Ubaidullah Pandit (عبيدالله پنڈت)

Italy is in pain right now. Rome has fallen to its and world’s enemy. Italian physicians were the first in history to come up with the idea that diseases might be caused by invisible contagious agents. They were also among the pioneers of the germ theory. But today the country has been brought to its knees. Why? Human failings and human stupidity are to blame.  Not knowing their exact nature, the French microbiologist Andre Lwoff defined viruses in negative terms and negative statements. By that I don’t mean that he issued a value judgment regarding them, but described them in terms of lacking some identifiable characteristics. In a somewhat similar vein, I’ll say a few things about the Coronavirus outbreak vis-à-vis human stupidity.  In that connection, I want to mention here another Italian called Carlo M. Cipolla, an economist and historian, who has written a humorous essay on Human Stupidity. He has drawn up a list of the Laws of Human Stupidity which, I think, might...

I had bought her a ring. But then we each had to buy us a ring With four walls and four locks, But no kissing of hands or meeting of hearts. March couldn’t let us meet, As it was the march of disease. Though the next quarter begins, April still looks grim and bleak. May may still feel distant and dream, But her birth in the month will be God’s vaccine.  We’ll meet again on breezy banks of Dal, Breaking free of all walls and all locks.