Category: Off The Cuff

Random Essays on various Topics

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-03

About: This is a story, told from my perspective, on what happened this week, in our World.

Everywhere

Indonesia

On 9th January 2021, Sriwijaya Air flight SJY 182, a 26 year old Boeing 737-500 aircraft, took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, on a routine flight – usually 90 minutes – to Pontianak, in the West Kalimantan province of the Island of Borneo. In a few minutes after take-off the plane climbed to a height of 11000 feet when suddenly it dropped to about 3000 feet, in less than a minute, and then unexpectedly crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 50 passengers and 12 crew members. This included seven children and three babies. The plane has a capacity of 130, and all people on-board the flight were Indonesian. The reason for the crash is unclear and the black boxes, both of which have been found and retrieved, are being analysed to find answers.

Indonesian rescuers have pulled body parts, clothing and scraps of metal from the Java Sea on Sunday morning thereby confirming the crash. And search operations are in full swing.

This is only the 5th accident for Sriwijaya and the first involving onboard deaths. On 27 August 2008, Boeing 737-200, Flight 62 overran the runway at Jambi, Sumatra, striking and killing a farmer in a nearby hut who was taking shelter from the rain.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation, with a population of more than 260 million people. Sriwijaya Air, established on 10 November 2003, is Indonesia’s third largest Domestic, Budget Airline operating from its hub at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia. It flies people to about 53 destinations within Indonesia and three regional countries.

Air travel is inherently risky and Airline Operators adopt some of the best safety measures available in any mode of human transportation. We can only wish and hope technology further improves and evolves to minimise the chances of an accident off this magnitude.

Going back in time, Srivijaya (written as Sri Vijaya or Sriwijaya) is a Sanskrit derived name meaning ‘prosperous victor’. The name is based on an historical Indonesian Buddhist thalassocracy (ie. primarily maritime realms, seaborne empire) based in Sumatra, Indonesia between the 8th and 12th century. It was the first unified Kingdom, in the region, to dominate much of the Malay Archipelago.

History says that in a rare case of India attacking another country, the Chola King, Rajendra Chola-I, son of the great RajaRaja Chola, of India’s Tamilnadu invaded the Srivijaya Kingdom and brought it to its knees to accept the Chola suzerainty. The provocation was said to be disputes over trade routes by the Srivijya Kingdom affecting a flourishing trade between the Cholas and the Chinese. And the Cholas had an awesome fleet of warships at that time with much of sea-coast under their control. Rajendra Chola-I, one of the greatest Kings of India, expanded the Chola Empire like none before him taking it to the banks of the Ganges in North India and across the Bay of Bengal. The Chola Empire’s territories extended to coastal Burma, the Andaman & Nicobar Island, Lakshawadeep, Maldives, Sumatra, Java, Malaya, and neighbouring Sri Lanka, during his reign between 1014 and 1044 CE.

The Cholas have been one of my all-time favourites with fabulous achievements to their credit. Theirs was a great Empire, and it is distressing to learn that very little is written and known about them in India. And I hope that I have ignited a ‘kind of spark’ here.

Reeling from the aircraft disaster, Indonesia was struck again, this time by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake, on Friday morning, on the Island of Sulwesi, leaving at least 30 dead. This came just hours after an earlier, smaller tremor. Hundreds of people were injured and thousands displaced by the quake.

Disaster never comes alone? It brings along its brothers, sisters and cousins, I guess!

Uganda

Reggae singer, pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, aged 38, – real name, Robert Kyagulanyi – hopes to unseat long-serving Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who has been in power of near about 35 years, since the fall of Dictator Idi Amin. And is one of the world’s most despised Dictators. Museveni is seeking a sixth term in the Elections being held on 14th January and besides Bobi Wine there are nine other challengers in the fray.

Over the last two decades Bobi Wine has written and sung songs about improving basic needs in Uganda: access to healthcare, education, clean water, and justice, which music he wishes to string into a Presidential win.

Bobi Wine’s mother was a nurse who worked to bring bread to the table, and bought land in Kampala’s Kamwokya slum where Bobi built his world-famous recording studio. This has earned Bobi Wine the title of ’Ghetto President’ with the run for the presidency.

His song, ‘Tuliyambala Engule‘ (We shall wear the Victor’s Crown) has become one of the campaign’s unofficial themes.

There has never been a peaceful handover of power in Uganda. The Government has suspended social media and internet services during the Elections. Counting is underway, and we hope to hear a new reggae music album hit the Ugandan Charts. Will it be ‘wine’ for the celebrations? Early counting results show President Museveni leading, and results may be declared in the coming days. Let the music play on. Uganda’s national bird, the grey crowned crane, looking down from this week’s doodle, will make its pick, for sure.

The United States of America (USA), again.

On 13 January, The USA executed the first woman, Lisa Montgomery, 52, in nearly 70 years, since 1953. She was the only woman on a death row and was executed by lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of a pregnant woman, cutting the fetus out and kidnapping it, in the year 2004. The baby survived.

The US Supreme Court denied a last-ditch effort by the Defense Attorneys who argued that she should have been given a competency hearing to prove her severe mental illness, which would have made her ineligible for the death penalty.

Jaws-II

Meanwhile, we are not done with President Donald Trump who on Wednesday was impeached a second time for instigating the horrible insurrection riots of Capitol Hill, in a culmination of a ‘I do not accept the Presidential Election Results – the Election was stolen from me’ attitude. This is the first-ever US President to be impeached twice, and that too in a single term. Now, the Senate should decide whether to throw him out of Office, which is unlikely as it requires a 2/3rds majority vote. He might live to see another Election having escaped the jaws of justice twice over?

I’m disappointed with the Republicans for failing to control this ‘Bull in an American Shop’. The ten Republicans who broke ranks and voted to impeach the President have the conscience, which others don’t.

Looking up, a lot for firsts are being added to American History. Make America great, again?

Test Cricket Down Under

Playing traditional Test Cricket with Australia, in Australia, India was horribly ‘ground under’, badly mauled in the first test, losing it with what looked like a ‘mobile number score card’ in the second innings. Then it started climbing from the down and clawed back to a superb win in the second test to level the series 1-1. Now in the third test India showed sublime steely defiance to bat out the final day and draw the match-chasing an unlikely 407 runs to win. India got to a score of 334 with five wickets down in an incredible performance, which will go down in Indian Test Cricket History as one of the best fight-backs.

There’s a deciding fourth match coming up in the Test Series and the Winner can still take it all. With Indian Captain Virat Kohli taking ‘baby leave’ (It’s a girl) filling-in Captain Ajinkya Rahane, is becoming man enough to lead the Team, milking the Australian muscle.

Vaccines, again

India is beginning to roll out one of the biggest Vaccination drives in the world with the precious Vaccines, stored cold, being dispatched to various destinations across India. The first vaccination is expected to happen on the 16th January.

I say, get that arm ready for the punch!

Data Security and Breaches

This is a topic on a high these days with people debating on which messenger service to move to after the very popular Facebook owned WhatsApp announced some fat changes in its Privacy & Data sharing Rules between its Companies, to take effect from 8 February 2021. Who reads the legal-jargon fully loaded-fine print anyway before ticking ‘I accept’? Suddenly, there was a scramble to discover other messenger Apps with leaner terms & conditions. My College Group hunted down Signal after initially tinkering with Telegram, and we are moving to new data highways.

Meanwhile, in a data breach unprecedented in its scale in India, a large multi-speciality private Hospital in Kerala had all of its patients’ records of the last five years leaked on to the internet. These were records of Medical Test Results, Scans, Prescriptions, etc., searchable by a unique patient ID.

The Government too was caught napping, when in early January this year there was a story on a technology portal about how details of COVID-19 test results of tens of thousands of patients were leaked on the internet through multiple Government of Delhi domains.

How does this happen? Most common ways are, criminal hacking, human error, malware, unauthorised use, social engineering, etc.

What do we do to prevent data breaches from happening? Some tips are: Limit access to valuable data, conduct employee security awareness training, company-wide, update software regularly, encrypt data, and develop a cyber breach. Keep updating that software on your Mobile Phones, Computers and other software driven electronic devices.

My golden rule is, engage with social media ‘fully dressed’ and undress yourself only when you are at home. Share, and ‘show things’ that you would like everyone in this world to see and don’t mind it… and keep all other things to yourself.

Please Yourself

It was a tiring day, after close-of-work I had a hot shower-allowing the steam to caress the skin and soften the body, and then decided I deserved to reward myself with a good movie. I switched on Netflix and after the mandatory flirting through a cornucopia of movie choices opened the curtain on Rajiv Menon’s inspirational 2019 Tamil movie ‘Sarvam Thaalamayam’ (rhythms everywhere) starring music director G V Prakash as the hero, Peter Johnson. G V Prakash? Oops, I had never seen him act in a movie before this. Never mind, let the film roll.

It’s a story about a famous mridangam player named Vembu Iyer – strung impeccably by the great Malayalam Film Actor, Nedumudi Venu – and his student Peter Johnson, son of a poor expert mridangam maker. Peter is a diehard fan of Actor Vijay with innate music skills, which he displays to wide acclaim on the streets, when celebrating the film openings of his hero. While delivering a mridangam to the maestro Vembu Iyer, playing on Stage, he is enthralled by the scene and decides to learn from the master himself. The movie is about finding one’s calling and relentlessly trying to achieve it after various up & downs. The heroine, Sara, is a nurse who besides the actual nursing job, including treating Peter on first contact (falling in love is a must) when he gets injured in a street brawl, nurses the talent of Peter. She encourages him to learn from the ‘beats of nature’ if he is unable to find himself a Teacher, when Vembu Iyer throws him out over a misunderstanding. The movie is about how Peter gets back to Vembu Iyer, finishes his training and comes out beating the mridangam on his own. Many memorable performances by the cast. Watch it for the motivation.

More stories, coming-up, in the weeks ahead.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-02

About: This is a beautiful story, told from my perspective, on what happened this week, in our World.

