The SMS Season

The COVID-19 has been highly active and there are no signs of the spread coming down in many parts of the World.  More so in the Major Cities of India.  Countries that had their bit of suffering from COVID-19 until few weeks ago, have started witnessing another wave of the Virus attack.  From China to Brazil and from India to USA, there is no dearth of Contributors to the daily tally of numbers.

The COVID-19 has been very unpredictable and has dented the reputation of many Virologist and specialist.  It has cheated many number crunchers and analyst as well.   The initial euphoria of staying together with the family during the Lockdown has now turned into boredom and frustration for many.

The LFH and WFH, Learn from Home and Work from Home has become the most popular abbreviations of recent times.  The Virus has decimated the Privacy of people who normally stay at home and are not working or studying.  Suddenly, the Technology has entered deep into our homes and is threatening to become a permanent member of our Family.

The surge of second wave of cases has caused more concerns to all Governments.  The Airborne ability of this Virus has been experimented daily and few scientists have informed WHO that the Virus is Airborne.  With this revelation, a new round of fear has been injected in the minds of much of the world population.  There is no clarity or vicinity to predict when this would end.

COVID-19, the uninvited guest of this world is trying to overstay here.  Looking at the number of years it has taken to reduce many Viruses in the past, it is evident that this would also take some time to bring into control, even if we have medication for this.  When we still have Dengue Fever doing the rounds every now and then.  We should be prepared for similar rounds of COVID-19 attacks on mankind.

The best one can do is SMS.  SMS stands for Soap/Sanitization, Mask and Social Distancing.  SMS does not cure COVID-19 but it surely reduces the chances of getting it.   SMS also prevents the Virus from spreading.  So, this main mantra and medicine for the current COVID-19 season is SMS. 

The more we follow SMS, the better for us.  Proper cleansing of your hands and Sanitizing things touched by others or brought from outside is important to reduce the chance of Virus entering our body and homes.  Wearing Mask is not just an act of self-prevention but also an act of respecting others.  It is a two-way system.  You try to prevent inhaling or letting in any Virus particles into your body and at the same time do not allow others to suffer from whatever impurities or Virus you might have.  Social Distancing, the most difficult to make it a practice, is meant to avoid any contact with the Aerosols that may be around a person.  Social Distancing should be very carefully maintained at home as well, especially, when we have Vendors or Technicians or any Guests visiting us.

Irrespective of whether it is a droplet or aerosol of the Virus that could be airborne for a distance, following the SMS procedures is the main weapon one has got in the fight against COVID-19.  All three aspects are important.  For example - Just wearing Mask and not maintaining Social Distancing or Sanitizing is not going to be sufficient.  Similarly maintaining Social distancing without wearing Mask or Sanitizing regularly is not going to help much.  All three of them should be done together. 

Since this COVID-19 is likely to be present for few years until it is fully knocked down.  It is better to make SMS as part of our life.  It must become a habit for one and all.  Those who have travelled to Japan and Hongkong in the past, would have noticed that many people wearing Mask when they walk in public places.  Many of them follow sanitization at well.  This could be one of the reasons why COVID-19 did not spread that much in those countries.  Though the Virus started early in these Countries the Citizens managed to bring down the spread.  

The Governments shall do their part in doing their perceived best in bringing down the COVID-19.  But we cannot clap hands in one hand.  The Citizens of the world should their part.  It must be a coordinated effort.  If we, the people cannot take precautions of our own, we cannot expect any Government to do anything in the fight against COVID-19, because the fight is against an invisible enemy. 

What we can do is extremely easy compared to what the Governments need to do.  Just Simply SMS.  In messaging, many people avoid SMS and have moved to WhatsApp or Telegram to communicate.  This SMS should never be avoided, even if this Virus is controlled.  This SMS practice is not a remedy against COVID-19.  But it is a good practice against all Viruses.  Let us all SMS together and do our bit for our own Safety and that of our fellow humans around us.

