Back To Normal? Well, Almost

바카라�Ideally, the two matches would have been a sellout,바카라� admits TNCA secretary R.S. Ramasaamy. He measures it, like all of us do, against other potential zones of risk. 바카라�Cinema halls have been permitted full occupancy바카라�up from fifty per cent바카라�so why not cricket stadiums? It바카라�s at least open air,바카라� says Ravikumar, a cricket fan. The authorities look, instead, at the prospect of a crowd of 50,000 jostling to get into stadiums, its food stalls, toilets.... 바카라�One cannot enforce social distancing strictly, you reduce the risk only by red­ucing the number of heads at any event,바카라� explains a health official.

This is the half-minded way in which India is going 바카라�Uncovided바카라�. The arrival of the vaccine and a presumed herd immunity among urban populations have upped the confidence of the general public that the Covid threat is behind us. Is it really? We can ask that later. For now, many schools are open and the kids are bustling about. Infra projects are no longer devoid of labour, the flights are bringing them back wholesale. 바카라�This complacency can only help the virus rebound with greater vigour, especially the new variants. The new normal still has to follow the mantras,바카라� cautions Tamil Nadu health secretary Dr J. Radhakr­ishnan.

The new normal is indeed a cautious normal. The elderly still eschew social events. 바카라�We do not see as many of them at local temples or at Sunday masses,바카라� says a police officer. Playing safe is still the motto in 2021바카라�especially so in hospitals, where they admit in-patients only in a transit ward before they test negative for Covid. 바카라�Only emergency cases call for direct admission, but during that period the patient will be tested for Covid,바카라� says a doctor of a private hospital. What about the farmers바카라� agitation, you ask? Or the thousands gawking at Bangalore바카라�s air show? Has herd immunity arrived unknowingly? Half of India seems to be betting on that.

G.C. Shekhar in Chennai

SPORTS

Ways To Open Fields

The crowd바카라�s frenetic clapping and the orchestrated roars (and effusive boos) you have heard on the telecasts in the past one year are, mostly, not real. As COVID-19 bit into sports schedules across the world, eeriness descended on mammoth sports arenas. The early casualties were Wimbledon 2020, and the Tokyo Olympics, postponed to July this year. Others were delayed바카라�the French Open took place in September, and the England vs West Indies Test series, pushed to July, took place in spectator-less stadia. A similar silence descended on the Bundesliga, which took to the field amidst the pandemic, in May, and the stuttering starts to the Serie A and the English Premier League (both in September). Though both the latter leagues have allowed some spectators back in, their fate depends on the waxing and waning of the pandemic. The brave athletes who ventured out to play during the early stages of 바카라�unlockdown바카라� had to run the gauntlet of strict bio-bubbles바카라�stories of their confined state at the Australian Open and the IPL (postponed to October, and held in the UAE) are legion. Though harried organisers strove to artificially amplify the ambience for lonely players and TV audiences--cardboard audiences in Europe, sex dolls in Korean stadia and recorded stadium buzz for IPL guzzlers바카라�a lurking fear is all-pervasive. No wonder, authorities in Tokyo have banned all foreign visitors from the Olympics. In the past few weeks, the process to steadily get to a more controlled return to outdoor activities involving spectators is underway in all sports. It comes as a relief to athletes who can break out from mentally challenging bio-secure environments. Yet a whimsical virus still controls world sports. Cricket played a leading role in ensuring that fans return to live events. After the ODI series against South Africa was called off in March last year, fans returned to the Chepauk, in Chennai, during the second India vs England Test in February. They turned up in big numbers at the third and fourth Tests in Ahmedabad (picture above) too.

The success of hosting the Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the India vs England series without a single Covid-positive report has given BCCI the confidence to host IPL 2021 at home, from April 9 to May 30. The IPL will, however, be played minus fans, at least initially. The success of hosting a Covid-free IPL at home will also give ICC the message that India is ready to host the World T20 in October-November. Remember, scheduled in Australia for October-November, it was cancelled.

Even as Tokyo displays a 바카라�cast-iron will바카라� to host the Olympics in July-August, Indian athletes are trying to qualify. Top badminton stars P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth all need qualifying points to make the cut. As for the others, veteran wrestler Sushil Kumar may not make it to a third Olympics, the prodigious Hima Das is unsure of running her favourite 400m, Dutee Chand is in a dilemma and gymnast Deepa Karmakar is miles away from exhibiting her 바카라�Produnova바카라� in Tokyo. The dispiriting list continues with table tennis players Sharath Kamal and Man­ika Batra, veteran archer Bombayla Devi and women바카라�s weightlifter Mirabai Chanu. With no action for almost a year, national federations have organised camps, but quality competitive tournaments­, the gold standard, have been lacking. Consequently, athletes are yet to hit top form too. Taking a cue from foreign leagues, the All India Football Federation kicked off the ISL on November 20 at three venues in Goa바카라�India바카라�s first major live sporting action post lockdown. The I-League also started in Calcutta on January 9.

