2020 - The Year We all Seemingly Lost!!

I am presuming that all of us have eagerly looked forward to bidding ‘Good Bye’ to the year 2020. While we moved around the sun at the same pace we have been moving since the beginning of time, it appeared as if there would be no tomorrow in 2020!

While we human beings are a walking zoo carrying a large variety of invisible organisms working for our well-being, we somehow became a prey to one virus variant, christened Covid-19 that brought us literally to our knees. It knew Life’s link to existence – our breadth. Better than the most complex human designed homing missile fired from a drone, this invisible virus smartly took our breath away…zeroing on an organ that could incapacitate us catastrophically.

It took almost a year for the biomedical research scientists to figure out a way to create an antibody that would remain dormant in our system, but carry the image of the virus in its memory, multiply and come into a fighting mode should Covid-19 slip into our system accidentally. Manufacturing and administering this vaccine amongst the 7+ Billion people across the world is however a challenge. Hopefully the scientific and research community in each country will come forth with a doable plan and help humanity survive.

Folks who have read Atul Gawande’s book – “The Checklist Manifesto” will recall the numerous examples quoted by this author in creating a checklist for even the most complex of procedures. Atul Gawande goes on to say that there are Good checklists and Bad. Bad, because they are too long, hard to use and imprecise. Good, on the other hand are precise, efficient, to the point and easy to use even in the most difficult situations. Checklists cannot solve a problem, but it certainly can avert a catastrophe. We human beings must learn to accept that our memory and judgement are unreliable and internalizing this would have gone a long way in dealing with this pandemic.

As reported in the Print and Social Media Covid-19 made its first appearance in the city of Wuhan in China in September 2019. In today’s world where traveling is extremely common, both within and outside each country the virus had a free run around the globe. It made its appearance in the month of February 2020 in India and within a month we started hearing many cases of infection across this land. While bacterial infections of any kind can be tackled with a range of antibiotics, there is no specific medication for a viral infection in the upper respiratory tract, where these organisms make an entry. Surprisingly however, taking precaution from being infected is one sure shot way of not falling a prey. Even if people are infected, the body’s immune system keeps a record of such invading viruses and goes into top gear to manufacture antibodies, who fight and kill these invaders.

Unfortunately Covid-19 was a brand new strain and the human body had nothing in its library to identify and create antibodies to fight this strain. Covid-19 found itself in a territory with zilch defense and merrily multiplied itself within the human host to a point of no return.

Creating a vaccine from ground zero was hence tough. Our medico-scientific community however never gave up and worked round the clock tirelessly for 8 months to create vaccines that are capable of fighting this new strain.

Tracing back to the initial few months in 2020 when the virus was spreading rapidly, the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) in close discussions with our Medical fraternity and advisors, provided a simple and doable checklist.

1.     Maintain personal hygiene by washing hands and other body parts with soap and water. This is a must if one steps out of home and comes in contact with anyone or anything.

2.     Wearing a clean twin layered cloth mask each time one steps out of the house.

3.     Maintain a safe social distance of 2 yards or 6 feet – essentially avoid coming into contact with another person, unknown to you.

In order to drive home this checklist into every Indian’s mind, a few steps were taken. On Sunday the 22^nd March 2020, PMO’s office declared  24 hour lock down curfew. Other than essential services, for our protection we were to stay indoors and not step out of the house for 24 hours. But, if we did have to step out for any emergency, the above checklist had to be adhered to. My daughter-in-law was in the family way and 22^nd March being an auspicious day we had arranged for Seemantham (aka Baby Shower). We weren’t able to invite any of our family  members or friends for this happy occasion. We went ahead with the rituals just between our two families in a very quiet and hush-hush manner.

Little did we know that this was just a preliminary test of what was yet to come…PMO’s office called for a complete lock down across the country from 25^th March for a period of 3 weeks leaving people in a kind of shock. True to their promise, Government ensured that was no shortage of food supplies and in fact every possible item was available at the local kirana stores, essential for home cooking and home management needs. Having gotten used to freely moving about, staying at home 24/7 for 21 days appeared to all Indians as if we were under “House Arrest”. Finally, it is all in our mind! Over the years we had programmed ourselves to be forever on the move and chasing distant and elusive dreams, not realizing that happiness was in spending our time amongst immediate members of our family and ourselves.

I am quite sure it was a welcome discovery of sorts to most of us tied down at our homes. Discovering that having a simple conversation with folks at home could bring such joy. Discovering that cooking and home management was an art and that everyone could willingly participate in this activity. Discovering that a phone call could easily replace a face-to-face discussion. Discovering that spending tons of money on birthday, engagement and marriage parties could be cut short to bare bones minimum, and nobody in our who’s who list would feel left behind, if not invited!

