Tiger Tiger burning bright.

These covid days are full of surprises, pleasant and unpleasant. One day, when I came home from work, there was an acrid smell of smoke in the air. Fearing there might be a short circuit in the wiring system of the house, I ran all over the place looking for a loose connection with sparks flying in a thick cloud of smoke. There was none to be found. But, the smell of the smoke pervaded everywhere.

I knew that something was burning somewhere, hidden from view, lurking in the dark, surreptitiously working up a very nasty surprise!! My five sense organs could not localise the source of the smell. I was beginning to get worried. It was about to be dark soon. There was no one at home too.

However, the nature of the smell kept on indicating that it was not some dry grass or firewood. It had a chemical and a plastic component to it. Thus, my sensors were always pointing towards a short circuit in the electrical wiring of the house. But, none was to be found.

Once again, I thoroughly checked all the rooms one by one...the main fuse, the various wires coming out of it, the generator area, the water pump area, the storeroom, bathrooms, kitchen, children's playroom, TV room, bedrooms, drawing room, every possible inch in the house but to no avail.

Then, I took a deep breath. This time, I could sense something peculiar in the nature of the smell of the smoke...there was a kind of petrol or diesel smell in it...now, my mind was not going towards an arson using these inflammable substances...but, I knew certain chemicals which were based on these hydrocarbons. The insecticides and pesticides!

Voila!! It is covid time, isn't it? Full of surprises.. pleasant and unpleasant! Well, the unpleasant thought of a fire lurking somewhere in the house was easily quelled by one bright realisation...and that is...THE AREA HAD BEEN FOGGED!! ....which meant that it was cleansed of most of the harmful organisms...what a pleasant surprise!!

Later on, neighbours told me that fogging had been done in the afternoon and I smiled in peace. The battle with the dreaded disease continues despite a little diversion like this one!!