Much Ado About Something

  So, there are these people in my neighborhood who walk around without masks. A couple of days ago, a neighbor walked toward me wanting to talk – she wasn’t wearing a mask. I moved away but told her that I would talk once she masks up. It did sound rude, but in my defense, it is better to be sensible rather than stupid. She looked at me like I was weird – that is her prerogative! She still moves about without a mask. The situation is precarious with people I know falling prey to this evil virus. Many have lost their lives battling Covid, so therefore wearing a mask is simple math. The people who care for others and themselves will mask up, the rest will probably contribute to the spread. And I ponder over these vicissitudes. Losing People A friend battled the dreaded illness and after days passed away. Another friend of mine lost her young sister to the illness. The family doctor presumed it was just a viral infection. Eventually, she was hospitalized, put on a ventilator...

  They won't miss me when I am gone Or will they? Probably sigh with relief Never wanted just required Convenient to have around Not good enough Minds on the bigger prize When I breathe my last Will they cry or have a blast?

The fallacy that a man must be older than a woman in a relationship is pretty redundant in today’s time. But, I am pretty sure that there are many people out there who will disagree with my point of view, and so be it. My point - there comes a time in both a man and a woman’s life when being attracted to someone way younger is not alien. How about we dive into this paradigm, and quash all the myths of the older man younger woman versus the older woman younger man syndrome without making a big deal.  Let’s, for the point of driving the nail home, suggest this scenario. A woman in her sixties, happily married notices a young man across the aisle while she shops, and is appreciative of his good looks. And why the heck not, yeah? Her children who are with her maybe mortified because they believe that their mother should not be … you know. However, if their father is with them, notices a pretty girl, and is appreciative of her, they may not blink. It is such BS in my book. Don’t you thi...

When you have no way to contact anyone or receive calls because your money is over a little something from a kind supporter help. You have a regular job, but the lockdown has you on tenterhooks. The office is still temporarily closed. The school that you teach at cannot pay you the salary you are entitled to, or your employer flat out refuses that s/he cannot pay you. What is the next option?   Supporters can tide you over for a while, but after that, what? Not everyone can help out.   Putting food on the table, paying EMI’s, utility bills, ways to stretch the notes, is a constant with no let-up around the corner. None of us have a clue as to whether this pandemic will ease. And if it does, what is the new normal? Educational institutions remain shut for obvious reasons. Transport is hit and it is the common person who has to face the brunt. Walking and using vehicles sparingly is the norm. Honesty, we don’t know if we will be able to fund ourselves if petrol prices ...

You know that time when you want to snack on something and the lockdown has you going around in circles, simply put - you did not stack up the goodies. Huge boo-boo. You are now on a quest to find a solution, any treat suffices, even the stuff you loathed earlier. You try anything that you can get your hands on to munch, and alternatives appear out of nowhere. The kitchen is your new best friend. As you lay eyes on the stack of potatoes and start cutting away, you fry them not realizing that they get soggy if not consumed soon! The double dip is the solution, but you didn’t know that. Oh brother! You now realize that diving in immediately is a must. And you munch away. Huge relief! My go-to snack has and will always be a packet of chips, diet be dammed. I got to thinking, however, while I managed to munch on a packet of Lays (the best snack in my book), many do not even have a glass of water to drink! And as I ponder over the divide that is so glaring - the poor, the have’s, the hav...

As seconds turn to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks, weeks hopefully not to months, we wait in stunned silence for directives by doctors. This coronavirus has everyone (not the Covidiots) in a confused panic. This is no bandh like we are used to in our country, this is serious. The economy which was on a downslide has plummeted further. We are a worried lot wondering how to replenish our stock. And then the worry that we do not contract any germs from the vendor who has delivered the goods. It is not only scary, but reality has reared its ugly head. This is happening in real-time, and not the movies. I want to wake up believing that it was just another movie and life will be back to normal. But is it going to be normal, today, tomorrow or even a month from now? Are we getting it that there is no vaccine at present? Social distancing keeps us free from the germs that spread rapidly. We need to follow protocol. A number of us want to pin the blame on other ...

I want to say I love you, I do not know how I want to mend fences, you fence me out How do I break the chains that bind? Hear me, when I say Forgive me I need you I hope you need me too. At a time when people are dying to the deadly virus I want to pray with you But you look away I want to hug you but you are stiff I want to feel your gaze upon me with love I need you to love me, again Can you? Though we do not talk This is my prayer for you Stay safe Be brave Be happy Be healthy I forgive you Please forgive me too. And, before I forget I need to say I love you, please love me too, someday.