Everywhere

The New American Gangster

The United States of America (USA) is hogging the headlines, all for the wrong hurt reasons. President Donald Trump continued to unabashedly find unavailable fault lines in America’s just concluded ‘democratic’ Presidential Elections, which he lost, – speaking figuratively – by about the distance between Washington and New York. And refused to acknowledge defeat. He had the temerity to call up Georgia’s Secretary of State to find new dishes to cook up a victory for himself, and poison Biden’s food. ‘Bold abuse of power’ said the incoming Vice-President-Elect. Needs to stomach this and perhaps much more, before Inauguration Day on 20 January 2021.

Over the past four years the US has been offering the world high quality technicolour ‘cowboy – red-Indian’ entertainment, and it’s now reaching a crescendo. Actually, it did, when on Wednesday, Trump-supporting Protestors stormed Capitol Hill where Election Results were being counted, ahead of final certification, in a first-ever Capitol breach since the British attacks in the year 1814, and ransacked offices inside; also ‘occupying various chairs’. A woman was shot dead in the process. Unbelievable scenes out there. The President cooly told the invaders, “We have to have peace, so go home. We love you, you’re very special”. Christopher Columbus must have been pleased. The mayhem started after Trump told his supporters that he will be joining them in a march to the Capitol. Isn’t that fuel enough? I say fire him!

After these bizarre action scenes, Trump finally agreed to ensure a smooth transition, once Congress certified the Biden-Harris win later that day. However, he continued with his rant that the Presidential Election was stolen from him and that he will not attend the inauguration of the new President.Cheese!

Meanwhile, the blue Democrats won both run-off Elections in the State of Georgia making it a tie, and giving them control in the Senate, with the Vice-President having to lean-in to tilt the balance. The Biden-Harris team now has control of both law-making Houses and can push ‘change bills’ without a sweat on their brow.

America’s democracy is forever stained and the people who ‘rode the trail’ with the President are equally to blame for allowing him to gallop in to this crazy stage. Should have used the lasso, long ago, or truthfully borrowed one from Wonder Woman 2021 (is there one?) to rein him in.

I think this is the nearest to a coup the USA has ever seen. And we thought India’s noisy, mike-pulling and throwing democracy was lousy? We have competition, but India has never seen a challenge to its National Election results in this fashion.

There’s a joke doing the rounds on the internet, “Due to the pandemic travel restrictions, this year the US had to organise the coup at home”. Maybe, it’s time other countries offer their Peace Keeping Troops to force democratic peace in the US? I’ve admired America all my life and have never seen it go so low down. Wonder who has the stars & stripes in their eyes. We are awed & struck by the world’s awe & strike specialist. The new American Gangster?

Vaccinating India

India was running behind the USA in the COVID-19 infections and while the USA started out on another track – Vaccinations, India is yet to start. Nevertheless, India is ‘doing the heats’ with dry vaccination runs all over the Country. The confidence is visible in every step the Government takes, but where is the Vaccine? Close-friend Israel has already punched over a million arms and India is just beginning to roll up its sleeves. This Sunday, the Drugs Controller General of India approved two Vaccines for ‘emergency use’, The Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine – already being used in the UK – will be jabbing under the name ‘Covishield’, and the homemade ‘Covaxin’.

The homespun one has stirred the proverbial hornets nest on being approved far too quickly, with unknown results of Phase-III Trials and unspoken efficacy levels.

Has India jumped the gun? I would trust the Government, the approving Authorities, and the hard-working Scientists behind the home effort… and offer my arm.

We Are The Children. The Child is the Father (& Mother) of Man.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, originally called United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), has estimated that about 371,504 babies will be born around the world on New Year’s Day, out of which a Himalayan 59,995 will be born in India. That’s a damn good start for the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme. China comes a poor second with 35,615 babies. Finally, we have beaten China! And this is one area India is unmatched and unbeatable?

2021’s first baby will be born in Fiji and the last in the USA. UNICEF goes on to say that, in total, an estimated 140 million children will be born in 2021 with an average life expectancy of 84 years. Naturally, the UNICEF, itself born in the year 1946, has dedicated its 75th year to reimagining a better world for children. The job of the UNICEF is to work full-time in saving children’s lives around the world and ensuring that they survive, find, and develop their true potential – lurking inside their genes, to make this world a better place, and to carry forward the story of humankind. Of course.

Ever since my wife and I started our Women’s Apparel Design and manufacturing Company, we have dressed-up many women for their Wedding Day. And in the recent past, most have returned with a baby – inside or outside. I witness, first hand, ‘the swell’ in India’s population. One of our customers who has failed to make complete payment for the Wedding dresses, and used the lockdown to her advantage, suddenly sprouted up on Friday to settle. She said she now has a two-month old baby boy. My, that’s a job very well done!

Never mind, my School Teacher – I still keep in touch with her- who lives, retired in Bengaluru, India, worries to no end that none of her married children have gone into the production mode, and the wait for a grandchild seems never-ending. I hope these statistics enable her keep the faith, and bring her children to sow their seed in India’s fertile environment. New vista’s for development, around the corner!

Please Yourself. Aim for the Stars.

The New Year invariably brings us to the start of making new resolutions, to accomplish various tasks during the year, and turn the page on the old. Goal-setting is actually good, it works wonders and gives direction and meaning to an otherwise meandering life.

You need to decide where you want to go, else anything will take you anywhere!

I follow Larry Kim, the CEO of Mobile Monkey and Founder of Word Stream, on Twitter, and he dishes out some sane advice. Here is one of them – ten ways to make 2021 your best year:

Review your past years. Show your appreciation. Set Big Goals. Make a Vision Board. Plan your Calendar. Organise using an agenda. Create a reading list – reading stimulates the mind and improves focus and concentration (I’ve already ordered two books, on Amazon, to read. Nina Stibbe’s, Reasons To Be Cheerful, and Elle McNicoll’s, A Kind Of Spark). Set a morning routine. Commit to eat healthier. Monetise your passion(I’m trying with my writing).

I leave you with this thoughtful saying, by Khalil Gibran, which I keep on the opening page of my Bullet Journal, every year. It inspires me, hope it does the same magic to you.

“A traveller am I and a navigator and every day I discover a new region with my soul”

Have a great fulfilling year ahead. Work that arm, shake that leg, and crank that ‘supercomputer’, between your ears. There’s nothing you cannot do with such awesome resources at your command.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-01

About: This is a wonderful story, from my perspective, on what happened this week, in our World. This week we take five heavy steps in 2020 and two light steps in 2021. A solid start, for sure.

Everywhere

The Software Of Life: The Hard Story of Katalin Kariko

Ever wondered how we got a Vaccine for Covid-19 so quickly? This is the incredible, fascinating story of how an indefatigable, never-say-give-up biochemist provided the foundation and the springboard for making this possible.

I quote this unforgettable, powerful – my all time favourite – speech by Howard Roark, in a court, in Ayn Rand’s classic, ‘The Fountainhead’, defending his unconventional method of approach to work.

“Throughout the centuries there were men (also meaning women) who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was the first, the road new, the vision un-borrowed, and the response they received-hatred. The great creators-the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors-stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anaesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of un-borrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered, and they paid. But they won”. Let’s take the next step on this week’s road.

The announcement of the discovery of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) – one of the fundamental building blocks of life – and cracking of the genetic code happened within weeks of each other in a climax of scientific excitement in the year 1961. We have all, by now, become awfully familiar with mRNA, haven’t we?

For more than a decade, researchers in the US and Europe had been attempting to unravel exactly how the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is involved in the creation of proteins – the long strings of amino acids, and the carrier of genetic information, that are sine quo non to the growth and functioning of all life forms. It was discovered that mRNA is the answer. These molecules act like digital tape recorders, repeatedly copying instructions from DNA in the cell nucleus, and carrying them to protein-making and synthesizing structures called ribosomes. Without this key role, DNA would be nothing but a useless string of chemicals, and so some have dubbed mRNA the ‘software of life.’ Now, onto our biochemist, the mRNA Scientist.

Katalin Kariko was born in the year 1955, in a Christian family in Szolnok, Central Hungary. She grew up in Kisujzellas on the Great Hungarian Plain where her father worked as a butcher. Fascinated by science, Kariko began her career, at age 23, at the Biological Research Centre in the University of Szeged, Hungary, where she obtained her PhD. Kariko was first exposed to the functions of mRNA as an under-graduate student in 1976, during a lecture at the University and has been intrigued ever since. Her PhD was on studying how mRNA might be used to target viruses. While the concept of gene therapy was also beginning to take off at the same time, she felt mRNA had the potential to become a game-changer in kicking-up the body’s cells to fight infections.

Communist Hungary being always hungry for resources couldn’t feed Kariko’s hunger, leave alone her appetite, for research, and in 1985 the University sacked her.

With little opportunities elsewhere, Kariko got a job at the Temple University, Philadelphia, USA and decided to immigrate. Hungarians being forbidden to take money outside the country, she sold the family car in the black market, and hid the money by sewing it up inside her two-year old daughter’s stuffed toy teddy bear.

It did not take long for the American Dream to crash-land. And after four years, Kariko was forced to leave Temple University and join the neighbouring University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), following a dispute with her boss, who even attempted to have her deported.

By the early to mid 1990s, the initial excitement surrounding mRNA was beginning to thin-out and fade. While scientists had cracked the problem of how to create their own mRNA, a new hurdle had emerged: when injected into animals it induced such a severe inflammatory response from the immune system that the animal died. Any thoughts of human trials was impossible.

However, Kariko was determined to solve this problem. But many other scientists were turning away from the field, and her bosses at UPenn felt mRNA had shown itself to be impractical, and she was wasting her time. They issued an ultimatum, if she wanted to continue working with mRNA she would lose her prestigious faculty position, and face a substantial pay cut.

Meanwhile, Kariko was diagnosed with cancer and her husband who had gone back to Hungary, to complete unfinished business, got stranded over a Visa issue.

While undergoing surgery, Kariko thought it over: decided to stay in UPenn, accept the humiliation of being demoted, and continue to doggedly pursue the problem. This led to a chance meeting with Drew Weissman, a respected immunologist, who moved to UPenn in 1977, which would both change the course of her career, and that of science.

