Nightmarish Air travel

 

Nightmarish Air Travel

Our real ordeal started at London airport. Surprisingly enough, we were asked to show travel documents with permission to travel to India – self declaration form, COVID test report and the permission from High Commission  in US

By Mukesh Sharma

 

Gone are the days when air travel was the most coveted ‘ride’, particularly, for the commoners. It would give the feeling of privileged class. Sexy air hostesses manning the entrance of aircraft would welcome the passengers with a sensuous smile; they would love to walk up to any passenger on board just on a press of a button; they would talk and treat the passenger like a close buddy. But the most dared and deadly corona has changed all those friendly and flirting gestures and postures. In this corona time, air travel is no better than a nightmare.

After staying for long six months in US, this blogger decided to explore the possibilities to fly back to India during this pandemic. Though Indian govt. continued its so called ‘Evacuation flights’ for its stranded citizens in different countries under the name Vande Matrum, there are reports that the passengers were overcharged for the ‘facilities’ – no food in jam-packed flights and harassment at Indian airport in the name of Corona.

 

A nightmarish air travel

In the middle of the last month, Indian govt. also started ‘bubble service’ under an agreement with some countries – US, UK, Germany and UAE. Airlines of the said countries were permitted to land in India. A website ‘Air Suvidha’ was launched with certain guidelines. Passengers travelling to India were asked to upload the travel information 76 hour before scheduled flight with COVID test report done within 96 hours of date of flight with a self-declaration to undergo mandatory 7 days self-financed institutional quarantine and 7 days home quarantine.

 People allege hotels with good ‘understanding’ with the authorities are having good business in India. It is a fact that people are scared even to travel to their homeland. Rumor is doing rounds if one is found COVID positive, one would not survive corona in govt. hospital, and private hospital would make the patient bleed by Rs.10 -15lac. Corona has turned out to be a windfall for hospitals and docs – no treatment, no responsibility, blank exemption from any kind of negligence and lots of money. Hail corruption!

Having uploaded all the travel information on ‘air suvidha’ and armed with COVID negative report, this blogger along with his wife dared to board the American Airline (operated by British Airways) to Delhi. No doubt, such a long air travel was a risk. But the intense desire to get back to India strengthened the will- power.

At Phoenix (US) airport, there were a few passengers. At air line counter, attendant spoke to us from behind a glass shield. Within 10 minutes our baggage was cleared for check-in and boarding passes were issued from Phoenix to Dallas (Texas, US), from Dallas to London (UK), and from London to Delhi. Our joy knew no bound when we got the boarding passes. The picture of Delhi airport flickered through my mind. Nothing attracts like motherland.

It was two and half hour flight from Phoenix to Dallas. The seats between two passengers were left empty. A food packet was left on each seat containing water bottle and a few cookies. No air hostess attended any passenger during flight – it was the most humiliating air travel.

At Dallas, we dashed to given gate to catch the flight to London. It was 10 hours flight over Atlantic Ocean to London. However, without any eatable, drinks were served in the flight.

Our real ordeal started at London airport. Surprisingly enough, we were asked to show travel documents with permission to travel to India – self declaration form, COVID test report and the permission from High Commission posted in US. “Since when Indian national holding Indian pass port are required to seek the permission of Indian High Commission to return to India” I tried to reason with the white staffer of British Air. But the confused and non updated attendant would not listen. Total five passengers all coming from US going to Delhi were stopped and not allowed to board the flight in the want of permission/approval letter from Indian high Commission. Miserably enough, we missed the flight because of the confusion created by the vague guidelines issued by the Indian government. Even the British Airways attendant was confused.  And next flight from London to Delhi was after 4 days.

Daughter of this blogger called up Indian embassy in US and was told that there was no such condition. Perturbed and disturbed, this blogger tweeted with hash tag to MEA and PMO. But who cares for the commoners!

Harassed and harried for hours at the airport by the British Airways staffers, this blogger sought the intervention of a ‘Border officer’. “How can you allow these Indians to stay for 4 days in London without VISA,” questioned the officer angrily. “If they move out of the airport, they will be arrested” she added. Realising their mistake, British Airways assured to put us in the next available flight to Mumbai next day as there was no flight to Delhi for 4 days.

