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BUILDS HAPPY HOMESwomansera.comVol 45, Issue No. 1111

MARCH 2021

276185 Artic

lesCURD: THE MIRACLE FOOD!RAMZI

INTIMACY ISSUESRAMA CH0UHAN

84

Cookery

VIRTUAL REALITY ORCYBERSEXA. KARTIKEYAN

NEW FAMILY FAVORITE!

● New family favorite● Chicken taco soup● Caribbean style steamed fish● Vgrilled vegetable chicken kebabs● Slow cooked chicken stew● Mexican style stuffed peppers● Zucchini pizza● Gluten-free tomato pasta● Brussels sprouts with

honey musard chicken● One-pot chicken soup with

kale and white beans● Bell pepper zucchini

chicken stir-fry

DATE OF MARRYNIDHI JAIN

14SELF-MADE FEMALEBEAUTY MOGUL

36 THE DISTINCTLYMAJESTIC MAYFAIRHOTELS AND RESORTS

40 LOVE IS NOTENOUGHDR. SANJAY TEOTIA

44 NAAD WELLNESS-AYURVEDA,NATUROPATHY, YOGAKHUSHBOO JAIN

48 DEAL WITHIMPERFECTIONS!BUSHRA HUSSAIN KHAN

51 FISH SPA THEHARMFUL EFFECTS OFTHIS PEDICUREMANEKA SANJAY GANDHI

53 EMPATHY INHOLISTIC SPECIALEDUCATIONRAMA

55 GREEN AND ZEROWASTE : PUSH FORSUSTAINABLE BEAUTYSONAL BHATIA

64 26TH KIFF IN 2021SUDIPTO MULLICK

66 WHAT’S YOUR SEXUAL SIDE?DEEPSHIKHA PANDEY

68 “LEARNEDOPTIMISM”SUJATHA RAO

72 YOUNG LOVE ORINFATUATION?HIMSHIKHA SHUKLA

80 HOMELESS TEENS!RAMA

90 MEDITATIONDISHA SHARMA

94 FOOD HABITS FORYOUNG TEENSHIMSHIKHA SHUKLA

96 WHY SHOULD BOYSHAVE ALL THE FUN!HIMSHIKHA SHUKLA

100 BEEKEEPING ININDIAMANEKA SANJAY GANDHI

104 STAY YOUNGSUJATHA RAO

34TAKE IT HIGH

M. VINAYAK

The names of characters used in allfiction and semi-fiction articles arefictitious.

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Features

Fash

ion

28WORLD OF GLAM!

60 JUST AN EXPERIENCEBINAY PATHAK

76 SONGS OF SPRINGSOMEETA DAS

92 TRICKING A TEA LOVER!MUNIZA TARIQ

108 TIME PAYSNAUSHAD VALIYAKATH

BOHO TWIST!

SLAY THE STYLE

32 TODDLER TRENDS43 PERSONAL PROBLEMS50 BEAUTY QUERIES71 TEENACHE75 HE DIDN’T SPARE ME

(POEM)83 I AM PREGNANT99 YOUR BODY103 CHILD CHALLENGES111 KITCHEN QUERIES

67 HOW I SAVED MY MARRIAGE

70 MY MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE AS BRIDE

79 THE INCIDENT I CANNOT FORGET

112 HOW I MET MY HUSBAND

114 AS YOU SAY

Woman’s Era ● March 2021 5

Intimacy Issues

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Sexuality.By Roma Chouhan

We are not discussingindividuals who haveintercourse, again and

again, forced by a need toaccomplish specialized sexualflawlessness. Truth be told, OCD isbound to bring about a sexualcoexistence described by need asopposed to rehashed significantexhibitions. Here we talk aboutdifferent ways that OCD can meddlewith sexual ecstasy and pushcouples extremely close todissatisfaction. Living withObsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD) implies living with tediousand undesirable meddlesomethoughts—obsessions—that arestartling to the individualencountering them. The substanceof the obsession differs broadly. Forinstance, somebody with OCD mayencounter vicious musings andpictures (for example committingsuicide or others), explicitlyinterfering musings and picturesthat are upsetting (i.e., sexualconsiderations includingyoungsters, relatives, creatures,strict figures, and so forth), orungodly thoughts that conflict withsomebody's religion.

OCD's Impact on Sex andIntimacy

A few manners by which OCD canadversely affect somebody's sexualcoexistence and closeness mayinclude the following:● Sex might be utilized

enthusiastically to settle,demonstrate, or look for surenessabout obsessions and should beforestalled.

● Decreased moxie and a failure toclimax can result as a symptom ofmedicine used to treat OCD, orbecause of expanded tensionfrom the OCD, and may mess withthe individual's sexualcoexistence.

Regrettable Thoughts during Sex

Everybody encounters intrusivethoughts, however for thosemanaging OCD; the thoughts stickas a result of how their mind isrestless.

Individuals with OCD have ahyperactive dread community in themind that ships off bogus alertswhen risk is absent. For instance,think about the dread you feel whenyour alarm goes off in the middle ofthe evening and it's a boguscaution. This is the thing thathappens as often as possible forthose with OCD.

Loving someone with OCD ?Sexual issues brought about by

OCD can build anxiety in arelationship that is as of nowbearing the heaviness of the issue indifferent territories. Accomplices

might be baffled by the obviousabsence of sexual interest thatappeared by their cherished one. Itis essential to recollect that sexualbrokenness is a side effect of thedisease and doesn't mirror anabsence of affection or mindfulness.The individual with OCD may beexcessively overpowered withstresses to feel sexual.

Tension and discouragement Even though researcher’s

examinations propose that a fewsorts of nervousness mayencourage sexual sentiments (i.e.,watching a terrifying film, crossing ashaky extension), tension related tomental problems is by and largecorrespond to sexual brokenness.One explanation behind this is thatsignificant degrees of nervousnessmight be related to mentalinterruptions, (for example, stress,obsession, and hyper carefulness)that can meddle with sexualreacting.

ConclusionGetting proficient assistance for

OCD is a significant positivedevelopment, yet knows thattreatment can likewise add to theissue—at any rate from the start.Openness-based treatment for OCDmight be distressing, incidentallyadding to diminished interest in sex,and medicine can bring abouttroubles that might be animpermanent. Try to discover anadvisor with experience treatingOCD utilizing openness and customavoidance.

EVERYBODYENCOUNTERSINTRUSIVE THOUGHTS,HOWEVER FOR THOSEMANAGING OCD; THETHOUGHTS STICK AS ARESULT OF HOW THEIRMIND IS RESTLESS.

We

6 Woman’s Era ● March 2021

Curd is one of the leastcomplex yet delightful foodsources that can be burned-

through for what it's worth oradded to plans to get a tasty punchand velvety surface. A rich source ofproteins and minerals, the curd is asignificant probiotic food. It goesabout as a substitute for individualswho find it intense to process milk.As curd contains no lactose, it verywell may be devoured by individualswho are lactose-bigoted. Peruse onto think about the wellbeing andexcellence advantages of curd. Hereare the principle advantages ofcurd. In summer, curd assists withcooling our body normally andkeeps skin hydrated. It improves ourstomach-related wellbeing andhelps in losing weight. Curd hasvarious advantages which havemade it a staple food for us.

Health Benefits of Curd Curd is a typical yet marvellous

food that is accessible almost ineach family. With an incredible tasteand tremendous medicaladvantages on the stomach-relatedframework, strong immunity, skin,hair, and bones, the curd isdevoured around the world. It findsbroad use in weight reduction,bringing down circulatory strain andexpanding the pace of digestion. Ithas too demonstrated to be anormal coolant.

Improves Digestion As curd is a probiotic food, it

contains live microbes that areacceptable for our absorption.These microscopic organisms help

devouring more salt increments themeasure of sodium in the blood thatmakes overabundance water hardto arrive at the bladder.

Benefits of Curd for your face Curd isn't just valuable for our

wellbeing however has beenutilized as a magnificent item forquite a long time everywhere in theworld. With its remarkablesaturating and recuperatingproperties, the curd is utilized inpacks for firm skin and hair.

Curd likewise does someamazing things for dried skin. Ithelps in fixing broken skin bydelivering dampness to it. Lips andheels can be treated with curd toget great outcomes. For Healthyand Radiant Skin Burning-throughcurd day by day gives sound skinfrom inside.

As it is high in dampness, it keepsthe skin hydrated. Being a richprobiotic, when it is applied to theskin, it goes about as acharacteristic chemical that helps incleaning the skin completely.

Forestalls Dark SpotsAt the point when the curd is

applied on the skin, on the dullspots, under the eyes, it showsobvious outcomes. Curd deals withthese spots, and along withhydrating the skin and making itflexible, it helps in eliminating thedull spots. Burning-through curdconsistently assists with disposingof skin break-out spots from theinternal skin layer. Burning-throughcurd helps in making the skin gleamand lessens imperfections.

CurdThe miracle food!

Health benefits of eating andapplying curd on the skin. By Ramzi

in improving the wellbeing of ourguts and digestion tracts. It isknown to alleviate excited intestinallinings furthermore, ulcers. Helplessstomach-related wellbeing regularlybrings about swelling and weightacquire. Curd helps in decreasinggas development and treatsstomach upset. Particularly duringsummer, curd can be devoured eachday after food to maintain astrategic distance from heartburn.

More grounded Immunity Curd has demonstrated to

improve invulnerability in variousexaminations. Burning-througharound two cups of curd every dayhas shown great outcomes inimproving the insusceptibility ofblood by multiple times than thosenot devouring curd. Being probiotic,curd contains great microorganismsthat battle against the awfulmicroscopic organisms entering thestomach-related frameworkthrough food and accordingly helpsgastric invulnerability.

Brings down High BloodPressure, Curd is plentiful inminerals like Potassium andMagnesium. It is known that saltcontains sodium because of which

We

CinePlex

On January 11, AnushkaSharma and Virat Kohliembraced parenthood for

the very first time. The couplebecame parents to a baby girl.After the birth of their littlemunchkin, the two had requestedpaps not to click pictures of theirnewborn. Now, it has been 20 dayssince the arrival of their baby girl,and Virat and Anushka have finallyshared a picture of their little one.A while back, Anushka Sharma tookto her Instagram handle to sharethe first-ever picture of their babygirl and she also revealed the nameof their daughter.

Priyanka Chopra doesn’t seemlike she’s catching a breakanytime soon. Being dubbed

as the “first brand she has evercreated,” PeeCee is set to launch‘Anomaly’ on February 1,exclusively at Target stores in theUS. PeeCee’s hubby, Nick Jonaswas seen showering her with loveas he shared the following picture,featuring his wife on his Instagramstory, and wrote: “Congratulationson this incredible new venture,Priyanka Chopra.” Anomaly is aclean, sustainable, and affordablehair-care label, and the couplecan’t wait till it hits the stores!

Nick Jonas Congratulates Priyanka Chopra For Her New Hair CareLine Launching This February

First Pic Of Anushka Sharma And ViratKohli’s Daughter Is Here: Announces theName of Their Baby Girl

From Bollywood...Kapil Sharma and his wife GinniChatrath blessed with a baby boy

Deepika on Marrying Ranveer: He wasComfortable When I Was the Bigger Star,Earned More Money

Kapil Sharma and GinniChatrath is on cloud nineas the two become

parents for the second time. OnMonday morning, the couple wasblessed with a baby boy. KapilSharma and Ginni Chatrath whotied the knot in December 2018,already have a daughter namedAnayra. It was just a few days agothat the comedian had confirmedthat he and his wife Ginni areexpecting their second child.Kapil Sharma took to his Twitterhandle to announce the arrival oftheir second baby. He wrote,“Namaskaar we are blessed witha Baby boy this early morning, bythe grace of God Baby n Motherboth r fine, thank you so much forall the love, blessings n prayerslove you all Ginni n Kapil#gratitude.”

Deepika Padukone got realcandid during the latestinterview, wherein she

spilled the beans as to why shedecided to marry Ranveer Singh.After six years of dating, DeepikaPadukone and Ranveer Singh tiedthe knot and exchanged theirvows in a close-knit ceremony inItaly’s Lake Como on November 14and 15, 2018. She explained, “Imarried Ranveer because herespects my success and themoney I make. Today, the kind ofmoney he is making and thesuccess he has is completelydifferent from what he wouldhave seven years ago. I was themore successful person and yet togenuinely be okay with the factthat I was working more; I wasbusier– there were days when Iwould not even come homebecause I had so much work– Iwas making more money but notonce has it ever come in the wayof our relationship. That is uniqueand I’d like to see more of that.”

Kareena And Deepika Among Many CelebsWho Hailed The Women EmpowermentMessage In PM’s ‘Mann KI Baat’

In his monthly radio address tothe nation, also known as‘Mann Ki Baat’ PM Modi

applauded four women pilots whorecently made history by finishingthe national carrier’s longest flightfrom San Francisco to Bengaluru.With the all-women cockpit crew,Air India’s flight successfullylanded in India on January 11. Onthis note Deepika Padukoneshared a quote of MahatmaGandhi which says “Be the changeyou wish to see in the world”.Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan alsoshared a picture which said “Fromflying nonstop commercial flightsto taking part in Republic Dayparades, women participation isincreasing in the manifold. Desk kiBeti today is fearless, courageousand an equal participant in nation-building activities”.

Preity Zinta is undoubtedly oneof the most beautifulactresses Bollywood ever

saw. The dimpled beauty has wonaccolades for her chubby natureand her bubbly personality.However, she has been away fromthe entertainment industry for along time. In an interview withSpotboye, Preity Zinta revealedthat she has been away from theentertainment industry becauseshe is not into selling herself. Shewas quoted saying, “I am not thekind of person who will stand upand complain about anything. Ihave no complaints against anyone.If I’ve been away from theentertainment industry it’s becauseI am not into selling myself. Youwon’t see me buying space to getwritten about. I want to beappreciated for the work that I do.”

