This article is a selection of my social media posts, made in the month of May, 2020. It was a dull & tragic month with little action, except news of Corona virus devastating the world.
ABOUT THE FEATURED IMAGE
This image from the Garden of Sculptures, located at Princeton, New Jersey, the USA. Except me, all other persons seen in the picture are mere statues. The food and flowers are artificial. It is a great fun place and a great artistic place to visit
A BRIDAL BICYCLE
Young men, give up the car-
Bring your bride home on the handle bar-
(But not before Corona has gone)
(Photographed in 2013)
Many readers wanted to know, who the bicycle decorator is?
There is no decorator. The bicycle is a piece of art.
The picture above was taken at : The Garden of Sculptures, Princeton, NJ, USA, in 2013.
FACE BOOK May 2, 2020
POLLUTION LEVELS
Dr Vishwa Lochan, is M.D. & Pro Chancellor, of Arunachal University of Studies, Namsai, India-792103.
He posted the picture below showing how high pollution levels, sustained since 2016 came down within a month of the lock down, caused by Covid-19.
Dr Vishwa Lochan commented:
“We are intimately interconnected with nature, whether we like it or not. If we don’t take care of nature, we can’t take care of ourselves. And as we hurtle towards a population of 10 billion people on this planet, we need to go into this future armed with nature as our strongest ally.”
FACE BOOK May 2, 2020
BUDHA JAYANTI
Today is Budh Poornima-anniversary of the day Gautam Budha is said to have received enlightenment
Murli-my batch mate from IIT Kharagpur-an avid stamp collector, has kindly provided the scanned image of a commemorative stamp, from his prized and perhaps priceless collection. That day-24-5-1956- was Gautam Budha’s 2500 th anniversary.
FACE BOOK May 6, 2020
LEANING ON LIQUOR
70% SUPER CHARGE ON LIQUOR ?!
If a citizen overcharges, he is greedy, opportunistic- Jailed for profiteering.
If Govt overcharges, it is being generous, it is for charity, Praised for its sound business sense!!
What kind of algorithm an AI code writer will follow, when asked to implement the aforesaid logic?- I wonder.
And how would Father of our Nation have reacted ?
FACEBOOK May 5, 2020 (Cartoon By Dhiraj Mohte)
WORK 60 HOURS a WEEK
Sh Narayan Murthy announced his advice for people to work 60 hours a week, post lock down.
With due respects to our great founder of INFOSYS, Sh NARAYAN MURTHI, I feel, the primary lesson from COVID-19 is to learn to respect and conserve nature, slow the rat race down, introspect & let life have an element of peace.
Without mincing any words-better be a man than a donkey.
Dr Shiv Charan Puri, Asst. Prof. Department of ECE, Asansol Engineering College commented: “Very well put “
FACE BOOK May 2, 2020
TAGORE ANNIVERSARY
PRESENTING A REMEMBRANCE:
On Tagore’s B’day Anniversary, yesterday
(courtesy: Murli-my batch mate from IIT Kgp-an avid stamp collector)
FACE BOOK May 8, 2020
A CASE FOR A PLANET MONTH
REPORT FROM IITR:
Water Of River Ganga From Devprayag To Haridwar Now Drinkable For First Time In Decades, Reveals IIT Roorkee Study
Covid lock down has cleaned the Ganga in a month. This could not be done in 30 years by endless money spent on the projects to clean it. Here is a case for reserving a “PLANET MONTH” with planned shut down, every year, to allow nature to rest and recover.Read more at the link below:
Sunil Dalal, educator with Govt of Haryana, has commented:
”Self imposed lockdown throughout the world is not a big price to pay for saving our planet. Nice share supporting your earlier post Anand Bhushan Sir.”
Head of Department of Environmental Engineering, IITR, Prof Absar Ahmed Khan has been quoted as saying “Tests conducted by our scientists and experts revealed that water of the river Ganga from Devprayag to Har ki Pairi falls under ‘A’ category defined by Central Pollution Control Board. This means that water is fit for drinking. The water also contains no faecal coliform bacterial in MPN/100 ml sample and has a low concentration of biochemical oxygen level below 3 mg/Litres.”
This has been a result of 22 drains which otherwise passed effluents in the water, being sealed due to the lockdown.
