Lakshadweep islands in trouble: The residents of Lakshadweep observed a ‘black day’ on June 14 to protest against administrator Praful Khoda Patel’s controversial reforms he proposed for the development of the chain of islands which are akin to the Maldives
A VERY long time ago when I used to run away from Mumbai which was Bombay in the 1970s on every birthday to blow up whatever was left of my humble salary (after paying my working women’s hostel dues)…whatever money was left, I’d go travelling somewhere in India which caught my fancy. For many years it was the Youth Hostel Association of India’s NHTP trekking in the mountains of the Himalaya. That’s when I first saw the mountains of India and was so smitten that I had to go look at them year after year after year and still was not satisfied!
The NHTP treks are a good way to get an idea of the mountains of the Himalaya in our Himalayan states. They had a great series of trekking programs in the Himachal Pradesh mountains, Kumaon, Garhwal and also a few other states like Rajasthan, Goa too had the local YHAI trekking. Well, I’ve seen all that and am the better off for it, best education. Then occasionally I would go of on my own looking for adventures and misadventures!
One birthday I thought I was done with mountains and decided to go to the Lakshadweep islands off the Cochin seas. It was all about catching buses or trains and from Cochin a ship took us out to the lone Bangaram island which was uninhabited, there was a tourist resort there. They still have some fabulous underwater snorkeling there I think. But in the old days we had to get off the main ship to get into a smaller boat to move the open sea to the comparatively calm glassy waters of the lagoo….which threw up such exquisite waterscapes that one couldn’t take one’s eyes of them, mesmerized by the rays of the sun far below on the sea bed.
It was a magical kaleidoscope of swarms of fish darting here and there. The island was small enough walk around in an hour at most and there was nothing to do but sleep, eat and float in the calm waters of the shallow lagoon. I did go out water snorkeling but since I’m no good swimmer I got into a panic and they had pulled me back on the rescue boat! That or the guys hadn’t made me feel at home with the equipment. Anyway, it was one of my intoxicating holidays, all, all alone on a birthday, don’t ask me why.
A couple of other tourists were also there in the other huts of the resort and one afternoon we had motored out to Kavaratti, the capital island and I was stunned by the pristine beauty of village life, easy smiles all around, the women decked with gold and colorful headgear. Lots of coconuts and wonderful bananas and papayas to eat. On our return to Cochin the ship also stopped at the larger island Minicoy, but we could not get off.
Lakshadweep one of my most memorable holidays. And now all this talk of covid-19 invading the islands of the Lakshadweep is making the hair on my hands rise – what kind of a fool would go there as an administrator (some Praful Patel) or whatever and open up the islands to infection from the mainland? He’s a Gujarati, I’m told, and I’m sick and tired of Gujarati bureaucrats being posted here, there and everywhere in positions of power to use and abuse. Anyone might think only Gujarati people live in India!
Well, these are my feelings over the tragedy unfolding in the Union territory of the Lakshadweep islands over the last six months. Of course, it’s a largely Muslim population living on hard island livelihoods; but just what is the political agenda for these gentle people? To kill them all one way or another in the ill-advised development of trauma, turn the islands into casino islands for the debauched riche rich of the world to go and party on wine, women and drugs?
FOLLOW DR SHIVA AYYADURAI!
DON’T know about you my dears but lately I’ve been terribly tied up with following this narrative about electoral politics and how democratic norms are quietly being eroded away even in the Mecca of democracy (or so we think) US of A. Courtesy an American Indian migrant from India, namely polymath and MIT systems engineer in biological sciences, Dr Shiva Ayyadurai (formidable never-say-die fellow now being followed around the world for his David versus Goliath lawsuits in US Federa court).
It’s a historical lawsuit he is fighting akin to the David and Goliath fight, he compares, but he paints a vivid picture of the horrors of what kind of a new vile world order aam aadmi around the world is trapped into currently. The Massachusetts-based Dr Shiva Ayyadurai stood for elections in the primary elections for Senator’s seat and discovered a hornet’s nest of how electoral machines are manipulated and records erased, and how social media is embedded with the government in shutting down political candidates the government doesn’t like!
