a rare calamity
To hit upon humanity
Unseen brings unheard unity
As our hearts fill with empathy..

Corona.. Corona.. Corona..
There's something about this virus Corona
Corona.. Corona.. Corona..
A worldwide pandemic called Corona...
Lyrics by Hariprasad, another buddy

https://www.facebook.com/Meera.T.V/videos/10157155227027081/ - Loved the lyrics and the evergreen music. Good one 👌

The quarantine period has brought the creativity back in people. Hope they keep it going, and use it in the positive way.

_-------

When mother Earth is taken for free
And everyone starts to cut the trees
The earth puts a force
Very dangerous from its source

But if we remain kind
Then she keeps her mind
She gives our life a cool ride
She is very kind and humble
And for the farmers makes the sky rumble

She can raze the humanity to the ground
And there is no value for a pound
This time it is covid-19
And the problems have to be seen
So let her calm down
And give a chance to come around

To improvise the world
We have to get hurled
Lets start to count what all are our misdeeds
What wrong things it may to lead
Latest by now let's all become wise
Or there will be no otherwise

-T. Menon

_------

Not only are we going to have long queue for Master Chef competition, but also publishers are going to have a tough time deciding on the books to be published and edited. Even kids are turning out to be terrific writers.

A caring daughter, loving wife, supportive mother of two charming daughters, Data Analyst, Super cook, Dancer, Singer, Fashion Designer - Amidst all these, Hands on painting as well.....Payal Tu Se great ho.....

-----------

https://medium.com/@iasule/the-goan-fish-curry-memories-and-more-c2b32f29ce5a

Testing Times

Heart Yearns for Love & Understanding - Praying for Peace - During these trying times - Part 3



Natural virus, Nationalist virus, Communial virus and here comes the new kind - the Corona Virus.

Communal Virus and riot ; Jihadi Virus, Christu virus, Hindutva virus; the debates on the latest one was still ongoing, case and investigation is till on. Natural virus/ disasters - where going round the corners, during last couple of years. Pandemics are not particularly new. In fact, COVID-19 is simply the latest in a long line of pandemics. But this one has a rather modern streak. Covid-19 has used the connectedness of our globalised world to spread. And spread with such speed and stealth, that containment — keeping the virus out — has proved to be almost impossible. This has errupted amidst, the much-peopled political dramas in Bhopal and Bangalore in connection with the unseating of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and the ‘Coronation’ of the new one; along with 'Corona-ting' Ranjan Gogoi into Rajya Sabha, soon after his tenure as Supreme court Justice. The grand ga-ga/pomp and show of Trumps visit, appeared to disappeared into oblivion, amidst these tragedies. Well the fund maneuvering, and allocation to Gujarat, the spend, from MP fund. February was a wasted month. Not only at hindsight but even otherwise we can say, instead of Trump, Madhya Pradesh, once #Covid_19 detected, govt should have immediately moved on to strengthening the medical strength of the county. In hind sight it could have included, targeted lockdowns, building huge capacity in medical equipment, hospitals, talking to CMs. India has never been short of diseases. The Government had always had their priorities wrong. So many times, so many had emphasized the need for better hospitals, some had suggested that to be done, even on the disputed land of Ayodhya, which was laughed at. Cases: 2.79 million/year; Deaths: 435k /year. That's not Corona. That's TB in India, how it is usually, 1100 deaths a day. Except, you don't get daily case scores, world doesn't panic about it. And even though it transmits thru air, we don't do lockdowns for it.

Amidst all these, what we see, particularly in India as elsewhere are three India’s ; One ( at home ); doing yoga, watching TV, playing; the other ( trying to reach home ) Fighting for survival , Without food, Without shelter, Without support and the third one, trying to support the second kind ; either by their sweet will; or on the instructions from the first kind.


Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause disease in animals. Seven, including the new virus, have made the jump to humans, but most just cause cold-like symptoms. Covid-19 is closely related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) which swept around the world in 2002 to 2003; but is different given the spectrum of disease is broad, with around 80 per cent of cases leading to a mild infection. There may also be many people carrying the disease and displaying no symptoms, making it even harder to control. The source of the coronavirus is believed to be a "wet market" in Wuhan which sold both dead and live animals including fish and birds.
Such markets pose a heightened risk of viruses jumping from animals to humans because hygiene standards are difficult to maintain if live animals are being kept and butchered on site. Typically, they are also densely packed allowing disease to spread from species to species. The animal source of Covid-19 has not yet been identified, but the original host is thought to be bats. Bats were not sold at the Wuhan market but may have infected live chickens or other animals sold there. Initial symptoms include fever, dry cough, tiredness and a general feeling of being unwell. Other symptoms are emerging such as a lost of taste and smell and stomach problems. There is no specific treatment, although doctors are trialling existing drugs for viruses such as Ebola, malaria and HIV. Early results seem promising but, until full clinical trials have been concluded, doctors cannot be certain that the drugs are effective. Work to develop a vaccine is accelerating but it is unlikely to be available until next year. Like cold and flu bugs, the virus is spread via droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. The droplets land on surfaces and are picked up on the hands of others and spread further. People catch the virus when they touch their infected hands to their mouth, nose or eyes. It follows that the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself is keep your hands clean by washing them frequently with soap and water or a hand sanitising gel.

The first case in India was detected in Thrissur, Kerala on 30th Jan 2020 a student studying in Wuhan. By the first of February, 324 Indians were evacuated in the first flight and another 323 Indians and seven Maldivian citizens were flown back in the second flight. Bringing them back was an uphill task, 10 people were not allowed to come as they had high temperature. The special Air India plane carrying 211 students, 110 working professionals and three minors from Wuhan reached Delhi around 7.30 am on Saturday. The Indian Army had set up a quarantine facility in Manesar near Delhi to keep those evacuated from China's Hubei province. They were monitored for any signs of infection for a duration of two weeks by a qualified team of doctors and staff members.


"Feb 12 : The Corona Virus is an extremely serious threat to our people and our economy. My sense is the government is not taking this threat seriously. Mar 13
I will keep repeating this. The #coronavirus is a huge problem. Ignoring the problem is a non solution. The Indian economy will be destroyed if strong action is not taken. The government is in a stupor." - Rahul Gandhi kept mentioning about this; he did give his contribution to his constituency way back in February itself as well. . Timely action is critical. On April 2nd HM tweeted, Under PM India’s efforts to fight Coronavirus are being lauded domestically and globally. 130 crore Indians are united to defeat COVID-19. Yet, Congress is playing petty politics. High time they think of national interest and stop misleading people.Dear @amitshah ji, to quote @narendramodi, criticism is the essence of democracy. @incIndia has only the national interest in mind —which means the interests of those Indian nationals your Govt overlooked in its #LockdownWithoutPlan &its inadequate financial package. HelpIndians! - Shashi Tharoor tweeted. Why pull in the
@INC when you are talking about your ‘successful’ efforts at managing the pandemic? That actually is petty. It shows the mindset.

I don't care about congress. They are lost case long time ago; unless they do something to revive themselves. My concern is what will you do about the migrant workers within the country and tablighi jamaat? You are our HM. Its your duty to protect us and not keep blaming opposition at this juncture, when you did not mention anything in tweet even after Delhi riot. Is'nt it more important and critical, that out internal migrant issues are taken care of and be the priority?

Janata curfew has been followed on 22nd March. Thali has been bajaoed. On thali to doctors: their life is no different today than it was last year. Corona or not, aren’t these guys always attending to people who need them; othertimes they are lost in oblivion for the rest of their lives, probably until another such crisis occurs. They’re fighting 3 wars (Something you may not have noticed)

1) War with the virus
2) War with the systems and infrastructure which the nation is short of (Fun fact: India has only 2-3 beds per population of 1000, while countries like Italy and China have 12-13 beds for a 1000 people count)
3) War with the people
(Fun fact: Doctors are being stone pelted; slapped; ill-treated; beaten up by the family of their patients. They are being thrown out of their houses by the society or their land lords because they are said to bring in the virus with them. Within ten days, some people went from a clap to a slap.)

https://obvlife.wordpress.com

On 24th March, 21 day shut down was announced at 8pm - when such a major announcement was made to public at large, was the state government's given heads up, to make necessary arrangements? Had PM consulted CM's for lock down to make arrangements? Excellent to hear that PM spoke to all opposition leaders and CMs over weekend of 2nd April and has now planned a video con with political parties on Wed. Well done!Thumbs up. Should have happened much earlier but better late than never.



