My grandfather's uncles wife passed away a few days ago. He didn't go to the funeral because of the virus but whether he did or not, his entire family is in a state of what's called "maila" in Telugu, for the next 21 days. For 21 days, he's not supposed to touch anyone in the

house, anything in the kitchen/puja room and anything he does come in contact with is supposed to be laundered (bedsheets, towels, clothes, etc.). Even today, many orthodox families will sleep/sit on the floor, since sofas, mattresses etc. can't be washed. This got me thinking..

This is how our ancestors avoided the spread of disease. Many a time, the cause of death would not be known, and before the advent of antibiotics, no one could know the nature of (multiple) infections that people would be suffering from at the end of their life. communicability