Preity Zinta Makes A Shocking Statement,“Been Away From Entertainment BecauseI’m Not Selling Myself”

Shahrukh Khan is one of themost popular Bollywood stars.It’s been over two decades

that he has been delivering timelessmovies to his fans. And one of hisrecent hit movies has been DearZindagi where he acted oppositeAlia Bhatt. During that time,Shahrukh Khan had once said thathe thought that Alia Bhatt hasdated almost everyone in theindustry and might’ve beendisappointed if that came out to betrue. SRK stated, “Everyone. I meanevery young person that I heardabout when she was launched…and I have known her as a baby, sofor me, this is shocking. When Karanquestioned if he would like to askthat to Alia now, SRK said, “I know Iwould be disappointed if therewould be 3 or 4.” Reacting to thesame, Alia Bhatt said that she hasnot dated 3 or 4 even though at theage of 23 she could have done that.

“Sit Down You Fool”: Kangana SlamsRihanna On Farmer’s Protest

Rihanna’s tweet was sure tobreak the internet, and noone is surprised that it did.

She was seen extending hersupport to the Indian farmers thathave been protesting for months ata stretch now. Rihanna posted thefollowing tweet in light of thecurrent events taking place in thecountry, which had the Twitteratidivided. She said, “Why aren’t wetalking about this?!” Kanganasavagely replied to Rihanna,tweeting, “No one is talking aboutit because they are not farmersthey are terrorists who are trying todivide India so that China can takeover our vulnerable broken nationand make it a Chinese colony muchlike the USA… Sit down you fool,we are not selling our nation likeyou dummies.”

Shahrukh Khan Had Once Thought ThatAlia Bhatt Has Dated Everyone InBollywood, Alia Bhatt’s Reaction Is Epic

Shraddha Kapoor To Tie Knot WithBoyfriend Rohan Shrestha? Daddy ShaktiKapoor Have No Objection

Shraddha Kapoor has had avery secretive personal life.However, her relatives with

Rohan Shrestha are quite in thenews. After her breakup withrumored boyfriend Farhan Akhtar,she started seeing RohanShrestha and it seems the twohave decided to settle down. Ifreports are to be believed, thetwo might be looking to tie theknot. And guess what, Shraddha’sdaddy Shakti Kapoor has noobjection to her choice.

Bollywood actress ZareenKhan made her Bollywooddebut in inverse Salman

Khan in Veer. Since the time sheentered the entertainment world,she confronted correlations and iscalled Salman’s old buddy KatrinaKaif’s lookalike. However,consistently Zareen has revealedher disappointment uncoveringthat the comparison has not drivenher anyplace. Presently during hermost recent interview withNavbharat Times, Zareen Khan byand by responded to being calledKatrina Kaif’s copy. The actresssaid that the correlation betweenher and Katrina Kaif got herprofession ruined.

Zareen Khan Reacts To Being Called Katrina Kaif’s Replica After Her Debut WithSalman Khan In Veer; Says, ‘TheComparison Got My Work Spoiled’

Dr. Leena S is a successfulentrepreneur who grew upin Dubai and has been a

qualified dentist, model, and actorbefore establishing her nationallyrecognized salon chain, The NailArtistry. A strong advocate ofwomen empowerment, Dr. Leena Sis one of the most enviedbusinesswomen of the countrytoday, with a luxe salon brand toher name.

Self-Made FemaleBeauty Mogul

DR. LEENA S, “I TRULYBELIEVE THATEVERYONEMUST LOOKTHEIR BEST,AND THAT ISEXACTLYWHAT WEOFFER.”

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Early Life, Qualifications andCareer

After studying up to 12th grade inDubai with three siblings, she cameto Bengaluru for her graduation inDentistry. While at the OxfordDentist College, Bengaluru, shemade it a point to explore her long-sown interests in the performingarts. Even after having completedher BDS degree, she never venturedinto that profession. Instead, shefound her calling in the filmindustry.

The Nail Artistry: Inceptionand Growth

Talking about the interestingstory behind The Nail Artistry’sinception, Dr. Leena S believes itwouldn’t have been possible if notfor her husband, her eternalsupport. It was his idea that she setup a salon in Cochin, which lackedluxe salon brands to cater towomen’s grooming needs. Whatstarted as a nail-specific luxe servicein Cochin soon spread to othercities with increased services.

Today, The Nail Artistrycan boast being one of themost flourishing Indiansalon chains with animpressive clientele. Theirextensive nail services includeacrylic extensions, gel polish,chrome nails, shellac nails , 3D artand much more. At the same time,they also offer luxe beauty careservices like eyelash extension,micro-blading, and hair-relatedservices. Their USP lies in autoclavemachines which include sterilizationfacilities used in dental clinics andhospitals for ensuring the highestdegrees of hygiene.

ʻDream big andjust follow your

heartʼ: Dr LeenaS, Founder,

The Nail Artistry

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Not just this, after havingestablished a loyal customer base inKochi and Chennai, The Nail Artistryalso looks to take its chain ahead tocities like Hyderabad, Goa, andDubai along with morecosmopolitan cities in the futurewith high demand and purchasingpower.

Dr. Leena S: Beliefs andIdeology

Dr. Leena S firmly believes in thepower of self – one’s failures andmistakes are the very steppingstones to success they need. Shealso feels that once you have a bigdream, you must not lose grip andconfidence. Follow your heart andyour persuasion – these are prettymuch the only guiding lights youneed to channel your efforts in ameaningful direction.

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The mostluxurious nailsalon across thecountry.

Achievements andAccomplishments

Dr. Leena’s The Nail Artistry hasbagged several prestigious awardson both national and internationalplatforms. Its top-notch services,super-luxe customer experiences,and bang-on safety and hygieneprotocols are the reason behind itsfamed accomplishments. Here are afew of them:● Fashion Award: Best Nail Salon in

South India, Kochi 2019.● Millennium Brilliance Award:

Most Luxurious Nail and HairSalon in India, Thailand 2019

● International Quality Awards,March 2019.

● Asia’s Beauty and WellnessAwards 2019, India’s SuperLuxury & Most Creative Nail ArtSalon of the Year.

● The Business Awards: MostLuxurious Nail and Hair Salon,Chennai 2019.Even in the face of the global

coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Leena Scontinues to channel her team’sspirits and her customer’sexperiences to the positive side.She prioritizes her customers andemployees before anyone else inthese challenging times andcontinues to be a role model forseveral young women in the countryand beyond.

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We

Date to Marry! 5 Signs youʼre dating the man youshould marry. By Nidhi Jain

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We’re all on the quest offinding our soulmate, theperson who we want to

spend our life with, the personwe’re going to love unconditionallyand who’s going to love us back thesame. Finding that right person isnot easy, but once you do, no wordscan describe that feeling andnothing will ever feel the same.

Many women struggle with thesame questions and many wouldlike to know if the man they’re withis really the one. The mostimportant thing you need to payattention to is if the man you’rewith loves, caring, if he respects youand supports you, if he loves you forwho you are and doesn’t want tochange you. If he makes you happylike you’ve never been before, if hemakes everything feel better andsimply makes you a better person.These are all the traits of a man youcan spend your life with, the traitsof a man who truly deserves youand would make your life feel like afairytale.

The following signs will tell you ifyou’re really dating the man youshould marry:

You feel safe with himWhen he hugs you, you feel like

nothing can ever hurt you. His hug isthe safest place on Earth for youand you could spend an eternitycuddled with him. He’ll do anythingfor you and he’ll protect you anddefend you from anyone andanything; he won’t let anything badhappen to you. He would never letanyone belittle you, say bad things

to you or simply make you feel bad.He’s your knight in shining armorand there’s nothing he enjoys morethan looking after his princess.

You’re his number one priorityWe all have a bunch of things we

need to do throughout the day,work commitments, chores,obligations and so on, but there’snothing more important to him thanyou. You’re his number one priorityand he will always make time foryou, no matter how busy hisschedule is. He puts your wishes,

us into the persons that we are.Even though you love himregardless of his flaws, he loves youso much that he’s always trying tobecome a better person for you.He’ll try to learn more, read more,do more, accept new challengesand overcome obstacles so that hecan become the perfect man foryou. He wants you to feel proud ofhim and he’ll stop at nothing tomake you proud.

He’s honestThis is probably the best quality

in a man and one that shows you hetruly cares about you and yourfeelings. He’ll never let you down bylying to you or being dishonest, he’lltell you the truth as much as it mayhurt your feelings.

He knows that honesty is themost important thing in arelationship and he won’t allowhimself to do anything to break yourtrust. He knows that no matter howhard or harsh the truth is if he’s byyour side, you can deal with it.

He makes you feel beautifulHis words and actions make you

feel like you’re the most beautifulwoman in the world, both insideand out and you love him for it. Heloves your body and soul and healways makes sure you know howhe feels. He knows how muchyou’re worth and makes sure youknow it too. He treats you likeyou’re his queen and this simplyrocks your world. No one has evermade you feel this way and no onewill ever will.

EVEN THOUGH YOULOVE HIM REGARDLESSOF HIS FLAWS, HELOVES YOU SO MUCHTHAT HE’S ALWAYSTRYING TO BECOME ABETTER PERSON FORYOU. needs and feelings first on the listand will never make you feel likethere’s something more importantthat you and your relationship. He’llalways ask you how your day was,how you feel and will never forgetto spend quality time with you,regardless of how tired or stressedout he is. You know that you canalways count on him and this makesyou love him even more.

He wants to become a betterperson for you

We’re all flawed and we all haveour little imperfections that shape

Slay the Style!

Planning to wear agown for your sister'scocktail party? Add onsome glam to youroutfit by giving sequinembellished peachbeads designer gown.

Latest western dresses in fashion.

This nude gown withflower pleated over thefront cut for yourfresher’s party look. Thiswill make you the centerof attraction ensuring alleyes on you!

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Jumpsuits are ultra-modern and highlyversatile style in 2021, Soget yourself this Silverlong-sleeve jumpsuit.

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Fashion by: Seema Kalavadia founder of Sims designer studio Model: Trisha BoseMakeup: Micky Hairstyle: Aasim Photographer: Ramesh Sharma

Virtual Reality or Cybersex?How adult VR for women has changed during the lockdown.

By A. Kartikeyan

porn is only one of the industry’sconnected, immersive, andinteractive sex experiences. Today,younger females are more open andencouraged to talk about theirsexual desires and fantasies withoutfeeling insecure. Their demand forporn entertainment and innovationhas increased as well.

Women, in particular, will love VRporn as it offers a sense of intimacyand engagement. Instead ofwatching regular, two-dimensionalporn, you’ll feel that you’re involvedin a certain act because of thethree-dimensional and immersivefeatures of VR porn.

Redefining VR Porn For TheWomen Population

Point-of-view (POV) settings arethe most popular type of VR porn asit allows users to feel that they’remore than the audience, but aparticipant.

Also, VR porn received excellentfeedback because of the smiles andpleasure that the audience can feelwhile participating. On another end,erotic VR films with rougher anddarker scenes received low ratings.Unlike traditional porn, VR forwomen has changed because itdidn’t feature faceless womenanymore.

Bottom lineWhile VR porn existed and

expanded long ago, thecircumstances put people toexplore alternative ways to havefun with virtual reality porn. In lightof this, both porn creators andenthusiasts are looking forward to aVR porn world that highlights thecraving for a more respectful andintimate environment than whatpeople were used to because oftraditional porn.

With the chaos brought bythe pandemic early thisyear, people were forced

to restrict themselves in numerousactivities involving socialconnections and physicalgatherings. Health protocolsincluded social distancing andlimiting one’s self from going topublic places, unless necessary.Because of this, many people havenot been able to go out and meetwith their loved ones, but the digitalplatform has made communicatingwith them still possible.

As physical connection and touchare no longer advisable yet,people’s desire to make newrelationships with others ignited.Dating apps experienced a surge innewcomers and activity today thanin the pre-COVID era. During theonset of the pandemic, Tinder andother prominent dating appsexperienced an increase of 10% to15% in messages sent. Basically, thenumbers tell everything.

Along with the spike of onlinedating app usage, another aspectthat people crave during self-isolation is pleasure and intimacywhich is on a decrease today. In thisarticle, you’re going to learn howadults explore their sexuality duringthese trying times.

Porn industry and The rise of VR porn

While several industries sufferedbecause of COVID-19 and havewitnessed a decline in their salesand activity, the porn industry isprogressing. Since people are stuckin their homes and are living inisolation, one of their top activitiesincluded watching pornographicvideos. For porn industries tocontinue creating their content,they had to improvise and adapt to

technological trends, especiallyvirtual reality (VR) porn. VR pornwas actually practiced long beforein 2016, but this pandemic situationshed more light on more VR pornconsumption and experiences,particularly VR for men. The pornindustry also boasts the following“sex technologies” such asteledildonics, online erotic games,erotic chatbots, and the like.

The porn industry has had a fairshare of its revolutionarytechnologies which helped them tobecome more resilient during diretimes for businesses. Virtual reality

VR PORN WASACTUALLY PRACTICEDLONG BEFORE IN 2016,BUT THIS PANDEMICSITUATION SHED MORELIGHT ON MORE VRPORN CONSUMPTIONAND EXPERIENCES,PARTICULARLY VR FOR MEN.

