High Alert

Bijoy Gupta explains why he cannot go to Gir

The club continues to be on ‘high alert’ with news on the corona virus outbreak bombarding us through the morning. Mercifully, panic has not set in. But a slight sneeze within hearing range or even a muffled cough is enough to send alarm bells ringing.
News reports of an ‘elderly couple in Andheri’ testing positive has further exacerbated the situation. Their identities have not been disclosed officially, but many are claiming to know them. Laxmi Hadimani insists that they are

Santosh Tyagi

from Lokhandwala and went on to identify the building where they stay.
Fact or fiction, nobody can be sure; but rumours are also flying thick and fast. “Wherever I go, this is the only subject of discussion I hear,” said Rukhsana Khan. “You switch on the TV and the only news you get is of corona. Now they have got into our mobile phones also. You call any number and there will be a recorded voice giving you a lecture on corona virus!”
But then, everybody agrees that it is always better to be safe than sorry. As Nahid Khan put it: “I know one simple rule: I need to wash my hands with soap and water as often as possible. For me, nothing else matters. I do not have a TV at home to be disturbed. I don’t read the newspaper…”
But Bijoy Gupta is so overwhelmed by talk of the pandemic that he has developed cold feet on joining us for the Gir Forest trip (ref yesterday’s post). “Frankly, I am scared,” he admitted this morning. “Yesterday, my daughter-in-law called from London. She cautioned me on travelling to Gir. I did not have the courage to counter her.”
Meanwhile, Santosh Tyagi tried to make light of the situation by reverting to her practice of narrating jokes after the exercises. She read out a few gags from her mobile before her driver came to pick her up from the Garden. The fear of the virus continued to hang heavily upon us.