Never in all these living years, this blogger along with his wife has had such a harrowing time, spending 24 hours at London Airport on chairs – no food just on water. At a time we were overpowered by the thought that we would catch corona at Heathrow (London) and die of corona in India. Fear of corona and death aftermath was writ large on the face.  

Next day, all documents were cleared and finally we were allowed to board the flight to Mumbai, just 25 minutes before the scheduled time of the flight. We both rushed to given gate which was at far end of the airport. Through many escalators and lifts and ride on a tube, we, somehow, managed to reach the gate. Message was conveyed to flight that we were on the way. We heaved the sigh of relief when we found the staffers waiting for us and motioning to move fast and board the flight. Though we both were panting heavily with heart pounding, and were thirsty, none offered even a glass of water. We collapsed on seat and fastened the seat belt. Just after 15 minutes, aircraft started rolling on the run way. This blogger rang up his kids in India and told about the boarding.

After long 10 hours, we finally touched Mumbai. This blogger and his wife got emotional when we saw Mumbai. We were cleared through immigration and COVID staffers within two hours. Since we had already booked ticket to Delhi, we faced no problem. At last, we touched Delhi. Thanks to COVID negative report, we were permitted 14 days home quarantine in Delhi.

The first hand experience of this blogger proves that air travel is really a nightmare during this pandemic. The system ridden with confusion and corruption doesn’t care for the commoners. It kneels down before netas only.

 

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEATH

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEATH

Cessation of breath is not death. It is not a full stop of life but just a coma in a long sentence of life. There is life beyond death where a subject survives with its mercurial body and all subconscious cognition constituted by its past karmas carried out through different births and lives through ages 

By Mukesh Sharma

Her pupil-less eyes were white like full moon; there was gleam but no gaze; she wouldn’t cast glance but just turn face in the direction of the subject. With white eyebrows and grey long straight hair falling down the knee, her starch white rather elongated face with striking mien was expressionless  -  no smile or frown, no happiness or sorrow, no mercy or cruelty, just intensely calm and quiet. Slick and slim, she was in full sleeves white rob down to ground; her white hands with well-shaped fingers were sticking out. She would walk with no gait. She would just float to come near or go far. She would shrink or swell her to any size. She would speak without lip synch. The sound of her echoing voice was so clear and deep as if emanating from far off space. She had stunning power to produce her any number of visual copies in a twinkling of eyes to be at number of places at the same time.

Feared by all the living beings, she was none other than the Death herself. Though invisibly she is everywhere, she has made humans’ hospital as her temporary residence in this Corona time. It won’t be wrong to call such places nowadays as House of Death.

 

Blogger Mukesh Sharma recuperating in an American hospital, Glendale, Arizona, US

Lying on the hospital bed with many machines buzzing and terminals fixed on the chest and legs, this blogger all of a sudden caught the sight of the Death, and out of curiosity couldn’t desist himself to have a word with her. Here are the excerpts of a revealing conversation:

 

Blogger:

PranaamMaa

Death:

Long live son. I am surprised that you can see me! One can see me only a few seconds before one’s last breath. Perhaps God has bestowed on you some special powers.

 

Blogger:

Maa you have just blessed me with long life?

Death:

Of course son. It is well within the capacity and capability of the man to live a long life. God or I have nothing to do with that. Death is the result of sinful karmas.

 

Blogger:

What is this sinful karma?

Death:

All seven deadly sins  - Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth make knots of guilt in the mind. Further, man commits sins by Thoughts, Actions and Words. Any act against the natural justice is sinful karma. It is these sinful karmas that cause early death.

 

Blogger:

What is death?

Death:

Cessation of breath is not death. It is not a full stop of life but just a coma in a long sentence of life. There is life beyond death where a subject survives with its mercurial body and all subconscious cognition constituted by its past karmas carried out through different births and lives through ages.

 

Blogger:

Then what is life ?