We

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In today’s fast-paced society,we’re bombarded with variousforms of stress that can wreak

havoc on our immune systems.Many natural cellular processes inour bodies create waste, some ofwhich form free radicals. If thesehighly reactive substances aren’tneutralized, they can cause damagein our bodies which can lead toinflammation. A consistently highstate of inflammation is consideredto be a precursor to many commonconditions in older adults, such ascardiovascular disease and varioustypes of cancer.

The good news is that our bodiescreate antioxidants to balance thisdamage out! Antioxidants bind tofree radicals and suppress theirdamage. However, since we areexposed to additional free radicalsfrom pollution, cigarette smoke,pesticides, radiation, and someprocessed foods, we need to alsotake in additional antioxidants toneutralize the free radicals. Bycombining both forces, yourimmune system is better equippedto ward off many contaminants thattry to invade the body throughnormal day-to-day activity.

Things you can do to boost yourimmune system

Vitamin D is known forstrengthening bones and teeth byhelping the body absorb calcium.People who get too little vitamin Dmay develop soft, thin, and brittle

bones, a condition known as ricketsin children and osteomalacia inadults.

But did you know that it is alsoknown to offer sufficient protectionagainst a wide range of illnesses andchronic diseases like cancer? Inaddition, it improves the body'snatural response to bacterialinfections like tuberculosis andhelps to increase the production ofantimicrobial peptides which arevery important in boosting theimmunity.

Vegetables such as cauliflower,cabbage, broccoli and Brussels (allfrom the brassica family) producechemicals that are known to inhibitthe growth of cancer cells andboost the body's immune system.One great way to make sure you’regetting all of your vegetables forthe day is through juicing.

Maintaining a healthy diet isabsolutely essential to maintaininga strong immune system. One wayto do this is by avoiding or reducing

alcohol consumption. Althoughmany people in our society consumeit for recreational purposes, it isimportant to note that alcohol is adrug that can poison your body anddeplete you of essentials vitaminsand minerals. Therefore, zeroalcohol consumption translates intoa super strong immune system.

Your body will perform better ifit gets enough rest. Stress causesstrain on the immune system somaking sure you get enough sleepwill enable it to function optimally.Getting your body moving andgetting your blood flowingimproves your overall health andhelps to prevent illness. Your bodyuses Vitamin D to fight off infectionand one of the few ways it getsVitamin D is through exposure tothe sun so next time the sun shinesget out there and enjoy it.

The health of your immunesystem can depend a lot on thehealth of your digestive system. Ifyou've taken antibiotics recently ordon't consume a diet consisting of100% organic foods then you willhave antibiotics in your systemwhich will kill all bacteria both goodand bad. In order to replace thegood bacteria, eat probiotic yoghurtor take a probiotic supplement.

Your immune system is a fine-tuned ensemble of vessels andnodes whose purpose is to defendyour body from assaults from theworld around you. We

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YOUR BODY WILLPERFORM BETTER IF ITGETS ENOUGH REST.STRESS CAUSES STRAINON THE IMMUNESYSTEM SO MAKINGSURE YOU GET ENOUGHSLEEP WILL ENABLE ITTO FUNCTION BETTER.


Mayfair is synonymous withhigh quality hospitality andhas a reputation for

blending state of the art facilitieswith personalized service inproperties that are elegant,luxurious and set midst nature.

The group is credited as beingthe first to bring five-star deluxehospitality to Odisha and Sikkim.With its unique designs,

architectural style and accent onecology, Mayfair stands apart fromits peers in terms of itsmagnificence, grandeur andaesthetics.

In an interview with Woman’sEra, Pooja Ray, MD of MayfairHotels & Resorts talks about theextraordinary architecture,exceptional experiences of guestsand future plans of Mayfair.

An Iconic Coalescence of World Class Luxury and Hospitality.

The Distinctly MajesticMayfair Hotels and Resorts

Pooja Ray, Managing Director of Mayfair Hotels & Resorts.


All the hotels and resorts ofMayfair have a differentarchitectural theme. What was thebasic thought with the interior andexterior looks of Mayfair?

At Mayfair hotels and resorts, werealize that what we deal with areprecious moments from the lives ofour guests and hence we focus ongiving our guests an all-aroundexperience. If that means puttingup architectural marvels ordesigning bespoke services aroundthese wonders, we have beenwalking those extra miles for ourguests since our very inceptionmany decades ago, and that isevident in every property operatedby Mayfair Hotels and Resorts.When we design our products, wetake inspiration from the history ofthe location and incorporate luxuryaround this core idea, to this we addour touch of responsible andsustainable tourism practices, andwe have a Mayfair product offering!Each Mayfair hotel or resort is aculmination of immaculate planningand execution at its highest level,making our hotels and resorts adestination in itself. Our usage oflocal materials and support to localartisans help support the microecosystem, and we are very proudof the many lives we touch, whichare our actual achievements.

How does the extraordinaryarchitectural view help in raising aprofitable revenue?

While there are many factorsleading to revenues and profitabilityfor a hotel chain, we do believe thatan exemplary architecture adds alot of value to the guest. Everycorner of our properties is designedkeeping our guest, and theircomforts in mind. It is notuncommon for our guests to beseen clicking selfies around ourornate hotels or our welllandscaped gardens. Every time,

they click such an image, we find joyin having added value to them andevery time they post theirphotographs on social media, theyadd value to us by making theconcept go viral. Today, a very largenumber of guests come to us purelythrough positive ‘word of mouth’which is followed by a very highpercentage of our ‘regular guests’.Both these segments are by virtueof our superior architecture, and weare only humbled by the accoladeswe have been receiving over theyears.

Captivating confluence of old world charm and contemporary comforts at Mayfair Tea Resort in Siliguri.

Set amidst verdant gardens and a pretty lagoon, The Mayfair Lagoon, Bhubaneswar is a stunning property offering unparalleled luxury


Mayfair stands as a true paragonof World Class hospitality and is oneof the leading luxurious hotelchains. What does Mayfair providefor an overall family package?

Our hotels and resorts provide‘best in the class’ services, and aredesigned to cater to the needs offamilies travelling together, forshort or long-stay vacations. Fromthe architecture perspective, ouroversized rooms, spacious suitesand cottages are a hit with families;however, our Villas are always intremendous demand for familiestravelling together. Our dedicatedplay zones, fun areas, readingrooms and curios are always muchappreciated by families. However,our chefs go one step further andprovide special menus for all ourchildren, thereby making the ‘FamilyPackages’ a never-say-no deal. Our

marketing team is ever ready todesign bespoke packages ‘A-La-Minute’ that will add tremendousvalue to your stay.

What are the unique experiencesthat are offered by Mayfair Hotelsand Resorts that makes itexceptional?

While the Mayfair chain todayflaunts 12 hotels and resorts spreadacross 10 destinations in India, wehave consciously ensured that theyare all uniquely different in theirown quaint ways. While each resortwill bring forth the architecturalelements of the land that itoperates in, it will also have certainfiner elements of luxury that oneassociates Mayfair Hotels withtoday. Hence while our hotels atBhubaneswar offer a colonial feelspread across acres of beautifully

landscaped gardens and is studdedwith an array of restaurants, ourresorts at Gopalpur and Puri are allabout the sea, and the good life oneattaches to living by the goldensand beaches. Our latest offering isthe ‘Mayfair Tea Resort’ which isthe country’s first tea themedresort and offers a deep insight intothe simple tea leaf and the sheer joyit provides. At Mayfair, we areadept in blending antiquity andhistory along with the ultra-modern.

From casino hotel to boutique tearesorts, from lake resort to oceanfacing hotel, Mayfair has celebratedluxury and heritage. Where isMayfair heading now?

Mayfair group is very confidentof its expansion plans, and has a listof upcoming projects that our teamwould have already put in place,had it not been for the lockdown.As per our revised launch schedule,we are happy to announce our nextoffering at Kolkata, which shall beopening within the next 18 months.We intend to redefine luxury inKolkata with this project. We areworking on a Golf Resort atSatapada at Chilika Lake, which willput Odisha on the global golfingcircuit. We are also at an advancedlevel of planning for a megaconvention hotel in Bhubaneswar.Exciting times ahead for brandMayfair and its patrons!

Do you have any plans for asubtle combination of nature andluxury in North or West?

We are committed to a Pan-Indiafootprint, and intend to double ourinventory over the next five years.We started this journey with ourresort at Goa, and to catalyze thisprocess, we are in discussions withselect ‘like-minded’ business housesto partner them in this process. Weare talking to them to operate theirexisting and upcoming hotelprojects. We are confident that thissynergy shall add tremendous valueto the business houses, while alsoproviding our valued guests withmore ‘exceptional experiences’across India. We

Mayfair Palm Beach Resort, Gopalpur-On-Sea is a shining pearl by the beautiful beaches of Southern Odisha.

A luxurious lake resort offering world class facilities in Raipur.

Love is an intense feeling ofdeep affection, in otherwords, love is what one feels,

Love should be seen not as a feelingbut as an enacted emotion. To loveis to feel and act lovingly. Peoplewho are in love generally feel apowerful sense of empathy towardtheir beloved, feeling the otherperson's pain as their own andbeing willing to sacrifice anythingfor the other person. Love means tobe deeply committed andconnected to someone orsomething. The basic meaning oflove is to feel more than likingsomeone. It is a bond that twopeople share. There are a few thingsyou need to avoid when building anew relationship like being too

demanding. According topsychology, if you find yourselfabandoning usual activities orfeeling unusually optimistic, youmight be falling in love.

Falling in love is one of thestrangest and most wonderfulthings a human being can

Scarcity of love in married life.

By Dr. Sanjay Teotia

Loveis not

Enoughexperience. And while it's differentfor everyone, there are somecommon thoughts and feelings thatcan help people identify when it'shappening. You might beexperiencing one of the obviousindicators like not being able tothink about anyone or anything else

but that person or the signs couldbe more obfuscated. Whatever itmay be, there's no doubt thatfalling in love in today's labyrinthinedating landscape is complicated. Ina bid to simplify things a little,psychologists identify some of theclear signs that you might be fallingin love with someone like you can'tstop staring at them, you abandonyour usual activities, you don't mindwhen they do somethingunattractive, time flies when youare together, you feel unusuallyoptimistic, you want to touch andkiss them, you always think aboutthem, you want them to be happy,falling in love can warp your senseof reality a little. It is likely that ifyou feel deeply in love withsomeone, then you will have asomewhat unrealistic view of whothey are and how they presentthemselves.

So whilst you might be inclinedto be critical of someone else doingor saying something if your partnerdoes or says them. You might lovethem for it because, in your eyes,they can do no wrong. Basically,scarcity of love looks like thesewords person use as I will never findanyone, I am too old now, all menseem to be looking for youngerwomen, everyone seems to behaveso badly online, I can't cope withgetting another dick picture, and Idon't want to go through that painagain. An unhappy or lovelessmarriage chronically feels bad. It'slike a cold that lingers, leaving youdrained and vulnerable.Scarcity of love inmarried life can causeconstantly criticizingyour partner we all getcranky. But you needto determine if yourfrustration isstemming from anactual lack ofrespect for

your plus one or if you are justhaving a bad day. If you findyourself using terms like never andalways as in you never help meclean or you always forget to help,you are not just criticizing yourpartner, you are assassinating theircharacter.

Couples who have unresolved,persistent conflict and a pattern oflow-grade hostility even when theyare not fighting, quickly stopviewing the other person as asource of comfort, support, orpartnership. They stop treatingeach other like friends, planning funthings, confiding in each other,sharing their feelings, or eventalking about their day. They pullback often due to a (realistic) fearof being rejected or attacked if theyare too vulnerable. When yourespond to each other withsarcasm, your marriage might be in

trouble, contempt usually stemsfrom a relationship rupture,infidelity, secrecy, or anothertransgression. Contempt is hard tocome back from. It's not ethical tobehave in hurtful, cruel ways withyour partner and you should not betreated that way either. If you arewilling to work through the issuethat's at the root of this disgust,there's hope. But remember, youcan't cure contempt withoutdiscovering what started it. Oncerespect is gone, you lose thefoundation to rebuild yourrelationship.

(UN)HAPPILY MARRIEDIt is possible to be happy in a

loveless marriage. After all,marriage is about family and notjust your partner. A person'shappiness is not tied to a singleperson, it never was and it never is.If there is one person in the worldwho is responsible for yourhappiness, it's you. Also, if two liesdown together, they will keepwarm. However, while love can be apowerful force in a relationship, itshould go without saying that loveis not the only force behind asuccessful marriage, as there amultitude of factors involved in it.Aromatic people, also known as aro,don't develop romantic attractionsfor other people. Romantic peopledo form strong bonds and haveloving relationships that havenothing to do with romance. You nolonger desire to spend any timetogether, do not dress up or try tolook nice for your spouse, and

genuinely are not concerned withyour spouse's life. Your marriageshould be a partnership. You aretaking on the world together,making decisions together, andalways have each other's back.

Happy marriages aredifficult to maintain and a

woman can fall out of lovewith her husband.It's difficult for acouple to maintain

SCARCITY OF LOVE INMARRIED LIFE CANCAUSE CONSTANTLYCRITICIZING YOURPARTNER WE ALL GETCRANKY. BUT YOUNEED TO DETERMINE IFYOUR FRUSTRATION ISSTEMMING FROM ANACTUAL LACK OFRESPECT FOR YOURPLUS ONE OR IF YOUARE JUST HAVING ABAD DAY.

the level of excitement felt whenthey first met once they are sharingtheir lives day in and day out. Add tothe monotony of daily life, marriagestressors, and a lack of skills fordealing with the stress and a wifecan lose those loving feelingstoward her husband. Not only iscommunication important inmaintaining a bond with each other,how you communicate willdetermine how strong of a bond.The way a couple communicates isas important as the ability tocommunicate. Despite how happilythey started as a couple, the pairwas more than likely hiding acontinuous cycle of unhappinesswithin their relationship. Afterstriving to keep all their troubleshidden just below the surface forfar too long, they felt thatseparation was their only option.

