It’s so funny that we can’t laugh anymore. We wear a mask all the time. ‘
But events of the last week do lend themselves to laughter, that is if at least one of your 206 bones is a funny bone. Most of us Indians are not born with it, but the stand-up guys we sit down to watch – not the guys dressed as girls on most comedy shows – have surgically intervened in at least some of us.
Funnier than thou, was a report in the Lancet – a study by the IHME – Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation a foundation of the Gates that has windows to the future of mankind and its health including the Virus that is predicted to be as bad as the Spanish flu and will in future be called the Chinese Woo – which says that the Global Population will decrease by 2 billion by 2100.
Some countries will halve their populations – mostly in Europe and eastern Europe – and some will reduce them – drastically altering the demographic and geopolitical power structure in the world – as if Trump has not altered it enough!
What perhaps is funny is that this announcement comes in 2020, when we are in the midst of a global lockdown and people are stuck at home with not much to do other than household chores interspersed with Zoom meets – they zoom in and zoom out when it suits them or is demanded of them by someone else in the family. The key to any population projection is the replacement rate which is, as of 2019 2.1 and this was in 2019. 2021 is anybody’s guess. Am I audible? Sorry credible??
Sachin Pilot is not Sachin Tendulkar though his achievements at a young age are similar. A Half-Century was beyond him apparently. With his pilot project not giving the desired result, Ashok’s sad lot returned to Ashok Gehlot and for the time being, at least, the Ashoka pillar will remain standing though it has started leaning like Pesa. But learning seems to escape the books of the Gandhis; while one is house hunting the other is learning the ropes of Kashaya with G to deal with self-isolation. How this will play out, in the long run, will depend on much they adopt Jio Glass the new learning methodology for the Self Reliant; except for the FDI which is of course there to promote self and reliance!
The virus is finding different ways to kill us all – It is mutating and pushing people to do things they are not familiar with – like going live on Facebook and Youtube via zoom and other Video conferencing applications – telling a multitude of people of their pastimes, their passions, their challenges, their experiences, handing out free advise, making home movies that will put Bollywood to shame and even interviewing celebrities. Sometimes its a feast for the eyes, but it also does create selective deafness that no ENT can correct I suppose.
Speaking of which, Google has decided to invest 5.4 billion in Jio Platforms. No more will it be called Jio alone. Like all politicians, it will now be called JioJi! Jioji also wants to use its tie-up (the 50 shades of it) to lay the ghost of the 2G scam to rest. They have adopted the word of the century – Mukt – 2G Mukt as their philosophy! There is already Jio Meet ready to give Zoom a skinning with its own skin! And they will succeed and how. Meanwhile, Airtel is pulling up its blue jeans to cover its exposure!
In all this excitement of being able to meet without a meeting, our graph is soaring – the Covid19 graph that is…30000 cases a day. But it teaches even as it latches onto us. It seems the best proponent of our Constitution’s most important value – equality. It does not discriminate…at all. But we do.. before COVID19 and even more so after COVID19 tells us we are all equal across India from Leelavathi in Mumbai to Bowring in Bengaluru and Wenlock in Mangaluru. When will we learn? Probably never, even if we burn.
Can’t blame Jioji for your indiscrimination? Blame Jumanji! or as a last resort, Nehruji!
There was a death in the family to0 this week – Sabka Vikas! He had already died a thousand deaths over the last few years, but never gave up until his car overturned!
Until next time… better mask off… just so we can hear your laughter and stay positive….in a negative world!