The rich migrants were brought back to India before Air flights were shut down, while the poor local migrants suffered after the announcement. True, it is painful, and there are people who need to suffer , especially during critical times. And when these people reach Uttar Pradesh, Chemical water is sprayed on them! Is it an human act? How many women with period would have been in that group? Wish such acts are not repeated, and there is a heart to at least segregate them, and do it in private. With migration, began the blame game again. It was said Electricity and water was disconnection based on the districts of the people? Is that really possible? Like how PM can identify people from their dress! - A friend of mine emailed HM "Dear Hon. Home Minister Shri Shah, With a lot of hopes, I am writing to you to draw your attention to time critical national security issues, pertaining to the current situation of COVID-19 in India. Sir, none of the following are unknown to you, however I would like to enumerate a few reasons why Delhi should be subjected to President’s rule and those who are playing with security of our great country and now with health of its citizen. Just any one of these reasons should be sufficient for this action, while you have more than one: 1. The State of Delhi went through horrific riots, which were planned, manufactured, and instigated by Arvind Kejriwal and his core team. 2. The State of Delhi is under panic due to direct efforts of the Govt of Delhi, under the plans of its CM Arvind Kejriwal, which caused a lot of Indians to get into panic mode and began to leave their houses, leave the city of Delhi to go to their villages that they left years ago. Even if we ignore the offense of calling them ‘migrants’ in their own country, the act of perpetuating their panic, and pushing them towards dense states of Utter Pradesh and Haryana, causing them to get infected with the virus due to lack of protection that they had in their four walls, spread of virus to other people, and finally to public transportation, and villages/ cities they may land into, all these are purposefully caused by CM Kejriwal. 3. The State of Delhi has severe health care system problems that are purposely perpetuated by the government led by Arvind Kejriwal. 4. The State of Delhi is under a Chief Minister who has links with foreign organizations and individuals that are working against the interests of our country and our people, such as bodies like ISI, Chinese Communist Party, Ford Foundation, Khalistani independence movement, individuals like George Soros, to name a few. As responsible and caring citizens we are taking utmost care to unite India in our fight against this virus. We are extremely concerned, anxious and disturbed due to Delhi crowding incidents. We have kept huge faith and trust on our PM and HM and following all your guidelines. All eyes are on you to act on this Delhi crowing incident. It is indispensable for you to take very strong action about this and we have not even heard from you. Sir, please, use your power to save my country and its people from these powers. I would strongly urge to impose the Presidents rule, just like during major wars, states and sometimes entire nation needs Presidents rule. This is a war. A war with the virus and perpetrators of this virus and their agents sitting right there in Delhi."

Education has nothing to do with intelligence, wisdom, commonsense, compassion etc.. here is a written proof, we can never convince or win an argument against a fundamentalist in our life time. It's proven. Nobody can make a fundamentalist understand that he is wrong.

As #IndiaFightsCorona, PM is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that every Indian is comforted and benefits from the relief measures announced. Steps taken by the RBI , further reinforce this. But wonder why a new account and plea to join hands in this fight against COVID-19 and contribute to PM-CARES fund launched by PM?. Will this go to NGOs and charitable institutions etc in the name to rebuild country and will be back in the economy .. official money laundering, layering, placement and integration? Classic work it will be. Hope it is not part of Fund raiser to buy more MP's and 2024 elections. It is also now reported that the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), which is a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic, will have up to 13 eminent experts to undertake relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency including the creation and up-gradation of healthcare facilities. Most importantly, the eminent experts will be working pro bono. It has been set up as a public charitable trust. The Prime Minister is the chairman of this trust and its members include Defence Minister, Home Minister And Finance Minister. The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund has always had the President of Congress party in its managing committee, is the reason what they say for creating new fund!

NSA Ajit Doval had to visit Nizamuddin at 2 am to convince Markaz head, Maulana Saad, to vacate the building when the latter rejected pleas from Delhi Police and other security agencies. Total of 2,361 people have been brought out from Markaz in Nizamuddin in a joint operation by authorities which lasted 36 hours till 4 am on 1st April. Out of these, 617 have been sent to hospitals while the rest have been sent to different quarantine facilities. An FIR was registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and others under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897. Six people from Telangana who attended the gathering have already died due to coronavirus.