This is not unusual at all. Manycouples struggle to maintain happyrelationships but without the righttools their attempts at doing so canbecome futile and marriages still fallapart. Often couples lack alignmenton the things that matter most andfeel like their own personal goals orfeelings are the most importantones to focus on. It is easy to getlost in your perspective and fail tosee your partner's viewpoint on theimportant things, causing them tofeel like they are not valued. Everyperson has unique needs they hopetheir partner will fulfill. Butsometimes couples fail to speak up

about those needs or presume theirpartner's needs are the same astheir own, often leaving theirsignificant other feelings alienated.Letting disconnect become thenorm, this is when couples start tosay things like I love you but I am nolonger in love with you. This shouldbe seen as a call to action but moreoften than not couples seem to findthis to be a final resting place,whether in divorce or mutualunhappiness. When you start toforgo sex, your intimacy and theresulting connection is going tostart to drift apart.

SENSE OF DISINTERESTIt is important to see this aspect

of your relationship as just as muchof a priority as any other and put inthe effort to make a positivechange. Even if there is a sense ofdisinterest or apathy, the effort can

take the form of scheduling sex orgiving maintenance sex a try. Whatcan you do when you’re happymarriage feels miserable? Find alittle perspective; focus on why youfell in love with your partner andwhat you want your life as a coupleto become. Even better, tell yourpartner this without anyexpectations of them doing thesame. Loveless marriages usuallyhave sex life exciting but notromantic.

Deciding to leave a marriage isscary. There's often a deep fear ofbeing alone, not to mention thepossibility of an unknown future.Many stick with mediocrity settlingfor low-level pain anddissatisfaction instead. But that'snot your best bet, staying in aseriously unhappy marriage canhave long term effects on ourmental and emotional health.

People in bad marriages usuallyhave low self-esteem, struggle withanxiety and depression and have ahigher rate of illness than thosewho don't. People feel sad andgrieve when they decide to let gobut people who divorce do recoveremotionally and most find newrelationships. One warning signwould be that your relationship issexless or if you are having sex lessthan ten times a year. After all, it'san intimacy that separates aromantic relationship from all othersorts of relationships you mighthave. When that's going out thewindow, it's a really big red flag. Alack of visible physical affection likekissing or hugging is also indicativeof a real problem. If you oftenimagine a happy future withoutyour partner, that's a major signthat things are not right. This is apart of the emotional detachmentprocess, during which you may tryto convince yourself that you don'tcare anymore so that the eventualseparation feels less painful.Detaching psychologically byfantasizing about having an affair ormaking plans for the future thatdon't include your partner can all besigns that you have fallen out oflove.

LOVELESS MARRIAGESUSUALLY HAVE SEXLIFE EXCITING BUTNOT ROMANTIC.DECIDING TO LEAVE AMARRIAGE IS SCARY.THERE'S A DEEP FEAROF BEING ALONE, NOTTO MENTION THEPOSSIBILITY OF ANUNKNOWN FUTURE.

We

IAM 29 YEARS OLD AND HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR

3 years. I have a one year old son. Though Ihave everything, my life has become a hell

because of my mother-in-law and 2 sisters-in-law.They have been harassing and torturing mementally. I have been doing everything possiblekeep them happy but their behavior is still thesame. My husband dosen’t realize this and always

takes their side. He is in a government job but doesn’twant me to work. He is a miser and is reluctant to spendon basic needs and comforts. It’s becoming difficult dayby day to put with their behaviours. Please advise.

Please start respecting yourself and stop toleratingany kind of injustice. You are your spouse’s legallywedded wife and equal partner. You have to take a standfor yourself. Speak to your husband even if you think itwill not make any difference. He will understandsomeday. Don’t be a nagging wife and share your feelingsin a subtle manner so that he doesn’t feel that you arecomplaining all the time. Spend time with him, try to addsome humour.

Try to convince him to let you work. This way you willbecome independent, contribute more towards the familyand get rid of the daily mess. I know it’s not easy but youwill have to patient and persistent.

Continue being a good wife and daughter-in-law anddo your duties well but at the same time don’t give in toyour in-laws’ coercion manipulation tactics to control you.Be transparent and make everybody understand that youare a part of this family and deserve the same respect asothers. Also, learn to say NO but in the most politemanner, and don’t let anyone rule you. Stand yourground. Be consistent. If ever they try to cross their limits,don’t hesitate to take a legal action against them.

IAM A 24 YEAR OLD GIRL AND IN LOVE WITH A BOY. RECENTLY, HE

broke up with me saying he wants to focus on his career.Also, he cannot marry unless his two younger sisters

get married. But he still cares for me and wants to remainfriends. I even tried to give him some space but he keepssending messages. I am very upset and not able toconcentrate in my studies. I am confused and not able totrust him. Should I block him or continue with him as afriend?

You are young and such feelings are absolutely normal.But have control over yourself. He is trying to distancehimself from you. May be his reasons are genuine or maybe he realized that he dosent love you but wants to bejust friends with you. Both ways it’s good on his part thathe is not keeping you in dark.

It’s better that you do not assume anything, bepractical and take him as a friend only, otherwise it mightlead to a heart.

MY EX-BOYFRIEND HAS STARTED HARASSING AND

blackmailing me. In the beginning of ourrelationship things were fine but then his behavior

changed. He started reacting over petty issues and oftenabused my parents which is why I broke up with him. Hethinks I have betrayed him and that’s why he wants to takerevenge. He has stooped to the level of blackmailing me bysharing our pictures with my friends and cousins. I evenapproached the police but nothing happened. I am reallytensed and do not want to involve my parents in this mess.Please suggest.

Be strong and don’t give in to his demands. Withoutwasting a single day, tell everything to your parents. Theywill surely understand and help you out of this mess. Onceyour ex-boyfriend knows that your parents are aware, in allprobabilities he will step back and stop blackmailing you.But, if he still continues to do the same, you can go aheadand file criminal complaint against him for blackmailingand outraging modesty of women. He can be bookedunder various non- bailable offences.

Be bold and have faith in your parents and the matterwill be sorted.

IHAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 2 YEARS BUT NOT HAPPY WITH THE

way things are going. I feel I have been cheated by my in-laws. Before marriage they had said that

my husband and his brothers are together running abusiness. But after marriage, I got to know that myhusband is working as an assistant in his brothers’ shopAlso, the eldest of them purchased 3 properties for all but finally moved us to a 20 year old flat which is in a very bad shape. My husband is too reserved, doesn’tsay anything to anyone. I don’t understand how he puts up with their bad behavior! I am really worried aboutour future.

Your brother-in-law has wronged your husband and hisattitude is unfair and oppressive. Since it’s a family matter,it will be better that it’s discussed and sorted amicablywithin the family. Advise your husband to have a heart toheart with his brother and politely explain him that yourfamily will also grow and would need a recurring incomeand a house which is good enough to live in. If need be, youboth have a discussion with your brother in law and hiswife. It might not happen in one meeting and may requirea few rounds of discussions. If this doesn’t solve yourproblem, you may take a legal action. But it is better thatthe matter is sorted within the family.

Don’t lose heart, be patient and try to convince them inthe most affectionate manner. They will surely comearound.

Q A&Personal Problems


Have you a personal problem of any nature, which you hesitate to discuss with your family or friends? Share it with us. WE will try to help you.Address your letters to:WOMAN’S ERA E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-110 055.

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2 Woman’s Era ● March 2021 2

Amidst the aroma of ginger andlemongrass tea, pristine landscapesand green carpet, 39-room Naad

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Choose from a combination of ExperientialPackages (Detox, De-stress, etc) starting from3 to 14 nights or Medical Packages (DiabetesManagement, PCOS management, Spine Care,Sports Injury Management, etc) starting from10 to 28 nights.

Manoj KhetanCofounder, Naad Wellness

“AYURVEDA SAYS MORETHAN WHAT YOU EAT, INWHICH STATE OF MIND YOUEAT MATTERS. DRINK YOURFOOD AND CHEW YOURWATER. YOU ARE WHAT YOUEAT. SO, CHOOSE RIGHT,COOK RIGHT, EAT RIGHT ANDLIVE HEALTHY. OUR GUESTSARE SERIOUS WELLNESSSEEKERS WHO COME WITHAN OBJECTIVE TO HEALTHEMSELVES. OUR TARGETCLIENTELE IS A MIX OF BOTHDOMESTIC ANDINTERNATIONAL GUESTS.”

Naad Wellness- Ayurveda, Naturopathy, YogaTops Wellness in Delhi NCR. By Khushboo Jain

Author

Khushboo JainWellness Advocate,

Founder of MadAboutWellness.


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The Naad Experience: Thispackage aims to incorporatehealthy lifestyle choices in the dailyroutine. A combination of Ayurvedaand Naturopathy therapies, Yogickriyas such as Jal Neti, Kunjal Kriya,Laghu Shankh Prakshalan,Therapeutic Yoga, Pranayama,Guided meditation, Wellness

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Sports Injury Management: Theprogram can minimize the damageto a muscle or joint and increase thechance of full recovery, whileimproving performance, enhancingoverall health and preventingfurther injury.

ARTHRITISMANAGEMENT

This program works to easearthritis symptoms, increase jointmobility and balance theaggravated dosha via therapies likeChoorna Pinda Sweda, UpanahaSweda, Compress/packs andAcupuncture and others.

Hyperlipidaemia Management-Go for this package if you haveabused your body due to excessivealcohol consumption, obesity,medications such as steroids,incorrect food habits, unhealthylifestyle, and lack of physicalactivity. A planned lifestyle regimencontrols and modifiesdisproportionate cholesterol levelsin the body.

Diabetes, PCOS/PCOD,Hormonal Imbalances,Respiratory Diseases,Hypertension issues, Migraine,Spine problems like cervicalspondylitis, lumbar spondylitis,sciatica and degeneration of thedisc, backache, cervical spasmand carpal tunnel syndrome, Eye Problems, eye strain, dryeyes and others are treated andmanaged here.


Naad Architectural & Design Highlights The exterior is made from

natural stone and featuresabundant natural light, streamingthrough its tall windows, glassdoors and French windows.● The ‘yin and yang’ inspiration

for reflexology track ● Sustainable endeavors with

100% water and solid wasterecycling (both used forhorticulture) and rainwaterharvesting.

● Wood polished with linseed oilto avoid emission of chemicalfumes

● Temperature control Sandstoneused in swimming pool &Plunge Pool to keep water coolin summers and warm in winters

● Handmade tiles sourced fromartisans in Rajkot

● Lush greenery and sprawlinglawns

● Clay courts for badminton andtennis

● 3-acre plot is carpeted with lushgreenery and sprawling lawns.

WELLNESS CAFÉMeet Sekh Sahajan, the Head

Chef who integrates the ancientAyurvedic philosophy and modernscientific nutritional aspect of thecooking method to provideTridosha (Vata, Pita and Kapha)balanced diet to attain wellness ofthe guest at all levels.

Pick your choice of seasonal andorganic fruits and veggies from theRetreat’s own kitchen garden andfarm for cooking. Doctors at Naadprescribe food based on prakriti(body constitution) type and vitalityof the guest, medical history andhealth objectives.

Quips Sekh Sahajan with pride,“In Naad cuisine, we use freshly

prepared natural ingredients withthe right cooking style and method.The food is vegetarian, cooked in acombination of desi ghee and cold-pressed oils with ingredients. Onlynature's freshest bounty is used inour kitchens, in sync with the sixIndian seasons.”

Naad invites you to experiencegood health and fulfilment withleading experts in its world-classfacility.

Contact: Naad Wellness,Naad Marg, Ansal Sushant City, Sector 62,Kundli -131028, Haryana, IndiaTel- 91-124-6030 400,[email protected]

Writing this may soundselfish to some but it doesnot point anyone in

particular. Without creating adramatic story I would directly start.There is something about this topicas whenever I get to hear this all Istart having negative vibes. Googleis the answer to all questions andduring summer it's natural to haveacne and breakouts on the face, Iwas looking for some skincare tipsbut few links that my eyes got stuckon made me very uncomfortable.

Google usually has those “peoplemay also ask” portion and all I readwas ‘can dusky be fair? , why isdusky, not attractive? , How can Iget fair skin tone? , what foodwhitens skin complexion? How tobe slim? How to lose weight in twodays? …….

Imperfect is perfect.By Bushra Hussain KhanImperfections!Imperfections!

Over the years many ethnicitieshave been programmed to equatefair skin and slim figure or I shouldsay zero figures with beauty successand happiness. Why is thisobsession with being fair? Why is itnecessary to be slim enough to becalled beautiful? What hashappened to those catchy lines“beauty comes from within?”

This is an unfortunate truth thatwe live in, where people areobsessed with beauty.

Deal With

Deal With

In the era of modernismsomewhere the society is stillbackward in terms of choosingsomeone based on complexion.Society has placed so muchemphasis on complexion and figurethat it has aroused dangerouslyobsessive behavior amongst us. Iagree with the concept of usingproducts for skincare, especially inthe current effects of globalwarming and a pollutedenvironment.

SOCIAL NORMSSociety has dictated what is

acceptable and what is not. ‘Rishta,’ this is another level of

stupidity. It is very common in thesociety we live ‘girl or boy’ has to befair in order to be termed as“beautiful”. I have seen this somany times and it is so surprising,how can someone choose a lifepartner based on skin color. Beingfair does not make you complete orperfect, and remember “perfect isalways fake”.

