A Black Market
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Sanity Break #1
Coldplay fans, your fave ‘boy band’ just dropped a new single titled ‘What we loved most is the backstory on this song via . It premiered as a “one-man concert” (watch clip/convo ) for French astronaut Thomas Pesquet who is aboard the International Space Station. And the track is part of lead singer Chris Martin’s pandemic-inspired soul searching: "Last year was quite an eye opener...I was like, 'Who am I without Wembley Stadium saying, 'you're awesome'?’ I'm trying in my life right now to not attach too much to being a pop star. I'm trying not to get my self worth from external validation." Now, that’s something all of us can relate to.
Headlines that matter
THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A LONG UPDATE First, the numbers: India recorded and 3,747 new deaths. The numbers are lower thanks to the weekend slump. Among those testing positive: Kangana Ranaut—who it a “small time flu.” Maharashtra (48,401) is #1, followed by Karnataka (47,930) and Kerala (35,801). About those deaths: NDTV reported on the sight of dozens of bodies floating down the Yamuna (clip ) in Uttar Pradesh. flagged the deaths of three dozen former and current employees at the Aligarh Muslim University over the course of one month. Going viral: This by Dr Ashish Jha that argues we are losing around 25,000 people to Covid every day. A related good read: Murad Banaji does an excellent job of concisely outlining what’s wrong with our fatality data in . Covid politics: Everyone’s talking about this Sunday story based on interviews with senior BJP sources—who are increasingly anxious about the political consequences of the second wave. TLDR: This is the closest any of them come to admitting fault: “The Government is making efforts but is falling short in articulating a convincing political message… The government might need to revamp its team to deliver results”. Speaking of bad press, this was the of the Gujarat Samachar—the state’s largest daily. The headline reads: “Prime minister immersed in his ₹22,000 crore Central Vista project”. A big new worry: Mucormycosis or ‘black fungus’ is spreading among recovering and recovered patients in and across . What is black fungus: It is a rare infection caused by exposure to mucor mould which is “ubiquitous and found in soil and air and even in the nose and mucus of healthy people.” It affects the sinuses, brain and lungs and can be life-threatening in diabetic or severely immunocompromised individuals. Covid patients who are often prescribed steroids are especially vulnerable to it—since the medicines suppress immunity and push up blood sugar levels. Why this is very worrying: the disease has an overall mortality rate of 50%—and can cause “blindness, organ dysfunction, loss of body tissue and even death, if not treated in time.” has more context, offers an explainer. About that variant: One Belgian scientist who analysed the data out of India says: > “‘Based on this data, the new variant from India has a very big transmission or growth advantage,’ even over B.1.1.7, he says. > ‘It's kind of like the U.K. variant squared.’” has more details. The big caveat as always: We are simply not collecting enough data to say anything meaningful about the variant. On a related note: Bolton, UK, is now the for the Indian ‘double mutant’ variant. The total number of such cases in the UK: 520. Bangalore bed scam update: After all the fuss raised by BJP MLA Tejasvi Surya (explained ), the police have unearthed a link to his colleague Satish Reddy—who incidentally accompanied him on that infamous war room raid. The investigation is now centered on a middleman with close links to his personal assistant. has more on this and others who have been arrested—none of whom, btw, are Muslim. FYI: there is also ongoing silliness over Surya’s apology—which he denies but has by witnesses 🙄 . A good related read: on the severe crunch in healthcare workers—that we are trying to fill by offering nurses poorly paid, contract jobs. About that oxygen shortage: The Supreme Court has a special National Task Force—composed of experts and top bureaucrats—to formulate “a methodology for the scientific allocation of oxygen” to states. A move that doesn’t seem to have occurred to the government. FYI: as per , nearly 50,000 patients in India are currently in ICUs, 14,500 on ventilator support, and over 137,000 are on oxygen support. A good related read: looks at how Mumbai’s superior planning helped it avoid Delhi’s fate. has more on how strict rules on receiving foreign funds has made it impossible for hospitals and NGOs to receive assistance. About those vaccines: Indians who are not digitally adept are being hurt by the government rule that all vaccine registrations for ages 18-45 must be done via the CoWin portal. Now, young people from Mumbai are hogging slots in nearby rural areas. has that story. Two big picture good reads: deep dive into how we ended up with a massive vaccine shortage; on how the new government rules decentralised vaccine distribution has created bottlenecks and chaos. : The 93 countries who received vaccines from India are in a far better position than us. On the global front: Wealthy Indians and the middle class are to places like Maldives and Dubai to escape the second wave. But their poorer counterparts—i.e. migrant workers—are returning to places like Nepal, and taking the disease with them. FYI: Nepal has registered a in cases within a few weeks. Covidiot alert: A care centre in Gujarat is “using eight Ayurvedic medicines prepared from cow milk, ghee and urine” to : > “We are primarily using Panchgavya Ayurved therapy to treat patients having Covid-19 symptoms. We use ‘gau tirth’ which is made > from urine of ‘desi’ cows and other herbs. Then there is a treatment for cough and here too we use cow urine based medicine. We > also have an immunity booster ‘chawanprash’ which is made from cow milk.” Celebrity factor: Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma became the first desi power couple to speak up about the second wave. They expressed support for frontline workers and ordinary Indians who’ve helped each other through the crisis (watch the clip ). And they’ve a fundraiser—personally contributing Rs 2 crore (20 million). No donations to PM-Cares then? Also putting out videos in support of India: the and actor . Also very good samaritans: The greatly maligned members of the Tablighi Jamaat—who volunteered to conduct over : > “We conduct the funerals based on their religious traditions. If the victim is a Hindu, we put a cloth and flower garland; if > they are Christian, we put the body in a coffin and call up a Church father to arrange a prayer; and if they are a Muslim, we > hold a Janaze ki Namaz (rituals).” So you want to do good: The most marginalised are often the last to receive help. Founding member Hardik Nagar is working with trans communities, and has helped set up campaigns for them. He is personally involved with each of these efforts, and has verified each one of them. Here is a worth your money and time. CHINESE ROCKET FALLS TO EARTH Long March 5B was a booster rocket used on April 29 to carry the first module of China’s own space station. The Chinese, however, did not make plans for what will happen after it completed its job—i.e. ensure that it will have a controlled reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere over a predetermined remote area or ocean. As a result, for over a week, everyone has been anxious about where it will land. On Sunday, it finally crashed into the Indian Ocean—somewhere close to the Maldives. Point to note: The 18-tonne rocket is one the largest bits of space debris to make an “undirected dive into the atmosphere” in decades. So folks over at NASA are naturally upset with Beijing for “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.” Beijing, in turn, pointed to parts of the SpaceX rockets that routinely land on farmland in the US. See the of the crash site below. ( or ) A MASSIVE PIPELINE ATTACK The United States suffered a serious ransomware attack on the main line that supplies 45% of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel consumed on the East Coast. The silver lining: The hack—executed by a private group of hackers called Darkside—only compromised Colonial Pipeline’s IT systems—but the company has shut down the pipeline as a precautionary measure. If it doesn’t go back up within a few days, fuel prices are expected to escalate on the East Coast. Why this matters, according : > “Colonial Pipeline is ultimately the jugular of the U.S. pipeline system. It’s the most significant, successful attack on energy > infrastructure we know of in the United States. We’re lucky if there are no consequences, but it’s a definite alarm bell.” SWIPING LEFT ON BEN AFFLECK A young woman matched with the actor on the dating app Raya but she ‘unmatched’ him—thinking it was a fake account. Here’s what’s really funny: Affleck then sent her video over DM on Insta, complaining: “Nivine, why did you unmatch me? It’s me.” Lol! Because nobody would ever reject Ben for being Ben? has the story. Her TikTok video is : TWO FEEL-GOOD ANIMAL STORIES Freedom for lions: It will soon be illegal in South Africa to keep or breed lions in captivity. This is wonderful news as lions are kept in terrible conditions—“to ultimately be killed and their parts sold for trophies or for use in traditional medicines in Asia.” Also banned: ‘canned’ hunting—where lions are put into large enclosures for hunters to shoot and kill. () The perfect whale hug: Researchers videotaped two North Atlantic right males swimming ‘belly-to-belly’—each with a fin draped over the other. Why is this astonishing: This behaviour is usually seen during mating, play, and between mothers and calves. North Atlantic right whales are highly endangered, and the photographer said, “the gentleness of the whole thing. It was like a slow waltz… Having a ringside seat on a private time in that group somehow had a heartbeat of hope.” has the story. See the below (laptop viewing is highly recommended):
Sanity Break #2
This is a 3-minute clip of an encountering the sea for the very first time. Now, it may be way longer than you want or need. But we suggest that you watch at least a little bit. The reason: Just ‘seeing’ sheer joy helps us share at least some part of it. Here’s to a happier Monday!
Smart & Curious
A LIST OF GOOD READS * Two women climbed up a mountain in Himachal Pradesh. Only one of them returned. has her moving first-person account of friendship and loss. * ‘The Sopranos’ fans: looks back at the wildest, wackiest episode—‘Pine Barrens’, the 11th of the show’s third season. The title: ‘Two a**holes lost in the woods’. * Is your empathy exhausting you? offers valuable insight and advice that is essential in these dire times. * This may not be popular with those who admire the PM. Ashutosh Varshney in draws a thought-provoking parallel between Mao and Modi. * Also a potentially unpopular but provocative read: Manisha Inamdar in takes aim at ‘vulture journalists’—including foreign media and the likes of Barkha Dutt. * Sharda Ugra in explains why Indian football’s bio-bubbles held up unlike the glitzy IPL—despite having far fewer resources and attention. * looks at the phenomenon of ‘happy tears’—and why we weep with joy. * has a lovely Sunday read on how plants ‘seduce’ bees and birds. * Going viral on Twitter: magazine argues that the BJP fired ex-Uttarakhand chief minister TS Rawat for restricting Kumbh gatherings. * goes inside the Gates breakup—and the separate worlds Bill and Melinda had built for themselves.
Feel Good Place
When Hindi isn’t your first language (for Southies everywhere lol!). When you’re doing your thing and spot someone filming you… Just hitching a ride on a choo-choo train.
