Sharing an anesthesiologist's post...
"To the very few who'll take the pains to read this, I want to give you a glimpse of the past two weeks of my life...
I've been telling people that their 22 year old son has died, lying to patients, telling them theek ho jaoge, when I know to my bones vo theek nhi honge..., hearing breathless women crying allah allah in anguish all night, watching people break down in front of me... the last words of one of our patients before my friend intubated her was that she has an 11 and 4 year old at home, not to let her die (she died), telling children that they may not get their mother's body, mother's standing before us with folded hands asking us to save their childrens' lives, looking at packed bodies and telling myself to stop thinking and go on with my work… Working as hard as I can wishing other healthcare workers would do the same for my parents if they were to be hospitalized with covid… Coming back from my duty and crying about all of that I am forced to do/forced to watch… Crying about how I could have been a little more patient and a lot more loving to people who are suffocating to their deaths.. (6 hours in PPE all the while anxious about being exposed, anxious about dying just like our patients does not exactly leave you the sweetest person). To think that the pain I feel as a spectator is not even a quarter of the pain that our patients/their relatives feel.
My overthinking has reached heights where I ask myself if I should tell my folks that I do not wish to be intubated if I were to die of covid.
Trust me your lockdowns are not difficult…You haven't seen the horrors we see… I wish I could show you videos of the pain I see, just to scare everyone enough for you to stay inside…
Saying that it's difficult is the understatement of the century... I do not want to see this pain... None of us do. Do not put us through this.
Do us a favor, I am not asking you to stay home, I understand that not everyone has the luxury to do that... Just wear your masks when you are out… "
If you're not afraid of dying in the current covid wave, or being rendered permanently debilitated as an aftereffect of the disease... then you're simply not being realistic.
Covid is in the air, and it is leaping from apartment to apartment, without person to person contact. It is actively airborne beyond aerosols/droplets. Here is what a paper published yesterday in the Lancet says:
"There is consistent, strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spreads by airborne transmission. Although other routes can contribute, we believe that the airborne route is likely to be dominant."
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00869-2/fulltext
No longer the Boomer Killer it was made out to be early last year, it is now reaping people in their 30s and 20s.
I have a good mind to get into a car and just drive into the woods with my tent. I wish we could survive without work and school.
Fake video. Fully fake. No medical college can have floors this clean and shiny. I mean, how?
The public has to fight back against these scum politicians hoarding the most precious of items - life saving medicines. This is a good start.
I have searched online but couldn't find any data or study that explains how effective night curfews are. I mean, this isn't crime we are fighting; it's an infection. It isn't moving around stealthily in the night.
I do understand it curbs some activity. But what percentage of public human interactions are taking place between 10pm and 5am? Also, doesn't this just move more interactions to day time?
Am I missing something obvious? Because the governments of Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka can't collectively be stupid.
And done for the little one.
And done. That was quick.
This silly fellow chopped his hair from the front, himself, using a pair of scissor, two weeks ago. The stylist has done a great job of hiding that gaffe.
This hairy fellow is going down.
Pandemic में haircut का मौका भी महीनों में कभी आता है...
इतना swag तो मैंने कभी किसी salon में नहीं देखा। Even the water is being sprayed from an Old Monk bottle.
I stepped out after weeks, to drop something off at the office. Made the mistake of visiting a market after that. The horror. Hoards and crowds of people. Crushing each other. Even people who, like me, can enjoy the privilege of home delivery from e-commerce sites. Why? Have people not seen the spiky, pointy covid graph that is headed upwards to the heavens?
We've recently started experimenting with hexagonal patterns for vents in our computer chassis (pics in comments). I looked at this tree and I thought I was hallucinating from too much work.
Hexagons are hard to draw, but they absolutely provide the greatest open space to stem ratio. This tree's leaves can receive the maximum amount of sunlight while dedicating the least space to stems. Evolution figured that out.
1. The Second wave is already much larger and much steeper than the first wave (which had hit me).
2. Our daily vaccination rate is rising every day. We have exceeded 35 lakh vaccinations per day.
3. Our per capita vaccination rate is abysmal. Even if we factor in only urban population, it is still abysmal.
4. At 35L/day, our current stock will last us a week. It is no surprise, therefore, that vaccination has been halted in many districts. Even that week is an overestimate, because the government would be reserving some stock for the second dose.
मेरा number कब आएगा? शायद, इस साल तो नहीं...
