Having
heard of lockdowns from all over the world from Kashmir to Spain, we had the first
experience of it on 25th March though with one difference – the internet
had not been shut. Streets were largely deserted though unlike on earlier
occasion, no one came out to bang pots and pans. Policemen on motorbikes and
cars patrolled the streets threatening to beat people with sticks unless they
kept indoors.
In
the village next door, many people spent their curfew hours on their terraces.
Long lines of clothes washing show that they have taken the advice to stay
clean seriously. The guard who is at our gates lives in that village and said
that many grocers’ shops were open and vegetables were also available. But most
of the shops visible from our apartments were closed. A few cars, buses, trucks
passed by while some of the more adventurous rode on bicycles. It was a field
day for the dogs who set up a clamour at regular intervals.
In
the USA meanwhile, Mr. Trump jumped from indiscretion to indiscretion as he appeared
to be more interested in getting the economy started rather than in controlling
the fast spreading virus that has already claimed nearly a thousand lives. One
American called him a moron who is more interested in furthering his own
political career than to act in a national emergency.
The dance
of death marches on in Italy while matters are not much better in neighbouring Spain. Iran, France, Britain and Germany too have been hit.
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