The worst part is that fewfairness cream advertisementsopenly show the need of being fair.I have no shame to say that I evenhave to go through it. I stillremember my aunts asking my momto give me saffron and milk every

night to make me fair because I hadhad sun-kissed complexioned. Usingfairness creams, ubtans, Haldi, andMultani mitti were very common tome. Until I realized that thisobsession with fair skin is makingme lose my inner self-confidence.

Another major drawback eatinghabits that unfortunately affect ourhealth in several ways. Certain typesof eating cause weight gain and dueto some metabolism issues fewcannot gain weight. Sometimesfood isn’t the only problem that canmake us fat or skinny, it can even bein our genes. Being too fat or tooslim can be hard to get rid of and

becomes even more difficult to getrid of those judgments that peoplehave. Why it is that society needs tocomment on someone’s figure orskin color. I agree being fit keepsyou away from certain healthproblems, but somewhere thisobsession has increased a lot. Toadd the cherry on the cake are thedangerous skinny celebrities andthose advertisements giving fakeinspiration, especially to teenagerswho evaluate them.

After being constantlycompared to others for being duskyor broad it’s been quite a toughjourney to find you sexy. You startbelieving in it, and adopt a self-image and start regretting yourselffor not being perfect. Due to whicheven the smallest of the joke aboutyou makes you feel as if someone isstabbing you deep and you die alittle. Believe me; it becomes reallydifficult to cover up such things inlife with a smile. You never knowwhat someone is going through.Passing comments, giving certainremarks does not make you apractical person.


We

AFTER BEINGCONSTANTLYCOMPARED TO OTHERSFOR BEING DUSKY ORBROAD IT’S BEENQUITE A TOUGHJOURNEY TO FIND YOUSEXY. YOU STARTBELIEVING IN IT, ANDADOPT A SELF-IMAGEAND STARTREGRETTING YOURSELFFOR NOT BEINGPERFECT.

cloth pad dipped in chilled water.Hydrate by drinking a lot of water daily. At

least 10 cups of water is good for women; youcan drink juices and other liquids too.

Elevate your head when you sleep as itdiscourages blood pooling under your eyes. Findout if you are allergic to some cosmetic you areusing, Antihistamines can deal with allergies.

Increase vitamin C foods in your diet as it helps in collagenbuilding. Get at least 7 hours of sleep at night. Remove allmakeup before going to bed.

AFRIEND OF MINE SAID THAT HER BEAUTIFUL HAIR WAS

the result of balayage. What is this? Can I get itdone to my hair? I get my hair tinted. Is this the

same as balayage?Balayage is derived from the French word “balayer”,

meaning to sweep. This is a technique where colour ispainted onto the hair to give a graded effect, which looksmore natural and attractive. In this, the beautician paintsbleach or colour freehand on the surface of the hairwithout saturating the entire section. The colour is blendedon to the hair seamlessly.

Balayage is different from highlights because the latteruses foils while balayage is a visual hand-paintedtechnique. It does not damage hair at all; infact, it is saferthan highlights, bleaching and tinting.

It last up to four months, with a little touching up ifneeded and does not need any special care.Consult yourbeautician for more details. You must have seen manywomen nowadays with balayaged hairstyles these days.

PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO USE CONCEALER. DOES EVERYONE

need it? What are its uses? I am a 23-year-old girlworking as a school teacher.

Concealer is a cosmetic formula which is like afoundation but thicker, It is generally used on the face toconceal age spots, dark patches, black circles aroundeyes and other such blemishes.

Apply concealer in small dots under eyes ,close tolashes, to hide dark circles. Use a colour which is a shadeor two lighter than your skin tone.Then apply it in dots onall spots and patches, around nose, chin and temples.Use the pad of your middle finger to tap in the concealer.Never rub it in. Concealers come in many shades. Choosethe one which suits your skin tone and colour.

It is usually applied on top of foundation as it gets asmoother surface to work on.You can use it even underthe foundation if you prefer. It is best to learn thetechnique from a beauty expert first so that you can getit right.

MY COMPLEXION IS FAIR BUT MY FACE HAS A FEW DARK

patches, which I want to remove. Please tell mewhat could have caused this problem and how I

can deal with it. I am 45 years old and live in Mumbai. Dark patches could be due to several causes, and in most

cases can be cured. Your age suggests that hormonalchanges due to your pre-menopausal situation could beresulting in Chloasma or the darkening of skin.Dermatological treatment can be had for this.

✿ Check your iron level too for this darkening. ✿ Wash face with cold water. Use a good sunscreen

lotion if going out in the sun.✿ A mixture of milk cream and turmeric is a good skin

lightener. Lemon juice also helps in decreasing stains.There are good night creams from reputed cosmetic

companies that contain skin lightening elements which youcan find useful.The most important step you can take is toavoid exposing your face to the ultraviolet rays of the skin.Always use a sunscreen application with at least 30 SPF.

IAM A 19-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH SHOULDER-LENGTH HAIR, VERY

keen to have long silky hair. Is there a method withwhich I can make my hair grow longer quickly?The length and texture of one’s hair are often determined

by hereditary factors. Some families have women with longhair, some short, some wavy, and some silky. Thankfullythough, with modern cosmetic treatments, we can changeall these conditions very well. But to make genetically shorthair grow longer is a little tricky, but some methods do help.

Massage scalp with warm coconut or olive oil once aweek to encourage growth. Use a few drops of a good serumat regular intervals. Clip the edges of the hair to removesplit ends. Avoid overusing styling procedures and productslike straighteners, dyes, etc. Heating elements to perm andset hair is best avoided.

Check your diet. Eat foods rich in zinc and iron. Do nottug hair in tight hair bands and ponytails.These measureswill help your hair to grow longer gradually, but for morequick results, you can consider hair lengthening proceduresin a beauty parlour.

HO W D O I G E T R I D O F U N D E R-E Y E B A G S? I A M O N L Y

35 years old but I look 10 years older because ofthis ugly problem. Please advise.

Here are a few tips which can help you.Steep tea bagsin water for a few minutes, chill in the fridge, squeezethese out and place it on closed eyes for 15 to 30 minutes.You can also chill a spoon in the fridge and place it on eyearea . Cold slices of cucumber have the same effect, as a

Readers are invited to send their beauty problems andquestions regarding face, complexion, hair, skin, eyes, etc tothis column. Address your letters, written legibly or typed on white paper, to:

WOMAN’S ERA E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-110 055.

Q A&Beauty Queries

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The ugly side of the ʻFish Spaʼ. By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi

Afew months ago, a youngwoman went to her doctorin New York. Her toenails

had gradually blackened over sixmonths and fallen off. No one in herfamily had abnormal toenails andshe had no diseases, no injuries, nora family history of nail disorders.During the tests it was discoveredthat she had a fish pedicure sixmonths ago. The fish had causedinjury to the nail matrix, which is thenail growth centre. This led to anasty case of onychomadesis, inwhich the nail plates that make upthe toenail halt production andseparate, causing her nails to falloff. The condition can cause deepgrooves to run horizontally acrossthe nails, or large gaps where thereis no nail. The case has beenreported in JAMA Dermatology.

Fish Spa –The Harmful Effects of this Pedicure

This is not the only problem fishpedicures have caused.

Fish pedicures have transmittedStaphylococcus aureus andmycobacteriosis infections.

Staphylococcus aureus is abacterium which is a common causeof infections, that range from minorskin infections, such as pimples,boils, cellutitis, folliculitis,carbuncles, and abscesses, to life-threatening diseases such aspneumonia, meningitis,osteomvelitis, endocarditis, toxicshock syndrome, bacteremia, andsepsis. An estimated 20 per cent to30 per cent of the humanpopulation are long-term carriers ofS. aureus. It can cause skin and soft-tissue infections, particularly whenthe skin has beenbreached. It canspread throughcontact with pusfrom an infectedwound, skin-to-skincontact with aninfected person, andcontact with objectsused by an infectedperson.

S. aureus can liedormant in the bodyfor years. Oncesymptoms begin to show, ifuntreated, the disease can bedeadly. Once the bacteria haveentered the bloodstream, they caninfect various organs. Withoutantibiotic treatment, S. aureusbacteremia has a fatality ratearound 80 per cent. With antibiotictreatment, case fatality rates rangefrom 15 per cent to 50 per centdepending on the age and health ofthe patient – but the bacterium isnow almost antibiotic resistant.

Mycobacteriosis is a chronicdisease that occurs in fish rearedunder intensive conditions.Temperatures between 25oC and35oC are ideal for the bacteria.

In the last decade there has beena steady increase in the frequencyof Mycobacterium marinuminfections in cultured fish, andhuman cases associated with fishaquaria have been seen all over the

world. In fish, transmission canoccur by consumption ofcontaminated feed, aquaticdetritus, or entry via injuries, skinabrasions or external parasites. Inhumans, breaks in the skin serve asan entry point for the organismduring contact with contaminatedwater sources, or infected fish andinjury from fish fins or bites.

Mycobacteriosis infection mostcommonly manifests as a skindisease. Lesions tend to be noticedtwo to four weeks after exposure tothe mycobacterium. The lesionsswell and develop into ulcers whichpersist for months. In someinstances, infection spreads to thelymph nodes. The skin, kidney, andliver are the main body partsaffected in both fish and humans.

FISH PEDICURE CANCAUSE DEADLY HARM

Diagnosis can be difficult and isoften delayed, and by then theinfection has spread, causingconsiderable damage to tendonsand bone. Deep infections typicallyrequire both antibiotic and surgicaltreatment. Skin lesions can bechronic and leave scarring. Deepinfections can lead to the loss ofjoint mobility, and severe cases mayneed amputation.

I had written about the dangers

52 Woman’s Era ● Marchl 2021

DURING A FISHPEDICURE, PEOPLEIMMERSE THEIR FEET INA TUB OF WATER THATCONTAINS SMALL FISHCALLED GARRA RUFA.THESE FISHESSUPPOSEDLY PULL OUTDEAD SKIN FROM THECUSTOMER’S FEET,EXFOLIATING THEM ASTHE CUSTOMERRELAXES AND ENJOYSTHE TICKLE. THESEFISHES ARE SPECIALLYGROWN IN TANKS ANDTHEY ARE IMPORTEDINTO INDIA.

NIRMALA AMARNATH , Whowas born on 27th October1971 completed her MA, MBA

in Education, Diploma in Family andChild Counseling, Diploma in SpecialEducation, Diploma in Learningdifficulties and Diploma in Life Skills.She Launched Antarmukha – theSilent victim in 2012 to createawareness regarding the preventionof child abuse. In conversation withNirmala Amarnath, Chairperson ofAmara Soundarya Foundation.

Your college studies are mostlyinvolved with education and childwelfare. What was the motivationfor it?

I believed that formal modes ofeducation were very stressful andso, in order to understand thepsyche of children, I undertookvarious college courses related toalternate modes of education whichmade learning more holistic andenjoyable.

What is your vision behind AmaraSoundarya?

Amara Soundarya Foundation isan Institute for children with mild tomoderate intellectual disabilities.We seek to integrate mainstreameducation with specializedtechniques, so as to allow seamlessassimilation of children with suchdifficulties into institutes of highereducation, vocational training, andultimately, the workforce, thusenabling them to be socially andeconomically independent. Webelieve in the importance of holisticeducation and hence, provide notonly curriculum-based instructionbut also integrate therapies andvocational training into our scope ofservices. As a result, our students

graduate with not only knowledgeof books but with significantlyimproved social skills and a workingknowledge of various careeropportunities.

How the drive of philanthropycame to you first?

My husband Amarnath andSister-in-law Soundarya, both ofwhom were famous in the filmindustry, unfortunately, passedaway in an accident in 2004. It gotme thinking about how we spendthe little time we have herefocusing on taking as much aspossible from the world, but verylittle on how we can give back. So Istarted thinking more about how Ican give back. I decided on thisschool as it was my dream to dosomething for children.

Being a woman how does it feelto run this huge empire, given thatwe see not many womenentrepreneurs out there, do you feelthere is finally a positive changecoming for all the women?

I feel blessed to have theprivilege of running this institution.Many women are doing lots ofamazing work today. They are alsouplifting other less fortunatewomen in every way they can bygiving jobs and providing training.Women are driving their ownrevolution and nothing can stop us.

You launched Antharmukha forcreating awareness regarding theprevention of child abuse. Why theissue of child abuse speaks to youthe most?

In many counselling sessions, Ifound that many children areabused in their homes, in terms of

berating, hitting, etc. Thesepractices were seen as completelynormal and thought that this is howa child is brought up. However, thishas a devastating impact on thesechildren. They were growing up tobe anxious individuals with self-esteem issues. This hurt me a lotand hence, I decided to launch aprogram which educate parents andthe society at large, how to preventchild abuse.

How do you explain the part thata parent plays in the wholespectrum of child abuse?

Parents need to understandwhat is acceptable and what is not.They need to build a rapport withtheir children and build a conduciveatmosphere. They also need torespect their thoughts and opinionsand not dismiss them as it is notimportant. This itself will go a longway in creating happy, confidentyoung people.

Your organization aims to caterto individuals with special needs. Asa part of the education community,how do you feel that educators cancontribute in motivating specialchildren?

Differently-abled children areunfortunately seen as burdens andthe parents of these children onlythink about how to provide forthem. Unfortunately, a lot ofschools also fall into this mindset.Instead, we need to think abouthow we can empower theseindividuals with ampleopportunities in every walk of lifeand recognize every single step theytake. We need to stop hiding thesechildren and start celebrating theminstead.