Every year there is Basant urs in Nizamuddin dargah then Ajmer, Lot of people go for pilgrimage and they have religious session,speeches and prayers.Some of them r blind followers. Some of them fanatic to extreme. All overthe world come for it.how u have kedarnath and badrinath yatra same way. Now now lockdown was donebefore ajmer urs. First people visit Nizamuddin then Ajmer. That's the rule. But maybe due to lockdown this people got stuck.And stayed in Masjid, thinking nowhere to go it's safe place and got distributed, didn't Modi say " Aap jaha hey Wahi reheye' And see what happened. Actually when Mecca is closed even this urs should have been called off. I feel government should have stopped this and should have educated about the danger. Government and Religious head both r to be blamed, some fanatics who attended, were so frustrated, on detecting virus infected, they were behaving insanely with doctors and nurses. Their photos should have been published, and no treatment given to them. But other patients were shifted to different ward. Gharib Nawaz died in 1236. The death anniversary of a Sufi saint’s death is not mourned, it is celebrated. Urs means “wedding" in Arabic and it symbolizes the union of the lover with the beloved, who is God. “Ajmer is the little Medina," says Sadia Dehlvi, author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. “Sufism is about making linkages to God through his friends. In Medina, there is the spiritual presence of Prophet Muhammad. In Ajmer, one experiences the same closeness to God, for Khwaja sahib is a direct descendant and lover of the Prophet," says Dehlvi.

A new Muslim villain for every novel occasion, in this case the ‘novel Coronavirus’ occasion, the morons who congregated in Nizamuddin did not disappoint at all. Tabligh won the otherwise multi-religious competition only because they hosted many hundreds of foreigners from Corona-infested countries -- all 'desperately seeking paradise’ within a closed space -- and thus gave the virus a free rein; on a platter one more stick to beat the Muslims with. This could have crept out of the Isha Shivrathri celebration, UP Ramnavami celebration, or the Parliament, which was not adjourned till it was demanded by so many within and outside India. What if this had started spreading during the Trump visit, so many in Gujarat and Agra would have been effected.

The Virus didn't have any religion in China, Italy, Spain, USA.

Then it entered India.
Now it is Religion War 🙏

I think fanatism should be stopped; humanity is first but then there are these fanatic people who brainwash and take advantage. Deceny is lost. Playing religious card has become new norm or fashion. Everytime blame on Moguls or Nehru/Gandhi. It is indeed hurting to see people still spreading hate and terrorism, even during these crucial hours. Sikhs being killed in Afghan - and they say the terrorist was from Kerala, :-( ; In one of the deadliest operations seen along the Line of Control, a hand-to-hand combat and close fire ensued Saturday that left five Special Forces personnel killed in action in Jammu and Kashmir’s Keran sector even as they managed to take out five terrorists who had sneaked in from Pakistan.

We as a country was proud of her unity in diversity absorbed everything beautiful from all religions and made our cultural heritage strong. But platform of democracy and roots shouldn't be ignored. Aurangzeb was brutal and Fanatic mad ruler but he survived for 87 yrs in regime he ruled 3 generation. So it's difficult to ignore his brutality towards Hindus. British ruled India for almost 200 years.

Yes I am against the behaviour during Markaz. But why always take a opportunity and start playing religious card. Sometime I fail to understand, first the migrants, then the religious gatherer and now the supreme court has allowed opening of Kerala Karnataka border for essentials. Don't know why, they should have said essential would be delivered on the border and police or force of each state take it, else it would reach through Railway. Kerala Government was keen in having Karnataka border open for Kasarkode, but considering the rising cases in Coimbatore, wants to keep Palakad border closed.

Some people are quite pissed off with malayalees now. They feel malayalees are using the current crisis to glorify the kerala government. Looks like kerala being in the limelight is upsetting quite a bit of people. So I thought of Sharing (written by someone else - got as a forward in whatsapp) some of the things kerala has been doing to fight Covid-19.