It’s an irony that we have to perceive the government as a mentally sick Goliath and the working people of a country as David personified. Here is power and pelf and political theatre dealing lies within lies far more farcical than what we’ve being seeing in India in recent years…I mean, we the people, you might think would be Goliath but no we are David and we don’t know our collective strength if we unite in diversity!
You know the Biblical story of David and Goliath, don’t you, if you don’t read up on it. Interesting analogy, Shiva! Anyway, this Dr Shiva Ayyadurai hailing from Tamilnadu, is recounting the American story of freedom to ordinary Americans these days and he’s putting out these fascinating video talks on Twitter, Facebook, Telegraph, Instagram…because what he is up against has a bearing on life for the common people the world over be it Russia, China, India, even Australia where a group of Australians have become ardent friends and patrons of Ayyadurai’s GetBackFreedom.com movement.
Hey, this is a gallant fight to liberate the First and Second Amendments of the American Constitution in two historical lawsuits, to do with the rights of a people to see their government in all its perfidious betrayal of promises with filthy lies upon lies and subterfuge, while there’s a pay-off of millions of dollars being siphoned off in top-notch political pockets – with the giant pharma corporates wheeler dealing for mandated vaccines for everyone. It is worth listening to and following just to see what happens to Shiva Ayyadurai. To us in India it is a familiar enough narrative of injustice but most of us prefer to be lambs ready for slaughter!
I wish our law students (calling Prasenjit Dhage and Shukr Usgaonkar of the Salgaoncar Law College in Panaji here!) take note of this real-life David versus Goliath lawsuits in Federal court in Massachusettes in USA which few are reporting about in mainstream USA media. I’m hoping one of these days Dr Shiva Ayyadurai will be Senator from Massachusetts if not much more than that in the years to come! His voice is like a fresh stream of mountain spring water.
Even if he is not Caucasian white American born in America, he deserves justice to be done to him and a whole lot of folk are with him in his legal fight going on with Twitter (proxy US government) in the dock. Just check out the Shiva Ayyadurai websites and portals which offer a host of mindboggling education for mind and body, heart and soul. I wish someone like the fiery Mahua Moitra of West Bengal would rescue Indian democracy from degenerating into an electoral autocracy in a similar movements…well, if wishes were horses and all that. Cheers for some inspiration to life at least.
COVID TREATMENT PROTOCOL
AFTER visiting a couple of covid centres (the better ones!) I asked Dr Reuben De Costa at the impromptu Covid Care Centre & Step-Up Hospital at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, what are the drugs used in covid treatment protocol and he noted it briefly for me, “We use (1) Antibiotics – IV Piperacillin-Tazobctam and oral Doxycycline, (2) Anticoagulants — Inj Enoxaparin and oral Aspirin, (3) We do not need steroids for mild to moderate cases unless prescribed on discharge by GMC, (4) Nebulisation with Salbutamol, (5) Incentive Spirometry, (6) Antipyretics: IV and oral paracetamol, (7) Supplements, Vitamin C, B complex, Zinc, Calcium, (8) Diabetes control – IV insulin Actrapid and Mixtard, (9) BP control – Amlodipine.”
Since I’d also previously asked GMC’s Dr Amit Dias about covid19 protocol, he simply sent me a copy of the AIIMS-New Delhi Clinical Guidance for Management of Covid-19 (Version 2.1) and I’m reproducing it here for whatever information and understanding of covid-19 you may garner if you’re caretaking a covid patient and are keen to know about treatment options, to become more informed without bothering anyone! These days it’s a mercy that a lot of information is there out in black and white to educate oneself and maybe ask a few questions if something bothers you.
ON that note it’s avjo, poiteverem, selamat datang, au revoir, arrivedecci and vachun yetta here for now!
— Mme Butterfly