Quality Education Access to specially Abled Childrenʼs. By Rama

Nirmala Amarnath, Chairperson of AmaraSoundarya Foundation

Empathy in Holistic Special Education

of fish pedicures two years ago, butIndia has still got dozens of parloursoffering the service. I have justreturned from Goa where the maintourist areas have small shadyshacks advertising fish pedicures.

During a fish pedicure, peopleimmerse their feet in a tub of waterthat contains small fish called Garrarufa. These fishes supposedly pullout dead skin from the customer’sfeet, exfoliating them as thecustomer relaxes and enjoys thetickle. These fishes are speciallygrown in tanks and they areimported into India.

This is a typical case of “aa bailmujhe maar” - inviting a problemwhen you have none.

These little fish are not doctors,cosmetologists or inanimateloofahs. They eat human fleshbecause they are starved of theirnormal diet, which is plankton orvegetable matter. The fishthemselves are so mistreated bythis unhealthy diet that outbreaksof systemic bacterial infections inthe animals are common, causingabnormal eye protrusions andhaemorrhaging around the gills,mouth, and abdomen.

They carry bacteria responsiblefor a variety of dangerous tissueinfections and the tubs in which youput your feet are a fertile breedingground. They excrete like all livingbeings, and this excreta is what you

put your feet into. Governmentwarnings across the world havewarned people that fish pedicuresmay even cause Hepatitis C and HIV.

Since they are not cosmeticsurgeons, their biting results inbumpy uneven skin, and some areasare bitten deep enough to drawblood. Their nibbling of human feetcould spread harmful microbesfrom one spa guest's feet to thenext. The hot water tub that youplace your feet in is re-used, as arethe fish and fungi, and disease-causing bacteria have beendetected at fish pedicure spas. Themouths of the living fish cannot becleaned or sterilized. The fish tanksare also not cleaned very often, orthe water altered frequentlyenough. Obviously, all this increasesthe risk of spreading infection.These are the reasons that fish spashave been banned in manycountries.

THE FINDINGS APPEARIN EMERGINGINFECTIOUS DISEASES

In 2011 and 2012, the Fish HealthDirectorate of Great Britainintercepted five different shipmentsof Garra rufa fish from Indonesia,bound for U.K. spas, and testedthem for bacteria. They found thatall the fish carried a number ofharmful bacteria, includingAeromonas spp, Vibrio vulnificus,Vibrio cholerae and Streptococcusagalactiae, which can cause skin andsoft-tissue infections.

The strains were resistant tomost antimicrobial medications,including tetracycline, gentamicin,neomycin and streptomycin. V.vulnificus can cause woundinfections and primary septicaemia,resulting in high mortality rates,especially among persons with liverdisease, diabetes, or impairedimmune function. S. I is a commoncause of skin and soft tissueinfections, especially in older adultsand those with chronic diseasessuch as diabetes mellitus .

The findings appear in EmergingInfectious Diseases, a journalpublished by the federal Centers forDisease Control and Prevention inAtlanta, which has been monitoringhealth effects associated with fishpedicures.

In 2014, researchers from Italyreported cases of customersdeveloping foot infections causedby the Staphylococcus aureusbacterium. Since then infectionshave been reported in Great Britain,according to the Health ProtectionAgency. In the absence of anyregulation in India, shady shopshave sprung up online which sellgarra rufa fish. No one knows howthey have been able to import them. I saw an ad of a Mumbai shop,Pedifish, which sells “fish spa” fishat Rs 8, and Rs 40 for grarra rufahybrids. They take orders of aminimum of 1000 “pieces” – whichshows you how little they know, orcare, about fish.

If you want to clean your feet usea pumice stone not a live fish.


SINCE THEY ARE NOTCOSMETIC SURGEONS,THEIR BITING RESULTSIN BUMPY UNEVENSKIN, AND SOME AREASARE BITTEN DEEPENOUGH TO DRAWBLOOD. THEIRNIBBLING OF HUMANFEET COULD SPREADHARMFUL MICROBESFROM ONE SPA GUEST'S FEET TO THE NEXT.

We

Green and Zero Waste:Push for Sustainable BeautySwitching from toxic to natural beauty products.By Sonal Bhatia

The cosmetic industry is abooming one where womencompete with one another on

high end perfumes, beauty serums,and the like. This industry promisesits audience for a fairer complexionwithin few days so that, greaternumber of women can be lured. Butwhen we closely observe the flipside of this coin, pharmacists andlab researchers have found manychemicals such as parabens-,phthalates, aluminum, lead,mercury, fluoride and morehazardous substances that areextremely detrimental to ourhealth.

bodies and can even cause cancer. Itis a well known scientific fact thatwhatever we rub or apply on ourskin, it is absorbed through its deeplayers into the body. On an average,we use about 10 personal careproducts each day which can totalup to 150 chemicals. A list ofchemicals, what they are found in,and their side effects:

Shifting patternsOwing to the increasing

without any chemicals. But peopleneed to check the organiccertification of the brand since manybrands deceive us by justmentioning one herbal ingredientand broadly mentioning all theirproducts organic.

Natural remediesThere was a time when our

ancestors only put warm mustardoil/ghee in their hair and no wonderthey had thick, dense, black and

awareness about the hazardspresent in these chemicals, peopleare shifting their attention towardsgoing organic- not just in skincare,but almost in everything. Fromgoing to organic restaurants thatserve you a vegan/plant basedversion of every dish, getting locallysourced food- not leaving anycarbon footprint on the planet, togoing back to basics while usingskincare and hair care products- egusing coconut oil as a moisturizer,taking bath with herbal powderbody washes, using tooth powders,etc, millennials do not shy awayfrom buying inexpensive yet naturalwellness products. There are manyupcoming 100% organic skin and haircare brands that offer a wide rangeof products like serums, bodybutters, eye liners, lip balms, facepacks, scrubs, etc that cater to manyskin and hair issues- naturally,

Chemical name Commonly found in Effects

Paraben Shampoo, conditioners, lotions, Low sperm count in males, endocrine hair colors, lipsticks, etc disruption, fertility issues in women

Formaldehyde Shaving creames, sunscreens, Immune system damage, cancerfragrances, mascara

Ethanolamine Hair spray, nail polish, mascara Respiratory disorders, organcancers

Phthalates Hair sprays, lotions Birth defects, kidney and lung failure

Triclosan Soaps, deodorants, powders Skin infection and irritation,early puberty, asthma, cancer

Mercury Moisturisers Impair brain development

Mineral oil Hair oils Biocks the skin’s ability to release toxins

Everyday use productsChemical hazards

Can we ever think closely aboutthe products that we use everyday-be it a soap, toothpaste, hand wash,moisturizer, kajal, lip liner, eye lineror a hair color? The first hazardouschemical that we use right afterwaking up is fluoride richtoothpaste. Such chemical productsare heavily loaded with dreadedtoxins and adulterants which maketheir way through our skin into our

FROM GOING TOORGANICRESTAURANTS THATSERVE YOU A VEGANDISH, GETTING LOCALLYSOURCED FOOD- NOTLEAVING ANY CARBONFOOTPRINT ON THEPLANET, TO GOINGBACK TO BASICS WHILEUSING SKINCARE ANDHAIR CARE PRODUCTS-MILLENNIALS DO NOTSHY AWAY FROMBUYING INEXPENSIVEYET NATURALWELLNESS PRODUCTS.


long hair. For a bath, they firstmassaged their skin with an oil, satin sun for a while and then washedit off with an ubtan that removed allthe dead cells away. Pure Rosewater was used to cleanse and tonethe skin. Aloe vera was used as amoisturizer, beetroot as a lip stain,potato for bleaching the skin, neemto get rid of acne, dandruff, lice,etc. Such plant based ingredients,when combined with modernbiotechnology, produces a widerange of products which can solveall skin and hair issues, naturally.

Earlier, brides were anointedwith a haldi chandan ubtan whichgave her a shiny and moisturizedskin. Her hair was kept oiled manydays prior to the wedding to enablethat she has perfectly silky smoothhair on the wedding day. She wasbathed in raw milk to ensure abright and clean look. Now, it beenreplaced with expensive chemicaltreatments that have many healthhazards and put a hole in theirpockets too.

Animal crueltyThe rate with which animals are

being tested dermatologically isalarming. Cosmetic testing is doneon animals to check for the efficacyof the product and its safety too.This type of animal testing isopposed by animal rights activistsand it is banned in many countriesaltogether. Yet many companiesillegally go on with this trade andmany animals like cats, and rabbitsdie in the process. So the next timeyou use an anti wrinkle cream or adeodorant, realize that an animalcould have been killed for it, andmight have been tortured.

Environmental ResponsibilityThe plastic toothbrushes, empty

plastic crème containers, shampoobottles, etc form major portion ofthe plastic waste that we produce.Moreover, the expensivemultinational brand products thatwe gift one another are heavilyloaded with chemicals, they tortureanimals to increase their market,are overtly expensive, and increase

environment damage since theycome in plastic packaging and theyalso leave a huge carbon footprintsince they need to travel globally tocater to all nations. It becomes ourenvironment responsibility that we

must use natural and plant basedself care products that are locallyproduced and made from locallygrown produce that is not very farfrom us. The nano particles that arepresent in chemical based productsenter our bodies and theenvironment; they kill us and chokethe environment too.

Time to SwitchIt is high time that we made a

smart switch of daily care productsfrom chemical to nature based. Tinand glass can be used in place ofplastic packaging. Zero wastepackaging must be ensured tominimize plastic waste. Shampoobars can be used in place of liquiddetergent based shampoos. Herbsand healing clays are a goodsubstitute for chemical face andbody masks.

Nature’s bounty is huge and wecan cure anything with it.Supplement this with that:


Detergent shampoo Toxin free Shampoo bar

Hair Spa Kit Natural Hair Mask made with reetha, amlashikakai, bhringraj, jatamansi, and other suchherbs.

Hair colour Henna and Coffee Mix

Normal face wash Powder based natural cleanser

Mineral Hair Oils Organic oils like coconut, mustard, etc

Chemical kajal Organic kajal

Lip gloss Beetroot lip balm

Regular moisturiser Natural butters like kokum, cocoa, sal, shea.

Skin serum Natural oils like mustard, coconut, olive, ghee

Toothpaste Herb based tooth powder

Chemical face packs Natural face masks made with rose petals, sandalwood, neem, cocoa, orange peel powder, licorice root, oats, rose clay, kaolin clay, etc We

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Beauty with Purity

this face, time was reversedjust 10 months back…… Itwas the November last yearand it was his nineteenthbirthday. Just beside his flatat an apartment in Andheria couple lived, Shwetaaunty and her husbandPurab uncle. He used to callthem uncle and aunty.Although Shweta auntywas not more than thirtyyears old, he called heraunty as she called hismother bhabhi. ShwetaAunty was a very attractivewoman. He often saw her inthe morning when shecame out for walking andjogging in the park. Herphysique was so cute thatpeople might confuse her

taboo for him.She used to come to his

home sometimes. Unlikethe flat culture of Mumbai,she used to come to hishome and his parents toooccasionally used to go toher flat. She invited himand his family members onbirthdays and marriageanniversaries. LikewiseMohit’s family also invitedher to their home oncertain occasions.

On 14 November theywere cordially invited forMohit’s birthday function.In fact, it was a very simplefunction and Mohit hadforbidden his parents tocelebrate his birthday. Ashe was basically from asmall town, for him,birthday celebration wasfor young kids who veryeagerly waited for their‘happy’ birthday. As he wasnow grown up he did notlike to celebrate suchoccasions, so only his veryclose friends and a fewpeople from the neighbour -hood were invited at therequest of her mother.Purab Uncle and ShwetaAunty were among them.

On that day aunty hadcome alone.

“Where is uncle?” Mohitjust asked her.

“He had gone to Punefor business and will beback day after tomorrow. Icould not bring a gift foryou. You must collect itfrom our flat tomorrow. Ihave ordered the gift foryou online. The deliveryboy called me and told thathe could not deliver thepacket as his bike got

I t was d i f f i cu l t to ident i f y the patern i ty o f the baby . By Binay Pathak

Just An Experience

Mohit was at InfinityMall in Malad forviewing recently

released much talked aboutbiopic of Sanjay Dutt Sanju.He had gone alone as he didusually because he found itdifficult to adjust time withothers. There were sixscreens in the mall andmany attractive anddazzling shops were there.Attractive posters ofrunning and coming movieswere decorated artistically.Many girls, boys, men andwomen in attractivedresses were shopping andenjoying food inrestaurants. As there were15 minutes left for the showto start he preferredwindow shopping andwatching shoppers in theglittering shops.

There he spotted afamiliar face, ShwetaAunty. There was nochance of forgetting thatface. There was afascinating as well asferocious experience withthat beautiful face. Seeing

ShortStory

It was the November lastyear and it was his

nineteenth birthday. Justbeside his flat at an

apartment in Andheri acouple lived, Shweta aunty.

to be a TV or cine-actress ormodel. Her body in tight fittrack suit was capable ofdrawing the attention ofany person. Her track suitwas so tight that everycurve of her body wasperceptible. Purab Unclewas, to the contrary, abulky and pot-belliedperson. He seldomaccompanied her inwalking or jogging. Heseldom walked. Even for ashort distance he preferredusing a bike or car. Itappeared that he wasalmost 10 to 12 years oldthan aunty.

Although Shweta Auntywas attractive to the

limit of enticing, he neverhad any thought for her. Itwas only an opposite sexformula that attracted hisattention for a moment ortwo to her curvaceousfigure. After all she washer aunty and was just

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punctured. He will deliver itearly in the morningtomorrow. For the timebeing I have brought onlythis.’, she said giving him abig packet of chocolate.