The state was ready with isolation wards from 24th Jan.
Health minister has been updating her official page from 22nd Jan as to what measures the government is taking in response to the threat.
By Jan 30th, kerala had the first positive case. It was a student returning from Wuhan.
Then 2 more students were tested positive.
On Feb 4th Kerala declared state emergency/disaster and by 8th they recalled it cos the situation was under control.
By Feb 14th all of the three cases were declared successfully recovered.
There was no secondary spread and the number of people in quarantine was coming down.
Kerala started screening travellers at the airport. And people were advised what to do if they feel sick.
Every day a detailed list of people in isolation at hospital, at home , people in observation and people cleared was published.
8th March - New corona cases were confirmed.
10th March - Kerala cancelled all public events.
11th March - Kerala shuts schools, colleges,movie halls till 31st.
12th March - Kerala govt launches mobile app for details of Covid -19.
12th March - Kerala decides to deliver mid-day meals to homes so that kids won't suffer.
16th March - Kerala launches "break the chain " campaign. (With the support of the opposition party. )
The government spent so much time educating people the importance of hand wash.
Extra beds and wards were arranged. Made sure ambulances were available.
24th March - Kerala appoints 276 doctors via PSC. They were already in the rank list.
24th March - Kerala goes into lockdown till 31st.
Essential services are still open. And they made it clear what is available and what isn't.
Kerala deployed special squads to ensure food safety.
They provided staples to transgenders.
Started community kitchens so that people don't go hungry.
Guests laborers from other states were taken care of.
CM spoke against the stigma in corona patients.
CM asked to treat our foreign guests with respect.
CM came on tv and asked if possible, feed the stray animals.
THE GRANULARITY AMAZES ME.

Why so many cases in kerala?
Because of extensive testing. And kerala has done absolutely brilliant work in contact tracing. The experience Nipah has given kerala proved to be very useful in this scenario.
An example below.

Why kerala is different?
Kerala had a plan A and B in place from Jan 30. Kerala had to make a plan C on March 8th following the second set of positive cases from Pathanamthitta.

First it was the health minister doing regular press conference to make sure people know the progress, then the CM also joined the daily press meets and yes he took questions. Every concern was taken care of or addressed properly. His press meets are so reassuring. It shows they know what they are doing. It shows confidence.

Don't get me wrong. I know many states are doing great things for their people.This post is not to belittle anyone's effort. It is to educate that Kerala is a step above; but not best; as even Kerala could have prevented it. Delhi's 5 Ts to fight COVID-19:

Testing
Tracing
Treatment
Teamwork
Tracking & Monitoring

At supermarkets like everywhere else, we can see, moving out non essential, standing in rectangle boxes outside, entering only 5-6 at a time, wiping freezer handles, these are followed here as well. May be best practice from costco. But only for a temporary while since last week. It's tough to follow them in crowded places, when people are in a hurry.

Well but this is not the end. Once the airports are open, we would have tons of people flying in from overseas. Though they may be asked to be quarantined, there would be some, who would escape the police and customs, to create further spread and nuisance to people around. For now, special prayers to people across the world, especially New York, Mumbai, Italy, Spain. My heartfelt Thanks to all the frontline workers, struggling to bring life to normal, at this juncture.

Politics is dirty play. Even during this period of struggle, politicians are doing back door work in progress😀Politics, Politicians and Political morons continue with their blame game, even during sensetive times, crossing borders when borders are closed, creating divides when the spread is without any divide, playing blame game when unity and appreciation is the need of the hour each blind to their selfish so called ideologies. God Bless this world. Stay Safe dears. Share goods and things with those who need around you but keep the distance. Love and Prayers. Wishing all a safe passage of this time. Would want to talk to all, but don't think it is possible. But each one of you are in my prayers. Thanks to Corona Virus, some people have understood, there is no need to Hurry and Hate; in fact there is time only for Love and positivity. A little bit of carelessness is enough to bring back and get the numbers to multiply in geometric progression. Hope the government realise the priorities at least now!

Lockdown has been done. Lights have been turned off. Diya has been lit.



There are these kinds of forwards floating around and discussions on them as well, liked my schoolies comment "While this is true, but who gets to decide who is stupid. As per each their perspective is wisdom and the others are stupid. How would it be if we say “ we are fighting Covid-19 and ego filled perspectives”.

Once India wins the battle against COVID-19, there will be a bigger war waiting — fixing the large-scale disruption caused by the unprecedented shutdown, the former RBI Governor said. He says the government should have a plan for what happens next after the lockdown, even if the virus is not defeated by then. There is no way a billion-plus population can be locked down for a longer period of time. Lifting the lock down, by itself is going to be a challenging task, it has to be meticulously planned, or people would jump into a party mode, hugging each other, and dancing around.

