A Crocodile Caller, One for the Road and the Proverbial Point

In a While, Crocodile

Thachiyath Sabu’s family in Thrissur district, Kerala, couldn’t have guessed the excitement in store for them on 9 December, when Sabu’s wife opened the doors of their home, early morning. The stray dogs had been making quite a racket, or that’s what she thought. What she saw next, made her scream. Her husband rushed out to check, only to be greeted by a crocodile chilling on his courtyard. No one likes an uninvited guest, and if a crocodile’s come calling you have little choice but to amp up efforts to get it out of the house. Sabu dialled his neighbours and the forest department, who were able to safely lead the reptile back to his natural habitat.

Source: Deccanherald.com

Give Them Blood ...

… and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will treat you to a kilo of chicken or paneer—depending on what you eat, or don’t eat. Organized by Shiv Sena leader, Samadhan Sada Savarkar, posters advertising this trade-off sprung up all across Mumbai. The blood donation drive aimed to collect 1,000 units of blood. With the Indian Red Cross Society raising an alarm in early April 2019 that voluntary blood donations have fallen by almost 100 per cent—owing to coronavirus fears and lockdown restrictions—this blood-barter may just be the ‘positive’ push we could all use.

Source: Timesnownews.com

The Proverbial Point

Amidst the ongoing stand-off between the farmers camped at Delhi borders and the Centre, protests took a creative turn—with a section of protestors conveying the Hindi metaphor, Bhaais ke aage been bajana (the equivalent of ‘wasting pearls on pigs’) quite literally. The musical protest featured a buffalo bearing a ‘Central government’ placard and an enthusiastic performer playing his heart out on the snake-charmer’s flute. We don’t know where the protests are headed, but these farmers aced the proverbial game for sure.

Source: ANI

Pour Me Another One

When it comes to tipple, attempts to curb appetite via legislation have often left administrations ‘high and dry’. The National Family Health Survey 2019–20 numbers are in, and the states with prohibition in place have outdone themselves —‘dry’ Manipur ranks third in alcohol consumption in the country and Bihar, out-drinks both Maharashtra and Goa, states where liquor isn’t illegal. General prohibition seems to have done little damage to their spirits. All we can say is cheers!

Source: e-pao.net, intoday.in

The Can-do Spirit

Union minister Ramdas Athawale of ‘Go, Corona Go’ fame personifies the lesson in self-confidence we would do well to emulate. Despite the coronavirus case numbers being what they are, along with news of a new mutant super-spreader strain in the virus, and the fact that he tested positive for the virus, Athawale stands firm in his belief that his war cry is the reason COVID-19 cases are subsiding. “I gave the ‘Go Corona, Go slogan and the virus is now going,” he says. If you are indeed willing to go along with Athawale’s suspension of disbelief, he says we are looking at being corona-free in the next “six to seven months”. We cannot vouch for the minister’s claims, but thumbs-up for the self-belief.

Source: mumbaimirror.com