After some time thecelebrations were over andeveryone went home.Mohit too after checkinggifts received on theoccassion went to sleep. Hewas thinking of the gift thataunty had ordered for him.What may it be? He tried toguess but could not arriveat any conclusion. Next dayin the morning whilejogging aunty came near tohim and said, “wheneveryou have time please cometo my house. There is asurprise for you.”

And there was really asurprise for him. When hewent to aunty’s flat andpressed the doorbellswitch, she opened thedoor and as he entered theroom she shut the doorimmediately. Mohit wassurprised when he got sightof aunty. She was only in abra and panty. He wasnonplussed.

“Don’t get awestruck,boy. Had not I told you thatI have a fantabulous gift foryou? This is the gift.” Shegesticulated towards herbody.

Although he wasdumbfounded as in front ofhim a woman was presentin semi-naked positionwhom he called aunty yetbody of a male was gettingaroused seeing half nakedbody of a female. He couldnot stop himself.

It was not possible forhim to desist himself asaunty had come near himand was caressing hisorgans and encouraginghim. He consummated herdesire. But that was notenough. Just after some


time she brought somefood and drinks for him andafter a gap of half an houragain she started caressingand kissing him andconsecutively they had sexagain.

After the sensual spellwas over, she asked himhow the gift was. He said itwas decent. He neverexpected such anunbelievable gift. Puttingon her clothes she wentinside and brought a packetand asked with a lovely andmysterious smile, “Whatwill you say to your parentsand friends when they willask about the gift? Will younarrate what gift you haveenjoyed?”

Mohit kept silent.This is what you will say-

she unpacked the gift shehas brought. It was a fitnesstracker. She tied it aroundhis wrist.

Mohit was pleasedgetting the tracker but thepleasure that he hadachieved from earlier giftwas something different. Infact he was in search ofsuch gift again and again.But there was need ofprivacy for such agift.

Mohit was in search ofShweta aunty but nevermet her. She too nevercame to his house afterthat meeting. Mohit did notdare to go to her house ashe might have confrontedPurab uncle. After a fewdays he saw uncle goingoutside by a taxi. As he wascarrying big baggage withhim it was clear that he wasgoing outside the city for afew days. It was a goodchance for him. He went tothe flat of aunty andrequested for the same gift.She flatly refused andintimated him that if heagain came to her she

would file a complaint withpolice for rape and asevidence she had preservedher undergarment on whichhis semen was present.

Mohit got frightened.After that he did not

go to her and only after afew weeks she hadrelocated from therewithout telling anyoneabout her whereabouts.After a gap of 10 months hesaw her in the mall.

By the time Shwetaaunty had come just nearMohit. She was with PurabUncle and a newborn was inher lap. Aunty and unclewere married for five yearsbut they did not have anychild.

Mohit had heard fromsomeone that due to somehealth issues it was notpossible for uncle to be afather. Only after theencounter with him hadaunty conceived. It is mychild, Mohit thought. Howcan I ascertain this? Hebecame anxious.

Shweta just saw at himwhile crossing him andturned her eye as if he wasquite unknown to her.Uncle too did not take

notice of him even afterhaving eye contact withhim for a while.

Mohit went into thetheatre to watch a moviebut he was so puzzled thathe could not understandwhat was going on in thecinema what to talk ofenjoying it.

While returning he wasvery upset. He did not hirea rickshaw and walked wayhome. There he saw aname plate reading ‘DrAyusman, sexpert, time 7pm to 9 pm’ in a shoppingcomplex. It was a quarter toseven. He entered the clinicand got an appointment.The doctor came in time.He was the first appointee.He met the doctor and toldhim the entire story andsought advice aboutascertaining that the childwas his son.

The doctor was amiddle-aged person. Helistened to him attentively,thought for a while andsaid,’ I would stronglysuggest that you bring theactivity to a stop. It isdifficult to identify thepaternity of the baby. Andyour interfering will onlycomplicate the matter foryou and them. Think of thisas just an experience andmove on.”

Mohit came out of theclinic. Although he wasaware that with the help ofthe DNA test it is possibleto ascertain the fatherhoodof the baby, he had comeacross news in which a manhad filed is suit against hisbiological octogenarianfather about paternity andit was proved by DNA test.But seeing his age, studyand other things hedecided to go with theadvice of the doctor- thinkof this as just an experienceand move on.

Mohit was surpr isedwhen he got s ight o faunty. She was on lyin a bra and panty.He was nonplussed.“Don’t getawestruck, boy.Had not I to ld youthat I have afantabulous g i f t foryou? This i s theg i f t .” Shegest icu latedtowards her body.

We

Ifeel females of my generationhave grown up watching beautypageants personified with so

much grace and poise. When divaslike Lara Dutta, Aishwarya Rai,Priyanka Chopra won accolades forthe country they impactedinternationally not only as beautysymbols but as global humanitarianleaders. So, it won’t be wrong tomention that I had a great impact ofthe pageant world on my mindduring my growing years. I wassupposed to choose a professionwhich could give me security,stability in my life and the burningurge within me to help my societyand serve people made me choose amedical profession which also gaveme independence in many aspectsof my life. After my schooling fromAhlcon Public School in the year2004, I went on to pursue mybachelors in dental surgery from theInstitute of Dental Studies andTechnologies completing one yearof rotary internship in 2010. Istarted my career at Max Hospitalas an observer and then joined in asa senior associate dental surgeon inCentral Delhi with a reputed clinic(Mother Dental Implant Clinic). Iworked there for 8 long yearsmeanwhile, I got married to Dr. AnujJain an Orthopaedic surgeon,national gold medalist and gavebirth to a lovable boy who is 7 yrs.of age now.

Life was busy and day to daychallenges never left me!Something was missing and thebusy life never gave me time tofigure out what it was? It all startedwith my weight gain postpregnancy. I experienced whatbody shaming is in actual sense. Ilost stamina, confidence andhappiness. Finally, the deterioratinghealth made me decide to work onmyself to take out time for mywellbeing. That was the turningpoint of my life. I started myworkouts while managingeverything else in the background it

was challenging but I did not giveup, as a result in few months I feltchange not only in my physical bodybut mentally, emotionally I feltstronger. It’s then, when thisopportunity to compete in MRSINDIA WORLD 2019 came my way, Iexactly knew what I had to do. Iappeared in the north zoneauditions cleared it and my journeygot a kick start. It was not easybeing a married woman, a wife, amother, a daughter in law and anaccomplished doctor. The journeycame with its ups and downs. Onceagain I decided to not give up.

With new learnings and a lot ofhard work I appeared on the grandplatform of Mrs. India World. Thisgave me a lifetime opportunity torepresent my country on aninternational platform of Mrs. worldheld at Las Vegas USA where I wonthe award of best inspirationalcostume. My biggest achievementsare the learnings and experiences Igot through my journey. The wholeprocess was life changing andempowering, which made me decideto share my experience and roadmap through my book in writing.

FINDING THE BALANCE Where I talk about my journey

from a middle-class family breakingthe old mindset and walking on theinternational stage leaving a trail ofinspiration and self-belief. I also felta strong urge to create a platformbody & mind workshop, where withmy personal experiences andlearnings I want to provide astrategic map of transformation forall those women who face strugglesas I did in my life and how to surgeahead for their passion whilemaintaining the balance. I am alsopracticing through Jain SpecialtyClinic with logo Dr. Rashi’s Dentistrylocated in the heart of Noida whereI provide world class treatmentfacilities for the happy smiles of mypatients.

Achievements● I was recently the jury member of

Mrs. India world 2021.● I crowned my successor who is

going to represent India at Mrs. World.

● I was also one of the super achiever of Nav Durga program conducted by Indian dental association and women dental association.

● Jury member along side,VivekOberoi, Soha Ali khan, Mrs. worldCaroline Massimiwala youngestfashion designer.

Finding balance with Dr. Rashi Jain.

The Fashionista Smile Maker!

media and delegates — were donedigitally. Even the inauguration,shorn off ostentation and thephysical presence of any outstationbrand-ambassador and celebrities,was held virtually from within theconfines of the state CM'spolitburo.

This year it was decided that thedelegate fees would be waived offand that the bookings of the showscould only be done online, two days

prior to their respective screeningsand that too by scanning the IDcard's QR code. But, even beforeany regular screening wentunderway, the online bookingswere withdrawn, on the behest ofthe CM, who even called for ahundred percent seat occupancyinstead of its half-capacityoperational decree, which, if it hadactually materialized would haveflouted the very notion ofprecaution. It did for a whilemanage to elicit the déjà vupronunciations of chaos on thevarious social media.

Screenings and Inaugural FilmUnlike previous years, only the

government cinema halls andauditoriums were earmarked forthis festival. Each venue had tosacrifice at least one daily slot toaccount for the sanitisation whichwere carried out diligently, beforeand after all screenings.Disinfection stations were alsoadequately active throughout theevent.

The inaugural film of this yearpaid tribute to Soumitra Chatterjee,whom we lost to Covid-19. It washis acting debut, "Apur Sansar' (TheWorld Of Apu) directed by Satyajit


Pandemic can stay, maybe, for afew years. Endemic, itappears, is more persistent.

While it is laudable that KIFFbecame the very first film festival inIndia to adopt the hybrid mode —melding online with offline — ofconducting such an event, it couldnot keep itself bereft of its atavisticwhimsies.

In keeping with the contactlessprotocol, all the registrations —

26th KIFF- Tribute mural of Soumitra Chatterjee.

KIFF in 202126thCinema in the time of pandemic, endemic withstanding. By Sudipto Mullick

Ray in 1959, which was one of ninefilms showcased in the festival.Respects to other mortaldepartures, that of FernandoSolanas, Kim Ki-Duk, Irrfan Khan,danseuse Amala Shankar, RishiKapoor, Santu Mukherjee, BasuChatterjee, and Tapas Pal, werepaid through one of their films,each.

Every year Children's Day whichfalls within the festival span issuitably commemorated withrelevant films, but the shift in dates,rendered it incongruous. So, theorganizers cleverly assimilated theconcurrent Swami Vivekananda’sbirth anniversary by screening offour movies and documentaries.

Competition andContemporary Cinema

Despite the lockdown, KIFFattracted 1170 entries, out of which131 –comprising 81 feature films and50 short and documentary films,spanning 45 countries wereselected.

Exhibitions, Annual Lectureand Promo

For the very first time in India,the Fellini Foundation for Cinema(Sion) exhibited, albeit in a'nutshell', posters and photographsof Federico Fellini, to coincide withhis birth centenary.

The topic of this year's SatyajitRay lecture was, 'SocialResponsibility In Mainstream IndianCinema'. There were no masterclasses but the daily breezy sessionsat the purpose-built open-air audiwas apparently a big draw.

The End SenseSince the last few years, KIFF had

exhibited a propensity to promotethe festival via innovative creatives.Likewise, this festival was more of adefiance to counter theunwarranted grip of the coronavirus terror, to perpetuate theshowbiz pulchritude that, no matterwhat, as visibly positioned in allcollateral, 'The Show Must Go On'.


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Every person is a sexual being,and the best person who cantell if you’re happy with your

sexual side is none other than you.If you came from a conservativefamily or cultural background, youmight have some hesitations aboutexpressing your sexual side to thefullest. But you don’t have to thinktwice about doing it, so long asyou’re not hurting yourself oranybody. As an adult, you’reresponsible for your own body andfinding the best ways to providewhat it needs.

A crucial step to feel morecomfortable with your sexual side isto know your sexual needs. Becauseevery person is unique— each hashis or her sexual priorities. Forexample, one might need sex atleast thrice a week to feel fulfilled,while others need daily stimulationto attain sexual satisfaction.

Sexual stimulation can betriggered by a person or a thing,such as a personal private partmassager or vibrator. On the otherhand, ladies can use their fingers orvibrators and find this actacceptable and sexually fulfilling.

Sexuality refers to a person’sfeelings, thoughts, behaviors, andattraction towards other people,which is personal, diverse, flexible,and unique.

Here are the common terms usedto describe the different types ofsexuality:

Heterosexual: This type ofsexuality is also called ‘straight.’ Itmeans that you’re attracted to theopposite sex, such as men who likewomen, and vice versa.

Homosexual: This sexualityrefers to having sexual attractionfor the same sex. Women who areattracted to women are calledlesbians. On the other hand, gaysare men who are attracted to men.

Bisexual: People who aresexually attracted to both men andwomen are called bisexuals.

Asexual: This term refers to aperson who doesn’t experiencesexual attraction. Peopleexperience asexuality because ofdifferent ways, such as devotingthemselves to religious workthrough sexual abstinence.

Note that you don’t need toadopt a label or choose a type ofsexuality to describe yourself.

Equip Yourself with The RightKnowledge And Skills

Knowledge is a powerful weaponto keep yourself protected whileexpressing your sexual sidecomfortably and confidently. From

the way you look to the things youdo, it’s important to be extra carefulto ensure you’re not compromisingyour health and safety.

Existing Laws: Enjoy showingyour sexual side by abiding byexisting laws. For example, youhave to follow safety protocolsduring this pandemic by engaging insafer sex. It’s one way to avoidacquiring or transmitting COVID-19that could endanger people’s lives.

Safe Sex Prac tices: Aside fromthe threat of the current pandemic,you also need to know theconsequences of not engaging insafe sex. It could result in sexuallytransmitted diseases, such as thehuman immunodeficiency virus(HIV) or acquired immunodeficiencysyndrome (AIDS). Be mindful andfollow safe sex practices, such asusing condoms and birth controlpills.

Conclusion You can feel comfortable with

your sexual side by applying the tipsshared above. Knowing your sexualneeds and sexuality will enable youto better express yourself andattain sexual satisfaction.