Death:

Life is a blessing of God. All the creatures are essentially the respected residents of Kingdom of God. Each life on the earth has a specific purpose for the perpetuation of nature. Each life has separate identity but interconnected and interdependent on one another like the countless droplets of the one ocean. A reasonable life span is assigned by the God to each creature suitable to the gross body it wears that can further be increased or decreased through karmas.

 

Blogger:

How the age of a man is determined?

Death:

Man has no fixed age; it may be of a few minutes or of many decades and centuries; it may be extended even to eternity like the great devotee of lord Rama, Hanumana who is still alive on the earth right from satyuga. All depends on karma, and karmas are under the control of man himself not God.

 

Blogger:

I am not able to understand this esoteric wisdom. Would you please spell it out, Maa ?

Death:

It’s not a secret son. Even in the Gita, Chapter 1, sloka 7, Lord Krishna Himself has revealed this truth and uses the word dvijottama-  man is born twice  - first born into the world of nature through the womb of his mother and second birth is into the world of spirituality. The individual born as a child of nature grows up into his spiritual manhood and becomes a child of light.

 

Blogger:

Maa elucidate it further for this moron son.

Death:

Through selfless karma one gets enlightened like Buddha, Mohammad, Nanak and Christ  - all are the children of light  -  all are true sons of God. An enlightened man emerges as a superhuman  and eventually be one with the God.

 

Blogger:

You mean to say even an ordinary man like me can become God.

Death:

Of course son. An extraordinary is born as an ordinary first. Even God has to be born as a man first to become God again. Through karma it is possible.  But only a few blessed souls get enlightened and attain salvation  -  free from the bondage of birth and death. It may take thousands of births through thousands of years to cleanse and upgrade the mind through rightful karmas and meditation. Distracted by illusions and deviated from the righteous path of karma, the majority of lesser souls die again and again through sins and sufferings, and are reborn in different forms and shapes of life with varied life-span to suffer afresh.

 

Blogger:

But Maa, we humans live in society. We live through mundane duties towards family, society and our respective country. How a worldly man can get enlightened?

Death:

Son nothing is useless or purposeless in this universe. Be it animate or inanimate each has a specific purpose. Humans can continue the pursuit of purpose through one’s human duties, as a good father, a good mother, a good wife, a good husband, a good son, a good daughter, a good friend, a good citizen,  and as a whole a good human being. Lives of all great humans on the earth teach this goodness.

 

Blogger:

What do you mean by the pursuit of purpose?

Death:

Inner self of each man knows the real purpose of its life. But the perverted man is seldom able to know or see it; he commits all kinds of sins to be ‘successful’ in the eyes of others; he lives and works for short lived success and happiness rather than actual purpose of life which brings real pleasure, bliss and contentment. It is acquired through rightful karmas whatever may be the circumstances or situation. Rightful karmas always lead to rightful purpose of life. Each object in the universe be it the sun, the moon, planets, stars, any seen or unseen, known or unknown,   has a specific purpose and  it does karma to serve that purpose, a duty assigned by God.

 

Blogger:

I am still bit confused Maa

Death:

It’s so simple son. Suppose one wishes to become an IAS, only hardwork( karma) would serve one’s purpose. Means always leads to End. To be at the top of a mountain, just stick to the right trail. Think of work (deeds) not about its fruit. No action goes without reaction. Bad action brings bad reaction and good action results in good reaction. One can get enlightened even by doing one’s rightful karmas possible well within the family life and by performing worldly duties.

 

Blogger:

What are the causes of early death?

Death:

Ignorance and illusions are responsible for the doom of the unblessed. Unaware of his powers, man is attracted to illusions - the unreal world which is just a shadow and thus commits sins after sins, and dies with sufferings. I have nothing to do with the death of living beings. I have no power to kill even a tiny insect. All creatures write their own death. Man dies in his mind first because of fear produced by the guilty conscience a fallout of sins. As a result, the body too dies. Prana cannot survive with sick mind. When pranas leaves the body, I have no option but to take over the soul of the subject.

