Dinshaw Avari- Trying my Hand at Blogging!

May 30, 2020   (This is a long article) (photo credit- webmd.com) Since my last “diatribe” on this topic ( https://dinshawavari.com/2020/04/19/imitation-is-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery-further-ramblings-of-a-layman-covid-2/ ), we have opened a lot of our lockdown sectors, retail outlets, business, etc.     Now comes the question- has lockdown helped or not? 1.      Personally I believe that lockdown was an important strategy at the outset of this pandemic- however, it should have been all encompassing and stricter.  Our businesses have been closed for last two months instead of 2-3 weeks – and that is due to a “hybrid” system instead of “total” lockdown.   However, dynamics have changed.  Two months without income cannot sustain any economic band of society- it’s just not possible.  Giving credit where it’s due - to the State Bank and the Federal Government for supporting companies and businesses - is important but it isn’t e...

May 26, 2020 REPLY ADDRESS BY MR. DINSHAW B AVARI ON THE OCCASION TO COMMEMORATE HIS 85 th  BIRTHDAY on NOV 5, 1987- (5 of 12)   “ Mahatma Gandhi who made the British leave the Country, by his policy of non-violence, non-cooperation, asked all the Indians to stop insuring any foreign Life Insurance Companies. The result was that my business dwindled to such an extent that I had to make heavy inroads in my capital.  By 1945, I wanted to change the line of work.   Mr Wyseman was a friend of mine, and he was the Proprietor of the Bristol Hotel. My darling wife Khorshed used to like to eat English Food and so off and on, we went and had our meals there.   He told me that the British had decided to leave India and he would like to sell his hotel. He wanted Rs. 1 Lac for all the stock, name and fame, furniture, crockery, cutlery, glassware, linen, etc. but not the building which was a hired property from a Bori and a Hindu jointly.   In those days, th...

May 20, 2020 Yawn … Yawwn … YAWWNNNN 😴😴😴 It’s almost two months for our lockdown in Pakistan and working from home. The first month went well, working from home I mean. Started waking up at 7am, instead of 6 You find the time to exercise more                               Lounge in your shorts and socks                                              No shirt, just your vest (in my case, Sadrah)                                    ...

May 11, 2020   (photo credit- http://www.adventuretravelpakistan.com/ ) A friend from France wrote to me about the story of late Shiraz Nasir, a young entrepreneur in Pakistan, who set up one of the first tourism companies here- “Adventure Travel Pakistan”. He proved that no matter where you live, you must follow your dreams. He made so many foreigners fall in love with Pakistan and he was proof that his message went through.  Shiraz was even invited in May 2019 to Paris by UNESCO and the Pakistan embassy in Paris to give conferences on the tourism potential in Pakistan. Tragically, in August 2019, while paragliding in Chitral, turbulence caused Shiraz’s fatal accident! https://acenews.pk/ceo-of-adventure-travel-pakistan-falls-to-death-in-chitral/ https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/08/22/paraglider-passes-away-in-chitral-accident/ However, how many people actually know his story? It must be passed on to generations to inspire them.   Hen...

May 2, 2020 To arbitrarily attack the World Health Organization that it “flip flops” is unfair.  As WHO puts it- “ What it has done differently is it has very much relied on its relationship with its citizenry and the ability and willingness of its citizens to implement self-distancing and self-regulate ” ( https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/who-lauds-sweden-as-model-for-resisting-coronavirus-lockdown/ ).   Besides this, Sweden has issued rules for social distancing and encouraging working from home- they haven’t arbitrarily opened up their society. While that strategy seems to work for Sweden, Australia & New Zealand’s strategy of lockdown has worked for them ( https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/world/australia/new-zealand-coronavirus.html ) . So, WHO’s statement on Sweden’s strategy should not be taken out of context. Practically speaking, none of us alive today have EVER faced a pandemic like this in our lifetime.  Nations, leaders, scientists...