The wrestling, boxing and hockey teams, which have qualified for Tokyo, are in a more relaxed state of mind after being able to travel overseas and play practice matches. The top boxers have just played in an international tournament in Spain and the wrestlers have had mixed success in Rome. The Indian women바카라�s hockey team bec­ame the first national team to travel overseas, to Argentina, in January. And over a year after playing its last international match, the men바카라�s hockey team embarked on a 17-day tour of Europe, where India played against Germany and Great Britain.

Can our sportspersons let their guard down? A parliamentary body has suggested that Tokyo-bound athletes should get the vaccine on priority. Given their hectic schedule, cricketers should, too. Vaccines have emerged as true enablers of sports taking its first dithering steps towards normality.

Soumitra Bose

Education

With Satchel and Shining Morning Face

After several months of closure since March last year due the coronavirus pandemic, schools across the country have started reopening under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Schools were ­reopened first for students of classes 9 to 12바카라�in Delhi, Odisha and some other states for classes 10 and 12, ahead of board exams this year. In the wake of declining Covid cases, several states then went on to reopen schools for ­students of classes 6 to 8 as well.

Since last November, the Uttar Pradesh government has gradually reopened schools for all classes. Students of classes 1 to 5 in the state started coming back to school from March 1. In Andhra Pradesh, the state government allowed ­reopening of schools for all students from February even though the state had seen several teachers and students testing ­positive for Covid following the reopening of the higher classes in previous months.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recently advised its affiliated schools to consider starting the next ­academic session (2021-22) from April 1, 바카라�to the extent feasible, subject to the instructions of the state governments바카라�.

While the states are gearing up to make up for the academic losses that the ­students suffered due to the pandemic-ind­uced closure of classrooms, a sudden spurt in Covid cases in Maharashtra and Kerala has prompted some of them to shelve their plans to resume all classes바카라�from primary to higher secondary. For ­example, the Odisha government wanted to reopen schools for classes 1 to 8 from February, but following the spurt in cases in Maharashtra and Kerala, it decided to wait and watch.

Though parents are divided in their views on the reopening of schools, the majority of schools, teachers and even students want resumption of classes from the academic session starting April. 바카라�Schools should reopen. I am not able to properly understand many of the topics in the online classes. There are several problems with online classes, including internet connectivity ­issues,바카라� says Sneha, a student of class 8 at a private school in Janakpuri, Delhi.

Prajodh Rajan, co-founder and group CEO of EuroKids International, says reopening of schools is crucial at this stage for the ­uninterrupted holistic development of ­children. 바카라�It has been close to a year since schools were shut, and children, especially in the early age group, missed crucial years of learning and development, which is not limited to the merely academic, but also ­includes emotional, social and life-skills ­development.바카라�

Prakash Kumar

TEMPLES

No Distance From God

In  a state where there is a temple every few kilometres, the Odisha government had a tough time resisting calls for their reopening. The association of temple priests resorted to beating of cymbals across the state at the same time on a particular day to press their demand. Devotees too did their bit to put pressure on the government to open the doors of the temples, especially the more famous ones like the Jagannath temple in Puri, the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, the Biraja temple in Jajpur and the Akhandalamani temple at Aradi, which had remained shut since March last year. With the pressure mounting, the state government finally reopened the Puri temple, the biggest and most frequented of them all, in the last week of December and other temples soon after, but with restrictions.

With devotees thronging the temples in droves, it soon ­became apparent that some of the restrictions바카라�like a recent Covid-negative certificate and no entry for people older than 60바카라�had to be jettisoned in next to no time. Social distancing went for a toss as crowd control became increasingly difficult, though measures like queues and hand sanitisation ­before darshan were enforced for devotees. Given the people바카라�s mood, shutting down temples again was simply not an option. Mercifully, there has been no spurt in Covid cases after the doors of the temples were thrown open바카라�at least not so far. Though devotees feel the temples could have been reopened earlier than they were, a Jagannath temple ­official says it was done at the right time. 바카라�Our decision has been vindicated by the experience since then,바카라� he says.

