Abhinav Bhatt

It is here and that’s great but…

People around the world would react differently to Corona Virus Vaccines. Not biologically but with their actions, they would act differently.

In India, Manish Kumar was the first to get inoculated. The name might not have the same zing as William Shakespeare who was the 2^nd person to be vaccinated in the world after Margaret Keenan (both from the UK). I was expecting that the first Indian to be vaccinated would be Megha Krishnan followed by Tulsidas Premchand.

At the risk of sounding dull like old times News Anchors, I feel that once the vaccine inoculation officially starts, people would let all their guards down immediately and act if Corona wasn’t even there. They would themselves act vaccinated if their neighbor gets vaccinated. It has already started happening. Offices are opening again (and banks never shut down in India) and people are back on the roads honking. People’s masks are now disappearing like yesterdays’ memes as the rate of cases keeps falling rapidly in India. Things are opening up, which is really good for the economy, but memory is fading.

I am desperately waiting for the vaccine to be available to everyone after health workers are done. Till then, Masks to continue even if only a handful of people believe that 2020 happened.

Injured XI to Underdogs XI

No the name above is not a name of any country’s president.

What would one do if almost every ace player in the team is either injured, or is on leave, or unavailable? The show should still go on, they say. For instance, currently, in the Indian Cricket Team playing a series in Australia, the most experienced bowler is just 2 Test Matches old. The captain is a captain for time being. And about 60% of the team is a bunch of newbies at the highest level of Cricket.

I guess such situations do occur from time to time in sports, as well as in professional life. Often, it is Friday and you are about to shut shop when you get called to a meeting and asked to present something which you yourself aren’t sure about.

While there is always pressure to be the best, but we should give benefit of doubt to the people who still try and not give up. May be if they keep at it, they will succeed. And if they don’t, at least it would be a great lesson for the next time.

When any experience is never enough

Sankranti Kite flying is a sight to behold and a sport that matches nothing. The numerous colorful rhombuses adoring the blue and bright sky of January make the wintery day feel warmer than it might be. People of all ages climb on their rooftops, put on loud music, and try to compete with the wind and the neighbor’s kites. The rookies would be trying their best to launch their kites, and the veterans would be busy slaying away every flying object you could see in their vicinity hurling unique slogans.

Decision Decades

I tried (a bit) but couldn’t find the source behind this quote:

Deciding what to do with the rest of your life in your early 20s is like deciding what you want for dinner before you’ve had breakfast…

Now when I am not in my 20s anymore, this makes perfect sense. I am guessing that I would have the same feeling after 10 years again. The feeling that I could’ve done things differently in my 30s. And on. So, one needn’t fret over past too much.

Political Mandala

Being political has become derogatory nowadays. If someone calls you liberal or conservative, it feels like it is an insult while it shouldn’t be. Same way, it has become binary. You cannot have different views on different topics but you always have that. Nobody has black or white standpoints. Most of us are just in the gray area. Some are on all the colors on VIBGYOR and beyond too.

https://www.politicalmandala.in/

Above is one website I came across which can help you judge where you stand, in case you wanted to know, for fun.

I answered a few questions. Few of them were straightforward, some of them were not. I had to think hard about some. Some I just guessed as an ideal scenario. So I got __________________________

Test Cricket is like life

As spectators or lovers of the game, we don’t have any control over the outcome. More so when you are watching the game from a distance and your cheer can’t reach the players. The reverse is not true though. The outcome of the game can actually impact your day.

Test Cricket, however low attendance it might be having nowadays, is the closest sport to real-life as possible. There are no shortcuts in it. It is long, dull, scary, and entertaining if you know how to enjoy it. Sometimes it is just boring as nothing happens. But it takes a toll and toughness get tested thoroughly.

The concept of a Drawn match (be it Cricket, football, or even boxing) is amazing. Sometimes nobody wins or gets beaten. It just ends with nobody having the last laugh. It is sometimes about just survival. How more realistic can it be!

Photo by Craig Hughes on Unsplash

FU News: Machine Learning Model for Predicting Maid Abstaining Days

It might come as a surprise but the Data Scientists at FU News are humans too. It is their duty to present useful information to the world but they cannot be held accountable if the heap of utensils in the sink grows exponentially large. That’s because they cannot do the dishes if they have to dish out fishy stories week after week. So they outsource the cleaning part to Maids (as they are respectfully called in India as Bai which means Sister).

There is usually a cordial relationship between a house and the maid. The balance of power of course (due to the long history of Indian Culture which disabled the men to learn even basic chores) is towards the maids because they have the power to bring a peaceful house on its knees (literally). In terms of importance and usefulness in a house, the order is usually Maid > Missus > Kids > etc. > Men. Maids do hold the key to a successful household. You cannot and should not even think of arguing with them. No, please don’t. No.

But what if Maid takes unannounced leaves? What if the Maid (or cook for that matter, this blog doesn’t stereotype) bunks randomly? What if the sink overflows and the pile of unwashed dishes turn into a tsunami and engulfs everything?