While Kariko’s academic status at UPenn remained lowly, Weissman had the necessary funding to finance her experiments, and the two began a partnership.

Kariko and Weissman realised that the key to creating a form of mRNA which could be administered safely, was to identify which of the underlying nucleosides – the letters of RNA’s genetic code – were provoking the immune system and replace them with something else ‘more friendly’. In the early 2000s, Kariko stumbled upon a study which showed that one of these letters, Uridine, could trigger certain immune receptors. It was the crucial piece of information she had been searching for.

Every strand of mRNA is made up of four molecular building blocks called nucleosides. But in its altered, synthetic form, one of those building blocks, like a misaligned wheel on a car, was throwing everything off by signalling the immune system. So Kariko and Weissman simply substituted it with a slightly tweaked version, creating a hybrid mRNA that could sneak its way into cells without overly alerting the body’s defences.

In 2005, Kariko and Weissman published their Study, announcing a specifically modified form of mRNA, which replaced Uridine with an analog – a molecule which looked the same, but did not induce an immune response. It was a clever biological trick, and one which worked. When mice were injected with this modified mRNA, they lived. Kariko and Weissman filed a patent, established a company, but then found there was no interest shown in their work. Nobody invited them anywhere to talk about it, nothing at all.

Unknown to them, some scientists were quietly paying attention and reading the fine print of their publication. And in 2010 a Biotech company called Moderna, was founded with a group of Harvard and MIT professors, with the specific aim of using modified mRNA to create vaccines and therapeutics. A decade on, Moderna is now one of the leaders in the Covid-19 vaccine research and production, as part of America’s ‘Operation Warp Speed’ which goal is to produce and deliver 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines with the initial doses available by January 2021. Around the same time Moderna was founded, Kariko and Weissman finally managed to commercialise their finding, licensing their technology to a small German company called BioNTech, after five years of trying and failing.

Both Moderna and BioNTech, which was founded by a Turkish born entrepreneur, had their focus on the lucrative fields of cancer immunotherapy, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Now that Kariko and Weissman’s discovery made it possible to safely administer mRNA to patients, some of the original goals for mRNA back in the 1970s, suddenly become viable possibilities, again.

In 2013, Kariko accepted an offer to become Senior Vice President at BioNTech after UPenn refused to reinstate her to the faculty position she had been demoted from in 1995. She was told, UPenn concluded that she wasn’t ‘Faculty Quality’. When she said she was leaving they laughed at her and said, ‘BioNTech doesn’t even have a website.’ Kariko has been at the helm of BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine development ever since, and the Official Vaccine co-developed with Pfizer has now been approved for use.The rest, they say, is history.

With the Covid-19 pandemic requiring vaccine development on an unprecedented scale, mRNA vaccine approaches held a clear advantage over the more traditional but time consuming method of using a dead or inactivated form of the virus to create an immune response. Basically, the mRNA tells cells what proteins to make, essential to keeping our bodies alive and heathy. The mRNA degrades quickly and the instructions it gives the body aren’t permanent, making the technology and ideal platform for a variety of applications.

After so many years of adversity, and struggling to convince people that her research was worthwhile, she is still trying to comprehend the fact that her breakthrough in mRNA technology could now change the lives of billions around the world, and help end the pandemic. She has passed on the strong-willed message to her daughter, Susan Francia, who won the gold medal in the US Rowing Team, in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Katalin Kariko deserves a Noble Prize. Medicine, or Chemistry – you decide!

The World of Abortions

This Wednesday, Argentina, South America’s third-most populous, catholic-majority country, legalised abortion in an historic vote to give millions of women access to legal terminations under a new law supported by its President, Alberto Fernández.

The law will legalize abortion in all cases up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion in Argentina, is currently only permitted when a pregnancy results from rape or endangers the life or health of the woman. In all other circumstances, abortion is illegal and is punishable by up to fifteen years in jail.

According to a study report nearly 40,000 women and children in Argentina were hospitalized in 2016 as a result of unsafe, clandestine abortions or miscarriages.

Let’s do a quick flashback, when India passed a similar, important legislation in January 2020, which went largely un-noticed and un-applauded. India amended its Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act allowing women to seek abortions as part of reproductive rights and gender justice placing India in the top league of countries serving women who wish to make individual choices based on their own perspectives and situations. The new law leans forward a lot, is empathetic, and looks at a very sensitive issue with a human face.

India’s MTP Act raised the upper limit of MTP from 20 to 24 weeks for women, including rape survivors, victims of incest, differently-abled women and minors. Failure of contraception is also acknowledged, and MTP is now available to ‘any woman or her partner’ replacing the old provision for ‘only married woman or her husband.’ It proposes requirement of opinion of one Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks. It also provides for the requirement of opinion of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy of 20 to 24 weeks. It seeks to increase the upper limit from 20 to 24 weeks for survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women. For unmarried women, the Bill seeks to relax the contraceptive-failure condition for ‘any woman or her partner’ from the present provision for ‘only married woman or her husband’, allowing them to medically terminate the pregnancy.

Whoa, unbelievable things happening inside us! I’ve always believed that a woman should have complete control over her body, and make informed choices depending on the predicament she is in.

The striking Indian farmers should have applauded this law, which is as path-breaking at the new Farm Laws. Sometimes, we simply do to know what is good for us until we plough, seed and watch the results swell – and occupy space!

Rajinican’t: In World Inthavaaram, 2020-49, I talked about 70 year old South-Indian Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s decision to enter Indian Politics.

https://kumargovindan.wordpress.com/2020/12/05/world-inthavaaram-2020-49/

This time around, after many tireless flicks of the cigarette, it missed the lips. The Actor was hospitalised with irregular blood pressure during a shooting of his 168th film ‘Annaatthe’ (meaning, elder brother) and the movie crew got infected with Covid-19. This was weeks before he was to make an announcement of launch of a casteless, boundary less New Political Party on 31st December 2020 to take on the mighty parochial, chauvinist Dravidian Parties of Tamilnadu. The Doctors on discharging him from Hospital put the brakes on his ventures outside the bed and advised complete bed-rest for at least a week. In 2016 Rajini has undergone a kidney transplant and has been plagued with health issues over the years. Given the stranglehold of the pandemic, making it awfully difficult to meet people and convince them to vote for him, Rajini decided to quit politics even before he entered it, citing health issues. God sent him an email (probably a mRNA hit him in Hospital?), while lying on his Hospital Bed, and Rajini read it well.

Millions of his fans were disappointed. But, I think it’s a bold decision. Made me wonder why he was ‘still acting’ when he was planning to launch his political career in a couple of days? Appears that he wanted to finish the shooting, of the already started film, before plunging into full-time politics. It wasn’t to be. Wisdom is making intelligent choices on things you can and cannot do. Cigarette-flicking takes the pressure off the head, putting it in the hands…and it works!

The Ancient World

Every new year becomes seemingly brighter, once we unravel and learn more about new things of ancient life on Earth; the way our ancestors lived – well, actually the way they ate their food.

Archaeologists digging in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have made the extraordinary find of a hot food and drinks snacks shop – known as a termopolium – that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to locals and passersby. The shop, with its bright frescoes and terracotta jars, was discovered in 2019 and unveiled last Saturday. It is expected to be opened to the public – for viewings only – this year. Once the travel restrictions are lifted, buy yourself a ticket to Pompeii for an ancient snack?

Pompeii, 23 km southeast of Naples, Italy, was home to about 13,000 people when it was buried in a volcanic eruption from ‘loudly thinking’ Mount Vesuvius, in 79 CE.

Traces of nearly 2,000-year-old food were found in some of the deep terra cotta jars containing hot food which the shop-keeper probably lowered into a counter with circular holes. The front of the counter was decorated with brightly coloured frescoes, some depicting animals that were part of the ingredients in the food sold, such as a colourful rooster and two ducks hanging upside down. Traces of pork, fish, snails and beef had been found in the containers, a discovery which is a ‘testimony to the great variety of animal products used to prepare dishes.’

For sure the Romans ate well!

The UN has declared 2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust, while it’s also the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.

Happy New Year 2021. The best is yet to come! And there’s lots to eat.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2020-52

About: This is a wonderful story, from my perspective, on what happened this week, in our World.

Everywhere

The United Kingdom (UK) has been struck with a highly mutated – 17 alterations (14 mutations and 3 deletions) to the original – coronavirus which is about 70% more infectious. Scientists explain that the variant could have spiked-up from a patient with an awfully weakened immune system that was simply overwhelmed by the virus. Apparently the patient’s body became a breeding factory – and a research laboratory – for the virus to thrive and mutate to a better version of itself. Studies say that there have been about 4,000 mutations so far into the pandemic and this is one of the deadliest. Breathe out – not bad at all. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has become more transmissible – breathe-in, that’s the worrying aspect.

Meanwhile, just as the UK got the scent of this one, a second variant from South Africa was detected. Now there is a scramble to get on top of this mutant. The Crown would have to take a Queen’s Gambit to check-mate the wily, invisible fellow in what is certainly not The Last Kingdom.

The virus-busting Vaccines that are arriving ‘fighting fit’, with spike guns blazing, are almost certainly capable of doing their ‘original job’. However, its effect on the mutants is unclear, at this stage. The effect of the new variants seems to be in quicker transmission, hence more infections, rather than deadlier sickness. With Boxing Day coming up the day after Christmas we have to glove up and keep our chin-guard, to prevent a knock out, while the staff go home with their boxes of presents.

This is becoming an interesting competition between the Virus and the Vaccine. A question of who gets where first? Right now, the virus is way ahead. But with official vaccinations already happening in the UK and the United States of America (USA), we hope to herd our immunity soon. In addition, with many of the current Vaccines being made out of mRNA, we can quickly tinker minor changes to keep-up with the mutants. Mutation works both ways. We humans are clever! Staying Alive.