Forgotten once again...

The COVID-19 has been ruling the world for the past few months.  It is a declared Pandemic and an undeclared gamechanger.  The People and the Governments work hard in nourishing their economy.  What was built through hard work of many for over several decades has been brought to standstill by this Virus.  It is not only taken the life of many people but also brought down many economies worldwide.

The way we live our life is different now.  The imprint of Corona is there in all walks of life.  Probably, it is apt now to split our life into two parts, the new BC and AC.  Where BC stands for “Before Corona” and AC for “After Corona”. 

We never imagined that we would be forced to stay at home and work.  Our working habits too have changed with the change in Purpose.  Earlier many IT people had the luxury of working from home.  In the pre-COVID19 period, many people normally availed this Work from Home option whenever they had to take care of some domestic commitments.  In most cases, it was enough if they attended a few Calls and sent a few emails, to show that they indeed worked from home.  And once their office hours were over, no one used to disturb them. 

Things have changed now.  There is no starting or ending hours for work anymore for those who work from Home.  The calls start ringing so early making one feel if it was the alarm that was waking them.  The Video Calls have made things even worse.  This has forced everyone to be more formal while working from home.  With makeshift desks, domestic background, interrupted power supplies, noise pollutions, domestic diversions and many such hurdles, the work goes on.  Ironically, despite working for more hours and completing more tasks, one often feels dissatisfied at not being able to complete enough work.  While this has been the case for some, for a many due to COVID-19, their workload has reduced considerably.  They still feel that they have done lot of work.  This is more of a psychological effect as they feel they are the only ones working at home while the rest of the members of the house are relaxed.

The children too would never have imagined that they would be asked to stay back home and learn.  Their problems are different and more age specific.  Not everyone has a spare laptop or desktop.  In homes that have 2 children, the problems are plenty when their e-Class timings clash with each other.  The fight shifts from who get the only Laptop/Desktop to who gets the Mobile phone.  One attends the class in Laptop/Desktop and other in Mobile, with a pride.  Their timings are different too.  For some, it is a continuous schedule while it is 2 or 3 lectures for others, spread across the whole day. 

With all the diversions at home, the noise pollution, the aroma of the live kitchen, with no classmates to talk to, the Students begin their learning sessions.  For younger ones, it is always more exciting and fun to learn through their mobile or laptop.  With no clarity on when the schools are set to resume, the student life is more in a transition mode.  How it is going to change post corona is to be seen.  For those who attend college, the effectiveness of e-Classes is very mixed and unclear.  Students in professional courses have more often utilized this opportunity to the fullest and their e-Classes have been found to be effective. 

Surely the COVID-19 has changed things totally. Just like we often do.  The women of the House are forgotten yet again.  Debates on ‘Working from Home’ and ‘Learning from Home’ are doing the rounds.  Their plight is never discussed or thought about in any forum or media.  The adjustments and sacrifices, the Lady of the house, makes is multi-fold. 

While everyone stays at home, the women have to prepare variety of foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Normally, a packed lunch would have saved her lot of time in the Kitchen.  With the men and children staying at home, timely food and that too freshly cooked food, ensures that the lady of the house stays in the Kitchen more than normal.  This surely will have an effect on her Knees, Back and Neck if proper care is not taken. 

If young kids are at home, it becomes a big challenge for the mothers to ensure the child is silent when her husband does his work, especially while on calls.  Her regular relaxation in front of the TV or a short nap in the afternoon are all cut-off due to the work/learn from home sessions of the rest of the family members.  It is even worse if the Lady of the house is also working from home. 

The challenges these ladies face under these testing circumstances are many and they manage to do it.  That is the specialty of Indian Women.  But unfortunately, when one talks about COVID-19, one refers to the work from home and learn from home situations only.  The sacrifices of the Lady of the House are forgotten yet again….