Other parts of the country are also facing similar dilemmas. A big challenge will be the large crowds expected at the Kumbh mela at Haridwar바카라�s Ganga ghat in April, which will see unprecedented measures in place such as a 20-minute limit on baths and mandatory medical fitness certificates for ­pilgrims coming from outside the state.

Sandeep Sahu

RESTAURANTS

Meals Ready

After months of lockdown and restrictions, people are ­eating out again. 바카라�The scenario is not entirely the same as it was in pre-Covid times, but there is a significant positive shift in footfall, and restaurateurs are hopeful things will turn out to be in their favour and at a good pace,바카라� says Ankit Mehrotra, CEO and co-founder, Dineout. 바카라�We had the perfect start for 2020 with a successful Great Indian Restaurant Festival, and also ­celebrated our eighth anniversary, which only a handful of start-ups have been able to achieve in the Indian ecosystem. The months that followed were unprecedented for the restaurant ­sector, which suffered a severe downfall like never before. But it is now emerging from months of shutdown by fundamentally ­altering its operations and setting new standards.바카라�

In December 2020 alone, Dineout clocked Rs 100 crore worth of transactions. 바카라�Overall, the market sentiment is around 50 per cent of what it was a year ago, but as our brands have credibility with customers and they feel comfortable with the processes we follow, we see the footfall vary between 50 per cent and ­almost 100 per cent across our brands,바카라� says A.D. Singh, founder and managing director, Olive group of restaurants.

According to Vishal Anand, director, Moonshine Food Ventures, recovery is slower in Gurgaon than in Delhi because corporate get-togethers constituted a substantial chunk of the restaurant business in Gurgaon and that has completely dried up. 바카라�And while the younger generation has started dining out more, those with elders at home are still avoiding it,바카라� he says.

Truly, 2020 was a watershed year that gave new dimensions to the hospitality industry and made it streamline its operations for maximum efficiency. With the Indian Food & Beve­ra­ges space adapting to the new normal, restaurants, bars and hotels are trying new ways to assure safety and win back the trust of the consumer, navigating through rules and regulati­ons to step up their game. Safety masks, gloves and sanitisation in restaurant premises have become a norm. 바카라�With our 2021 mission to ­support the revival and growth of dining out in India, we aim to act as a catalyst in technology adoption at restaurants across India, ensuring the safety of diners,바카라� says Mehrotra.

According to the Dineout app, 58 per cent of Indians prefer to go out for dinner rather than ordering in. Madhav Sehgal, general manager, Andaz Delhi, says guests have started visiting F&B outlets that have put in place enhanced ­hygiene protocols, and consumption of immunity-boosting, plant-based and local products has also increased immensely. 바카라�All our restaurants offer digital menus, sanitation kit with cutlery and QR payment mode, and are running at 50 per cent capacity due to the distancing norms,바카라� says Sonica Malhotra, joint ­managing director, Radisson Blu, Noida.

Vinesh Gupta, general manager of The Den, Bangalore, says they have re-designed their restaurant layout with diagonal seating instead of close seating in order to offer 바카라�safe, secure and stress-free dining to our guests바카라�. Restaurants have also revam­ped menus to focus more on immunity-boosting items. 바카라�The new menus boast of immunity-boosting delectables packed with vitamins and antioxidants such as turmeric-lemon naans and drinks like lemongrass shots or turmeric latte,바카라� says Jaasjyot Surri, CEO and co-founder, SJI Hospitality and Foods Private Limited.

Lachmi Deb Roy

MALLS

Watch The Shop

It바카라�s been a tough 12 months for shopping malls바카라�one report by Mumbai-based property consultancy Anarock says out of 54 new malls expected to be launched in 2020 across Indian cities only five had materialised. The scenario at malls already operating was no less grim. Coming out of a pandemic-induced lockdown, it바카라�s been a long, slow road to get the footfall up and running again. Of late, the news seems to be a tad more cheerful바카라�most reports from the big cities suggest that shoppers are back. Though business hasn바카라�t yet reached pre-Covid levels, there바카라�s been improvement and the momentum has held since the Diwali festive season through New Year and up to now.

Part of this is also because of the general winding down of restrictions바카라�in many offices, people are back to work. Of course, the large IT parks in Bangalore and elsewhere are yet to open up. But restaurants and multiplexes are functioning, and events too, under guidelines. 바카라�Today we find customers more comfortable following the precautions...they do not argue about why masks should be worn and do not hesitate to use hand sanitisers,바카라� says Gajendra Singh Rathore, senior centre director at Phoenix Marketcity in Bangalore. 바카라�They have accepted this as a new normal.바카라�

Footfalls at Rathore바카라�s mall have risen to about 75 per cent of the pre-Covid level. 바카라�Therefore, business is also back to about 80 per cent. It has taken us 10 months to reach there,바카라� he says and speculates that it will take a few more months for things to further stabilise.

