Waiting for Godot

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s March 24 announcement of a nationwide three-week complete lockdown to keep coronavirus at bay met with much enthusiasm and near-total compliance.  Seven weeks on, India’s mood about its consequences is far more sombre. The desperation of the walking migrants may not be shared by all, but a sense of foreboding about all our prospects prevails at large.

Clearly, the daily count of new infections and deaths has much to do with this. Experts say that the curve is not yet flattening and the peak may occur as late as mid-August.  If that were to happen and