Today I had been to a grocery shop with my daughter. Of course, the terror of "H1N1" has been spreading at a rapid pace. So I have been receiving lot of advice about trying to avoid all possible public places. But somehow, I feel very guilty if I do not take Tunga on her regular trips to her favorite park. So no matter what, we usually make our evening trip to the park.

Sorry for that diversion in the topic. So both of us had been to a grocery store near the park. Because of "H1N1", now a days it is not unusual to see people in masks. I noticed a couple of kids in masks in the store. From their tone, I recognized them to be a bro and a sis duo. They had their masks on and they also wore gloves. And then, I saw their mother. The sight somewhat shocked me. The "mother" did not seem to be from a well off family. Her blouse was torn and she had draped a saree with half-faded design. Her hands were not the cleanest and her hair was ruffled. She kept checking on her kids' masks and ensured now and then that they had them on correctly. She did not have a mask or a pair of gloves herself.

No, I donno if those masks and gloves were given to those kids by the school or if she spent her savings on them. But I found the whole scenario very touching.

There were two points in that whole situation that got my attention.

- When it comes to selflessness, no one can reach the zenith of a "mother".

- The panic and the terror "H1N1" has been creating everywhere. Lot of credit for this should go to our news channels. Thank God, these channels were not there when plague was around. Else the whole of the population would have fallen sick not because of plague itself but by panic. I really wish our journalists, especially TV journalists would focus on the number of people who are getting cured and going home safe.