Flew from US

I feel a new Index need to be determined for all the countries. 'Cost of Life’ as valued by the country. When 3000 lives were lost in 9/11, US deemed fit to open a war against terrorism by blowing out Al Qaeda, Taliban and eventually Afghanistan. Mumbai lost more than 200 civilians in the terror attack on 26/11, but all the security measures are still crawling up the bureaucracy ladder. And larger issues faced by the country will dwarf it further; Swine Flu is one of them.

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organisation(WHO) signaled that a global pandemic of novel influenza A (H1N1) was underway by raising the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6. But it took a young child's life for the administration to awaken to the Killer Swine Flu pandemic. The callous attitude lay bare by the fact that the screening of travelers at the airport was almost nonexistent, till the first death from Swine Flu in the country was reported.

I did watch a Pandemic Special on History Channel, which put forward a theory for the arrival of new species of the virus attacking mankind. The theory stated that the new virus travelled with the comets from the outer space. They would be deposited on the Stratosphere. It would take a decade for the virus to travel down. But sun being the nearest star, influences this with its energy thereby hastening the virus trip down to earth. (This reinforces a slight orthodox thought that one should not eat during eclipse). The birds are the first to inhale them and spread them during the migratory journey.

So, while we always wondered about UFO and aliens, these microorganisms from outer space will rule us for the next few months.

"Mumbai Schools to remain close for 7 days."

I have been waiting for this for really a long time, but it never happened during my school days nor college days.

Drug companies are making huge profits in the wake of the pandemic which has risen much faster than the earlier subprime crises. The sale of soaps, tissues, masks have sky rocketed. Chemist shops, media all are up there for making profits. They must have wished for good times during recession and their wish is granted.

This all reminds me of the story 'The Monkey's Paws' by W .W. Jacob. "Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it." So, this is a lesson for all to realign what we long for in our lives. For the next 7 days, enjoy the captivity of the house and students be prepared to spend your Diwali vacations in school.

I did watch 'Love Aaj Kal' and felt that Saif Ali khan was too regressive in a character which is reminiscent of his character in 'Hum Tum' and 'Salaam Namaste'. Imtiaz Ali as a director wonderfully portrays the relationship dilemma of his characters, Viren (Abhay Deol) in 'Socha Na Tha', Geet in 'Jab We Met' and finally Jai & Meera in 'Love Aaj Kal'. The funniest remark by Saif in the film is when asked about ‘fresco’ and he retorts back that he is only aware about disco.

Apart from Jai (Saif) who flew from US for Meera to India, the next big thing to fly to India is a wave of new set of Cookery Reality shows. The Food Network channel currently airs 'The Next Food Network Star' in US, where all from housewives to chefs compete for the top post. Last week saw Melissa d'Arabian, a housewife from Texas, winning the coveted crown. Another set of shows are 'Iron Chef America', 'Chopped'. If they are launched in India, you know where you first heard it.