Mental Excursions

  An open letter to Coronavirus Dear Coronavirus aka COVID-19, It is with great exasperation and sadness that I am finally writing to you at the end of the lost year - 2020. So far you do not know me, yet I do not think it rude to point out that in view of your poor reputation, I am wary of meeting you. But since I am human, and a very socially conscious and conscientious one at that, I thought it is high time I should familiarize you with the behavior of us humans, lest the powers that be above both of us, ask me why I did not try to do good to you, even if you are more of an android than a living organism. Don’t you know that we humans do not like someone else being in our space for very long? We even had a film named Atithi tum kab jaoge (O guest, when will you leave)? It is difficult for humans and their own offspring to live together beyond a point and both ask for space and freedom. Being an outsider to our species, you are not familiar with the lengths people can go to,  

  Working from Home Don’t we know how cruel Covid pandemic has been, overturning our lives, not only in respect of our bodies, minds and emotions, but on the work and professional front also. To check the spread of the virus, most of the offices, companies and institutions have moved to remote working or work from home i.e. WFH. Even educational institutions have resorted to remote learning. You may argue that everyone was anyway glued to the screen and immersed in communication through internet before the pandemic. But Covid necessitated physical distance and what better way than to close shop, switch on your computer and start transacting your business from home. It has been some months now and one can sense a sense of despair among the workers. The owners of companies are smart people, otherwise they wouldn’t have reached where they are now, isn’t it? Even before Covid, some of the companies (including some major technology companies, I am told) had already decided that they would

  A quick, easy road  Blame the pandemic for forcing us to curtail all outside activity and social interaction. Staying indoors seemed the safe choice since March this year. But slowly personal, social and business compulsions started pushing most of us out of this sanctuary to find a way to travel. People started taking trains and planes, although both modes of transport have not yet opened up like before. The times also taught us to take the road, literally, to freedom of mobility. But because buses pose the same risks as the other modes of multi-passenger transport do, smaller vehicles seem a better option now. Outings with family and friends, frequent travels connected with marriage, funeral and other functions or ceremonies, pilgrimage, long scenic drives and what not, it is not that car and mini bus trips are something new. Most of us have been doing short stretches for ages whether it is sitting behind the wheel or on the back seat to take ourselves to our destination of des

  I love you.!? I t has been some years since I thought about love letters. In the times of SMS language, short messages and emoticons, I am not even sure if people write letters any more. Like bellbottoms, frocks and long sideburns, they too seem to have gone out of fashion. It may be easy if the subject of your affection is more interested in material expressions like flowers, chocolates, dresses, or diamonds (after all they are the girl’s best friend, remember?)   Yet if spending is not involved or she, even he, is more favourable towards the written word, then aren’t the right words to express your thoughts and feelings  extremely important?  Here let me caution you- the pitfall is that even if the appropriate words have been chosen with care, it is those little naughty punctuation marks which can change the meaning by 180 degrees, causing all hell to break loose. You doubt that? Have a look at the following two examples which caught my attention: https://cybertext.wordpre