International Women's Day 2021 - Appreciating all women I know !!

Today (8^th of March) is International Women’s Day .. ..  Appreciating all Women I know ! and special greetings to all of them  ~ International Women's Day 2021

 

March 8 last year, (2020) was a Red letter day  for  Indian women's cricket. India's maiden appearance in a T20 World Cup final, against defending champions Australia, drew 86,174 spectators at the MCG - the most ever at a women's or men's T20 World Cup final and for a women's sporting event in Australia.  India lost that match !  .. ..

Yesterday : South Africa 178 for 2 (Lee 83*, Goswami 2-38) beat India 177 for 9 (Raj 50, Ismail 3-28) by eight wickets.  Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee put on a 169-run opening stand and made a half-century apiece as South Africa eased their way to a win over India in the opening ODI in Lucknow. Only two other batters were needed to chase a small target after a disciplined effort from the visitors' bowling attack and an energetic display in the field kept India to an under-par score on a good pitch. On the way, Wolvaardt also became the youngest South African to 2000 ODI runs.  

Hima Das  nicknamed Dhing Express, is an ace sprinter from the state of Assam. She holds the current Indian national record in 400 meters with a timing of 50.79 s that she clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.   She was in news recently . .. …

In some ways this is a western concept – marking a day and attaching all importance to it by marketing it. Our literature has good place for women and traditionally we are taught to respect elders and mother. Our moral stories are replete with instances of obeisance to mother and femininity holding them in high regard; yet 8th Mar would be a special day.

Elections to TN State Assembly are around the corner and there are talks that Ms Kushboo Sundar is the likely candidate representing BJP in alliance with the ruling AIADMK – women power in politics is nothing new.    From  Triplicane assembly constituency was elected Ms Bader Sayeed in 2006.    Earlier ace Bharatnatyam dancer Ms Vijayanthimala Bali represented South Madras constituency twice (Triplicane was part thence)

Thousands of miles away, Anne ascended power to become the  Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from  8 March 1702 and 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1714.

Any reference to women of fame would not be complete with writing about ‘Avvaiyar’ -  great tamil poetess  whose statue also stands in the marina closer to Queen Mary’s college. She  lived in the southern parts attributed to sangam period. Reverred to be noble besides her extraordinary poetic skills, the term means ' respected old woman' or 'Grandmother'. Her works include Purananuru and Aathichoodi. She had cordial relations with the Kings Pari and Athiaman. Aathichoodi is a collection of single-line quotes written by Avvaiyar and organized in alphabetical order.

Indian sprinter Hima Das  recently was  inducted as Deputy Superintendent of Assam Police and referred to the moment as a childhood dream coming true. In a ceremony organised in Guwahati, the Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal handed her the appointment letter and top functionaries of the state government as well as from the police department, including the Director General of police attended it. Addressing the gathering after her induction, Hima revealed that she had dreamt of becoming a police officer when she was young and therefore this was a very special moment for her.

According to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, King Janaka of Videha Kingdom held a Rajasuya Yagna and invited all the learned sages, kings and princess of India to participate. The yagna lasted for many days. The galaxy of scholars, included the renowned sage Yajnavalkya.  There  were eight renowned sages who challenged him for a debate, which included Gargi, the only lady in the assembled gathering of the learned.  Gargi and Yajnavalkya's exchange centered on the ultimate "warp" of reality ("warp" means "the basic foundation or material of a structure or entity).  This is a post on ‘wonder woman’ ~ it would not require a Nobel for a woman to be impressive and an influencer    before you read further, this post is dedicated to all the Women known and those who influenced me – the list would start with my mother, sister, wife – my teachers at elementary school,  my female colleagues, my women bosses and my dear friends).. ..