The Indian Government heard everything and is making an ambitious plan to start jabbing too – beginning in January 2021 and band-aiding all its priority targets by August 2021. It has set top priorities as, the front-line healthcare workers, the armed forces, the policemen, the over 50 Plus ( I fall into this category), and those with existing multiple health issues. I would rather the Children and Teachers wait until those in front of them stand-up on the benches and prove the efficacy of the vaccine.

With such momentum building-up against the virus, the kids still need to keep holding and looking at the mobile phones, for learning through the online classes. What a year! And we wanted our kids to get their paws off a mobile device!

We are ‘not leaving’ the UK, as yet, as news breaks-in that Britain and the European Union (EU) finally sealed a hard-fought trade agreement, this Christmas Eve, ending over four years of bitter divorce proceedings, ‘revealing’ disagreements, and close, grinding negotiations, post Brexit. Guess, even Santa Claus must have given a nudge, and presents fell-off the sledge, just a week before the 31st December 2020 deadline. The ‘jumbo’ free trade deal is along the lines of that agreed between the EU and Canada and does not cover Services, which constitute 80% of the British Economy. Now, the respective Parliaments of Britain and the EU must ratify the Agreement.

I reckon a deal is better than a no deal. And the deal has happened in the nick of time.

Flying out to Space, on 21st December, Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets in our Solar System, of the Milky-Way Galaxy, came closer together than they have been in 400 years. And it’s nearly 800 years since this alignment occurred at night, enabling skywatchers to watch the spectacular sight. They were just 0.1 degrees apart, or about one-fifth of the diameter of a full moon. The astronomical event was called the Great Conjunction and the alignment nicknamed as the ‘Christmas Star’.

The last time these trying-to-fall-in-love-planets were this close and so easy to see was in the year 1226, long before the invention of the telescope. Someone said, ‘distance generates love’. We are seeing and believing.

World over, photographers made superb impressions of the love-scene. The take-away and keep-sake, beneath the sheets, for the next 400 years, for those lonely nights?

Back to Earth. Imagine I’m a young nun (born Beena Thomas), all of 19, besotted by Jesus Christ and wishing to make a career in spreading his word. I join a Christian Convent for a pre-degree course. One hot, humid, Indian summer morning I wake up at 4am, to begin preparations for an upcoming exam. I walk down from my first floor boarding, to the kitchen below, to get some cold water from the refrigerator. While doing this I bump into two male Priests – Fathers, and a Nun, going astray from the principles of the Convent and The Holy Church, in what we all call ‘a compromising position’. Before I know it, I’m struck by an axe, strangled and thrown down into a nearby well – to drown what little life is left of me, and allowed to die.

The Police and the multiple Investigators declare me as a ‘died by suicide’ case – I know I didn’t. And they try to close the Case.

A few right people smell something wrong and dig out the Case, force the authorities to re-investigate, and after a battle of 28 long years, filled with twists and turns, justice is finally delivered. One Priest and the Nun are found guilt and sentenced to life in prison. This is the story of Sister Abhaya in Kottayam, Kerala State, India. It happened on 27th March 1992 and has been one of the longest running cases of Kerala. Now closed.

Do I deserve to die for something I saw and had no intention of seeing? How can the safety level be so low in a place of worship, which mutated into such a barbaric act? What were the Fathers doing in a Nun’s Convent where male presence is generally banned? The Church should wake up to brutal, unforgivable events of this kind happening under its watch – which it didn’t watch.

I rest in peace, but much more needs to be done to prevent such things happening to any other girl of my kind. Never ever should it happen again. We have to crank the Police System to be the guardians of freedom and life on Earth – with God watching from above.

Please Yourself

Pythons for Dinner? Think about it. If China can eat Bats, America can eat Snakes. The predator might soon land on an American dinner table, nicely sliced-up, if Florida Scientists can confirm that Burmese Pythons – an extremely invasive species in the region of Everglades-are safe to eat.

Pythons are nonvenomous constrictors primarily found in South Florida, USA, where they have posed a serious risk to wildlife in the region. The snake is not native to the State, and began appearing in the Everglades in the 1980s when it was most likely to have been introduced as an escaped or released pet.

When pythons are indeed declared safe to eat, they can actually be quite delicious, says one of the ‘Python Hunters’ of a Python Removal Program, established to swallow the Pythons – head to tail.

A mercury testing kit is used to confirm that mercury (if any, from the environment) in their meat is below detection levels. And then, their white meat is turned into food. First, a pressure cooker is used to make the meat soft and tender. Later, pasta is added, then sauce, chilli or stir-fry. Maybe garnish it with coriander or methi?

Mouth watering? I can already picture my tongue forking out, slithering like a snake. Foods choices only keep increasing every year!

It’s Christmas time and I fell in love with this statement by the Top Infectious Diseases Expert of the USA, Dr. Anthony Fauci, talking on a Television program: “I took a trip up there to the North Pole, and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself. I measured his level of immunity, and he is good to go. He can come down the chimney. He can leave the presents. You have nothing to worry about.”

After having ‘touched Santa’, Dr. Fauci himself got vaccinated, over the week. And is now a great buddy of Santa Claus – sent him some layered masks too, as a return gift. Post your wishes to Dr. Fauci – to sledge it to Santa.

Expect a vaccinated, masked Santa Claus to safely deliver all that you wished for.

Time to rethink, reimagine, get-vaccinated, and rebuild.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2021.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2020-51

About: This is a light-hearted story on what happened this week, in our World.

Everywhere

Brexit, what exactly is happening over here? Let’s cross the English Channel.

The United Kingdom consists of the island of Great Britain and the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands, collectively called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Looking from another angle, the UK consists of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island. Capitals are London, Edinburg, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. What most of us know as Britain is loosely applied to mean the UK, as defined above. Now, we have the boundaries in place!

The European Union (EU) was born in the year 1993 as a political and economic union of 27 member countries of Europe to develop together as a ‘single market’ for goods and services. Chief among the members are, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark. Chief ‘not among’ them is Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, but is associated though a series of treaties to participate in the single big market.

Going backwards in time, Britain has ‘exited’ from almost all the countries it conquered and ruled in the long tortuous history of the World. And these liberated counties make it a habit of celebrating their independence (from Britain), year after year – refreshing memories. It could be, that the hangover effects of colonisation that led the British to join the European Union (EU). Supreme loneliness got to them, I guess?

But then, over a period of time the once mighty British Empire probably realised that occupying other countries is one thing and others coming-in to occupy their own, under immigration, is quite another. Sovereign and monetary issues grew to be a stranglehold on the minds of the British, and they began thinking whether the marriage with the EU was indeed beneficial to delivering the kind of offspring they expected? The thoughts began to bulge. Then, a British Prime Minister won an Election promising to hold a referendum on ‘remaining’ with the EU or ‘leaving’ (Britain exiting the EU, called Brexit). On 23rd June 2016, the referendum was held: ‘Leave’ won with 51.9% votes and ‘Remain’ lost with 48.1% votes. On that day Britain decided to exit the EU.

After years of wrangling with how to go about it – and after many British Prime Ministers left Office on this account – Brexit finally happened, becoming an island, again, when the UK left the European Union on 31st January 2020. However, both sides agreed many things will ‘remain as they were’ for eleven months to allow the partners to get used to the divorce, feel the emptiness, and reach a deal by building bridges, on life thereafter. That time runs out on 31st December 2020.

When the UK was with the EU, Businesses could buy and sell goods across the EU borders without paying taxes (tariffs). If there is a no-trade deal, Businesses will have to start paying taxes, which could make things more expensive. Same for services. Agreements on movements across the borers, airline safety, medicine and hiring, or information about security threats are also very important.

I think that Brexit should not have happened at all, in the first place. Now that it has indeed happened, they should either sign clever trade deals to benefit from the common market – maybe, think and learn from Switzerland – or simply apply to rejoin the EU. Why ‘remain’ in splendid isolation. They voted to ‘leave’, didn’t they?

The Space above our heads has been dominated by The United States of America (USA) and Russia, until China and India began catching-up. India’s, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), became a force to reckon with due to its dirt cheap method of launching satellites throwing them into successful orbits; as many as 104 satellites in a single rocket launch from Sriharikota, India in February 2017. Remember, that was a world record. While our heads were spinning with satellites, private agencies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic came into being and suddenly Space was getting crowded, after all.

We lost count of the number of times Astronauts and Cosmonauts left for and returned from the International Space Station, riding on the many options before them. Space became another place on Earth.

After ISRO’s great struggle in the initial years and reaching this level of superiority – except in manner missions – I was wondering when would an Indian private player first launch a rocket from India.

We are reaching there, and we just need to keep looking hard at the skies during 2021. And learn to distinguish between shooting stars and man-made rockets.

Hyderabad-based, Skyroot Aerospace is getting its Vikram series of launch vehicles ready, and in the month of August this year successfully test-fired its upper stage Engine called ‘Raman’ which used a 3D-printed propellant injector -reduces engine mass by 50% and drops the components required and manufacturing time by as much as a whopping 80%. ISRO is lending a shoulder to this and other start-ups, and its Chairman K Sivan said, such new players should explore disruptive technologies and break away from conventional methods of manufacturing launch Vehicles. Wow, I reckon Skyroot was all ears on that one and got to the root of the message!

Chennai based, IIT-Madras incubated Agnikul Cosmos is also quietly building a satellite’ launch vehicle called ‘Agnibaan’, while yet another, Coimbatore-based Bellatrix Aerospace is working on its ‘Chetak’ launch vehicle. Looking for a ride is Pixxel which aims to put a constellation of 30 earth observation micro-satellites in a sun synchronous orbit anytime soon. All these companies started-up over the past few years.

While the new stars are rooting for the cosmos, ISRO quietly launched its 42nd communication Satellite, CMS-01 using its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C50, on its 52nd mission, on Thursday. Is was the 77th launch mission from India’s Sriharikota. Need I say more? India is one of the best in this kind of business.

Unbelievable pace of development in India for a slice of Space. In the month of June this year, India’s far-sighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up the launch pad by opening the space sector to private players and allowing use of ISRO’s facilities and technical know-how. That’s a rocket step for India, and an ISRO step for the Private Sector, I’m sure! Proud to be an Indian.