Green bea-eater (पतेना) in flight
Notice the use of waste plastic in one of the nests
Rufous Treepie, कोटरी. This bird is a member of the crow family. Don't go by its looks - it preys on the babies of other birds.
Pigeons can be quite majestic. Especially when they're Yellow-footed Green Pigeons. Kavin wants you to pay close attention to the eyes - zoom in on the second image. The होला or हरियाल is Maharashtra's state bird.
White-throated Kingfisher, किलकिला, कौड़िल्ला. Which, I recently learnt, doesn't really fish in urban environments. It eats insects, earthworms, rodents, snakes, frogs and even small birds. State bird of West Bengal.
Indian Robin, कलचुरी. One of the birds whose babies the Rofous Treepie gobbles up.
This bay-backed shrike strategically placed on the side by Kavin. Impales prey on thorns and other pointy things, then rips them apart with its beak.
Black Drongo. Looking straight at you.
भुजन्ग, कोतवाल, கரி குருவி, ஏரெட்டை வலன்
Just look at the colours on this male Asian Koel, कोयल.
The female lays one egg, sometimes two, in the nest of a jungle crow, house crow, or even black drongo or magpie. Eggs are typically laid 1.5 days after the crow lays its eggs, and one crow egg is usually thrown out by the koel. The young hatch three to five days before the crow eggs, and initially call like a crow. Unlike other cuckoos, the koel young do not usually throw out other crow eggs, or throw out or kill the baby crows. Mommy koel sometimes visits the host nest to feed its baby.
Cute little fellow, popping out of its home in the tree. Brahminy Starling or Myna.
Here's a close up of a Red-rumped Swallow, मस्जिद अबाबील. Look at the eyes.
Rose-ringed Parakeet, तोता
Just a Green bee-eater (पतेना) eating a bee.
Four stately Red-rumped Swallows (मस्जिद अबाबील), high on a perch.
Urgently need Remdisivir injections for a Covid patient. Remdisivir seems out of stock in Mumbai, Gurgaon, Delhi. Would you please check for it at a medicine shop near you, and if it's available, I'll work out the logistics. Big thanks.
A number of my friends (or their close family) are sick with Covid. I got stressed last night talking to one of them, and followed the advice I was giving them - watch comedy to lighten your mood. Logged into Netflix after ages, and found this absolute gem of a movie.
Now watching Mandela in the middle of the work day, to alleviate work stress (if you haven't heard - the electronics industry is in dire straits due to a shortage of semiconductors).
Mandela. Because nobody does comedy like Tamil cinema.
मैंने जाना ही नहीं दिल्ली। तुम रखो अपनी Covid और mask वाली दिल्ली अपने पास।
What a beautiful news report.
I want to live in a world where I can show up for work in a kurta pyjama. A more relaxed garment designed for Indian weather.
Why do we Indians wear jeans to offices - as if we are going to be down on our knees, scraping in the mud for gold.
"Nobody I know is on Facebook. You can post whatever you want on Facebook. Facebook is for old people."
You. Nilay is talking about you, you boomer.
Nilay comes to me, shirtless. Flexes his muscles, says "wanna touch". "Nope". "Yes you do". I touched. The things we do for our kids 🙄
Kavin tells me that Nilay went to Sherry's place, and showed his muscles to all of Sahil's friends. Did his "wanna touch" routine. Poor little ones. The trauma.
If anyone needs a muscular teenager about the house, please feel to borrow mine. Just a call away. Can do muscley things. Like lift heavy things, then drop and break them, because he didn't think the whole thing through.
Lots of focus on the body. Apparently there is a line that runs across our entire body, dividing us in half. He demonstrated. I've also just seen freshly sprouted armpit hair.
Can't sleep now. Room is filled with the smell of youth. Or maybe it's just armpit stink. Who knows. Is there a difference?
Powerful work. Thanks for making and sharing this @[1329691705:2048:Amilty].
We watched the video together, I and the kids. Kavin said "I get the message, but why is she drawing circles on her face?". And I said "Because it's her face, her video. She can do whatever she pleases with it." And Kavin was like "Oh right right, that's the point of the video."
Yep. All the people who've body shamed me as a child and an adult. I wish I'd stood up to them. And I wish I hadn't passed on the trauma by commenting on some of my friends when I was a child.
'dida' (দিদা): noun, feminine (in affection) a grandmother
This is seriously awesome. @[636590252:2048:Bharat] you will appreciate.
(Give it 30 seconds. Then it hits you.)
