With these swords we fight and feel like Samurai warriors!

At the outset I offer my sincere apologies to the great Samurai warriors for using their name in this article which is about our war against disease. I have read about Samurai warriors and watched a number of movies about them and I have great fascination and respect for them. In this article, simply to emphasize how we are taking care of our family almost on daily basis I am making a comparison with the Samurai fighters. I request fans of Samurai warriors not to take offence.

Our house is close to a huge lake, Hussain Sagar, the banks of which are a big breeding ground for mosquitoes. The plants, trees and stagnant water en-route and in surrounding buildings aggravates mosquito menace in our area. To prevent mosquitoes from invading our house we have all our windows covered with washable nylon net mesh. Because of this mosquitoes cannot enter our house through the windows but as and when we open the main entrance door or the one to the backyard however briefly; few mosquitoes manage to enter the house. Using the very pungent chemical mosquito and insect spray in the entire room or rooms to get rid of one or two mosquitoes and keeping the room shut for several hours until the smell fades off is not to our liking. Tortoise mosquito repellent coils are also not to our liking as they too are smelly and let off too much smoke. Instead we use the electric plug-in mat and liquid mosquito repellents 24X7 in all rooms though they are not very efficient. Sometimes we have a feeling that the mosquitoes in our area are becoming immune to these repellents.

Now and then we find a mosquito or a family of theirs hovering around us or in front of the PC or TV screen or when we hear their buzzing sound we use the electrically charged mosquito rackets or swatters you see in the bottom two pictures. All that we have to do is waive these rackets like the Katanas of the Samurai; directly against the mosquitoes or blindly in the air and it is instantaneous death to the mosquitoes…just a flash and crackle and it is total incineration of the enemy.

All members of our family have become experts in the use of our modern Katanas and enjoy using them and feel like Samurai warriors! Time has not yet come for us to wear the attire and armour of the Samurai; to combat this dangerous enemy! And hope it will never.