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….