Mixed Shots

Awesome, Perfect, Fantastic

It seems no surfeit of adjectives can do justice to the phenomenon that is Beela Rajesh. The Tamil Nadu health secretary is at the receiving end of public adulation that is generally heaped upon film stars. What has she done, you ask? In these bleak times, the IAS officer has not only led the fight against coronavirus in the state, but also ensured transparency and clarity in her briefings to the media. On top of that, her sartorial elegance has come a delectable treat for eyes sore from the social distancing. No wonder fans can’t stop gushing. “Mam…everyday I saw ur saree collection…really awesome…perfect collection of sareee mam…fantastic (sic),” raved a woman on Facebook.

Boo Corona Boo!

If the threat of a lethal virus can’t stop you from stepping out, what will? Ghosts, of course. The police in Indore are harvesting fear of the supernatural to keep people at home during the lockdown. They have enlisted social workers to don black attire with images of lungs and roam in crowded neighbourhoods to keep errant feet indoors. Then, there are the more communicative ghouls who tell people to stay inside least the coronavirus demon takes possession of their bodies and souls.

Jack Of All Fruits

Is there a skill development minister as skillful as Mah­endra Nath Pandey? Unlikely. While mere mortals were surviving on instant noodles in college, he used to cook vegetable extravaganzas. So as hunger pangs knocked at his oesophagus during the janta curfew, he had a sudden burst of nostalgia. “I recalled how good a cook I was,” he says without any pretense of modesty. “So after a gap of 12 years, I made kathal sabzi.” Seems like there are more uses of pots and pans beyond banging them on balconies.

Draught Drought

The kid with the name Isis, the candy called Ayds, and that refreshing beverage with a wedge of lime, Corona. There’s only so much you can do about a name that a global catastrophe decides to adopt. While the jokes of food-in-the-fridge-social-distancing from Corona beer never went flat, it seems the pale lager finally has. The Mexican brewer of Corona has suspended production because of the Mexican government’s order to stop all non-essential activities until April 30. Looks like the world will now experience the beerless, cheerless life that Indian tipplers have been going through since the shutdown in March.

Lockdown’s Best Friend

Despite the arrest of 627 people and 350 FIRs the Jammu and Kashmir lodged for lockdown violations, it seems people are largely not stepping outside in Srinagar. For evidence, head to the anti-rabies centre at SMHS hospital. The dog-bite cases there have reduced from 20 on an average before the lockdown to 6-7 now. A doctor at the hospital says this suggests that people are staying indoors in the city. For the past few years, Srinagar has been grappling with stray dogs. Last year alone, 11,000 cases were reported at the centre and a 2011 census pegged the number of stray dogs in the city at 91,000.

Brevis

Illustrations: Saahil, Text by Naseer Ganai, G.C. Sekhar and Alka Gupta