FACE BOOK May 10, 2020
PRIME MINISTERIAL HUMOUR
CAN YOU CALL A INDIAN PM A FOOL?
Perhaps it depends on who the PM is. Mr Modi may treat it as a joke. He had recently said:”cartoons do not hurt but heal“.
Read below how a British PM took it.
During WW II, a man was arrested in London for calling Winston Churchill a fool.The next day in the House of Commons, the opposition members were ready to roast the government for this.
“Are we living in a police state”, they shouted, “where we cannot call the PM a fool”?
The PM replied- “The man was not arrested for calling the Prime Minister a fool”, he said, “but for letting out a state secret at a time of war”.
Please come out with your guess of how Nehru, Indira, Morarji, Atal might have reacted.
I have assumed that Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh would not have heard somebody say it. Atal might have come out with a poem, after a pause, long enough for us to think that he was going the Manmohan way. Others?
HUMOUR OF LINCOLN
THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN defined DEMOCRACY:…..government of the people, by the people, for the people,…. is well known. Less known is that he was a lawyer & a great joker.
An incident from his court room life:
Abraham Lincoln was sitting in a court and whispering something to the person next to him, while waiting for his case to be called. Another case was being heard. All of a sudden, Lincoln’s neighbor burst out in uncontrolled laughter.
Judge (banging his gavel): “How dare you laugh in the Court?”
The Man: “My Lord, (pointing to Lincoln), he told a joke and it was so funny, I could not contol myself.”
Judge(sneering): “Non sense, You could not control yourself! You are fined 10 Dollars. Sit down, before you are hauled for contempt.”
Judge (turning to Lincoln) haughtily: “What was the joke, anyway?”
Lincoln repeated the joke.
The Judge went into un-controlled laughter.
Judge (after regaining composure): “The fine is waived!”
Laugh your covid blues away!
(Picture Courtesy: US Govt)
FACE BOOK May 18, 2020
FACEBOOK COVER PICTURE
A STUDY IN CELLS
L to R:-Prof Sanjeev Sanghi, IIT Delhi, Prof Aizaz Mir, NIT Srinagar and Dr Vikas Khatkar, IIT Delhi.
FACE BOOK May 20, 2020
A STUDY IN CONTRASTS
Mercedes a luxury vehicle or Sanyas-giving up worldly things: is a hard choice to make.
23 May, 2019, in my 1988 Mercedes, Mercedes starts in a revolution, is ready to sprint.
23 May, 2020:-I am rehearsing for Sanyas-Retire or follow the Mercedes?
FACE BOOK May 24, 2020
SENIOR CITIZENS & LOCKDOWN
RENT, WAGES, CORONA & SENIOR CITIZENS-LAW to RESCUE
While tons of tears have been shed for migrants, everybody has ignored his own parents & grand parents. While they face medical bills and fatal risks, their 3 sources of income: Rent, Interest & Stock Market have all been hit.
Thankfully, JUDICIARY, HAS COME TO THEIR RESCUE, and quashed most orders issued by The Govt of India, in this matter.Politicians, always aware of their vote banks, losing nothing from their own well lined, pockets; had taken no time to announce that tenants need not pay rents and factory owners must pay wages. Govt orders in both these matters stand quashed.
DELHI HIGH COURT ON LIABILITY OF TENANTS
Delhi High Court has upheld the liability of tenants to pay rents, if they continue to occupy the premises.
APEX COURT ON LIABILITY OF FACTORY OWNERS
The Supreme Court has quashed the order relating to payment of wages for the period offices remain closed.
The orders are not in senior citizen context. But the rental matter affects a lot of senior citizens. Likewise, the wages issue affects a lot of senior citizens running small businesses. This post concerns them alone. So far as the humanitarian angle is concerned, the Courts have left it for the parties to mutually settle.
FACE BOOK May 25, 2020
THE CHINESE RIDDLE
WRITTEN IN THE BACKGROUND OF CHINESE ARMY POSITIONED ON INDIAN BORDERS
The world is speculating as to whether Covid was intentional, whether China will attack & so on.
The answers about the mind of the Chinese sphinx can be found by a mere reading of the book “THE ART OF WAR” by Sun Tzu, written 500 years before Christ.
Pandit Nehru was too busy writing letters to his daughter & he paid for it, on this day of 1964, with his life. Most of our successive leaders have been too busy earning money, to have read it.