 

Blogger:

Any message to mankind in this corona time, Maa

Death:

Mind you, man is the creation of God; he is a son of God; he has all the powers like God. Through his mind and mental energy what you call will power, man can overcome deadliest thing known as fear, a  root cause of all the human  problems. Man can befriend life; he can defeat death. Corona is nothing before man’s enormous mind power. Man can achieve even seeming impossibilities. Could anyone have imagined thousands years ago that man would reach moon one day. Universe is full of possibilities. Man can make things happen. Nothing is beyond the reach of man. After all man is the son of God.

 

Out of reverence, the moment this blogger closed his eyes and open it again,  Maa Death had become invisible.

 

Corona, a curse or boon

Corona, a Curse or Boon

Message is loud and clear that in this boundless régime of God, man is no better than a midget; don't mess with the nature; live as a servant of nature not the master of nature

By Mukesh Sharma

From Wuhan to Washington, with over 24,000 deaths across the world and still counting, the invisible, inexplicable, indefatigable, invincible, indefinite etc ' thing' so named Coronavirus is feared more than Yamaraj (God of death in Hindu  Scriptures) today. Death penalty by Reverend Yamaraj can never be without justification; it is always, of course, self certified reasoned order like the Supreme Court of India - no appeal, no appellant Court. But Corona seems to know no reason except merciless 'man' hunt. Though Corona's unnerving enemity against human 'animals' is yet to be understood and studied by the so-called all- know man, this blogger thinks that Corona's curse is not without a boon.

Coronavirus

The valued readers would agree with this blogger that the 'life' exists in dualities  - there can be no right without wrong; no knowledge without ignorance; no happiness without sorrow; no darkness without light; no failure without success; no death without birth. So there can be no curse without boon.

Look at Corona from an eye of an optimist - the glass is not half empty but half full. Corona's relentless attack has united the world. Hostilities have been put to rest in most of the disturbed countries in the world like Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Libya etc. for the time being. Even arch rivals US and China have joined hands for the concerted efforts in a fight against Corona.

For the first time in post independent history, it has been witnessed that India has risen above the region and religion in a bid to give corona a good fight. Phenomenal unity has been seen in the diversity from Kanya kumari to Kashmir. Ever squabbling opposition parties have not opposed the PM Modi's call for nation wide lockdown.

Thanks to Corona terror, the people contend that the crime rate has come down dramatically - no news of rapes, murders, dacoity, theft etc. What is more, the most of Indian metropolitan cities which were known for smothering air, are free from pollution - no noise pollution and air pollution - the sky is so clear. The deserted roads give the cities the feeling of a western landscape. The sun shines brightly. The moon gleams with full glare at night.

  

Frankly speaking, it occurs to my mind that the Corona has taught perverted man to behave. Lockdown in houses has re-established family values.

Corona seems to have reaffirmed the faith of the world in Indian culture and cuisine – so called civilized people of the developed west are exchanging pleasanteries by saying namaste with folded hands. The respect for veggies has increased manifold in the world. The government and the rich have loosened the strings of their purses to help out the poor - the food free of charge along with other essential services. In fact, Carona has revived the socialism, maybe, for sometime. But the people wish to live in present. IMF, World Bank and other institutions are contemplating the much needed help to the poor nation battling for life and survival. The most of the nations have announced stimulus package as relief. Even RBI has also suggested the bank to declare moratorium for at least 3 months on all kinds of loans. Loanees are shouting hip hooray! hip hooray! hip hooray ! Socialism has come. The humanity seems to have been re-structured.

Undoubtedly, Corona has reminded the man his place. God made the beautiful earth for all kinds of non-living and living organisms – Protozoans, Amphibians, Raptiles, Aves and Mammals. But the wily man has encroached upon the rights of other creatures too. To assert his phony hegemony, the man has abused his powers and misused the natural resources; the man has drawn lines and divided  the earth into countries. Surprisingly enough with just an average life span of 60 years, the man has declared himself the owner of the earth.

