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எனக்கு வந்த இந்த வருட காய்ச்சல்
இரண்டு நாட்களுக்கு முன் ஆரம்பித்தது. முதலில் வறட்டு தொண்டை மற்றும் சோர்வு. நேற்று அது முன்னேறிக் காய்ச்சல், அதீத உடல் வலி, பயங்கரச் சோர்வு என ஆனது. மருத்துவரைப் பார்த்தேன், வழக்கமான மாத்திரைகள் எழுதிக் கொடுத்து நான்கைந்து நாட்களில் சரியாகிவிடும் என்றார். இன்று பரவாயில்லை. சென்னையில் ஒவ்வொரு ஆண்டும் குளிர் காலத்தில் பரவும் தொற்றுகள், இந்த ஆண்டு மார்ச் வரை தொடர்வது புதிர். நான் புத்திசாலியாகத் தப்பித்துவிட்டேன் என நினைத்தேன் – மெட்ரோ, திரையரங்கு, கல்யாண மண்டபம், பல் பொருள் அங்காடிகள் எனக் கூட்டமான இடங்களில் எப்போதும் N95 மாஸ்க் அணிந்து தான் செல்கிறேன், சனிடைசர் பயன்படுத்துகிறேன், பெருந்தொற்று முடிந்தும் கூட. இருந்தும் இந்த வருட ஃப்ளூ என்னைப் பிடித்துவிட்டது. இரண்டு வாரம் முன்னர் என் பையன் கல்லூரியில் ஆண்டு விழா, அதிலிருந்து அவன் கொண்டு வந்ததாகத் தான் இது இருக்க வேண்டும். அவனுக்குப் போன வாரம் சளி, இருமல், வேறு எதுவும் தொந்தரவு இல்லை. அவனை உடனே தனிமைப் படுத்தியாயிற்று. அவனும் என்னைப் போல முகக்கவசம்…
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International Day of Yoga 2022
It may be a cliché to post poorly taken pictures of middle-aged people like me trying hard to stay in yoga asanas (postures) for International Yoga Day. Yet, I couldn’t resist this post. I have been practising yoga for more than two decades now. Pre-Pandemic I was regular, weekly twice I will make sure I do my asana routines for 30-45 minutes each session. I was lucky to have got trained by two yoga masters who had tolerated me and created an interest in me. During the pandemic, my sessions became erratic, then I managed to continue and I got more consistent in yoga practice. Yoga is based on the…
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Got my third dose of COVID-19 vaccination
Two days ago, got my booster dose of Covaxin at the Apollo Medical Centre, T.Nagar, Chennai for INR 390. It was easy and thankfully, had no troublesome side effects. Though I had gotten (natural) infected with COVID19 and recovered during the January (third) wave, I wanted to get this done when there is little demand. I booked a slot in the Cowin portal. I was in and out of the clinic in ten minutes, including the five minutes post-injection recommended wait. In India, for those who are above 60 years of age, booster doses are available for free from Government centres. For those in the age bracket of 18 to…
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My diary of COVID-19 days
I wish the 517 Pages, 166 thousand words I have written were for a novel, but they are not. Two years back, a few days after India was lockdown, I started writing – what can be called as – personal notes. It started as an emotional support tool for myself, daily COVID-19 numbers in Chennai, then expanded to be a health record & (contact) traceability record of who I met during the day and a bit of news and later matured into a diary. Today I saved the file for a final time, renamed it to “Notes on March 2020 to March 2022-COVID Years” and stashed it away. My own…
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I recovered from COVID-19
Recovered from COVID-19 After dodging the virus for the last two years, I got infected last week. A wave of cold/cough/fever was circulating in our house from the week of Pongal – first my son, then mom and then my wife. I should’ve picked it from one of them, even though my son and mom on the first symptom were isolated in their individual rooms. Last Monday (17th Jan 2022) I was feeling dryness in my throat, then on Wednesday, I got a fever, which rose to 102.8″ F in the next two days. I did myself a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) which showed positive within the first minute, confirming…
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The giant display walls seen during rocket launches
I have wondered about the effectiveness of the large display walls in mission control rooms that we see on TV during rocket launches. Not only the USA (NASA) but Russia, India (ISRO), China and other spacefaring nations too, have these. Maybe in the 1960s when desktop computer displays were poor, these display walls had a purpose, do they still do? Having a backdrop of colourful, fast-changing charts and pictures do make captivating visuals in TV and news articles. But do the operators in the room see them and use the data for decision-making? These display walls are now being seen in many other places too, like in Police control rooms…
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European cinemas are smoking a lot
Recently I have been watching a number of European films (Spanish, French & others) like Corniche Kennedy (2016), The Girl with a Bracelet (2019), The Commune (2016) and more. Irrespective of the genre, I noticed that most of the main characters were shown smoking. Needless to say, outside India (and few other Asian countries) smoking is not exclusive to the Male gender. I was wondering whether European films were exaggerating real-world behaviour? In India, thanks to stricter laws and censorship, the number of smoking scenes seems to have reduced in the last decade. Also, awareness campaigns, increasing literacy, have reduced the smoking we see in the streets in India –…
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Vaccination Camp in my Alma mater
Today morning, my alma mater Shrine Vailankanni Senior Secondary School, T.Nagar, Chennai had organized a #Covid19 vaccination camp for people aged eighteen and above, in association with Rotary Club of Madras and Greater Chennai Corporation. I had taken my son, niece, and nephew for vaccination. It was organized conveniently and safely. The school management was visibly seen taking care and efforts to ensure all were double-masked, the area well sanitized and only the pre-registered were allowed inside the premises. The waiting area was a huge open ground, cool breeze blowing in from all directions and the not more than one person was allowed in the vaccination room which was well-ventilated…
