A good way to start the day is to understand what really happened in history on the day. A useful place to go for that is here
Mrs. is attending a lot of webinars hosted by DMC’s of various country tourism boards and hotel representatives. Was interesting to hear through offerings from operators in places like Andaman, countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana etc., Additionally, industry representatives too gathered (over 100 of them) to talk through the present crisis and what bodes for the travel industry. Any talk hinges on the resumption air traffic or train traffic, a pre-requisite for encouraging outbound / inbound travel. Airports and train stations have been preparing themselves to receive passengers but what will be the government’s position and even if restrictions are lifted marginally, will people gather courage to step out.
The day is now dedicated for a presentation and data gathering exercise. We have not fixed things at its source and as a result are now having to make do with data that is thrown up by the system. That in turn is requiring long hours of cleaning before it can start making sense. We can do this over one or two cycles but organizations not tackling things at a source layer but end up advising customers to do the same are sounding like hippocrates.
Family is keen to have short reassuring talks on what we will be doing post the lockdown. A common theme is to just keep good health and the rest will follow.
The country is seeing politics creep in to efforts being made to contain the spread of the virus; Political one-upmanship is rife in these trying times. The waters have further been muddied with the lynching of two hindu monks near a Maharashtra district that borders the state of Gujarat. The incident did not arouse universal condemnation but only selective calls to avoid communalizing which has not gone down well with sections of the press and the majority. The state government’s weak reaction and positioning of the Chief Minister in the line of fire as compared to the Home Minister was a reflection of how well things are running within the coalition ruling the state. The state currently holds the dubious distinction of carrying the highest number of infected; this, despite not being the largest and the most populated. Mumbai is now at the precipice.
Dharma has to be upheld. The Hon’ble Prime Minister has stated via a tweet that the virus does not differentiate before striking.
In his capacity, he is the Prime Minister for everyone. While his detractors have, as usual, ignored or dissed his tweet like any other, his supporters are vehemently disagreeing with this and have cited a specific religious community and a particular congregation of being the reason for India’s numbers soaring. They additionally point out to the non co-operation of their community members when approached by healthcare workers for testing and support for cure. Valid points but not sure if the Hon’ble PM should react at this point instead of responding to the crisis which is showing hopes of coming under control. It is better to bury the angst and bring it to the fore at the right time and opportunity.
Today, we travel to Gujarat for lunch. Mrs. has been raised in Gujarat and all things Gujarati are most welcome. This is probably the first time in a month that we have had more south indian for meals than Gujarati. For lunch today was a complete fare of vegetable khichdi, Gujarati kadi, athanu marcha, some salad and of course a Gujarati papad
Work from home, people assume 24*7 availability and as a result there are lot of missed calls, missed instant messages on communicator and a tonne of emails.
A shopping trip planned for today has been shelved owing to the work load. The heat is getting unbearable and a few hours without air conditioning leaves you drenched.
Journeysmatter 