Meanwhile, with what’s happening to the World, we need another Planet to inhabit should Plant Earth decide to quit! Ask the sun, maybe a friendly black hole?

We are not done with space – the one just above the Earth – and ‘waves’, not yet. Not the loudly familiar waves of the coronavirus but a second wave of Locusts. New swarms of desert locusts are eating into the livelihoods of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and Yemen despite a year of efforts to control the spread. This year has already seen the worst East Africa invasion in 70 years.

The Locusts destroy large tracts of crops, vegetation and pastures and in turn deprive livestock of food, which in turn endangers the people dependent for a livelihood on one or all of them.

Central Somalia and Eastern Ethiopia received higher than average rainfall in the rainy season from September to November, which meant the ground saw significant generation and expansion of vegetation. This then become fertile breeding ground for the locusts. And these areas are really huge! With these conditions, within a couple of months locusts move from single insects to ganging-up as a group. This then leads to small bands of wingless hoppers and small swarms of winged adults. Desert locusts can multiply massively and within a year there can be 160,000 times as many as when they first started out.

Of course we can spray pesticides to get rid of them, which requires enormous funding and timely action based on close-knit surveillance. Maybe, we should hire all the Satellites India in pumping into space and eye the Locusts without battering an eyelid.

Is there no end to the kind of things that can happen in 2020? Should we learn to eat locusts for breakfast, lunch and dinner? No Time To Eat – the next Locust Film.

With COVID-19 Vaccines becoming the last word as we close this year I read this wonderful explanation about why we should not fear the ‘Virus in the Vaccine’ or that it would mix with our DNA. No it doesn’t.

“An mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine doesn’t actually contain the virus itself. Think of it as an email sent to your immune system that shows what the virus looks like, instructions to kill it, and then – like a Snapchat message – it disappears. Amazing technology”. Long live the world!

Please Yourself

I’ve been reading Tamil historical fiction writer, Kalki’s, old classic Sivakamiyin Sabatham (Sivakami’s Vow) revolving around real historical events, in the Tamil region of South India. This was only my second foray into ‘epic reading’ of this kind after having first read and enjoyed the fantastic Ponniyin Selvan.

https://kumargovindan.wordpress.com/2020/03/31/on-first-reading-kalkis-ponniyin-selvan-2/

Initially, I was put-off by beautiful Bharathanatyam dancer Sivakami’s mindless love for the crown Prince Narasimhavarman, aka Mamallar, when the Pallavas ruled from Kanchi, but the story gets thrilling in the second half. The Pallava King, Mahendravarman, tries to break the romance of his only son and the heir to the throne, and instead tries to hook him on to a suitable Princess (read as a Pandya Princess) who can carry forward the royal bloodline and also strengthen the Kingdom with a regional marriage alliance. He does succeed, but in the process Sivakami is captured by an enemy Chalukya King, Pulakesi, who unsuccessfully tries to break -in the impregnable and heavily fortified Kanchi Fort. Sivakami is taken and held captive in his capital, Vatapi and forced to dance in front of visiting emissaries. Sivakami vows to return to the Pallava Kingdom (despite having a chance to escape during a rescue attempt by the Prince) only when her lover Narashimavarman burns down the city of Vatapi and rescues her.

I takes nine long years, a marriage to the Pandya Princess, two heirs produced for the next-in-line for the once-madly-in-love-with-Sivakami Mamallar and now King, to get the job done with the supremely combat-qualified Pallava Army Commander, Paranjothi, to assist him.

In the end Sivakami realises her fruitless love for the Prince who became King, and only learns about his marriage after being rescued. She dedicates her life to Lord Shiva of Kanchi and ‘continues to wow’ the Pallava Kingdom with her flawless, sculpture-making, bharatnatyam moves.

Writer Kalki keeps the language simple and the narrative pulsates with the dance rhythm at every twist and turn. If you can fairly read Tamil, it’s worth a fighting read, I swear!

Read that Warner Bros-DC Comics’ Wonder Women 1984 has just hit the movie screens. I liked Amazon woman, Diana (played by the ravishing Gal Gadot), getting in our world -to save it, in the first edition, and the reviews of this one say that, it is a full-of-heart, spectacular extravaganza, and one of the best releases of 2020. Look up, and wonder!

‘I wish’ Wonder Woman 2020-21 could rid the world of the coronavirus and use the Lasso Of Truth to get to the bottom of how the pandemic began. We need more superheroes, don’t we?

More ‘wonder’ful stories coming up in the week(s) ahead. We are here to stay for the long term.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2020-50

About: This is a light-hearted story on what happened this week, in our World.

Everywhere

The woman I married was from a small growing up Town, Attur, in Salem District, while I was working as a power plant erection & commissioning Engineer at Neyveli, Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu. After working in various Companies across India never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I will end up starting a ‘Blouse Construction’ (Oh, I could not do the commissioning on a personal level, though!) Business in Attur, which my wife & I did in 2015. Here we are.

Over the years, I’ve watched Attur develop slowly, but remain rigid to drastic change. One of the best things to happen is garbage collection, where the ‘Garbage Collector’ now wearing hand gloves (I wish they are given more protective gear, and powered carts as a takeaway) and some kind of uniform, pushes a small cart through the narrow streets, and the wides ones a well- like the one where I have set up shop- collecting the garbage and separating them out into various blue, green and white bins on the cart.

It has become my morning routine to first take-out the garbage and then wash my car. The Garbage Collector appears about this time with his cart and I made it a habit to make small conversation with him, about his life, family and the pressures of garbage collection, often cracking a joke to see his wrinkled face light up with a broad, stained-teeth smile. We soon became good ‘garbage friends’. We met again this Monday morning, and he says, “It’s nice to talk to you and I’m glad that you spend some time with me. Nobody else does this. Honestly, I look forward to seeing you every morning”. Wow, that made my day!

I wish Attur could become a modern Town with wide pavements, specified parking lots, neat lanes, traffic signals…and clever Garbage Bins at the right places. Make more garbage friends, I guess!

Mount Everest is the tallest Mountain in the World and from my school days the height of 8,848 metres grew into me so much that it became a part of my brain. And often I shot down any quizmaster with the curvaceous data. Well, now I have a problem. This Tuesday, Mount Everest grew by more than two feet. So agreed Nepal and China (that’s a height of cooperation between them), the two countries that share the mountainous border. They announced that they had determined the exact height of the world’s tallest mountain, which officially, according to them stands at 8,848.86 metres (29,031.70 feet). For 65 years, the consensus height had been 8,848 metres (29,028.87 feet).

Mountains grow in mysterious ways…and we humans are not the ones to be left behind. At least not Nepal and China. They measure up to the task!

A mysterious disease that began spreading in Elluru, Andhra Pradesh has claimed one life and made over 400 people sick. People were suddenly falling unconscious after suffering from symptoms such as, three to five minutes of epileptic fits, nausea, forgetfulness, anxiety, vomiting, headache and back-pain. The reasons are unclear at the moment and Doctors are unable to pin down a credible source of the outbreak.

Initially, it was suspected that water contamination could be the cause, but sample tests ruled it out. There is another suspicion that anti-mosquito fogging may be a cause, but nothing is confirmed as yet.

A preliminary study report found traces of heavy metals, lead and nickel, in blood samples but strangely not in water or any other food substance in the locality. Experts have clarified that the mysterious disease is neither a bacterial, or a viral infection, nor a contagious disease. Medical and Expert teams are out on the ground looking for tell-tale clues and leads. I hope they crack this code quickly.

Meanwhile, most of the victims have recovered and others are stable.

What an ‘outbreak’ year this is getting to be!

The COVID-19 Vaccine is finally here and a 90 years old woman, Margaret Keenan, originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, and living in Coventry for more than 60 years, on Tuesday became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine-after official approval in the United Kingdom (UK). And the UK became the first Country to start jabbing people in the arm, outside trial conditions. Margaret received the jab at University Hospital Coventry from Nurse, May Parsons, at 6.31am and declared it was a privilege.

Margaret is a grandmother of four and worked as a jewellery store assistant until her retirement, four years ago. She will receive a booster shot in 21 days to complete the vaccination sequence. Margaret turns 91 next week and what better advance Birthday present than this? Nurse May Parsons originally from the Philippines has worked in UK’s National Health Service (NHS) for the last 24 years. That’s lot of age and experience getting together in that one vaccine injection.

This is indeed an historic leap in the fight again virus’ in general and the coronavirus in particular. And development of a vaccine in less than a year after the world discovered a never-before-seen disease is truly incredible.

We are in the last spikes of the year 2020 when various Newspapers and Magazines rush to name their Persons, or ‘Things’ of the Year: people who made a huge difference to life on Earth. This time, Time Magazine has named Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as Time Person of the Year. “For changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world”, wrote its editor-in-chief.

Playing on, LeBron, the Los Angeles Lakers star has been named Time magazine’s ‘Athlete of the Year’ in recognition of what the 35 years old has achieved both on and off the court.

The Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles.

James led the Lakers to a record-equalling 17th championship title in October this year, during a season unlike any other. It was James’ fourth National Basketball Association(NBA) title and fourth finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. He is the first player in NBA history to win the accolade with three different teams. Only Michael Jordan, with six titles, has more.

Moving ahead, for most of us, I reckon, the ‘coronavirus should be named the ‘Thing of the Year’ for attempting to wipe out the human population. And without doubt, in my opinion, the PERSON OF THE YEAR – of any magazine or newspaper worth its name – should go to the Frontline Health Care Workers all over the World, for tirelessly helping us battle with the virus, and many having given up their lives for us. Also the Vaccine Developers should be included for bringing out a vaccine so unbelievably quick.

At the time of posting this article the United States (US) reported 2,32,000 coronavirus cases in one day, setting a new record.

In another decisive moment the US Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s bid to overturn the US Presidential Elections. Has Biden-Harris finally won?

Absolutely challenging times!

