ChinmayC Blog

It was cruelly insensitive on the part of the Government of India to declare in Parliament that there had been no COVID-19 deaths during the second wave due to lack of medical oxygen in the country, when not only the thousands of the affected families but also millions other anxious or someway related families just cannot erase the nightmarish images of people dying gasping for breath on hospital beds, in the hospital passages/corridors/lounges, on the outside courtyards or on the streets, in the parked cars, within the four walls of homes; hospitals sending SOS for oxygen, desperate doctors even breaking down; and round-the-clock media reports and most disturbing visuals.   The reason given by the government is even more ludicrously insensitive: that the states did not report the deaths due to the lack of medical oxygen. Well, most of the states, particularly the ones ruled by the same dispensations would hardly advertise their failure or the stark lack of preparedness. The gove...

Another golden chapter of Hindi cinema has drawn to a close. Dilip Kumar, the legendary hero of the classical era traversing over six glorious decades of providing top-class entertainment to millions of fans the world over, has passed away at a Mumbai hospital today morning. He was admitted in the ICU on 30 th  June due to a prolonged illness, and in fact, for the last more than a month he had been in and out of hospital with constant prayers from his loving wife Saira Banu, one of the most popular heroines of the classical era, family, friends and millions of fans for his recovery. However, finally the doyen of Hindi cinema bowed down to destiny and the will of God, calling it a day at the ripe age of 98, two years short of what could have been the most memorable occasions of Indian film industry.  Dilip Kumar has always been a tremendous fighter, both in his films and in his great variety of roles as well as in personal life fighting serious health issues for several years....

The largely preventable or at least controllable marauding second COVID-19 wave in India seems to be ebbing with around 39000 new infections in the last 24 hours and around 700 fatalities in the same period. However, the crisis is far from over with the spree of unlocking taking place all around the nation and the most feared third wave lurking somewhere in the corner. Most of the places except for educational institutions and cinema halls have been reopening in most of the states, with only containment zones still put under strict restrictions. The grim milestone of deaths at over 4 hundred thousand has also been reached with at least two hundred thousand extra fatalities suspected. Further, unlocking cannot be avoided indefinitely due the issue of livelihoods, and in light of the fact that the national positivity rate is now around 2.5% unlocking is technically justified. However, the state governments of India must display extreme caution and aggressive testing, tracing and containm...