THERE is a kind of a lull in the non-stop chess game that’s played by different players in any specific power scenario. After the visit of US President Donald Trump and the spread of Covid-19, even the most powerful of men (who believe themselves to be Gods) have taken a pause, slowed down, and are pondering about the next chess piece that they are likely to touch. This time, it will be a while before the game resumes. For all we care, you, as the reader, may not even get to know or understand the next few moves, especially since there is a face-off, a cold political war, between powerful adversaries. At the moment though, the orders and diktats come from one quarter, or rather than centre of this world. And so be it because no one in politics, power, and play has dealt with a Coronavirus-like crisis before. There are no pre-existing solutions to deal with it, no texts that one can refer to, no leader that one can emulate. A new white paper has to be written from scratch. Hence, even the influencers are willing to listen to the one man in control. He, and his trusted officers, speak, and their words are immediately translated into reality by the relevant ministries and departments. Even the senior ministers have no clue about what comes next. All they can do, and this is always true, is gossip. This time it is about the conspicuous absence of the ‘God’ of North Block, and the emergence of another ‘God’ of South Block. The ‘Big Leader’ is aware of the absence of his man Friday. Has the latter been quarantined and locked down because of political viruses? But this is not the time to settle scores, not in the midst of a never-seen-before global calamity. However, the hidden paradoxes and complications of the understated power struggle remain. They simmer, unless they can emerge in public. Or possibly, remain dormant! But an exchange between North Block and South Block is inevitable – it is not a matter of if, but when, and is likely sooner than later.