HOME CLASSES

During early March 2020, the signs of Covid-19 was beginning to surface everywhere.  Some of the Private schools started shutting down to avoid young children contracting this virus.  By 2^nd week of March, many State Governments announced closure of Schools and Colleges till 31^st March 2020.  The Janata Curfew came in and it was followed by Lockdown versions 1 to 4.  This has left these educational institutions close indefinitely.

Some schools had started using Technology to continue giving assignments to Students as soon as they were asked to shut down.  The activity was more of an assignment than any real lecture.  By the beginning of April, some schools resorted to taking lectures online.  The Colleges were not to be left behind and they also joined the bandwagon.

The demonetization gave birth to Digital Payments and the COVID-19 gave birth to eLearning.  Both are key turning points in Modern Indian History.  Though eLearning was present earlier it was more of a support to the regular curriculum – a co-curriculum.  But now, the birth of the Home Classes in the form of eLectures has changed the dynamics completely.  The new-born concept did not require any incubation period.  It was up and running and at a dangerously great speed.

The initial days of the use of eLectures were exciting for the Students as well as the Teachers as it was a new experience.  Never did they think that this might be the new way of life.  The Home Classes come with their own set of Challenges.  It was done in a haste and purely for economic purposes. A process implemented without any thought.  Let us look at some of the inconveniences it is causing to Students, Teachers and Parents.

• The Students who are already stay put in the house the whole day with the same set of people are forced to go through their classes at home in a divertive atmosphere. 
• It is easy for any student to just login and even watch a movie.  Adding Video, reduces the bandwidth and hence many eLectures are done without Video.  So, no real control on what the Students are doing.
• The discipline of being on time for a lecture is missing. 
• When most of the Adults who are forced to work from home are finding it difficult to concentrate and perform, it is surely difficult for the students to concentrate and learn.
• The Purpose of exams and Tests sound irrelevant as it is difficult to monitor whether the Students are copying or writing on their own.
• Not everyone has good internet connection at home – be it a student or a Teacher.  One need to think beyond Urban India.
• Not all Teachers have a dedicated space or table at home to take a proper lecture without any disturbance.
• Not all Parents have dedicated laptop or PC for young children.  Especially if there are more children, normally, only one Device is allocated for all of them.  With simultaneous class timings for all the children, allocation of devices is also a struggle for many.
• Noise pollution from the neighborhood of any of the Participants, especially that of the Teacher is going to make the lecture miserable for the rest of them.
• It is difficult to do mono-lecturing in front of a Computer or a Mobile.  The intellectual connect, the Body Language, the emotions, all are lost when a teacher conducts a lecture online.
• When we are discouraging more use of Mobiles and Laptops at young age, to protect the Eyes, the Student has to spend lot of hours on either of these, if they are to take the Home classes seriously.
• Many teachers and students agree that the results of Tests conducted post lockdown are not that satisfactory.  It surely does not provide a clear indication of where the Student stands in terms of the subject matter as there are lot of loopholes in organizing Tests.
• The Parents now have a more difficult job of chasing their ward and making them sit on time for the Home Classes.  Earlier the Parent had to just struggle once in the morning to send their young wards to school on time.  But now, the parents must go through the trouble for every session.

The only thing that is pushing this thing going is the benefit that it brings to the educational Institutions.  It helps them collect the fees.  This is perhaps the one of the very few industries that has gone unaffected due to the economic lockdowns.  The rush to complete the pending activities of the previous academic year is only to start collecting the fees for the new academic year.  Some of them have even collected Transportation Charges for the whole year. 

The Parents have paid fees for a normal working period.  By having few hours (mostly 2 hours) of home classes, the Institutions try to convince the Parents of having fulfilled their promise.  Home Classes is just an eye wash by the Institutions to make the Parents believe that they real care about the Students future.  The excuse given by most of the Institutions is that they do not want to waste few months of a Student’s career and allow him to lose competitive edge.  The reality is few months of delay is not going to have any significant change in any students’ career. 

