Raju Korti
The versatility of the Corona virus may be making the world go round the bend but I find it perfectly in sync with my idiosyncrasies to create issues out of trite. It is exactly the kind of grub that my unproductive brain feeds on. I am not referring to the ability of the virus to generate conspiracy theories but to the contradictions it has been spawning since its onset in a province known mostly to its native Chinese. Each time a new dimension of its multi-splendored talent surfaces, I am tempted to explore its potential to play the lead role in a pulp mystery film.
The virus threw the mankind in throes of confusion with its utterly routine and non-suspicious symptoms. People who couldn't care if you sneezed or yawned in their face now look at you as if you are their sworn enemy. Worse still, even if you didn't, they would still look at you and avoid you like the plague. The virus has taken the sting out of untouchability. You can't swat it like a mosquito. A mosquito can be killed like that but how do you kill a virus that is already supposed to be dead?
While stories aplenty have been doing rounds about the weird eating habits of the Chinese, people in other parts of the globe are now shy of eating even the food they think is normal. The microorganism is a nutritionist and dietitian in its own right but is giving you nightmares about what you should be actually stuffing yourself with. So we have a wide range of food items that we are either supposed to eat or not supposed to eat. When one "expert" tells you should eat mangoes, the other "expert" warns you about the dangers of eating them in these times. Eating meat is both good and bad and so is drinking -- social or otherwise. People who couldn't hide their glee when they said that consuming alcohol could can kill the virus, were beaten into a hasty retreat when it was quickly pointed out that this was a myth and on the contrary it weakened the immune system. As wine shops downed shutters, resourceful but desperate minds had already started exploring the prospects of extracting alcohol from hand sanitizers to satiate the cravings of their liver. The specious excuse in favour of opening wine shops was the government was losing out in excise revenue. The virus is watching this do-I-don't-I predicament. If you have the symptoms, you have the virus. If you don't have the symptoms, you could be still harboring it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Do high temperatures kill the virus? "Experts" say yes and no. For all you know, all those large mugs of tea and coffee you are gulping down your throat might or might not help. So garlic, fruits, hot spices, herbs may work, may not work. From head to toe, the virus has the liberty to access you without any password or protection and screw up your operating systems. Keep guessing how much you can seal or insulate yourself and your surroundings.
While the frantic search for vaccine continues, ideas -- some of them downright bizarre keep coming from all and sundry about the regimen to be followed. The idea of using hydroxychloroquine as a deterrent drug evaporated faster than it came after a short-lived debate on its efficacy against the baffling and enigmatic virus. The mystery continues. Imagine if this tiny monster were to fall into the hands of someone like Alfred Hitchcock or our own Ramsay Brothers. They would have made it a suspense thriller of the century. Instead, it fell into the hands of -- of all the people -- the president of United States who in his infinite wisdom suggested that injecting disinfectant and exposure to ultraviolet rays could help infected people. Doctors and epidemiologists quarantined the idea before some overzealous elements could have gone ahead with it.
You may be disappointed and/or amused with Trump's outlandish seemliness but suspense and mystery are worse than disappointments. The virus knows this in its present invincibility and is playing the role of a hero and villain both while we are all condemned to play the character actor roles in this interminable serial. Keep your fingers and legs crossed.
The versatility of the Corona virus may be making the world go round the bend but I find it perfectly in sync with my idiosyncrasies to create issues out of trite. It is exactly the kind of grub that my unproductive brain feeds on. I am not referring to the ability of the virus to generate conspiracy theories but to the contradictions it has been spawning since its onset in a province known mostly to its native Chinese. Each time a new dimension of its multi-splendored talent surfaces, I am tempted to explore its potential to play the lead role in a pulp mystery film.
The virus threw the mankind in throes of confusion with its utterly routine and non-suspicious symptoms. People who couldn't care if you sneezed or yawned in their face now look at you as if you are their sworn enemy. Worse still, even if you didn't, they would still look at you and avoid you like the plague. The virus has taken the sting out of untouchability. You can't swat it like a mosquito. A mosquito can be killed like that but how do you kill a virus that is already supposed to be dead?
While stories aplenty have been doing rounds about the weird eating habits of the Chinese, people in other parts of the globe are now shy of eating even the food they think is normal. The microorganism is a nutritionist and dietitian in its own right but is giving you nightmares about what you should be actually stuffing yourself with. So we have a wide range of food items that we are either supposed to eat or not supposed to eat. When one "expert" tells you should eat mangoes, the other "expert" warns you about the dangers of eating them in these times. Eating meat is both good and bad and so is drinking -- social or otherwise. People who couldn't hide their glee when they said that consuming alcohol could can kill the virus, were beaten into a hasty retreat when it was quickly pointed out that this was a myth and on the contrary it weakened the immune system. As wine shops downed shutters, resourceful but desperate minds had already started exploring the prospects of extracting alcohol from hand sanitizers to satiate the cravings of their liver. The specious excuse in favour of opening wine shops was the government was losing out in excise revenue. The virus is watching this do-I-don't-I predicament. If you have the symptoms, you have the virus. If you don't have the symptoms, you could be still harboring it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Do high temperatures kill the virus? "Experts" say yes and no. For all you know, all those large mugs of tea and coffee you are gulping down your throat might or might not help. So garlic, fruits, hot spices, herbs may work, may not work. From head to toe, the virus has the liberty to access you without any password or protection and screw up your operating systems. Keep guessing how much you can seal or insulate yourself and your surroundings.
While the frantic search for vaccine continues, ideas -- some of them downright bizarre keep coming from all and sundry about the regimen to be followed. The idea of using hydroxychloroquine as a deterrent drug evaporated faster than it came after a short-lived debate on its efficacy against the baffling and enigmatic virus. The mystery continues. Imagine if this tiny monster were to fall into the hands of someone like Alfred Hitchcock or our own Ramsay Brothers. They would have made it a suspense thriller of the century. Instead, it fell into the hands of -- of all the people -- the president of United States who in his infinite wisdom suggested that injecting disinfectant and exposure to ultraviolet rays could help infected people. Doctors and epidemiologists quarantined the idea before some overzealous elements could have gone ahead with it.
You may be disappointed and/or amused with Trump's outlandish seemliness but suspense and mystery are worse than disappointments. The virus knows this in its present invincibility and is playing the role of a hero and villain both while we are all condemned to play the character actor roles in this interminable serial. Keep your fingers and legs crossed.
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