COVID-19

In a few of the English movies I have seen, I recall seeing London Black Cabs, in which a firm partition isolates the driver from the passengers, with a small window for communication. Even in the days of Sherlock Holmes and horse-drawn Hansom Cabs, we see that the passengers are separated from the driver - some sort of social distancing. So, the idea of social distancing in small public transport vehicles is not really new. A Hansom Cab with driver on the sets of a Sherlock Holmes film (Photo: By Andrew Dunn - English Wikipedia) In June, when the city…

As talks of vaccines acquire a shrill pitch, it is time to look back at some of the essential workers who saw us through the hard days of the lockdown in the past few months. The mortuary and ambulance staff of King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital, one of Mumbai's biggest public hospitals, spoke to Citizen Matters about their life experiences in 2020 - an extraordinary year which was filled with fear and trepidation. But, they could not stop. The 'leader' Senior Mortuary Attendant, Kashinath Raghunath Mugdar, is an old hand. Having witnessed the mortuary overflow after the 1993 communal riots,…

Last week, the new SARS-CoV-2 variant was revealed to be the reason behind the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in South and East England. It is being referred to as VUI (Variant Under Investigation) 202012/01, or the B.1.1.7 lineage. 1108 cases of this strain have been identified so far. While this new variant spreads more rapidly than other strains, there is no evidence yet that this variant causes severe disease or mortality. Given this all travel from and into the UK has been halted as a precautionary measure in our country. For the first time in the last few weeks…

Many of us may have heard this short story about a little boy on the beach. Once upon a time there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. Early one morning, he saw a small boy on the sea-shore.  A big storm the previous night had littered the vast beach with thousands of starfish. The little boy bent down every so often to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. “May I ask what is it that you are doing” he asked the boy.“Throwing starfish into the ocean” the…

What is lost in the last nine months is the magic that happens in a live performance.  Within the 15th minute of a play, everybody’s heart is beating at the same pace. How can that ever happen with us beaming ourselves out on telephone screens and computer screens and television screens? Not possible.  Theatre is really the only medium that gives it to you, blood, sweat and tears, there in front of you. Cinema blows up everything a hundred times, television compresses it. Theatre is the only space where you see what is real.  This is the challenge to humanity:…

Even as the UK, US and other countries have started vaccinating their citizens, India is yet to start immunising its massive population, as the final human trials are not yet over. The task is difficult and poses unique challenges. Citizen Matters spoke to four eminent experts on their views on the vaccine and the various challenges of a mass vaccination drive: Dr Satyajit Rath: Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune.Dr Shahid Jameel: Director, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana.Dr Rakesh Mishra: Director, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.Prof Nirmal Kumar Ganguly:…

The world has witnessed a substantial increase in internet consumption for both work and leisure ever since nations across the globe started implementing social restrictions to minimise the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Global statistics indicate that time spent on digital activity has increased by 57% for watching streaming web-series/shows, 47% for social media, 46% on messenger services, 39% on listening to streaming music services, 36% more time on mobile applications, 35% increased time for video games, 15% for creating and uploading videos and 14% more time on listening to podcasts. These findings corroborate with statistics about the use of devices. The…

Health workers at a Boston hospital broke into a celebratory dance on receiving their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine recently. In India, even before the vials are ready, competition is emerging over who will have the first access. With the vaccine in the final trial phase, India faces the looming challenge of producing the quantities necessary to provide immunity to all its citizens.  Globally, pharma companies are racing ahead to roll out vaccines to fight COVID-19, including the new highly infectious strain that has been found in Britain. Daily life cannot find a new normal until populations have built up antibodies…

A few days before Christmas, we set up our tree, complete with ornaments and star, and decorated our house as we have done in the past. With the characteristic smells of Christmas season food, the festival was definitely in the air, but it was different. But, this Christmas was unlike any I remember in my life of 19 years. The Christmas tree at the Fernandes home in Mumbai. Pic: Krystel Fernandes Leading up to Christmas, there used to be days of partying, which continued until the new year. Church gatherings, group carol singing, guests in and out of our home…

During the scorching summer months of 2020, Indian TV media and websites broadcast visuals of migrant workers walking back to their villages. Commentators lamented how workers who shoulder the economic burden of the city remain tenuously compensated. Now - nine months after the lockdown was first announced - workers have returned to the city but the media spotlight has shifted. Details about available work, working conditions, and wages remain shrouded in mystery.  A city-based workers collective, Aajeevika Bureau, has mapped the informal workforce in Mumbai's Khairani road and nearby areas. Their research throws four broad findings: some returning migrants have…