Chaotic times

It is really like life in a Robin Cook story, a sleazy production of one, at least. Everywhere I turn, masks assault the eyes, in various sizes, transparencies and colours.
People rushing about their jobs, or loitering around, all with this new accessory on their faces. Pretty soon I am expecting someone to launch couture versions of these infernal eye-sores. Hyderabadis being the Bling-loving, ostentatious, fun-loving people that they are, this isn't going to be a deterrent to their lives, for very long. There is talk of shutting down the Malls, I shudder to even think of such an eventuality. Kameeney's coming out this Friday, for crying out loud.
Jokes apart, the numbers are rising, people are dropping like flies, it's almost as if the Virus is carrying out a personal vendetta. Containing the virus in a country like ours is going to be an impossible task, the people are largely illiterate, likely to panic at the first given opportunity, then there is that small group of people, (let us call them entrepreneurs, for want of a better word) that will hoard up on medications, make a killing (sic!) on the black-grey market, a few doctors are going to get beaten up, a few ministers will be given the ever-novel opportunity of airing their empty brains on a global stage, the teeming masses, everyday on the increase, the up-coming festive season, the insurmountable difficulties in implementing any public welfare programme of any kind, throw in a few communal clashes in between, (Why? when did we ever need a reason to behave like animals?), and you have it,,,,,The Swine Flu Effect in India...Trust me, there will never be a grander show for many years to come!
On top of all this chaos, when people are looking for any excuse to be happy, there are even a few like me, who try and find solace between the pages of a book, but thanks to people like Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, even that seems like a distant dream.
I was re-reading one of my childhood favourites, "Pollyanna", a book I like, for the optimism and the simple, almost magical solutions it offers, to some of life's problems, when I came across one of the lady's articles in a leading daily, where she tore into this book and several other favorites as well, making them sound like books designed with the single purpose of enslaving women all over the world, managing to find so-called "loop holes" in their plots, not even sparing authors like Susan M Coolidge and L Alcott,,,,.
I am amazed how a few lewd lines about an imaginary lifestyle gives someone the literary acumen to critique these great books.
For those who have read books like "Little Women", "What Katy did", and the "Anne" series, you will know why I am enraged. These books gave me countless hours of innocent pleasure when I was younger, and I still go back to them from time-to-time,, reading that stupid article made me feel like someone just abused my childhood friends, and that is not a very pleasant sensation.