I got a Covid antibody test, and I am still positive! They ran a SARS-CoV-2 total (IgA + IgG) antibody ELISA test on my blood sample, and the optical density ratio is a solid 6 (the threshold for positive is 1).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344717005_Antibody_Responses_to_SARS-CoV-2_in_Coronavirus_Diseases_2019_Patients_with_Different_Severity says 6 is pretty good - that's more than the antibodies most newly recovered Covid patients have (see attached graph).
I got dem antibodies 🕺! Still got dem antibodies 🦹! But cases are rising so I'm not gonna go out and play. I have no interest in exercising these antibodies.
This is was polished bigotry looks like.
I don't think our relationship with state, violence and weapons is any better in India. The US just makes the news more often.
Look what my school friend Rajat sent me. I guess I was always crazy about keeping in touch with friends.
What delightful news. I'm so proud of you my friend @[1065160251:2048:Dhamodharan Muniyan] 🤗
So if you want to know how to improve education among the scheduled tribes of India, or you want to know about the fascinating Irula people, you can just speak to him. How fascinating no - a person who is an expert on (one aspect of) a set of people.
Greater Flamingos, राज-हंस, मराल
Flay-ming-goes!
In Gurgaon. In the Najafgarh jheel. Thousands upon thousands of them. So beautiful.
PS: The flamingos move about quite a bit, so I can't give you an exact location if you wanna go check them out. And they'll all be gone soon, so hurry if you wanna take a look. Perhaps another week or two more. We went with a birding group, and we saw them from very far away.
PS2: If you like my pics, consider following Ramawtar Singh. He is my inspiration on how to capture nature. When you're closer to nature, or nature comes close to you, the observation and the pictures are naturally better. Which is why my pictures from my neighbourhood are better than the ones from parks etc. The birds and insects around me seem to have some familiarity with me now. See https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10223857166203102&id=1413938254 and https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10223362715962155&id=1413938254. Make a boring day fascinating by just scrolling through his feed.
Kavin stops me in the tracks and asks me some pointless question.
Me, in full work mode, walking from one bathroom to the other with a toilet brush: "Huh?"
Kavin notices the brush in my hand. Grins and backs off.
"Ah," I thought to myself, "he thought I'd attack him with the brush. Nice, nice. Always carry a weapon with kids in the house."
Just a bunch of ducks and ducky things, chilling in the water. Hanging out with each other, having a snack, throwing back some drinks. That's what birds do on a Sunday morning.
There are a lot of things to unpack in this image.
There's a layer of ducks in the water. A layer of bar heads flying above them. And kites flying above the bar heads. I think the kites are hunting the bar heads, who are more vulnerable in flight than when in the water.
There's also layers of foliage. Water. Water hyacinth. Trees. And I'm sure, in the water, insects and fish.
An entire ecosystem, in sandwich layers.
Kavin has cropped this accidentally photographed tree into a work of art.
(He hasn't processed the haze out of this pic, like I do with birds. Retained the dreamy look.)
The door to my room just creaked open on its own.
If I get up and investigate, I'd be one of those idiots in horror movies who go looking for trouble.
If I sit in bed and do nothing, I'd be one of those idiots in suspense movies who twiddles his thumbs while trouble approaches.
Damned if I do. Damned if I don't. Damn it.
Ok. That's it. I gotta hit the sack. Rest of the pics tomorrow.
But before we leave, there's just enough time to show you another Small Indian Kite, चील. Good night.
These are Bar-Headed Geese. They're called so because they've got two black bars on their heads. To be clear, they're not alcoholic. They're not in the legal profession. And those are definitely not Wi-Fi signal bars on their heads.
Flies over the Himalayas to come see you every winter from Tibet.
Don't you pretend to be doing yoga when I'm talking to you Alfred. Alfred! Are you even listening to me? Oh, don't just keep staring at the water. I need answers, Alfred.
Tree. Not a bird. Firmly rooted. Cannot fly. It tried.
Classic Black Kite pose.
(this is the best my camera can do when things are flying about)
Just a flock of Black-Winged Stilts doing birdsy things. Standing on one leg. Navel gazing.
Black-Winged Stilt. This one is flying. It's a thing birds do.
Indian Pied Wagtail. Amidst garbage that you didn't recycle.
Another Black Kite. I mean, why not?
Stilt. Either Black Winged or Pied Stilt. You tell me which.
This is a Ruff. That's it. That's the name. Ruff. None of that yellow foot, red nape, bar head business.
Indian Silverbill, white-throated munia, मुनिया
My friend the Ashy Prinia, ashy wren-warbler