In order to reduce exposure, I had decided that I would do all the shopping for groceries and essential items. I learnt to appreciate the local Kirana stores during this pandemic crisis. They took the risk of getting their supplies from the main market place and stock up their shops. They even kept telling us shoppers not to resort to panic buying since there was no shortage of supplies; it was just the last mile connectivity hurdle. On days when some varieties of vegetables were selling at a premium, they would advise us to buy just a small quantity for the days need and come back when supply chain would open up and prices fell. I kept my antenna open for such titbit information that was more assuring than the national news and print media who were very busy reporting on what went wrong every hour and successfully created a sense of panic amongst the larger members of our society. Sometimes we wonder what is responsible news reporting!

On 14^th April 2020, PMO’s office announced a further 3 week lock down till 3^rd May 2020. Containment of the virus was the need and making people stay at home was the easiest and cheapest way of stopping the spread. However, some adventure seekers intentionally defied the law, went around merrily and either got themselves into trouble medically or became potential carriers. They underestimated the power of the invisible virus.

By the time my mother’s first year ceremony arrived between 12^th and 14^th May 2020, the lock-down intensity was reduced allowing the purohits (priests) and cooks to come home and help us conduct the ceremony. While the rituals were conducted as is normally done what we missed were my mother’s near and dear ones. The Covid-19 scared them from venturing out to attend the ceremonies.

Life thus carried on…a month later my elder son and daughter-in-law were blessed with a baby boy on June 17^th 2020, amidst the existence of the pandemic. For safety reasons, the hospital allowed only the parents to stay together and no visitors were allowed for 3 days until the baby and mom were discharged and they returned home. We were denied the pleasure of seeing our grandson, soon after he arrived into this world…

In much the same way all celebrations this year namely, Gowri-Ganapathi festival was conducted in a very subdued manner. The naming ceremony of our grandson was held on 23^rd August 2020 – an occasion we normally would have invited all friends and relatives, but the Pandemic stopped us on our tracks. It was a low key affair between just the two families.

Another happy event was my daughter-in-law’s sister's marriage on 31^st October. At this point there was an overall relaxation in movement and celebrations around the city of Bengaluru. While there were restrictions on the number of invitees, people came up with innovative methods of inviting people. Marriage in South India is invariably a 2 day affair with 4 distinct events. The invitation list was split amongst the 4 events so that a larger number of friends and relatives got a chance to participate. This has become an acceptable feature now and people prefer low key marriage functions – a welcome evolution and a departure from ostentatious weddings we have witnessed during Pre-Covid days. People now pay more attention to the rituals being performed and observe with rapt attention the complete cultural extravaganza which had unfortunately taken a backseat earlier!

Diwali was generally celebrated in a subdued manner with people content in lighting oil lamps at their respective homes. Only folks with children between the ages of 7 & 15 took the liberty of lighting crackers keeping the tradition of light & sound alive! Month of November’20 also saw my wife and myself complete 35 years of togetherness quietly. Since stepping out of our home was ruled out, restaurant style food was prepared at home, much to the delight of all…

We stepped up the search for my second son’s alliance…people had apparently taken a sabbatical in their search for bride or bridegroom, because of Covid-19. Come December 17, 2020 a ray of light appeared in the distant horizon…we fervently hoped that a star would make an appearance in 2021 and with that hope, we ended 2020 – a year that most people would like to strike off their life, but I would like to remember each day/month for the lessons it taught and a promise of managing our tomorrow, better!

  

  

 

 

News Reporters and Reporting!

When I wrote sometime in April this year that I’ve stopped reading the Newspaper, it was with a good reason: These days in order to catch the attention of readers, it has become customary to sensationalize trivia. The newspaper and magazine reporters have come to believe that the message has to be juicy with lots of masala in it – it doesn’t matter if it is not the truth. Afterall with so much being written in this era of information overload, they feel the ordinary folks will not get to know the real from the unreal as it would require verification with help from alternative channels or online resources. Even if some of us did want to check the authenticity of the news reports, it would require a lot of hard investigative work and for whose benefit? So, we the people, just let it pass…and the reporters go scot free.

On second thoughts however, the so called reporters are doing gross injustice to their profession through their exaggerated narrative that borders on the untruth. They are supposed to report on the event that has taken place and not provide their opinion. Did anyone amongst the readers ask for the individual reporters personal opinion? I don’t think so. But, what gets dished out is only opinions, opinions and opinions. Some say it quietly, some shout and scream, but most use a liberal dose of sarcasm! 

It pays to be sarcastic, I guess!! It drives home the point and stirs up emotions which can even make people lose control over themselves and jump into vociferous arguments with friends and family creating a chaos and making themselves an object of ridicule or land themselves into the eye of a perfect storm. At this point it is natural to be labelled as outliers leading to a point of “No Return”. The person could find himself or herself as a social media outcast, ostracized from friends and family. Perhaps this is what “Sudden Death” is all about!! 