I had gifted this book to my son on one of his birth days and family thought it was a stupid thing to give. Those who read this will be wiser & understand that the Chinese are not stupid, we as a nation might be.
PUNAM LADE-an IIT-ian from IITD wanted to know the name of the seller of the book. Sanka Subra Naskar-a student of Polymer Science, has provided the answer: download e-book from :
https://www.pdfdrive.com/download.pdf?id=28283867&h=97eb0926281a5d638de46009fd002aef&u=cache&ext=pdf
FACE BOOK May 27, 2020
COVID DEATH-STATISTICS GETS PERSONAL:
An IIT Kgp class mate, Sh Ashok Singh, sent me the story as quoted verbatim, below: At his wish, I am posting it, for people to know.
Quote: “I lost my beloved father-in-law to COVID-19 on 22nd May. He was 64. Let me share some facts which are very critical for the govt. and the public in general to know so that no other precious life is lost.
Chain of events:- 11th/12th May: He got fever of 98-99 (mostly normal) – 13th/14th May: Fever increased to 100+ with mild sore throat (we got a bit worried)- 15th/16th May: Fever increased to 101+ with mild throat.- 17th/ 18th May: This is when we decided to get the tests done. However someone told that if fever >100 persists for 5 days or more, only then the test should be done. We were hesitant but since dad insisted we waited till 18th May. In the meanwhile, fever remained the same.
Since he was in Delhi and we were in Chandigarh, we tried umpteen number of labs (including some big names like lal/SRL etc) for home collection (since we didn’t want to expose him to others in case he had covid). No lab was ready to come home.
Then came the much glamorized Arogya Setu app from where we got a lab “City Xray and Scan, Tilak Nagar” who were kind enough to come and test at home. – 18th / 19th May: He was tested and it was “Negative”.
Big sigh of relief! But the fever didn’t go down. In fact, it wasn’t going down even after having Crocin ! – 20th May: Fever persisted and we consulted a doctor who told us to get other tests done to check the cause of fever. At night, he started feeling heaviness in breathing but he didn’t tell us. –
21st May: Fever persisted and breathlessness remained. This is where he told us and was shifted to a hospital. Hospital was hesitant to take him since he had covid symptoms but since we had a negative report, they took him and started examinations and tests (including covid test again). His sugar levels were abysmally high and were out of control.-
22nd May: He was put on ventilator. Covid reports this time was “Positive”. – 22nd May: Since he was a covid positive, the hospital wanted to shift him to a covid hospital for which they asked “us” to find a hospital. Challenge doesn’t end here, we also needed an ambulance with ventilator which wasn’t there. We tried almost all hospitals including govt hospital LNJP and got only one answer that ventilators are not available!! –
22nd May (9.45 pm): We went to the ICU to check on him and got to know that we lost him! (heartbreak for all)-
23rd May: We couldn’t see him for the last time also! My mom in law is in quarantine alone!! So are we!
In this time of grief.The central govt. was saying how well they have managed covid. State CM, PMO India PMO India Arvind Kejriwal said in a press conference that Delhi is well prepared as it has 250 ventilators and no hospital can deny covid patients.
I don’t know about 250 ventilators but we couldn’t find even a single one that night!!!”
Unquote
(PICTURE: picked up from Google Images)
FACE BOOK May 28, 2020
FB COVER PHOTO
TAKE YOUR PICK for FB COVER PHOTO:
Picture of Poppies taken by me in 2005
OR
Picture of a painting made by Claude Monet in 1873, named-“The Poppy Field’
FACE BOOK May 31, 2020
SMILE A WHILE
Three engineers and three accountants are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, the three accountants each buy tickets and watch as the three engineers buy only a single ticket. “How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?” asks an accountant. “Watch and you’ll see,” answers an engineer.
They all board the train. The accountants take their respective seats, but all three engineers cram into a restroom and close the door behind them. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, “Ticket, please.” The door opens just a crack and single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on. The accountants saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea. So after the conference, the accountants decide to copy the engineers on the return trip.
When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the engineers don’t buy a ticket at all. “How are you going to travel without a ticket?” says one perplexed accountant. “Watch and you’ll see,” answers an engineer. When they board the train, the three accountants cram into a restroom and the three engineers cram into another one nearby. The train departs. Shortly afterward, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the accountants are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, “Ticket, please.”