Here's hoping for a totally normal year.

Finally , its almost over ! And entire year of pain, suffering and staying indoors. Centuries from now, historians are going to compare every doomsday year with the year 2020; a year which was supposed to be of hope , fun and all things good, but ended up killing more people than any natural calamity. This is a bar set too high.

For those of us who survived this year, it is easy to forget who scared we ourselves were at various points in time. The first few cases reported where all in Wuhan, China. It began with the hush-hush announcement of the pandemic, followed by the over confident response of world governments that we can easily survive this, and took a while for the reality to set in. That despite our world-class health systems and preparedness, we had no idea how to contain COVID-19. 

And that is when the fear set in;  when it was reported that there are now cases in our neighborhood, in the adjacent street, or in our office space. It was as if the whole world had gone to war, first with an invisible enemy, but then with each other. It was one thing to watch from safety as a distant country tore itself, totally another thing when the killer is next door.

As I write this, more than 1.7 million people have died world over due to the Corona virus. No amount of consolation can help the survivors of these deaths.

The virus is still out there, but 2021 now brings hope of its end. More than one vaccine has been shortlisted, and the world will eagerly wait for these life-saving drugs. We saw how at various points, ignorance and petty religious views infected more people. But science has won, as science has always won through the centuries.

For once, lets hope nothing great or worse happens this year. Lets hope for a totally normal year, a boring year where we can all go back to living our lives outdoors.

To clear your mind, here is a picture of a totally normal day somewhere in Switzerland.

Wish you a truly Happy New Year !

2020 finally delivers some good news !!

Finally ! Some good news. And about time too. 2020 has been horrible to all of us. But now, just around the tail end of this horrendous, monstrous year, there is something to celebrate. On the other side of this definitely-round earth, the Fragmented States of America have elected the lesser evil of their white candidates. Something they should have done four years ago !

Congratulations !!

Better late than never. And with this, the longest running reality show on the planet comes to its end...right ?

Oh...Wumpy Lumpy has announced that he is not going to give up his presidency. 

So the show goes on, a bit more, and hopefully everything will end in Jan next year. About 12 whole months after the world first woke up the Coronavirus. America will have plenty to catching up to do.

But this event is something definitely worth celebrating. Even if you are not in America. It shows how a imperfect system of electoral colleges can still work, if people put their minds to it. Instead of sitting back and complaining about how the system is rigged against them, people can get out there and play the game by its rules. Democracy takes time, and is imperfect, but still works.

But it is also a stark reminder that the country is more divided than it ever was. More people voted for Wumpy Lumpy than in 2016 ! Are you kidding me ? After everything that the nation has been through, after all those blatant lies and cover ups, there are still people willing to trust him with another 4 years ? Unbelievable. It is clear that those votes were for the institution and party behind him, and not explicitly for him. They might have lost, but they got their message out; there will always be racists and white supremacists in the leader of the free world. It is something they have to live with.

But the flip side is also true. All that needs for bad things to happen , is good people to do nothing. Here is hoping that the country has learnt this lesson, and that we will never have to see another president like Trump.

A second chance for an entire nation.

Its November 3rd. The first Tuesday in an election year. Over in the US. A rare second chance for a divided nation. To correct a 'mistake' committed 4 years ago.

One can only hope they do the right thing this time.

C'mon, USA. You can do this.

Happy Freedom Day !

 Happy Freedom Day, Melbourne ! Good to see everyone back. Lets not rush into things, we have got a long and glorious summer ahead of us.

A scientific opening up of the state

This just in. After more than 3 months under probably the world's harshest COVID-19 induced lockdowns, the metro area of Melbourne, and the state of Victoria is cautiously &  slowly opening up to a summer of hope. 

From midnight tonight, the city's imposed restriction of travel within 5 kms of resident's home, is being relaxed to a generous 25 kms ! And the max time limit of 2 hours is also gone for good. Families in the city can now be outdoors for however long they wish to be, as long as they don't mingle too much with other families. Outside of the family bubble, social distancing still applies, people have to wear masks and stay 1.5 m apart. But that is a small price to pay to the relative freedom this move brings to the millions locked down in the city. 

And if you can't already tell from my ear-to-ear smile, I am one of those millions who will now be able to enjoy a bit more of the elusive sun.

But nothing is set in stone, as the premier has repeatedly warned. If the case numbers grow , the restrictions will return. So we could still, technically, lose it all, if we decided to ignore the rules at the risk of public health.

But keeping that aside, Victoria's scientific and often extremely strict approach to containing this virus stands in stark contrast to how other states, and countries have bungled their own approach. After losing the plot by a ill-handled hotel quarantine system, the state had to hibernate for many months to earn their right to taste freedom again. And yes, many hundreds died during that time, and thousands of businesses went bust, but the state chose the lesser of two evils at every point. In the absence of a vaccine or anti-dote, the govt decided to save lives, instead of opening up for the sake of its destroyed economy. And this is where other countries, like the US, UK and India have got their priorities wrong.

Kudos to the city, state, and to the millions of Victorians who saw us all through. Yes this winter was longer and harsher than usual, but we can now look forward to warmer days in the sun. 

While the rest of the world decides to learn from us.