Dinshaw Avari- Trying my Hand at Blogging!

April 29, 2020 COVID … COVID … COVID!  We will PREVAIL but that doesn’t mean we forget all other social ills ☹ . I don’t recall the source or location of this Twitter picture but KUDOS to the inventor for this simple ‘ garbage collector ’ system to capture debris, rubbish, flotsam, etc. So much of Karachi’s industrial waste, rubbish & sewerage finds its way into the Sea through its identifiable & controllable outlets & nalas (nala = stream).  There are manifold advantages to this simple model- ·         It’s cheap & easy to make - really, all it is, is a modified fishing net!  ·         Easy to set up & operate – the way I visualize it is that you place it over the city sewer and “stormwater drain” outlets where they discharge into the creeks & canals leading into the sea.  Not only will it contain all the debris, stopping its passage int...

April 26, 2020 REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B AVARI ON THE OCCASION TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th  BIRTHDAY on NOV 5, 1987- (4 of 12) “ Next day I went to Dr. Kanga's house for lunch and I was surprised to find that his wife had a boutique from which she was earning Rs. 100/- per month. After lunch, I asked her if she would instead like to earn over Rs.300/- per month. I trained her as an Insurance Agent for only one day. The next day, she brought insurance of Rs. 50,000/- from Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, the Grandfather of Miss Benazir Bhutto and earned a commission of Rs. 1500/- at the first shot. I had all the Punjabi and Parsi Agents in Karachi working for me and all did very good business and made very good money. I sent for my younger brother Rathan from Bombay to come and stay with me where he was attending a College, and as my Father had asked me to look after him because when my mother died he was only One year old. I got a two-bedroomed flat at a rent of Rs. 50/- per...

April 19, 2020 Well, we are in a Pandemic and it’s not really about “flattery”- it’s more about … COPY WHAT SEEMS TO WORK from past and current experiences, regardless of personal or political conflict, geographical boundaries or religion! So, what seems to be working? 1)       Mitigation strategies - a.        Scale up COVID tests & diagnosis- doing large number of lab diagnoses allow authorities to slow the spread of the infection by isolating known cases while they are infectious, enabling treatment to be administered at a far earlier stage b.        Increase easily available, random & free testing c.        “Test and trace for the high-at-risk groups”, which means increasing the manufacture of local test kits d.        Continue to maintain social distancing e.        Limit ...

April 7, 2020 ( This is a long article ) Pakistan does not have the resources to sustain a lengthy closure yet we can’t all come out “dancing on the streets”. However, I feel a four-pronged action is now the order of the day- continue with Coronavirus mitigation, restart limited commerce getting people back to work, the Government works on helping affected companies and uses funds to aid the unemployed (through registered NGOs). The views in this Paper are personal and formed with a combination of thoughts from family members, inhouse executives and a series of publications on incentives being created by European governments on COVID-19 mitigation (some bibliography at the end). COVID MITIGATION 1.        Government contracts local, reputed medical manufacturers to urgently manufacture N-95 masks for entire population. 2.        Isolate areas of city/towns where virus is dense and lock off those area...

April 2, 2020 (Image credit- https://images.app.goo.gl/kXaAvcuBG5UZQ4DN8 )  Life is all about experiences and based on those experiences, over time, your outlook towards life and the world forms & changes. Likewise, I too have become more philosophical, definitely more religious and have come to sincerely believe in (& follow) a saying we learnt from my father– “ Whatever happens, happens for the best; Whatever happens, happens the way God wants it to    because that’s the best way ” So when my sailing friends, Bill & Kate Gover invited me to cruise with them on ‘SY SENETO’ around the world ( https://billkatesail.wordpress.com/ ), I jumped at this opportunity for their Pacific leg.  About four weeks - a leisurely cruise - interspersed with squalls (and calm) – but nothing grueling like it would have been in a Clipper or Fastnet race. My wife Dinaz did - and my family would’ve - supported this 100%, as they have my other ...