Please Yourself

American Singer-Songwriter Taylor Swift, who released her Album ‘Folklore’, in July this year is literally living up her name and has ‘swiftly tailored’ a second surprise Album, ‘Evermore’, which was released at midnight, this Friday. Her 9th Studio Album.

Folklore was recorded during the pandemic quarantine, and the record topped the US and UK Charts earning Swift six Grammy nominations, including Album of The Year. It is also the first album of 2020 to sell more than one million copies.

Swift described Evermore as a ‘sister album’ of Folklore. ‘To put it plainly, we just could not stop writing “, she said. Swift draws a lot of inspiration for her songwriting, from her personal life, and also confirmed that boyfriend, Actor Joe Alwyn, in the mystery Folklore co-writer. That sure is a Love Story pulling the heart strings and generating the music notes.

Swift’s debut single ’Tim McGraw’ was released on 19 June 2006, and she’s grown from being a teenage country singer to one of the most famous pop stars on the planet.

The song that first got me to start listening and fearlessly falling in love with her narrative songwriting and singing is, the Romeo-Juliet themed ‘Love Story’, of the Album, ‘Fearless’. Listen to it, to understand Taylor Swift’s music.

I’m a huge fan of Hollywood Actor, Harrison Ford and his man-on-the street style of acting. No superhuman stunts or mind-boggling acts, just a smart presence of mind, courage, wit and intelligence gets him through the toughest situations. And he manages to survive. Nothing exemplifies this better than ‘Indiana Jones’, or Indy, in ‘The Raiders of the Lost Ark’ 1981, and the many adventures in the series of movies that followed.

Now Harrison Ford, at 78, returns as Indiana Jones for the fifth and final episode, planned for release in July 2022. The Film producer said he has no intention of replacing the actor in his iconic role. That’s well said. Only James Bond is replaceable.

Meanwhile, we have to think Indy and keep our wits and intelligence with us to survive till 2022. Maybe, go back to the old Indy movies and relearn new tricks? Grab the whip and ram that hat? I still remember that during a hair-raising chase in the crowded streets of Cairo, Indy is confronted by one of the bad guys who dances with his hands & legs showing-off twisted karate skills. Indy after coolly watching just takes out a handgun and shoots him! That’s a whip-lash finish! Typical Indiana Jones!

More graceful and skilled stories coming up in the week(s) ahead.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2020-49

About: This is a light-hearted story on what happened this week, in our World. I have reduced the marked boundaries this week hoping that we slowly evolve to a boundary less world. Imagine!

I’m also moving away from a pure reporting style to what I call, a ‘pulsating style’, with my breath in it. Hope you can feel it.

Everywhere

We look forward to new tidings in the New Year, and why not? The US is surely looking for inspiration in this direction with the ‘almost newly elected’ – yet to be wholly certified – President-elect Joe Biden looking to crank up the year(s). He is getting there, with his Transition Team receiving formal briefings since this Monday, and making announcements on new people additions – diverse, I must say – to governing portfolios. And they look to be just the right people behind the right desks. A team that looks like America!

One State after another is legally certifying the Election results in favour of Biden-Harris, in what seems to be a long-drawn process, consistently debunking the ‘baseless’ road-block charges of cases put up by the outgoing golf-playing President. Look, this is America, again.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister (PM) Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 2019 for talking peace with neighbouring Eritrea and unlocking many chained freedoms in his own Country, after decades of untold repression. Now in 2020 he is in a bloody ethnic war with rowdy elements in the country’s northern Tigray region, bordering Eritrea.

Ethiopia is divided into ten regions, and two cities, each with great autonomy, regional police and even militia. Abiy wanted to coalesce these divisions into a united country, which the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules Tigray, saw as usurping of its powers. PM Abiy had dismantled the ruling coalition, led for years by the TPLF, and created a new Prosperity Party. This created a situation where the TPLF had to join the new Party and agree to PM Abiy’s dictations, or not. The TPLF opted not to join.

Recently, Elections called in the Tigray region, by the Government, were postponed due to the pandemic, which the TPLF disobeyed and went ahead with its own causing the present conflict to flare up, with the PM not recognising the Election results – rightfully so. Then the TPLF attacked an Army Post and the firing broke out. At the time of this post PM Abiy has subdued the TPLF – at least for the time being.

The TPLF should abandon its ‘illegal’ occupation of the minds of the people, join the Prosperity Party and work for the prosperity of Ethiopia. War of this kind gets one nowhere and the constant abrasion wears out everyone thin on both sides.

Early this week, as super cold winds descended on the North, India witnessed sordid protests by Farmers mostly in Punjab and Haryana against the New Farm Laws unleashed by the Central Government. Nearly every known Agricultural Expert in the Country has ‘certified’ that the New Farm Laws are path-breaking and the best thing ever to happen to Farmers in decades. Nevertheless, a section of powerful farmers are refusing to lean-in.

The New Laws basically throw open the up-to-now within-mandis /Government controlled markets of farm produce, enabling Farmers to sell directly to who ever they think offers them the best price, besides sticking to parts of the old system if they feel unsafe. This kills gangs of middlemen, many of whom live and propagate in swanky five-star Offices – mostly in the Punjab-Haryana area, from where the protests are the loudest. Now you know why! Many rich Politicians in India claim they are humble farmers – owning swathes of land. Other aspects of the New Farm Laws remove many foods items from the over 60 years old Essential Commodities List; and allows Contact Farming – a form of which has already been successfully introduced in Punjab. Think about this statistic: Farmers in Punjab (followed by Haryana) are the wealthiest Farmers with receipts 600% higher the that of the average ‘poor’ Indian farmer.

The way I see it, the New Farm Laws are progressive and gives absolute freedom to Farmers. Further, I’m for making a new Law, which taxes five-star rich farmers so that the poorer ones stop gaping at the stars and grow richer indoors.

News breezes in that Farmers in the State of Maharashtra are already reaping the benefits of the new laws being planted, and in recent time they have harvested over Rs 100 million in out-of-mandi sales across many districts. The heart of a farmer needs more!

India has always had a broad-based, deep-digging, farming community and this Government wants to lift them up to flower a better living. You cannot do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Let’s adopt the new and remove weeds in our path as we grow. The Farmers must listen and get back to their farms. Opposing for the sake of opposing is a fruitless endeavour.

“Let us change everything. If not now, never”, thundered one of India’s biggest movie superstars, the stylish Rajinikant, on 30th November, ‘announcing that he will announce’ the launch of a brand new Political Party on 31st December 2020’. He plans to contest all 234 State Assembly Seats in Tamil Nadu in the Elections to be held in May-June 2021. No doubts on the speed: he is known to be quick on the draw and super quick enough to catch a bullet by his teeth, when fired at him; and believe me there is no cigarette in the world that has not enjoyed the olympic journey from the pack, to the hand, to the lips, than Rajini’s master flick. Rajini’s ‘punch’ dialogues (one line statements sandwiched with meaty stuff, as the one at the top of this section) are legendary and changed the course of an Assembly Election, many years ago. “Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if Jayalalithaa comes back to power” – that was the whip-lash, death-blow punch in 1996, which knocked-out the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa…and reverberated for a long time.

Hope the punch dialogues now works for his own party-when formed.

Of course he had his no-speed, Hamlet moment, ‘To do or not to do Politics’ since 2017 and Fans had almost given up. Now they are cheering non-stop. And the cigarettes are firing about like crazy and punches are being thrown in the air.

On 2nd December the United Kingdom became the first country in the World to approve (licence) the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for mass vaccination. Britain’s medicines regulator declared it safe to be rolled out. Recall, that Russia and China have already approved use of the Vaccine without waiting for final test results.

The first doses are already on their way to the UK, with as many as 800,000 due in the coming days.

I’m hoping that the Vaccine isn’t garnered by a powerful few and is made available to those who desperately require to be shot with it – to stay alive, longer.

So, the Vaccines are here and many might be wary of them as the Vaccines are made of ‘conked out’, clueless viruses or bits & fragments of them. Well, let me enlighten your decision-making process. Roughly about 8% of human DNA is made up of ancient viruses that used to infect us millions of years ago – they are buried in our DNA. We are just adding to our inner stockpile of virus ammunition. Go out and get vaccinated, when the Vaccine does arrive. Your kids will carry them forward and have a story to tell, in generations to come. That’s domesticating the virus, is it not? We have it chained to our DNA.

Please Yourself

I reckon this is vacation season. I’ve been reading about a few Bollywood starlets, some ‘newly married’, some ‘old married’ heading for gorgeous sea-green holidays in the Maldives. And spraying sizzling photographs on Instagram, and the kind. They can be seen on the beach-front, on the water, in the water, under the water, and on the marriage bed with fishes swimming above on the ceiling among other wonderful, picturesque sights. Difficult to choose between the starlet, the fish, and the scenery (…and the bed). I hope secrets tumble out soon – we know where to look, for the special effects!

Over the past week, I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix and kept in-step with Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Family moves in ‘The Crown‘. And also watched the true-story based 2007 year movie ‘American Gangster’. It’s a fascinating story of an honest cop who refuses to hide a million dollar cash-stash he finds in an abandoned car in a crime scene – instead hands it over to the Authorities. And the story of the clever rise to ‘indecent power’ of a drug-lord Kingpin who fearlessly establishes a cocaine drug-empire in America. Later, the cop busts the thriving drug-dealing gang which results in half of the New York Police being arrested for being complicit in crime. The honest cop goes on to become an Attorney – after doing evening classes – and gets the convicted Kingpin released after a jail term of 15 years. Russel Crowe honestly plays the honest cop and Denzil Washington drugs the Drug Lord. I thought both essayed their roles to perfection as Richie Roberts and Frank Lucas respectively, in a well-directed movie by Ridley Scott. Go watch it for the superb performances.

Honest pays and being honest is a reward in itself. Let’s live up to the policeman image of Richie Roberts. Worth emulating for a million dollars!

After months of scrubbing and soap-washing my hands I think I’ve finally reached the bone of the coronavirus. It’s a matter of time before I smash it with an over 95% efficient Vaccine hammer. Will 2021 be the year of the hammering the virus? Meanwhile, please wear that layered mask, keep washing – to remove bone stains – and, mind the gap between fellow humans. That actually keeps the virus away. It works!

