GENRE: In Focus

Vikas Kumar was all smiles as he alighted from the first Shramik Train that brought him Jaipur to Danapur, on the outskirts of Patna, on May 2nd. Even as he realized that the smile would be short lived, given the reality of life back in his village of having to take care of his six-member family and his aged parents. “I am clueless about my future,” said Vikas who worked in a stone cutting factory in Jaipur. “It was a hard decision to return, but there was no other option as we were dying there. I did not get my…

The usually busy junctions on Mount Road and OMR wear a deserted look. Almost two months into the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, most vehicles have been off the streets, with only emergency travel and essential services permitted in Chennai. The spread of coronavirus has altered, at least for the near future, how we commute and the kind of travel we consider essential. While the pandemic’s implications for health have prompted extraordinary precautions, the economic impact of these measures have been devastating for many, even in the short-term. One section of people adversely affected by this…

For all outward appearances, Neelam (name changed to protect identity) has it all - a working husband, a couple of young and bright children, and a good job for herself. Look deeper, and one finds that her husband is an alcoholic who abuses her regularly.  Not having got his supply of booze since the lockdown started, he has become even more unbearable, screaming and shouting at her for little or no reason... He has also been encouraging their children to abuse her verbally.  Neelam is now worried that, with the government allowing sale of liquor, his abuse may take another…

In Varanasi, it is death that gives one that sense of normalcy. The rising flames from the pyres at Manikarnika Ghat on the banks of the Ganga are as much a sign of the city’s spiritual legacy for all Indians, as they are that life and times in this holy city are as ordained. When the flames die, as they have died now, it indicates that something has gone very wrong. The common sight not so long ago, on the stretch from Lahura Beer crossing to Maidagin, of a corpse wrapped in shiny shroud atop a vehicle, has become a…

Kerala’s print media can claim for itself a unique distinction: It remains the most credible source of news and information for Keralites, and Malayalis outside the state. It is not just that it has successfully fought against the electronic and digital challenges. It has had to survive through severe natural disasters that ravaged the state these past few years. The COVID pandemic is only the latest of such challenges that the print media has faced, and overcome successfully. Nowhere else in the country have daily newspapers instilled the kind of courage and hope among citizens that Kerala’s newspapers have done.…

COVID is not a worry for Rajamma, a domestic worker living in the quarters given by her employer residing in a high-income neighbourhood of Bengaluru. Wearing a mask, she steps out every evening to buy essentials for the family that has employed her for 15 years now. Her daily shopping is mostly for vegetables and fruits while groceries are bought online and home delivered. Rajamma and her husband take care of the entire household work, which includes sweeping, mopping, folding clothes, drying and arranging washed dishes, cooking two meals and generally ensuring that her employer’s home is running smooth. Her…

COVID-19 has made strong supporters of vibrant urban life shudder. They are pining for the outdoors and wondering if our current dense urban form is to be blamed for what COVID-19 has unleashed. There’s speculation around what the pandemic means for cities, and especially if it should change the current path of urbanisation. While holistic changes are welcome, many commentators have made density -- a measure of population per unit area, usually square kilometre or square mile -- the scapegoat.  On March 22nd, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, tweeted: “There is a density level in NYC that is destructive,” that…

With little takers for fresh milk from cows, Lingesh* (name changed on request), a cattle rearer and milk producer in Selaiyur, sold five out of his 35 cattle for Rs 1 lakh three weeks ago. More than a month has gone by under lockdown and his losses are mounting.  “During normal times, selling a cow would fetch me at least Rs 35,000. As the lockdown has affected my finances badly, I did not have a choice but to settle for whatever the buyer offered,” he said. A large number of people in the city prefer buying milk from these milk…

The government may have finally opened up movement for stranded migrant workers after a gap of 40 days, but their problems are far from over. In fact, a new set of ordeals seems to await the migrant, most of them daily wagers, as they are now forced to queue up in front of police stations in the quest for travel permits, after spending weeks in queues for food and rations.  Despite the central directive, uncertainty reigns supreme over the facilitation of their travel back home.  The first thing that 31-year-old Anwar Hussain and his eight colleagues, all daily wage labourers…

The government may have finally opened up movement for stranded migrant workers after a gap of 40 days, but their problems are far from over. In fact, a new set of ordeals seems to await the migrant, most of them daily wagers, as they are now forced to queue up in front of police stations in the quest for travel permits, after spending weeks in queues for food and rations.  Despite the central directive, uncertainty reigns supreme over the facilitation of their travel back home.  The first thing that 31-year-old Anwar Hussain and his eight colleagues, all daily wage labourers…