It is also widely heard that few Institutions have enforced or considering enforcing a pay cut for Teachers as the Teachers are not working full time.  When they receive, they like to get full payment from Parents and when they have to pay, they act petty by reducing the Pay and try to pocket the differential.  All these are happening openly and no one to question them. 

Why is it so important that the new academic year should start by June/July?  What is the Significance?  Why can’t it be from any other month?  The Summer and Winter Holidays are different in various parts of India.  Why should the academic year end before the Summer?  These are unexplained for years.  The irony is many schools even collect Fees before the end of the Financial Year on 31^st of March.  So, it is not linked to Financial Year as well, assuming it would help the Institutions in filing their returns.  Getting XII grade exam/Undergraduate results by May/June does not help any student join any Foreign University immediately unless the necessary qualifying exams are cleared 6 months in advance.  So, it is not designed to meet any overseas schedule. 

  

We have a chance now to change our Academic Year.  Our Students can also be saved from the Home Classes which does not help them much.  We can save them from any possible psychological issues.  If we lose this opportunity, we will be stuck with this wrong system forever.  A point worth considering.

LOCKDOWN - WHAT NEXT?

The Lockdown came suddenly, and it took time for us to adopt being at home and under a curfew.  The Daily Labours, Workers, Employers, Entrepreneurs, Industrialists, Banks, the Government, and the Economy; everyone was forced to embrace the Lockdown.  The impact varied from segment to segment.  It was a livelihood issue for some.  For some, it was a question mark on the Continuance of their Job.   It was the worry of Business Prospects for Businessmen.  So, everyone had something or other to think about, to worry about – some less and some more.  

 

The Lockdown 1 was more fun for the middle class.  When the Lockdown 2 came in, the nerves were settled, and we could see some of them not seemed to be bothered about the Lockdown and were flouting the rules.  With numbers going up and Lockdown 3 in place, it is quite natural that the impatience turns into frustration.  What is in store next?  Will we have Lockdown 4?  With relaxations already in place, it is very unlikely a complete nationwide shutdown or curfew is brought back.  It will be a catastrophe for the Economy.

 

The perspective we have of the World; living within the 4 walls during these past 6 weeks is highly influenced by Social Media and News Media.  The former is a launching pad for rumors and the later the launching pad for creating opinions.  The real understanding of the world we live in will be known only when we step out of our Homes and into the streets.  One needs to be conscious of certain important things and start thinking of ways to mitigate them.

 

The current situation is neither over nor under full control.  It is incorrect to believe that things are normal.  The COVID-19 virus is not going to vanish.  The coronavirus is here to stay for few years and will be defeated only when everyone develops resistance to it.  Just like how other Viruses or diseases were/are handled.  According to World Malaria Report, over half of India’s population was at risk of contracting malaria in 2016.  So, there is no need to panic.  Too much fear is unnecessary.  But all precautions need to be taken always, at the least till a Vaccine or Medication is invented.

 

It is highly likely that most of us may get inflicted with this Virus.  It is not a disgrace or dishonor or a shame if one gets inflicted with the Virus.  Such a stigma or hatred should not be developed.  If one gets inflicted, the important thing is to follow the medical instructions and stay isolated and stay put at one place.   It is not a sin if one is contracted with this Virus.  One needs to monitor the Mortality rate to know how serious the situation is.  At the time of writing this report, the mortality rate due to COVID-19, across the world is 6.90%, across India is 3.30% and less than 1% in Tamil Nadu.  

 

The Safety of the Jobs will be clear only when the Economy opens fully, unless you are in a company which is very badly hit by the lockdown and is beyond restructuring by the owners.  So, expect some possible setbacks in the work front.  Expect more pressure from the Superiors to perform.  Plan now to see how the performance can be enhanced.

 

The ability to sit for longer hours, the focus and concentration required during regular work, should be sharpened.  These would have surely impacted due to this long lockdown.