Woman in Cricket circles is not new ! ~ am not talking about Mayanti Langer.  Remember seeing Indian womens’ play at Chepauk – captained by Shanta Rangaswamy, the first woman to lead an Indian cricket team, the first woman to win a Test series and the first woman to receive a lifetime achievement award from the BCCI, Shanta Rangaswamy was nothing short of a pioneer. But if she had to be broken down in the simplest terms, she was a batting allrounder, who ran in with the new ball and later made others run after it. She captained 12 out of the 16 Tests she played in since making her debut in Oct 1976.  She scored India's first Test century and smashed the first six as well.

486  years ago this month in 1535 occurred the siege by Bahadur Shah who attacked Chittor Fort.  Rani Karnavati, wife of the late Rana Sangha fought valiantly, was expecting help from Humayun, who betrayed and .. ..   13,000 women including Rani Karnavati committed Jauhar and 3,200 soldiers committed Saka.    In Nov 2014, Our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, on a visit,  gave his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott a rather interesting gift ~ and to us something to glance through the annals of history – connected to an Australian lawyer and novelist by name John Lang [1816-1864]… and this has direct reference to a great Indian woman ?  ~ yes, Jhansi Rani.

Can you think of one sport where men and women compete against each other as equals? – in Tennis – the mixed-doubles !!Stumped?  It is  horse racing, where female jockeys regularly jump in the hot seat alongside their male counterparts ~ and it is not riders alone .. it is the horses too.   The horses carrying them towards the finish line are locked in their own battle of the sexes.   

A couple of years ago, President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented three Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and forty-eight Padma Shri Awards at a Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan,  the women seen in the photo at the start of the post -  a Padma Shri recipient – Saalumarada Thimmakka, by name; she  was 105 years of age at that time ~  had no formal education and worked as a casual labourer in a quarry ! ~ great person !.

Saalumarada Thimmakka also known as Alada Marada Timakka is an environmentalist from the state of Karnataka, noted for her work in planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a four-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur.  Not many of us have cared to know that a  U.S. environmental organisation based in Los Angeles and Oakland, California called Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education is named after her.

Appreciations and greetings to all  Women known and those who influenced me

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
7.3.2021.

  

Covid Vaccine - India leads the way - and TN administers the drive so well

 

Under National Urban Health Mission scheme, Greater Chennai Corporation is running 138 Urban Primary Health Centres.  The Chennai Municipal Corporation (formerly known as the Corporation of Madras), is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai. Inaugurated on 29 September 1688, under a Royal Charter issued by King James II on 30 December 1687 as the Corporation of Madras, it is the oldest municipal body of the Commonwealth of Nations outside Great Britain.

On the busy Besant Road, nearer Vivekananda House bus terminus, there are a host of Govt facilities, that of Metrowater & Sewerage and Corporation office that houses facility for Aadhar and the like and here runs a Medical centre of the Corporation too.  Have you ever visited one such centre and before that what is your perception – are you one among those who would say – in general, such Govt places would not be tidy ?  

Coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe with 116,659,203 infected by the deadly contagion. While 92,272,972 have recovered, 2,591,291 have died so far. The US remains the worst-hit country with 29,593,161, followed by India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom. However, if you are to view the statistics differently by the total number of active cases, US tops the charts, followed by France, UK, Brazil and Belgium.  With a daily increase of 18,327 in total cases, India’s tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 11,192,088. Death toll has reached 157,693, with 109 fatalities in a day.   The country continues to be second-most-affected globally, and ranks 13th among worst-hit nations by active cases. Maharashtra, the most affected state overall, has reported 9,000 new cases. The state has added nearly 80,000 cases in the past 10 days. The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (2,198,399), Kerala (1,072,437), Karnataka (953,813), Andhra Pradesh (890,441), and Tamil Nadu (853,992).

Vaccines for Corona virus Covid 19 has come as a great relief for the humanity.  However, the World appears to be grappling by non-availability and improper distribution and lot of politics behind .. .. and fortunately, none of these in India as the Govt has ensured that vaccine is available to most of its citizen nearer their places, free of cost !  .. what an effort. Appreciate the Central Govt, Our Prime Minister, State Govt, Health Ministry, Department, Health workers and more.

