After the long walk back, no soap and no work

Out of work, migrant workers returning to their villages across the country are facing more than the threat of hunger, infection and ostracisation  On 22 March when ‘Janata Curfew’ was announced, daily wage worker Puran became worried about his family’s health. He had heard that the curfew had been announced due to a pandemic, which […]

Virtual parties fill the boredom gap

With the lockdown and the need for social distancing, apps like Houseparty are enabling people to continue with their Saturday night plans  Lockdown has forced the entire world to practice social distancing and in some areas has even led to lockdowns. Human civilisation that relies on physical contact then has been left with no option […]

Salutary confinement

Life has been quite pleasant in the multi-storey housing complex in Noida’s Paras Tierea, despite being completely sealed for two days after a couple of Coronavirus cases were found   People find ways to keep themselves busy even when there’s not much to do. I have been in my house alone for a week now and […]

Nature gets breathing space

While the nation continues to be under lockdown, pollution is on the decline and wildlife is coming on to the streets When Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown a week ago, it was designed to stop the imminent spread of the novel Coronavirus. But grinding this country of 1.3 billion people to a […]

Robots can come to the rescue

If all goes to plan, from Friday, 3 April, a robot will go into an isolation facility housing patients of Covid-19 to administer food and medication– a step towards providing care without putting medical staff at risk. This revolutionary move in medical care during this pandemic comes — not surprisingly — from Kerala Asimov Robotics, […]

Elderly in a bind

Amid the nation-wide lockdown, senior citizens living alone are finding it hard to manage their day-to-day activities When the Prime Minister announced a nation-wide lockdown on 22 March to keep Covid-19 from spreading, people were given only four hours time to stock up for the next 21 days. This left many senior citizens in a […]

Desperation for government jobs a national waste

A large chunk of India’s youth spend their most productive years preparing for competitive exams, facing repeated failure and frustration. After the pandemic, layoffs in the private sector will only deepen this syndrome 27- years- old, Anand Kumar loiya was happy with his job in a private company in Pune until his girlfriend told him […]

Once upon a plague….

With entire countries under lockdown, Albert Camus’ ‘The Plague’ provides an insight into human emotions and reactions to turmoil  In January 1941, 28-year old Albert Camus, an Algerian French philosopher and Nobel laureate, started writing about a deadly epidemic transmitted to humans through rats resulting in the death of almost half of the population of […]