Il’be dishing out more pulsating and honest stories in the weeks ahead. Our World is complex, but we do not have to understand everything – just the few that matter and ‘cook the food’ for us. And keep at it.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2020-48

About: This is a light-hearted commentary of what happened this week, in our World.

Wisdom

“I’m tough, ambitious and I know exactly what I want, If that makes me a b***h, Okay” – Madonna, Singer-Songwriter.

Everywhere

New Zealand’s Parliament

I just cannot stop talking about Jacinda Arden’s New Zealand. When Jacinda was re-elected as Prime Minister in a landslide last month, she brought-in to the law-making business people from diverse backgrounds, in what is considered as the most inclusive Parliament in the world. Almost half of New Zealand’s newly sworn-in Parliament are women and 11% are LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning). Both New Zealand’s Indigenous Māori and people with Pacific Island heritage are represented at a slightly higher rate than in the general population.

“It looks like New Zealand looks. We’re not male, pale and stale anymore”, said a professor of Politics at the University of Auckland, of the country’s Government.

Vaccines

The coronavirus Vaccine Station is beginning to fill. Over the past weeks, we had Sputnik V, Pfizer, and Moderna come up with positive results of ensuring coronavirus negatives. On 23rd November, Oxford/AstraZeneca of the United Kingdom wriggled in to the Station with claims of about 70% efficacy levels going up to 90% if a lower dose is used. Smells like Homeopathy? The Oxford Vaccine is cheaper, easier to store and distribute.

In China, a company called Sinopharm claims its vaccine has been given on an experimental basis to nearly a million people and has no adverse reactions, as yet. However, it has not provided any clear clinical evidence of efficacy levels.

If the coronavirus is listening to all the Vaccine Noise it must be packing its bags to return home (China?) and lie-low until we again put up the ‘Welcome Home Board’ – lets not!

Vaccines take years to develop, but thanks to advancement in science & technology and great minds working awfully hard, we are getting quicker results and perhaps longer lives.

The United States (US) of America.

US President Donald Trump, a loser, is getting close to agreeing to hand-over to the winning Biden-Harris team in January 2021 and the Transition seems to be happening. But he is yet to concede. ‘Biding’ his time?

Meanwhile, with the pandemic hitting many highs in America, accelerated by the Thanksgiving movement, Trump is spending more time on his golf course.

Does it help? Could it be that he tried his best to ’go out’ famous but settled down to become infamous? That’s famous anyway!

India

Violin Making

Antonio Stradivari (1644 to 1737) hailing from Cremona, Italy is said to be the greatest hand-made violin maker in history and a Stradivarius Violin is considered the finest string instrument ever created. They are highly prized, valued, and used by professionals the world over.

Baluswamy Dikshitar – one of the trinity of carnatic music composers – is believed to be the first, in India, to introduce the violin into traditional carnatic music in the 17th century. With this background here’s a story.

The art and craft of indigenously making a hand-made violin did not reach India, until recently. Four craftsman: Renjith K P of Mallapuram, Kerala, a father-son duo of Murali E D & Vinay Murali from Ernakulam, Kerala, and Satyanarayana of Tamil Nadu achieved a historic milestone in completing hand-made copies of the famous Stradivarius Violin after attending rigorous training workshops, knowns as ‘Violin Wise’, organised by the Lalgudi Trust, founded by late Lalagudi Jayaram and now run by his violinist son G J R Krishnan.

Over many years, beginning in 2013, the four craftsman diligently attended the annual workshops making steady progress in learning the art, and every aspect of hand-making a violin. James Wimmer a renowned Luthier – someone who builds and repairs a string instruments – from Santa Barbara, USA who trained in Germany under Wolfang Uebel – a violin making specialist- has been engaged by the Trust to train the craftsmen, which has eventually brought hand-made violin making (and repair) to this finelytuned stage. It takes about two to three months to hand-craft a violin and costs about Rs 1.5 Lakh.

In India, teak and jackfruit tree are used for making violins while European woods, such as maple spruce, are the best to bring out the right tone. Other kinds of Violins are mostly made in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh and in Kolkatta, West Bengal.

Can you recall some Violin greats? I can, a few: Late Yehudi Menuhin is one, Joshua Bell, Nicole Benedetti… are others. India? Late Kunnakudi Vaidyananthan, Late Lalgudi G Jayaraman, L Subramanian…

Sport

Football: The ‘Hand of God’ goes back to God.

On 25th November, Diego Armando Maradona, of Argentina, one of the greatest, superstar, football players of all time passed the ball to God who was standing outside the Football arena, and ran to him, forever – never to return, falling to a ‘red card’ cardiac arrest. He was 60 years old, and we all wish he could have shown us more of his magic play, conquering our hearts with his divine talent of running and scoring magnificent goals with the ball. Who can forget the ‘Hand of God Goal’, but better still the second goal by Maradona – voted the ‘Goal of the Century’ four minutes after the Hand of Gold Goal, in the very same game. Let’s go back to that game.

It was a sunny 22nd June 1986, the FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final between Argentina and England in the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City. There was a shimmering tension in the air as the game was set to begin.

In the background was a humiliating defeat in the Falklands War over ‘territorial’ claims, ‘handed’ down by Iron-lady Margaret Thatcher’s England, to Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri’s Argentina. On the football field, the then 25 year old Captain Maradona said, ‘Let’s get on with the Game’

The scores were tied 0-0 at half-time. Six minutes into the second half of the match, Maradona while trying to dribble past the English defenders passed the ball to team-mate Jorge Valdano. However, the ball was cleared towards the England goal by English defender Steve Hodge. Maradona pounced on the chance but struggled to get to the ball with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton heading up at almost the same time. But Maradona ‘grew a leg’ on his left arm to nudge the ball-in what looked like a header – and found the net, giving Argentina the much-needed goal lead. The English players complained to the Referee on the use of arms, but the goal stood up to the challenge – given that there was no video refereeing at that time and the Referee was obstructed (by God?) from having a clear view. The benefit of doubt went to Argentina. Later, Maradona said the goal was, “a bit with the head and a bit with the hand of God.”

Four minutes after the ‘Hand of God goal’, in the 55th minute, Maradona collected the ball in the Argentine half and in a magical, extraordinary solo run, weaved his way through the England defence as if it wasn’t there, before striking a low hard shot into the nets. It was voted one of the greatest goals of all time.

Said somebody from the England side, ‘The first goal was a disgrace, It was handball, and it was a dreadful mistake, but the second goal was a miracle. One of the most brilliant I had ever seen. He (Maradona) has such grace, such poise on the ball. I didn’t like the second goal, but I couldn’t help but admire it.”

Going on, Argentina beat Belgium, 2-0 (Maradona scored twice) in the Semi-Finals, to reach the Finals with Germany, which it won, 3-2. Argentina lifted the Football World Cup for the second time in 1986, the first being in 1978.

Diego Maradona was the son of a maid and a factory worker and grew up in a shack in Villa Fiorito, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He stood five feet, five inches, but his stocky body and muscular legs gave him awesome explosive power.

Like the game of Football, Maradona’s life can be divided into two halves – God being a full-time Referee in the first.

In the first half, Maradona began his professional career at age 15, at Argentinos Juniors, a historic but modest club. Success there took him to Boca Juniors and then to Barcelona and Napoli. But he found fame and fortune hard to handle; and craved affection. Nightclubbing, with the wrong people, led to dribbling with cocaine addiction – a habit he struggled to tackle and overcome. There were many women in his life, and they say he had enough children to form a football team of his own.

The second half of Maradona’s life was tragic. Obese, looking worn-out, and often in pain he made pathetic attempts at comebacks. He failed as a Manager, especially of Argentina’s national team and was often in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In his sagacity, he predicted that compatriot Lionel Messi would become one of the World’s greatest players. Kind of handing over the ball? No 10.

Rest in Peace, Diego Maradona. We’ll miss the Hand of God. But those trademark surging solo runs with the ball as-if glued to the football boots, and the instinctive dashes of brilliant vision will forever stay glued to our memory. He is Legend. Never mind the second half!

Melange

Spider Silk

There are about 40,000 known species of Spiders, and they have been around on Earth spinning their webs for over 300 million years. They can be found in every Continent except Antarctica. If the world’s population of spiders worked together, they could theoretically eat every human on Earth in one year. Planet of the Spiders? Not all spiders build webs, but every species produces silk.

Spider silk is stronger by weight than steel and as tough or even tougher than Kevlar – the toughest man-made polymer. It is finer than human hair and able to maintain its strength below – 40 Degrees Centigrade. Spider silk is also more elastic and waterproof than silkworm silk.

Spider Silk is primarily made up of proteins- chains of amino acids. There are about seven types of silk, for different uses, produced by seven separate silk glands. A single spider does not possess all seven glands and has about three or four of them in a life. The glands are located at the lower side of the abdomen and contains a watery fluid known as ‘dope’, which is the first stage of silk production. This fluid passes through a spinneret (a web spinner) and in fractions of a second, this goopy, liquid slurry of proteins is transformed. And it doesn’t just turn into a solid. On their way out of a spider’s bottom, the protein building blocks in silk, called spidroins, fold themselves and interlace, creating a highly organised structure – many fibres bound together like a cable – without a catalysing outside force. The diameter of a single fibre is controlled by the muscular action of a valve. The faster and tighter the silk is drawn, the stronger the silk. That’s how they generate different qualities of silk.

Scientists have spent years trying to mimic spider silk hoping that it will someday revolutionise the construction of ultra-strong, sustainable materials.

How about a spider silk sari with a matching spider silk blouse for an Indian Wedding? Lots of strength in there!

While spiders produce tough silk, the World is continuously spinning a web or hard news. There’s lots of turmoil in Africa: Ethiopia, Nigeria are hitting the brutal headlines. This Friday, a top Iranian Nuclear Scientist was assassinated in Iran: he died in Hospital after an attack on his car. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is showing signs that he may finally give up power after months of protests against his disputed re-election in August. Down under, Australia is seeing spectacular success in eliminating the coronavirus. Read that the Australian Open Tennis Tournament opening in a new January 2021 may be postponed by one or two weeks.