 

Expect Social Life to be affected for atleast the next 6 months.  Travels of all kinds would also be affected.  More thought needs to be given if one wishes to attend Weddings, Parties, Gatherings and even visit Places of Worship.

 

We went into this Lockdown; unexpected and unplanned.  We cannot do the same when we come out of the Lockdown.   Mental, Physical, Emotional and Psychological changes need to be made before we start to re-enter into the real world – the street economy.  

 

Reassess your situation, plan your re-entry and till such time, enjoy the remaining few days of lockdown with your family, the fullest – An opportunity which is unlikely to happen ever again in our life.

 

(The above article was written as an Editorial for publication in May 2020 issue of PRINCE’S VOICE – A Community eMagazine)

CORONA - ROCONA !!!

We have been subjected to staying at home under a Lock Down by the Government, a move that could change the game in India’s fight against Coronavirus.

 

We have had several Virus outbreaks in the past.  But we did not have access to the information related to its Intensity and the Casualty.  The Communication System prevalent earlier were different.  It was not so dynamic and accessible like it is today.  

 

The Social Media is getting stronger and powerful, day-by-day, in creating and influencing opinions.  They are fast becoming a deadly Virus, which has the capacity to carry untrue and unverified information and serve it as the only Truth.  The number of people affected by Dengue Virus last year in Tamil Nadu was more than 3,000, out of which more than 550 of them were from Chennai.  But these numbers were spread across 12 months.  A long period for these Social Medias to keep a topic alive and that too with intensity.  Probably, that may be one reason for not carrying that many messages about Dengu atleast in Tamil Nadu.

 

In today’s world, the meaning of the word Truth has changed.  Truth has become something which is widely believed to be correct.  This is where Social Media helps in making believe the People that the message transmitted is Correct by letting it go Viral.  Truth has also become anything that is appearing in News Paper, Web Site and Social Media.  

 

When there is fear in the minds of the people, we as individuals need to be more responsible in creating calmness and not indulge in any act that might flame the fear further.  The Social Media is full of news, created and designed to appear as truth.  Many of us receive several messages, mostly forwarded, about Do’s, Don’ts, remedies, suggestions, home medicines, etc.  All are unverified.  We tend to open it and then forward it immediately to others.  All with a curiosity of being the first to share with near and dear.

 

More often, we carry these messages forward, as we feel we have got a good information and want to send it to our friends in the Social Media for their benefit.  A perfect platform to spread falsehood.  It is easy for people to be misguided.  There are plenty of Myths floating around.  We need to act responsibly and stop forwarding any news related to this Virus unless it is verified to be true.

 

During any natural calamity and any outbreak, the best principle to follow is “to stay put where you are safe”.  This is precisely what the Government has prescribed to us.  Some people are frustrated and feel that it is okay to go out because the number of affected people is not that much.  What they fail to understand is that the numbers are low only because we are in lock down.  Had we been going out like before, the number of people inflicted with Coronavirus would have been much higher.

 

The challenge for the Government and the people is going to be even more difficult, whenever the Lock Down is to be cancelled.  More cooperation from the Public is required then. The Lock Down period may be extended beyond 14th of April or may be called off in full or in Part.  Much depends on how the Coronavirus has spread in India.

 

Irrespective of the Government’s decision, we need to be more careful and continue with the Social Distancing and maintaining cleanliness by washing our hands regularly.  These types of Imported Virus have a big ego, they don’t come to you unless you go and call them.  Everything is in our hands now, literally.  We can make the difference.

 

Your cooperation and safety are important for your health and that of your near and dear.  Residents must follow the rules, regulations and restrictions, framed by the Government, Local Bodies and RWA.  These are framed and implemented for the safety of the Residents.  

 

Remember! ONE BAD APPLE SPOILS THE WHOLE BUNCH

(The above article was written as an Editorial for publication in Apr. 2020 issue of PRINCE’S VOICE – A Community eMagazine)