Virus hunters | A race against time to stop the next pandemic, is around; but can anyone stop what ought to happen? If yes, request they stop the other kind of viruses as well. What will be, will be! Alas! Virus is too secular, and here to teach a lesson on secularism.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Birthdays are like fresh bloom flowers, that promise us of joyful hours, in lives garden glowing insight, of God's loving crystal light.

A Self distancing birthday, with Covid looming around, was not only confined to house, but was also unfortunately, bed-ridden. But that did not dither the celebration.

Fast asleep, my sister woke me up at 12 am, wishing said, either I bake a cake and have it, or she will bake a cake and send a pic. I can cut it.

My daughter Afsa had already wished me, and then it was message from Geetha's Bhabi - followed by wishes from Schoolies , friends and relatives. Pondered over the Sadhya mother used to make - missed my grandmother, both of us were born on the same day; and remembered how Achan loved celebrations and cooking, and would make sumptuous sadhya all by himself for his birthday when I was hospitalized due to an accident, and bring ladoos to office where I did my articleship on his birthday. Amma tried to visit wherever I was this day. It would be a special day for her. The day she became a mother first.

Then spend some time thinking of my four birthdays in US, the lovely cake and home in UK with a pleasant surprise from Radhi.

Away, far different and unique from all that, was this one; a social networking birthday - celebrated confined to the four walls, but with messages pouring from across the globe - with tasks and lovely songs and yummy recipes and food pictures.



From School group had wishes saying from our Padmini Kolhapuri- Happiest Bday to the person who is a kind soul and brought us all together ,the origin of the group ,HAPPY BDAY DEAR MEERA 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂Payal HCCS: Oh... Meera you are my sweet darling, can’t say enough how much I admire you.; HCCS Mini: Meera, have a economical birthday...yeh milestone bhi yaad rahega kuch saal baad...r parents used to talk about emergency days...now we can share r experiences of the lockdown days😊
Ritanjali Banglore: Meera a challenge for u : do something today, that u can never think of doing.....and post a pic, what say girl; that was now tricky and I asked for suggestions, and it came pouring in:Sailakshmi: Meera taking a selfie with a pout and wink 🤣; Sheetal HCCS ALT: My suggestion is meera...get ready in a glamour western outfit with a glamours look 😀; Priya Arun Hccs: Meera kya karegi humare liye ....Hindi mein ek kavita ya speech suna...tera wala shudh hindi...waiting fr ur vid; Shailaja: Meera ka tik tok video😀; Hccs Monali: Meera, try wearing a hot look .. saree with sleeveless blouse , bold red lipstick .. 😘
Ritanjali Banglore: *Waqt to phir waqt hai, guzar hi jayega,*
*Aaj nahi to kal sab theek ho hi jayega,*
*Kal tak waqt ki kami thi,*
*Zindagi jaane kis raftaar se bhaag rahi thi,*
*Aur hum uske peeche.*
*Ye jo din beet rahe hain, inhein khwaab main dekhe they,*
*Haqeeqat main har kisi ko waqt se kitni shikayat thi,*
*Kahin kuch rahaat ke pal naseeb hon,*
*Kuch waqt mile apnon ke saath guzaarne ko*
*Bachon ke saath baith kar wo bachapan ke khel khelne ko,*
*Ek dusre ke kaam main haath batane ko,*
*Doston se fursat main baat karne ko,*
*aaj Waqt ruka hai,*
*To hum kyun ruk nahi paa rahe hai,*
*Kyu bechain hain,*
*In palon ko jee nahi pa rahe,*
*Kal kya hoga kaun jaanta hai,*
*Jo hoga acha hi hoga,*
*Ye yaqeen Rab par rakhna hai,*
*Apnon kaa khayal rakhna hai,*
*Aur zara sa hausla rakhna hai,*
*Waqt to phir waqt* *hai*
*Chahe jitna bhi bura ho,*
*Guzar hi jayega....*

Ritanjali Banglore kept reminding, tera pout pic pending hai.

Oh! Ya, what I did, right - I said the joke from childhood - " Main koye Netha ya leader nahi hoo" ; in Hindi. A great reminisce.

Aish's mallu song was too good; well appreciated by all and gave goosebumps to many while hearing it.

Thanks to all my dear family, friends, relatives and schoolies for making my day today, with lovely wishes, yummy food, new knowledge and tons of liveliness.💋❤👄Stay Active, Be Blessed. Happiness Always!