The World is a happening place. Enjoy every single day. Spin your story, with or without Spider Silk and leave the rest to the Hand of God.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2020-47

About: This is a light-hearted recount of what happened this week, in our World.

Wisdom

‘Too many people underestimate what they are and overestimate what they aren’t’ – Bill Gates…and many others.

Everywhere

The United States (US) of America.

America’s Constitution and Election Laws are being severely challenged with the incumbent President, Donald Trump, still refusing to concede defeat to the clear winner of the 3rd November Presidential Elections. The writing on the wall is clear to everyone looking, except the President who is ‘trying to find the wrong way to a place he cannot go’. Seldom has the US President looked like a ‘Total Recall’ of the many infamous African Dictators who clung on to power and had to be ‘couped-out’.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus surge in the US seems to know no bounds, with ever-growing spikes across the States, and Americans would be thankful if Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated as it was in the past. Better to keep the celebrations low-key, within the household bubble, say the Experts. Strong Leadership is required at the moment to give a sense of direction to the abysmally poor handling of the pandemic. And the Biden-Harris Team appear to have many tricks up their sleeve – if only they are ‘declared to transition’. This is not happening at the moment, as all kinds of strings are still being pulled and road-blocks built, making it tough of the new President to drive smoothly.

I’m hoping the Donald Trump concedes and exits peacefully during the course of the upcoming Week. Will he? God Bless America.

Russia, War & Peace

Tired of talking about America? For a change, let’s go to Russia.

In week No 41, we read about the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict melting into war again, over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. The problem of ownership was in deep freeze all these years and the brewing heat got to it from both the Parent countries.

This week, the over six-weeks of fighting finally came to an end after Armenia, being defeated in battle by Azerbaijan, agreed to sign a Russian brokered peace accord. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Aremenian PM, Nikol Pashinyan, put their signature to paper.

Broadly, Russia supplies Peace Keeping Forces – Russia has not done this kind of thing in a long time – to monitor the truce, for a period of five years, Azerbaijan receives significant territorial concessions, holding on to areas that it had taken during the conflict. And Armenia agreed to withdraw from certain areas under its control, handing them over to Azerbaijan, by 15th November.

People say it is actually a victory for Azerbaijan as its capture of the town of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh brought it close to taking down the region’s largest city, Stepanakert, and appears to have forced Armenia to come to the Peace Table.

Tails up for Azerbaijan and hope to see peace return to Nagorno-Karabakh. I’m sure Armenia can adjust quickly and move ahead to find victories in other domains.

Vaccines

About this time there are over 200 different COVID-19 vaccines under development around the world.

Last week Pfizer announced the results of its COVID-19 Vaccine, and we were elated. This week we heard about a second Vaccine coming up. A Massachusetts, USA, based biotech company, Moderna, announced that its Vaccine has cleared Phase-III trials and is 94.5% effective against the coronavirus.

Like Pfizer’s, Moderna’s vaccine works by programming the body’s own cells to produce non-infectious bits of protein from the coronavirus that train the immune system to recognise and prevent illness from the actual invading virus.

Comparing the two Vaccines, while Moderna’s is almost 95% effective, needs to be stored at – 20 Degrees Celsius, for up to six months, and has a refrigerator shelf-life of 30 days; Pfizer’s is 90% effective, needs to be stored at – 75C and has a refrigerator shelf-life of 5 days. The actual vaccination consists of two injections 21 days apart for Pfizer; and two injections 28 days/ 4weeks apt for the Moderna Vaccine.

In a late shout, Pfizer announced that its vaccine too has reached 95% effectiveness in the final round of analytics. Cheers to that!

The other Vaccine that hit the headlines is the Russian Sputnik -V Vaccine and claiming to be the first registered COVID-19 Vaccine, is about 92% effective.

So, here we are with three Vaccines at a needle’s reach. Is the end of the pandemic in sight? It’s a matter of time, but I’m sure it is.

India

An Acting Legend Passes

Bengali Actor Soumitra Chatterjee who starred in over 300 movies and is best known for his work with the renowned filmmaker, director, Satyajit Ray, died at 85, in Kolkata, this Sunday. He was in Hospital for over a month and is reported to have been suffering from COVID-19.

Soumitra Chatterjee was also an accomplished playwright, theatre actor and poet. The late Satyajit Ray had this to say about him, “He is an intelligent actor, given bad material he turns out a bad performance”.

Satyajit Ray created the fictional character of detective ‘Feluda’ – the Indian version of Sherlock Holmes – in short stories and novels, some of which were made into movies. If Sherlock lived at 221-B Baker Street and had Dr Watson as a sidekick, Feluda lived at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Kolkatta and had his cousin ‘Topshe’ for the side part. If Sherlock smoked a pipe, Feluda smoked Charminar Cigarettes.

Soumitra Chatterjee played Feluda in the movie Sonar Kella (released as The Golden Fortress, in the USA) and the Apu-Trilogy, among a long list of movies, which showcased Indian cinema to the World and won enormous recognition.

He was awarded India’s third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, in 2004, and received the Dadashaeb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in Cinema, in 2012 , in a long medal of Awards.

Chatterjee leaves being a wife, a son, and a daughter.

I haven’t seen much of Soumitra Chatterjee’s Films, but intend to catch up with the legend.

Sport

Surfing in India: Ishita Malaviya

Despite peninsular India having an abundance of coastline, most Indians prefer surfing the internet to the waves of the great Oceans surrounding us.

One person has decided to show us how to catch and ride these waves, and her name is Ishita Malaviya, 29, India’s first professional female surfer. When Malaviya first took up the sport in earnest – ever since she caught her first wave – while in Manipal University, Karnataka, there were only about thirteen professional surfers in India. She and her partner Tushar Pathiyan went on to start the Shaka Surf Club in the fishing village of Kodi Bengre on the West Coast. And surfing is taught free for the kids from the village. She and Pathiyan shared one board between them, in the early days, before they started to fix up broken boards from traveling surfers passing through the Country.

Last year Malaviya featured in the Forbes 30 under Asia list alongside Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka. Her story finds a wave in a book ‘She Surf’ written by a fellow surfer, Lauren Hill, recounting tales of female surfers around the world.

Surfing debuts in the Tokyo Olympics next year on the Pacific Coast of Chiba, Japan. We do not know, as yet, whether Malaviya would participate being a long-board specialist. But we hope the waves take her there.

“I remember smiling on my first wave, all the way to the shore and all the way back home from the beach. I live a very unglamorous life, I live in a village, a simple, peaceful village. But I’m really grateful doing what I do with the story that I have”. Malaviya said in an interview.

“The challenge of surfing, but it’s also the beauty of surfing, is you have to wake up and respond to the happenings in the living world around you. It’s not like almost every other aspect of modern life where you can plan into an uncertain infinity”, says a surfer.

Her story should inspire this generation of Indians, to look beyond King Cricket, and indulge in other challenging sports in which they can become Kings & Queens. It’s for the taking – I’ll wave to that!

Potpourri

Royal Enfield Motor-cycle: The Bullet

I remember the early 1980’s when heavy, fuel-guzzling bikes such as Jawa, Bullet and Rajdoot were the glorious ones that motor-cycled Indian roads. We had a hellva time trying to kick-start these bikes, and often we gave up on them. Then came the easy-start, light weight 100cc fuel efficient bikes and the oldies almost disappeared. Only just.

Kicked-up in the year 1901, The Royal Enfield motor-cycle probably has the longest lifespan of any motorcycle manufacturer in the world and remained unknown in markets outside India.

Royal Enfield’s original British Company operations closed in 1970; the surviving Indian remnant was heading the same way before a stunning revival that saw annual sales grow from 31,000 bikes in 2006 to more than 800,000 in 2019, transforming the value of Enfield’s parent company, Eicher Motors, India a tractor-maker, from just a few hundred million dollars to over eight billion. Now the company is accelerating into the wider world and has touched ground in the USA too.

The four-stroke, distinctive sounding, over 350cc Enfield motorcycle, simply called ‘Bullet’ in India, is a throwback devoid of modern frills and with the looks of a classic bike. Enfield decided on riding in the middle of the road: declining to enter the largest part of the Indian market, which is for small and cheap bikes, or in making the expensive, tech-laden machines that motor-cycle enthusiasts generally hanker after in other countries. Improvements have tackled mechanical shortcomings without undermining the existing sound, feel and look.

They must, says Eicher’s boss, provide “everything you need and nothing you don’t”.

I recall, starting the Enfield was a huge challenge, with one hand on the choke, one eye on the amps-meter and one leg on the kick-start lever. After a few hisses and misses it splutters to a start and the ‘royal, thud-thud, sound’ is good on the ears. These days they have introduced a push button battery start, and we leave the starting worries behind, in the thin wispy smoke. Trademark Retail showrooms that have silently sprung-up in the small Towns and Cities are stunning, selling various models of the Enfield, besides awesome riding gear, and have an irresistible urge to peek inside – I did, in a Showroom in Attur, Salem, India. Why not set a goal of ‘biting the Bullet’ in the year ahead?

Netflix

The pandemic lockdowns introduced me to the World of, ‘Sitting in Front of the Television’ and it didn’t take me long to discover that the usual TV Channels, with a few exceptions, weren’t worth much of a watch. Then, my son, on a visit home from London in middle of January this year, lead me to Netflix and pointed out a few Movies and Drama Series’ to watch. I got hooked, for sure.

I’ve immensely enjoyed, ‘The Last Kingdom’, ‘Resurrection Ertugrul’, and now ‘The Crown’, besides catching up with the movies that I’ve always wanted to see. The advantages are they come without the interruptions of commercial advertisements; and you can simply stop at what ever scene you are watching and come back to it later.

The drama series are extremely well-made, bring to life the characters and the scene of the times and stay in the mind screen for a long time.

More light and sound coming-up in the weeks ahead.