Pune has become a scary city ……..
Little did we know when Rida Shaikh the first H1N1 causality in India happened in pune that it will turn out to be so ugly .
Exactly a week back we awoke to the reality of seeing masked people around us .Most of the youngster had a tinge of thrill in their eyes.All of the kids had innocence .Many of the elders had the false sense of security .And most of the old people had a mix of worry and a strange inner calm on their faces . A calm , something my generation of fast track IT people would die for bout would not achieve .
The same people irrespective of the age are now in a state of flux .Exactly everyone I meet has information about swine flu .This in fact is good thing.But exactly every one I met also has an opinion on swine flu oops H1N1 .I would be tempted to blame this to media but that would an a cute and easy escape . We need to accept , the sooner the better , our addictions . The addiction to constant stimulation . Call it vicarious-tainment if you wish to simplify .
Not that the tendency to be “In it” is something new to human beings . We see that every four year with cricket world cup in India.Everyone has an opinion on Mr Tehdualkar.
But a disease .. an epidemic that’s little too much . I wasn’t really perturbed when the news that N95 masks are being sold for 250 in pimple saudagar hit us. That was the least surprising news for Pune IT crowd 🙂 .But the expertization of masses is scary .Its has started manifesting itself in our daliy lives .My housmaid now puts on her mask every time she enters our house and removes it as she leave it .And in case you are concluding that it is something to do with her education ,i see even superior instances at my work place .
Yesterday we had our first swine flu patient belonging the work place being found .Then on its has become a series of debates and suggestions . It ranges from consuming Lime or tusli evrey few hours to the angry demand that nobody without a mask should be allowed at work place ! .It has become so extreme that i can easily manage to break the long queues for lunch coupons just by sneezing 🙂 . Whether I do this prank or not its already happening .And so has increased mindless use of handkerchief to mask the mask itself , people repeatedly visiting the loo to wash their hands and eating lunch at their centrally Air Conditioned desks .
Even and more worry some is the number of times they go to Internet to check the death count .Its kinda of appropriateness thing to know the precise death count and cite it in all the discussions .The discussions that happen at hourly basis .Its kind of a hidden force that one can sense is driving everyone . A force to have some news on H1N1 every now and then .I would have ignored that as people getting anxious .But workplace or other wise we are bombarded with list of DOs and Don’t on swine flu. If tomorrow IIMs are to conduct CAT on H1N1 their servers will crash with the number of people scoring 100 percentile .The better word for this is scoop . Its the scoop that is driving the discussion .And its the same need of thrill that to me is more dangerous thanH1N1 .The only difference i could make between my workpalce and people outside is that Non IT people don;t take pride in showing the extra wikiepedia knowledge that acquired around Influenza…tamiflu ..and viruses in general.
I was about to send my parents back to the naive today and my doctor friend told me at my native-village it will actually be a bad idea , socially, to arrive from Pune .And that fine for the village my native is….
but it isn’t any batter at Pune , its just that here our superstitions are more scientific and arguments more English …
This evening while i was returning from in company bus there was this lady sitting beside me , Salwar clad and masked .She felt urge to sneeze and there happend the grand revelation to me…
this lady gently removed her mask … put her hand on her nose …and sneezed royally … oh she did put he mask back one her face …with a shade of assurance on her face ….
and i returned home debating internally …. what does it mean to be educated ..
Am i panicked by swine flu ?
No. but it doesn’t matter . What matter is how panicked people around are .
..Pune has Indeed …..become a scary city ……..