 

 

Canada on Friday authorized a fourth Covid-19 vaccine, adding Johnson & Johnson's candidate to is approved list alongside AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots. It is the first single-dose Covid-19 vaccine to be authorized in the country, and has been cleared for use by people over 18 years of age, said Health Canada.  Like many countries, Canada does not have domestic production and has struggled with an immediate shortage of vaccines. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what’s called a viral vector vaccine. To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vector – and replaced a small piece of its genetic instructions with coronavirus genes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden announced that Merck & Co. will help make Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine -- a collaboration between rivals as the immunization race narrows and governments race to ramp up supply before dangerous new variants of the virus further erupt. 

Four top Republicans Senator on Friday urged US President Joe Biden not to accept a proposal by India and South Africa to the World Trade Organisation to waive anti-Covid vaccine patents to boost its supply. "India, South Africa and other countries are presenting a proposal at the World Trade Organisation to waive all intellectual property rights for any innovation related to COVID-19," the group of four Republican Senators wrote in a letter to Biden.  "The proponents of this scheme argue that if we just destroy the intellectual property developed by American companies, we will suddenly have more manufacturers producing COVID-19 vaccines," they said.

Europe could be on the brink of a roaring twenties-style summer to remember, with budget airline flights packed and beachside bars brim-full of happy tourists. Or, it faces another gloomy holiday season of travel restrictions, quarantine rules and a locked-down leisure industry. In a few weeks from now we will know which it is to be - but the policy decisions which will shape the outcome are already being taken. One big question is whether EU member states will be content to leave decision-making to the European Commission in Brussels - which has bungled the vaccine-buying programme - or simply take matters into their own hands. Greece, for example, has already struck a deal to welcome tourists from Israel if they have a vaccine passport. And Cyprus has said it will welcome British tourists from 1 May, as long as they have had two doses of any vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EU has struggled to distribute Covid-19 shots across the 27-member region and is lagging other advanced economies in the number of inoculations per citizen. There are complaints that regulators are too slow to approve vaccines, there has been manufacturing and delivery issues and national red tape, hindering the process. But new questions were raised on Thursday when Italy became the first EU country to use the bloc’s new regulations that allow exports to be stopped if needs be. The move stopped around 250,000 doses of the vaccine from its Anagni, Italy, plant being shipped to Australia.

India has gone miles ahead in handling Covid vaccines. India began its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ to supply Covid vaccine to different nations almost a one-and-a-half-month ago.   India’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ drive is reaping diplomatic benefits for the country with the 79-member African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) group and the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) praising India at the WTO for facilitating vaccine supplies to those in need. These countries also suggested that other vaccine-producing countries should also follow suit.

The COVID vaccine was launched on 16th January, 2021. The first group of beneficiaries in India were  healthcare and frontline workers. The second group is persons  over 60 years of age as of January 1st, 2022 and persons between 45 and 59 years with comorbid conditions.  ]

At the Health Centre, run by Chennai Corporation in Besant Road – Covid vaccine is being administered.  The premises is clean and Health workers are doing the work with enthusiasm and efficiency.  Those coming are checked for their blood-pressure, medical details are enquired into and with Aadhar and another proof of residence – one could have Covid vaccine in few minutes.

On 4.3.2021, I had the Covid vaccine [Covishield] and on Friday, 5.3.2021 my wife had the vaccine. My parents [Father 84 & Mother 79] have also got the vaccine at another place.   Many of my friends of the locality and SYMA office bearers too have been inoculated.  In all it took less than half-an-hour for completion of verification formalities and a 2 sec painless jab.  After the administration of vaccine, recipients need to remain in the premises for 30 minutes for observation and then can leave for their homes to have their normal daily routine.