Though the man boasts of his material progress touching the moon and mars sending robotic machines into space to travel, supposedly, through intra-galaxies, he has failed to face a tinniest virus to the size of 60 mm micron – his ego stands shattered. The virus Corona has cut the man down to size; it has shown the mirror to man.

The message is loud and clear that in  this boundless regime of God, man is no better than a midget. Don’t mess with nature. Live as a servant of nature not master of nature.

Of Virus and Vermin

Of Virus and Vermin

Man has seeds of his ruin in himself. Man is the worst enemy of man

By Mukesh Sharma 

It was a cold day but very still. The sky was clear and the sun had packed up for the day. Though roads were choked with vehicles, none was plying.  Traffic signals were blinking but there was no vehicular movement   - no honking, no screech of tyres and no whizzing. It seemed that the time had stopped. Lifeless bodies of humans were strewn here and there. The bodies with seemingly leftover sign of life could be seen on the sidewalks in different postures. Groan, and grunts, moans and murmurs, hiccups and hush could be heard in the midst of scary silence. None was there to help out the dead or half dead. But still a few were holding hope against hope hugging their last breath tenaciously unmindful of the fact that the death is the great doctor that vanishes away even the last vestige of human pain. Even death has a heart. When life betrays, death embraces. Despite all beautiful landscape, wide roads and winding flyover, glittering lights, it looked like a haunted city.

The horrific and heart rending scene described above is not from any Hollywood movie but an imaginary scene of a modern city hit by the deadly virus.  An eye witness says that the imaginary details are rather close to Wuhan city of China, an epicenter of corona virus outbreak. The people maintain that this could be the probable scenario if God forbids, next world war breaks out; it would be altogether a different war - no boom or bang, no bomb or bloodshed but just countless dead bodies of humans snuffed by deadly virus and vermin - a weapon of future warfare.

The rumour is doing rounds in close circle and social media that the China has cultivated the deadly virus called as corona virus in its laboratory that mutates in human body only; it can transmit through contacts as well as through air; it affects human body only not any other animal. And as luck would have it, the virus got unleashed accidently and engulfed the Wuhan city. And rest is history.

The sources reveal that a book entitled "The Eye of Darkness" by Dean Koontz was published in 1981. The author made a mention specifically on page 352 - 353 of his book that China has developed a man made micro-organisms named Wuhan-400 at its RDNA lab located at the outskirt of Wuhan city. The book says:

" Wuhan-400 is a perfect weapon. It affects only human beings. No other living creature can carry it. And like syphilis, Wuhan 400 can't survive outside living human body for a longer than a minute which means it can't permanently contaminate object or entire place the way anthrax and other virulent  micro- organisms can. And when the host expires, the Wuhan 400 within perishes a short while later as soon as the temperature of the corpse drops below 86 F. Do you see the advantage of this"

The Eyes of Darkness

Though the Wuhan city is the worst affected, the deadly virus has reached to 120 countries across the globe as per WHO report; it has already taken the toll of 4500 lives across the world so far and still counting. Tens of thousands are reported to have infection and have been battling for life. Besides Italy, France, Germany, Iran etc. who have already declared emergency in their respective counties, America has also declared national emergency.  With reported deaths and rising number of infections, US is shutting down - no social gathering, travel ban across border  - all schools, entertainment programme have been shut sine die. GDP of US has slumped to 4 %. The situation is getting more and more serious with each passing day.

Further, WHO in its report no.51 dated March 11, has characterized the corona virus as " "pandemic" - an epidemic that is geographically widespread or throughout the world without containment.

However, an Australian scientist has claimed to have isolated the virus and is nearing the solution to contain it. Even Germany and US are making such unsubstantiated claims. But nothing tangible has come out so far.

Now referred to as COVID 19, if this virus goes controlled and uncontained, it may give rise to a cataclysmic situation; it might further jeopardise the existence of humans on the earth.

Latest status of COVID 19 outbreak as per WHO report

It won't be wrong to say that the man has seeds of his ruin in himself. Man is worst enemy of the man. Robert Burn rightly says:

Man's inhumanity to man,

Makes countless mourn.