Of course, in Bangalore, the tech sector is a critical element. 바카라�That바카라�s the gap which is still there and I바카라�m sure once IT is completely back, the economy, at least in Bangalore, will hit its previous numbers,바카라� says Rathore.

The irony that the IT hub worked round-the-clock while its streets shut down just past midnight has long been a complaint바카라�and the argument in favour of a vibrant nightlife. That got a partial fillip about five years ago when the closing time for bars and pubs and eateries was extended to 1 am.

Now, as things are slowly getting uncovided, the Karnataka government allowed shops and commercial establishments to stay open 24/7 in the city. That was a couple of months ago. The move was apparently aimed at boosting a post-Covid economic recovery. But businesses point out that unless the supporting infrastructure바카라�in this case, public transportation and security바카라�is in place, it won바카라�t be feasible to remain open all-night.

Rathore says his team has had to come up with novel ideas to re-assure customers바카라�initially, they offered a kerbside pickup service so that the shopper could pick up her merchandise without entering the mall, then a virtual shopping platform and a contactless foodcourt. 바카라�Today, about 45 per cent of people use only these while others have gone back to conventional ways of ordering.바카라�  

Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore

HOLIDAYS

Be Our Guest

A nation quarantined바카라�by the lathi in the beginning, by fear as the infection spread, by complete acceptance of a Machiavellian contract with life. Stay at home/work from home: a tradeoff to stay alive. Travel plans shelved, vacations lost, a summer wasted. Then autumn appeared, domestic travel allowed. Chafing under stifling restrictions, some took off like caged animals freed바카라�some took cautious steps outside. But everyone wanted to be someplace else바카라�any destination was more alluring than home. The hotels, holiday homes and homestays found hope again, as did taxis and dhabas. Staff in hazmat suits sprayed sanitisers; every attempt was made to bleach the coronavirus out of an industry hit hardest by the pandemic and lockdown. Hospitality was made hospitable again. Cut-price offers were made. The bookings trickled in, the till tinkled again. But the holiday infrastructure was not fully up on its feet. Short trips/stays were preferred바카라�a compulsion rather than a choice. Novelties in normal times became a norm. Those working fulltime from home set out to the hills, jungles and beaches, renting out private homes or resorts for a month, or two or three바카라� Staycation. As welcoming to fun-loving families as it is to carousing bachelors.

Among the tentative-starters was travel content creator Ankita Kumar of Bangalore. First she explored the backyard바카라�places around her home city. Stayed in quaint cabins in the woods where any contact with strangers is near-impossible. Then she travelled to Sikkim, Darjeeling, Goa, Kerala, Delhi and Uttarakhand. 바카라�I would do only road trips initially. Now that I step out of the state, I maintain social distancing, sanitise my hands regularly, wear a mask and avoid touching surfaces as much as possible. A Covid RT-PCR test is a must before every trip. The tests are ­expensive, but a cost I have to bear as travelling is my job.바카라� The biggest handicap is that she has to stay away from ­locals바카라�the main source of her content.

A charming, isolated homestay in Chikmagalur drew Anushree Kini and her family out of their isolation in Bangalore. Emboldened, they went to Goa next. Kini stayed in independent villas. 바카라�We avoided big hotels since exposure levels would be higher.바카라� The fear of exposure drove the demand for private vacation homes. 바카라�We noticed bookings surge from 35-40 per cent in August to almost 80 per cent by October. During Diwali, it was 100 per cent,바카라� says Ankita Sheth, co-founder of Vista Rooms. Then there were those who were on workation바카라�working remotely from a holiday destination. Many chose to work out of vacation homes for days, weeks and even months on end. 바카라�If we compare the December 2019 sales with December 2020, the figures more than doubled,바카라� says Devendra Parulekar, founder of SaffronStays.

The industry quickly cottoned onto the post-lockdown traveller바카라�s preference for quick getaways and staycations at idyllic, secluded, driveable locations. 바카라�Our hotels near big cities are popular with guests. Udaipur, Ooty, Coorg, Nashik, Goa, Bekal etc. Hotels in these destinations have done extremely well,바카라� says Gaurav Pokhariyal, senior vice president with Indian Hotels Company Limited. And this summer, hoteliers predict, the free-spirited Indian would travel more, holiday more바카라�now that vaccines are available, people are being vaccinated. Hope comes inoculated.

바카라� Lachmi Deb Roy