Good job by the Govt, Corporation and special thanks to Mrs Sulakshana, Medical Officer & Mrs Shyamala, Urban Health of 116 Ward and the other Health Workers. Urge the Triplicane residents to utilize this facility and have covid inoculation done immediately.  It is for our own safety and there need not any apprehensions on this.   Even after the vaccine, continue to follow social distancing, sanitizing and wearing masks.

With thanks – S. Sampathkumar

6.3.2021

 

 

 

 

so near and yet so far .. .. Washington Sundar stranded at 96*

  

Sure, you rode a bi-cycle in your life… as all of us know, it is the roller chain that transfers power from the pedals to the back wheel, driving the cycle forward ~ and as could be seen the pedal has teeth … is it the available teeth or those missing teeth that moves the cycle forward ?  Year 2021 has been great for this 21 year old .. .. yet, would this youngster remember this day for the runs he made or the ones he missed ?

At Ahmedabad, after bowling out England for 205,  Indians were struggling at 146/6 .. .. then  Sundar and Pant came together !    Pant was classy, rule for thyself as he  reverse-swept Anderson from the line of the stumps, falling away to the leg side as he did so, and watched the ball fly over the leaping first slip fielder. It was audacious, it was gloriously disrespectful, and it was in every way what we've come to expect from Pant.  Pant scored a glorious 100 in the circumstances ensuring Indian lead.  At Close of play, Washington Sundar 60* and Axar Patel were together.

One may remember that 1^st Test at Colombo in Sept 1985 – a drawn match.  India made : 218 & 251- while Lankans made  347 & 61/4 as also that famous Chepauk Pongal Test in 1975.  .. .. reasons !!

Steve Waugh (10); Rahul Dravid (10); Sachin Tendulkar (90); Michael Slater (9); Alwin Issac Kalicharan (8), AB de Villiers (8); Inzamam ul Haq (8) top that list – players with highest 90s.  Getting a ton is every batsmen’s dream.  Some one getting out in 90s is sad but getting stranded at 90s is sadder still.

‘nervous nineties’ is oft heard in Cricket.  It is a sort of  analysis paralysis, felt by a batsman when he has scored more than 90 runs in an innings, and is nervous because of the pressure and desire to convert it to a milestone century.   Batsmen tend to bat in a more conservative manner when they are close to their century, in order to avoid getting out and thus missing out on the milestone. Batsmen dismissed on 99 are considered the unluckiest of the nervous nineties victims.  Fielders could be sledging, opposing Captain would make changes in the field, bowling and do all that to distract, delay and get the batsman out – and sometimes, your own team could fail you.   

On day 3, just before lunch - Washington Sundar was left agonisingly short of a maiden Test hundred but his unbeaten 96 helped India to carve out a dominant position in the fourth Test. Team India  lost their last three wickets without adding to the score, by that stage their first-innings lead over England had swelled to 160… .. and Washie was stranded at 96 in 174 balls with 10 fours and 1 six !  In his very short Test Career thus far (4 tests in 2021) he has seen in all – a good 62 in 1^st innings at Brisbane; cameo 22 and getting out to a bad shot in 2^nd at Brisbane when India won; 85* in tough circumstances at Chepauk; 0 & 0 at Ahmedabad in 3^rd test and 96* running out of partners today.  

Today there was no drama, India was increasing its lead with both Sundar and Axar looking composed and making runs in their 8^th wicket stand of 106.   Axar made 43 [statistically scoring more runs than his test wickets now at 22 !!] ..  suddenly in a gush – Patel was out of crease looking for a non-existent single, Jhonny Bairstow caught him marginally out of crease.  Then .. .. Ishant Sharma was out for a first ball duck to Ben Stokes and as one feared the worst, Mohammed Siraj was castled for a duck leaving Sundar stranded at 96 not out.

It was sad to watch Sundar nonplussed and not displaying any emotions at all as he acknowledged the applause on his way back to pavilion.  India has a good lead but that 4 runs were elusive !  