Did we digress? I guess we did…returning to our reporters and bad reporting…these folks seem to be plagued with a new disease – foot in their mouth. The best example that I can think of is the news regarding successful containment of Covid-19 in the state of Karnataka, particularly in the state capital, Bengaluru. Virtually every newspaper reporter went gaga over the successful way in which Covid-19 had been contained when the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra seemed to have merrily embraced the invisible enemy. The protein spikes looks more like the tentacles of an octopus, eager to latch on to an unsuspecting host from virtually all possible angles. Amazing how creative and adaptive these tiny creatures are…making the best use of the tools available within its reach, for its survival. 

The entire state was in a state of euphoria for having been successful in their act of containment! In hindsight, the containment was just a fluke. As the saying goes, “Success has many fathers and failure is an Orphan”, the political establishment took immediate credit for the excellent planning and execution of precautionary measures. But, did the reporters investigate on what were the measures taken and were they documented? I seriously doubt if even notes were taken by the government officials. A few well known surgeons also joined the bandwagon and endorsed it in a very spirited manner by singing praises on the initiatives taken. Some even went to the extent of stating that Bangalore would never go the way Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai did. A few weeks later the tables seem to have turned. Like the saying goes, They had eggs on their face! Or, should we say Virus inside their nose? Almost the entire political establishment and their cronies have had to eat their words.

We are now seriously competing to overtake the neighboring states to get to the very top of the table with most number of positive cases being reported on a daily basis! Why the sudden surge? I guess this must be the burning question in each person’s mind. We really don’t have to look far…just look within! Just the same way all our spiritual Gurus tell us: Look within to know your true self – Aham Brahmasmi! I am merely borrowing this logic to state what went wrong…we the people are the culprits. One just needs to look within ourselves to know what went wrong!

Just a day or two ago there was a WhatsApp article in circulation on “Optimism Bias”. It is the belief that each of us are more likely to experience good outcomes and are less likely to experience bad outcomes.

Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli psychologist and economist, notable for his work on psychology of judgement and decision-making as well as behavioral economics for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2002. Notable is his book, “Thinking Fast and Slow” published in the year 2011 which soon became a Best Seller, worldwide. In this book, the central theme is dichotomy between two modes of thought: System 1 is fast, instinctive and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative and more logical. And, you guessed it; We the people, 9 times out of 10, base our decision making, on System 1. Kahneman and Amos Tversky introduced a term, “Cognitive Bias” in the year 1972. This is an umbrella term that refers to the systematic ways in which the context and framing of information influence individuals judgement and decision-making. Yesterday’s WhatsApp message spoke of Optimism bias which may well be the most significant of the cognitive biases. This bias generates the illusion of control, that we have substantial control of our lives. This has been the main culprit behind the new found Bravado amongst people in the state of Karnataka which has led to a meteoric rise in the number of Covid-19 infected cases.

Rules made for Unlock 1.0 were simple and easy to follow. But, the one major factor was the need for a strong sense of self-discipline. Wearing a clean mask each time one steps out and maintaining social distance of 2 yards or roughly 6 feet. Everyone religiously broke these two rules with absolute abandon…the optimism bias played in the minds of all…each felt that tragedy would strike others and nothing would happen to them. Wearing of masks has become a joke – it is either not worn or it is pulled / lowered to cover at the chin level and obviously does not cover the mouth & nose. At the shops and malls, people stand so close that the virus can virtually saunter across to the next person. The less we speak of the two wheelers the better. At the signals, no distance is maintained between two parallel standing vehicles. For the virus it is a very short hop from one bike to the other. To make it crazier, three or four people cram themselves into one bike and speed across the lanes and by lanes. They feel thrilled at escaping being caught by the patrol cops. Cops at best would have given them a warning and fined them…little do they realize that this action of theirs attracts a sure shot death certificate by the Virus.

Then there are the health and fitness freaks. They feel a compulsive need to stretch themselves by going for a walk or a jog, although performing yogasanas within the confines of their homes would have been much safer and appropriate.

While the number of invitees for any family function has been restricted to 50, people have started using resorts and other establishments in the outskirts of the city limits to gather crowds upwards of 200. It is impossible to check who is a potential carrier. Children below 10 and folks above the age of 65 are barred from venturing out of their houses, but then who cares? Children below 10 are busy cycling on the streets without any parental watch. The elders are creating a wrong example in a child’s developing mind…how sad!

The guidelines were given not as a punishment to the citizens, but as the only known inhibitor to the rapidly spreading virus. By being extremely strict in the first three or four phases of lockdown, both state and central governments demonstrated a path for people to acclimatize themselves on the new norms of conducting their life in the post Covid-19 era, but the Unlock 1.0 and 2.0 phases seems to have thrown the entire learnings and practices into the drain. If there is one person or body we can blame for this rapid rise in geometric proportions, it is squarely, We the People!!

The final concluding question or remark is, could we look upon our reporters to bluntly tell us where we are going wrong and doggedly pursue to be the watchdog for the society? Or, is this a huge ask?