Walk on the beach. Murky sea merges in the horizon to define itself from the overcast sky as the wary dog watch. Magical.  

Termite alates

Found this on the morning walk. Scores of shedded wings of termite alates in an overnight rain puddle.

  

Pandemic poem

On the dot in the galaxy

Dot on the earth

A dot in the mucous  

Simple logic that define different scales and leaves gasping breath

A consciousness that finds atoms to arrange a deeper thought

From the depth of the ocean like a humpback whale call

So it conjures all the stories again

By feeding on shifting silvery shapes 

So it goes on   

Neo-liberal strategy

Delhi is seriously afflicted with corona virus. Everyday there are hundreds of cases. The situation is grim. So when the CM says "We will have to be ready to live with corona virus. We will have to get used to it". What does it really mean? The congested part of the Delhi is inhabited by the poorest and lower middle class, and these are substantial in population. There really cannot be any concept of social distancing in such places, think of single brick multi-storied hellholes in Pahar ganj, karol bagh, madangiri, east of kailash so on. These sections of society doesn't really have access to better medical facility, hygiene conditions too are limiting, as the cases are mounting they will find themselves in dire situation. People are mostly careless and lack civic sense. Its a jungle out there that checks your fitness to survive at every instance. They live in congested places, they travel in congested places, they die in congested places...there really is no escaping. Its fate at every step.  

So when it is said "learn to live with it" what it really means is that substantial number of people are going to get infected and many are going to die, its inevitable (depends on your luck ie fate, and in certain places it runs too thin). There is very likelihood that Delhi CM's strategy will be copied by most CMs (CM of Andhra -who hinges his popularity firmly on slave morality, instead of sticking to facts did a Trump by saying "its just a flue"!). It is the easiest way out, significantly it keeps the powerful section that control the system happy as we go back to "normal" ways while herds are habituated to blame their fate. It can easily be understood by the way Trump is working. You will rarely see such carelessness in civilized sections in Europe or caring societies around the world, or even educated society will not tolerate such wanton transgression (I really don't think CM of Kerala can make such statements and get away with it. There will be serious consequences). There is no cure to this pandemic. Vaccine will take time. Many people are able to recover but many are not. What impact does it have on long term health of those who have recovered is also not yet known. Community immunity means lots of people's life is going to be compromised, and in a malnourished poor society this is going to be substantial and very definitely going to be from less blessed sections. This society suffers from serious systemic biases and ethical ambiguity so when push comes to shove things will be quite ugly. Arguably economics is a concern, there is serious breakdown happening and this could lead to social repercussions and strife. Policy makers are acutely aware of this. But that doesn't really mean that we have to learn to live with it. It leads to lackadaisical ways in a society famously known for its lackadaisical attitude. Hopefully stringent measures are vigorously pursued to contain the impact. Situation is closely monitored through health workers and local volunteers, and areas isolated on continuous basis. We have seen enough videos of Iran, Italy, USA and China of people dying on the streets, hospitals overcrowded (patients lying on the corridor unattended, bodies dumped in rooms, mass graves dug) and other horrifying scenes. Livelihood is important but that is not the reason to take neo-liberal strategies that puts humans at lower rug of the deal while the moneybags influence the policy makers. If it goes to community spread (which probably it has in Delhi, hence this defeatist attitude) then we are looking at a wave of untold misery compounding the economic crisis. People will then be living with possibility of death at every step. Hopefully policy makers are fully aware, and are equipped to take judicious decisions. Most importantly they know what they are talking about, and not jostling to posture as saviors. Squatter ensconced have such problems, they have incorrigible urge to showcase blessedness.     

Knowing

Knowing

It spirals and dizzy the mind

Tracing graph of expanding minutes into inevitable

Striding the days in escalating vortex that expands and expands

Into infinite  

Is it pulling in or is it pushing out you never know

It throbs and churns like a mobius snare in the subconscious 
no end, no beginning  

It settles on silent days to blooming hibiscus rushing in the breeze

Sneaks at purple-rumped sunbird’s rap on the window pane

It’s curved beak shaping the time at its leisure.

The thought splinters to search million nooks

A brilliant flash coalesce the space onto the edge of time

An instant awareness

Sets things in place

It was so obvious 
(shucks I knew it all the while!)  

If you know you can’t tell, if you tell you won’t know

If you choose, it disappears, if you ignore, it appears

Like fireflies it knows when to flicker to synchronize the dance.      

Life, paused

Blue carpet of flowers settle like a mist

A faint heave of breeze rise without a hint

Floats into the deep wood

Seeks a new home in dark recess

Listen to the muted sobs that trails the scene.

And yet, the final tug.

The final tug

Pleads to begin it all to the better times.

Sunrise

Tiny lanterns on paddy fronds

Light up the morning scene

Like awakened eyes

Splitting the air in rainbow swirls.

Butterfly chose some

Rest is all green