Getting back to that Colombo test in 1985, Dilip Vengsarkar was unbeaten on 98* when Indians were bowled out.  Then at Kandy in Aug 2001, Sourav Ganguly too was stranded at 98* .. .. and there was this classy 97* by Gundappa Viswanath at Chepauk on 11^th Jan 1975.  Any reference to Test No. 752 will flood memories of that  classy knock of Gundappa Viswanath -  great bowling of Andy Roberts and the defeat (100 runs at that) suffered by Clive Lloyd against Pataudi led Indians in 1975.  Those days Pongal tests were great festivities and tension would build up couple of days before the match – India opening with Eknath Solkar and FArokh Engineer – lost both and were 24/2; Gaekwad went cheaply, so did MAK Pataudi; (41/4); Ashok Mankad hooked Roberts -  at 76/6 Mankad and Madanlal too gone, Vishy had only the tail – whether it was Andy Roberts 20.5-5-64-7 or the fluent 97 n.o. of Vishy that was brilliant will be an endless debate.  Roberts was to take another 57/5 in the second innings too. 

Well played Sundar .. ..sure you would get to that maiden Test hundred sooner !

 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

6.3.2021.

Nation inoculates its people - vaccines made available to citizens easily

I love My Nation – Mera Bharat Mahan hai ! .. .. I appreciate and thank millions of Health workers; I appreciate TN Govt, CM, Health Minister and Health Secretary.  I thank and appreciate our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, our Central Govt and officials for the way they have handled Corona.  Initially there were reports that rich countries with their improved medical care and riches would handle Covid well, while 3^rd world countries would find it extremely to contain the spread and provide health care for its citizens.

India has with the strategic plans, implementation and strict lockdown in the initial days has contained Corona well.  .. .. now Vaccines have come and the way India is handling it – distributing life-saving drugs to so many countries and in seamless distribution across the Country has really stood out.  The world's largest vaccination drive in India, which began on January 16, has cumulatively inoculated over 1.63 crore people, as of March 3. President Ram Nath Kovind,  Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, Mr Rajnath Singh, aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri,  and the likes of veteran cricketer Kapil Dev were also administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.

For so many decades – life was simple – individuals had their own problems but collectively we only thought of inflation, price rise, and something like that .. 2020 changed the way, the Globe thought and lived !  ..  Corona .. threatened humanity as it wiped out millions.   The sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League has been postponed after a spate of positive Covid-19 tests - as many as seven players or officials have now returned positive tests in less than a week. Last season, as the pandemic began, the league had to cut short its fifth season, although it rescheduled the remaining matches and staged them in November 2020. This season has seen instances gradually build before the dramatic events of today eventually forced the tournament to be suspended, with less than half of its 34 games completed. Here is a timeline of how events came to a head.

Tamil Nadu recorded 489 positive cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state tally to 8,52,967. Among these, Chennai reported 184 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,36,072. The state recorded two deaths on Wednesday, putting the state toll at 12,504. Both of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 494 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 8,36,473. Ever imagined these numbers a few months back ? ? ?

Globally 11,51,28,349 people had been affected by Covid 19 with 25,58,059 deaths.  USA tops the list with 2,88,04,121 / 5,18,079; followed by India 1,11,56,923/ 1,57,435; Brazil 1,07,18,630 / 2,59,271; Russia, 42,30,705/85,901; United Kingdom  41,94,785/ 1,23,783 deaths. Globally, the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has affected more than 115 million people, as per the John Hopkins Covid-19 tracker.

Miles away, the UK vaccine programme has entered the second part of its first phase after everyone in the first four priority groups - those aged 70 and over, care home residents, healthcare workers and people required to shield - were offered a jab by mid-February. The rollout is now being expanded to include those aged 60 and above and those with underlying health conditions. The rest of the over-50s will follow, with the government aiming to offer everyone in priority groups five to nine a jab by 15 April.

Across the globe, as could be read and understood, it is so tough to get vaccination.  In UK – one needs to complete   vaccine request form, and get added to the database of those requesting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.     The database will allow Health authorities to  send invitations for vaccine appointments based on the recommended phased distribution.  Each day, UK HealthCare will assess the individual requests based on their priority as outlined above. Once your request is prioritized, you will receive your invitation and will be able to select a date and time to receive your vaccine.

Back home the Union Govt with its strategic management has ensured that vaccines are available for the masses and that too free in Govt centres; at a very low cost in nominated Private hospitals.  The COVID vaccine was launched on 16th January, 2021. The first group was intended only for  healthcare and frontline workers. The second group was to be persons  over 60 years of age as of January 1st, 2022 and persons between 45 and 59 years with comorbid conditions. This group  became eligible for vaccinations from March 1st 2021

.. .. .. and now it is so freely available in Chennai that I just walked in and had my jab within half an hour. Today I walked in to a Corporation Health Centre – it was so well organized and such a simple process.  Walk in with Aadhar and another ID proof – for 60+ that completes the process.  For 45 – 59 some proof of their comorbidity, as simple as a medical prescription .. .. .. few minutes of waiting, 2 second painless jab, 10 tablets of Paracetamol (in case one gets fever or pain), 30 mins of waiting and .. .. .. need for another visit after 28 days for the 2^nd dose .. .. can it be more simple anywhere else in the World.

Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary. However, it is advisable to receive the complete schedule of COVID-19 vaccine for protecting one-self against this disease and also to limit the spread of this disease to the close contacts including family members, friends, relatives and co-workers.  More than 1.63 crore people have received  coronavirus vaccine in India so far. While there has been no case  of  any adverse effect on anyone, some recipients have reported some side-effects or mild illness. A large number of experts have underlined that these are expected in a small number of cases — and that these ought not to dissuade people from taking the shot.  Dr Shashank Joshi, member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force, said both the vaccines being used in India, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield, a version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, are absolutely safe — and minor side-effects are expected in some cases, not just for these particular vaccines, but any other vaccine as well.

Here is some do’s and don’t’s  extracted from the Indian Express of date :

Before vaccination

·         In case a person has allergies to medication, or drugs, it is important to get an all-clear from a medical practitioner. A complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), or Immunoglobulin-E (IgE) levels can be checked under medical advice.

·         One should eat well and take medicines, if prescribed, ahead of vaccination. One should try to be as relaxed as possible; counselling can help people who are feeling anxious.

·         People with diabetes or blood pressure need to keep these in check. Cancer patients, especially those on chemotherapy, must act on medical advice.

·         People who have received blood plasma or monoclonal antibodies as part of Covid-19 treatment, or those who have been infected in the last one and a half months are advised to not take the vaccine right now.

After vaccination

·         A recipient of the vaccine is monitored at the vaccine centre itself to guard against any immediate severe allergic reaction. People are allowed to leave only after it has been ascertained that this is not the case.

·         Side effects like pain at the injection site and fever are common. This is no reason to panic. Some other side effects like chills and fatigue might also be expected, but these go away in a few days.

 

Vaccines teach our immune system how to recognise and fight an external threat — in this case, the virus that causes Covid-19. It typically takes a few weeks after vaccination for the body to build protection (immunity) against the virus.  This means that a person could still get infected by Covid-19 in the few days immediately following the vaccination, because the person would not have had enough time to develop immunity.  Therefore, basic precautionary measures must be followed even after vaccination. Face masks, hand hygiene, and physical distancing in public places must not be abandoned just because a vaccine has been taken. Cough/sneeze etiquette also needs to be followed.

Hail our Nation, Appreciate our front line fighters – the health workers, appreciate TN Health Dept (Minister, Secretary and others)- appreciate the State and Central Governments.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
~from a humble Nation loving citizen
4.3.2021.