Equip yourself with the rightknowledge and skills. Read up oncurrent news, health updates, andrelevant information that mayaffect your sexual life. Beresponsible and accountable foryour actions—prioritize your life,health, and safety above otherthings. Enjoy your sexual life and beconfident expressing your sexualside using the right sex toys,materials, and other devices.


What’s YourSexual Side?Getting comfortable with sexuality.By Deepshikha Pandey

We

NOTE THAT YOU DON’TNEED TO ADOPT ALABEL OR CHOOSE ATYPE OF SEXUALITY TODESCRIBE YOURSELF.PEOPLE EXPERIENCEASEXUALITY BECAUSEOF DIFFERENT WAYS,SUCH AS DEVOTINGTHEMSELVES TORELIGIOUS WORKTHROUGH SEXUALABSTINENCE.


Yes, how did you?We see many marriages floundering

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We would like to know as to how youovercame the crisis of a break-up ordiscord in your married life.

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Share your secret with us and millionsof our readers all across the world.

Contributions should be neatly written

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conditions at all. At the rear of mybrain, I realized it wouldn't keepgoing forever. I'd even push him toproceed to date another lady. In anycase, he was totally dedicated tome. In a manner no other man hadever been. I floundered with theprincipal man who gave meconsideration. It continued foraround a half year. We evenventured out to streets together.

I lied about it being a workexcursion to my husband and henever addressed me all thingsconsidered. I don't have the foggiestidea what happened yet in the wakeof returning from that trip, I beganfeeling somewhat uncomfortable inour relationship.

I needed to be with my betterhalf and I was finished messingaround. I admitted nothing to mysignificant other however. What Idid rather was begin putting forthattempts to invest more energy withhim. What's more, when he saw medoing such a great deal, he toostarted putting efforts to back onwork to be with me. We've beenmarried for nearly 8 years now. It'scomplete happiness! Do I considerwhat life could've been had Idecided to seek after myundertaking any further? Now andagain, I assume, yet I don't lamentanything.

–By Rama

An Affair toremember

hitched lady who adored her betterhalf but was succumbing to anotherman! From the start, our conditionwas about sex.

He had quite recently emergedfrom a relationship and I washitched to another person. We'dmeet as and when our schedulespermitted and I expected nothing inexcess of a climax from him. Yet,things began to change when Iunderstood I had started tosuccumb to him. Unexpectedly, itwasn't the sex I'd anticipate yet thediscussions we would have all thingsconsidered. He was completelycomprehension of my problem - Iwas a wedded lady who adored herbetter half but was succumbing toanother man! We'd talk for quite along time and I'd open up to him in amanner I never had with my betterhalf. He never pressurized me for aresponsibility, never requested thatI leave my significant other. Thatwas what made me succumb to himconsiderably more, I assume. He wascheerful simply being with me, no

We met at a commoncompanion's gathering - he'daccompany his then sweetheart. Ican't say there was momentfascination for we scarcely talkedthat night. Yet, I do recall him takinga gander at me all through thegathering which made me ratheraware. I got some information abouthim the following day and mycompanion revealed to me he toohad enquired about me! "You needto realize that I would not like toleave on any undertaking, regardlessof how hard it might appear toaccept. I just went out with him as Iwas interested and truly, incrediblycomplimented also. Subsequent tobeing hitched for more than 3 years,I'd failed to remember what itseemed like to have a man give youconsideration. It occurs with allladies. I didn't realize I was wantingthat man-lady chemistry until it wasnot too far off, looking straight atme." My better half and I had beenoptimistic, in adoration and occupiedwith the ordinariness of our lives. Weinfrequently fought and I can't saythat we were hopeless with oneanother. I found a sense ofcontentment with where my life was- my better half was the one I'd beenenamoured with since school andmarry him was probably the bestchoice of my life. But there was amissing thing. I simply didn't havethe foggiest idea what that was.Also, when this other man came intomy life, I out of nowhereacknowledged how alone I'd been.He was charming, appealing andmindful, all the things my significantother had quit being with me. I was a

Across the world, the year2021 is the most lookedforward to year. In 2021,

along with the shot(s) of vaccine,can we also inoculate ourselveswith a bout of optimism? If thereever was any year in need of that, itdefinitely is this one.

At the same time, this jobperhaps is made easier since whenwe look at the future, against thebackdrop of 2020, even the mostskeptics of us are perhaps morehopeful. But, how can we make thisfeeling of optimism to last for long?

In order to find an answer to thisquestion, let’s understand what this

“Learned Optimism”A Dose of Optimism Along with the Shot(s) of Vaccine.

By Sujatha Raophenomenon called ‘optimism’ is allabout. The most often quotedparable in this regard happens to bethe one involving a half full glass.

When you look at such a glasswhat do you see? Is the glass halffull? Or is it half empty? Actually,what part of your body is in chargewhen this thing plays out? Is it theeyes or the mind? While eyes are themedium through which you see, it’sthe mind which processes what yousee.

So, do you often find yourselftoggling between both these views?If yes, then welcome to the club.Most of us see it that waydepending upon our frame of mindat that time.

But we are often told thatoptimists see the glass as half fullwhile pessimists see it as halfempty. So maybe we are temptedto force ourselves to always answer“it’s half full” in an attempt to feelgood about ourselves.

Let’s now examine optimism abit further by going through somescientific research that is relevant.Though there have been a numberof studies that have been carriedout in this regard, the mostsignificant one is the one by Dr.Martin Seligman, considered to bethe founder of positive psychology.

As part of his research onclassical conditioning, Dr. Seligmanwould ring a bell and then give alight shock to a dog. After a fewtimes of doing so, he would placethat dog in a large crate with a lowfence in the middle, which can easilybe jumped over by the dog ifnecessary. When the light shockwas administered, he expected thedog to jump over to the other sideto escape. But the dog simply laydown as though he felt it washopeless to even try.

As the second part of hisexperiment, he tried the sameshock with dogs that had previouslynot been exposed to shock andfound that they jumped over to theother side quickly.

This, according to Seligman wasdue to “learned helplessness” onthe part of the dogs that hadencountered the situation earlierand had learned to give up.

From this study, Dr. Seligmandeduced that the way“helplessness” was learned undercertain conditions, “optimism” toocould be learned by training themind to focus on certain reactionsto the situations.

Dr. Seligman who had beenfeeling highly frustrated withpsychology’s overly narrow focuson the decease and the negative,lapped up this opportunity todedicate his research on humanwellbeing and flourishing instead.So when he got elected thepresident of American PsychologicalAssociation in 1998, he totally threwhimself into researching the life-giving rather than life-depletingfield of positive psychology.

Since then several researchershave forged further in this direction,be it Mihaly Csikzenmihalyi in termsof focusing on “Flow” or AngelaDuckworth who came up with theimportance of “Grit” or CarolDweck who studied the significanceof a “Growth Mindset”.

These studies point out to thefacts that optimism can be learnedand nurtured. While you have nocontrol over what happens to you,by practicing an optimisticexplanatory style, you can avoidviewing these negative happeningsin their most permanent, pervasiveand personal light. In his bestsellingbook “Learned Optimism” DrSeligman recommends ABCDEapproach to help us lead a moreoptimistic life in general.

ABCDE TechniqueABCDE technique is based on our

explanatory style to the situationsthat we find ourselves in and is verysimple to practice. During the

stressful situations we face in ourdaily life, the technique advocatesus to analyze these situations fromthe following five aspects; ABCDEhaving been culled out from thefirst letter of each of these aspects:

Adversity; Belief, Consequences,Disputation and Energization

The premise of the ABCDEtechnique is that when a negativesituation (Adversity) occurs, ourthought process (Belief) actuallyleads to the way we feel

(Consequence) which can bealtered through changing ourexplanatory style (Disputation)thereby resetting the earlierconsequence into a positive one(Energization).

The following example of asituation that is somewhat commonto occur in our daily work life willhighlight how the ABCDE techniqueis intended to play out:

Adversity: My Boss Mr. Guptayelled at me in front of mycolleagues in a meeting. I feltterrible and ashamed. Since then, Ihave this nagging feeling that thewhole office is giving mecondescending looks.

Belief: My Boss hates me and thewhole office now thinks I am anincompetent jerk.

Consequences: I felt likedisappearing into thin air at thatmoment. Now I dread going towork. Maybe I should simply quit.

Disputation: Just because Mr.Gupta yelled at me, it doesn’t meanhe hates me. He was the same onewho had appreciated my work infront of everyone earlier and hadeven recommended me forpromotion two years back. He isjust criticizing the quality of mywork on this particular project. Asfar as the colleagues are concerned,I think I am imagining things as theyhave been as helpful as ever.

Energization: Though I still feel abit bad about being yelled at inpublic, I am feeling much betterthan before and I don’t feelmiserable about going to workanymore.

Dr. Seligman’s researchrecommends recording each andevery negative situation in a journaland practicing the ABCDE techniqueconsciously over a period to changethe way we perceive life in generaland to turn ourselves into moreoptimistic people.

But why do we need to turnourselves into optimists? What is in


DR. SELIGMAN’SRESEARCHRECOMMENDSRECORDING EACHAND EVERY NEGATIVESITUATION IN AJOURNAL ANDPRACTICING THEABCDE TECHNIQUECONSCIOUSLY OVER APERIOD TO CHANGETHE WAY WEPERCEIVE LIFE INGENERAL AND TOTURN OURSELVESINTO MOREOPTIMISTIC PEOPLE.

it for us? Research has shown that:● Optimists have better physical

health and hence tend to livelonger.

● Learning to change theexplanatory style to a positive oneseems to really pay off in children.In the Princeton Penn LongitudinalStudy , it was found that the learnedhelplessness and pessimisticexplanatory style were the cause ofdepression in schoolchildren.

● It was also found thateverything else being equal, theindividual with the more optimisticexplanatory style would go on towin, as he would end up tryingharder after every defeat since hewouldn’t view it as all pervasive,

personal and permanent loss.● Optimists are more successful

at work. In fact, in a studyconducted on insurance agents, Dr.Seligman found that the mostoptimistic of these agents sold 88%more than their pessimisticcounterparts. The same study alsohighlighted that the pessimisticpeople were 3 times likely to quitthese jobs than the optimistic ones.

● As surprising as it may sound,an in-depth research of the variousspeeches by the electoralcandidates in America over the pastseveral decades has revealed thatAmerican citizens were more likelyto elect an Optimistic person to leadthe country.

However, the optimisticexplanatory style should not becarried so far as to draw aconclusion that it’s a panacea. Well,it isn’t. It has its own limitations.Carried too far, optimism mayprevent us from seeing reality andeven offer an excuse to somepeople for not to owning upresponsibility for their failures. Butdespite these limitations, thebenefits far outweigh the negatives.

Now that COVID-19 has given usthe shock and a wakeup call that weall needed to remind ourselves ofthe beauty in the transience of life,let’s take a leap into the newdecade by learning to unleash theoptimism within ourselves.


Father of the BrideWhen my dad walked me down

the aisle and gave me that longlook before handing my handover to my husband-to-be, Ialmost got emotional! It was aspecial moment because so muchis being said in that one gaze. Itwas then that I realize howemotional it must be for myfather to tell me goodbye and, towatch his little girl grow up. Everybride goes through this emotionalphase and realizes how specialthis moment is. From the time wewere born, fathers (and fatherfigures in our lives) are ourheroes. There is something solovely about the father anddaughter bond. Each father-girldivides an advantageous

association and the affectionamong them just develops furtherwith time. From encouraging herhow to ride a bike to playingcooking sets with her, a dad isconsistently there for his girl.Regardless of how old a young ladygrows, to her dad, she is forever hislittle princess. Nonetheless, as perthe conventions of the Indianculture, a dad needs to part with hislittle girl to permit her to begin hernew wedded life. As much as it is acheerful event, it is additionally aheartbreaking moment for eachfather out there. Some of ourfathers are more impassive, whileothers are more affectionate. Butwe can always count on them to beone call away and ready to come toyour rescue no matter how stupidthings you do – from the time youforgot to bring your assignment toschool to the time your car brokedown on the highway. As he veilsme and walks me down the aisle,my father is reminded of how much– and how fast his little girl hasgrown up. He brings himself back tothe time when I was just learning towalk, or when I was graduated fromuniversity. When he holds my handand watches me with thatmeaningful look, that moment isincredibly precious. I suddenlyrealize how emotional this moment

Has something happened in your life thathas left an indelible impressionon your mind? Some experience thatgladdens your heart or which makesyou shudder with pain orembarrassment even after years! Whynot share your experience with thereaders of Woman’s Era? Allpublished incidents will be paid `200.Please type or write neatly on whitefoolscap paper and send it to:MY MOST UNFORGETTABLEEXPERIENCE AS A BRIDE

E-3 Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-110055.Womansera.com

Name:Mobile:E-mail:

is for my father. It can bring a tear.It can bring a knowing nod. Rightthere and then, it becomes one ofthe most memorable moments ofme as a bride. A daughter’smarriage surely leaves a huge voidin a father’s life but he feels happyand content looking at the smileon her face. He makes peace withhis mind thinking that even thoughit’s heartbreaking that she’sleaving, it is also a new beginningfor her. _By Roma Chouhan

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educated and informed, you will become a much better wife and mother than a semi- educated person. You will be able to helpmeet your husband and an intelligent motherto the kids.

Education also helps you gain respect andattention from the world; and if the needarises, you can even help your spousefinancially by taking up a job. It is

understandable that you do not want to study Law as youare uninterested in that field, but there are so many otheravenues to get a college degree, which can attract you.

Discuss this matter with your parents, and schoolcounsellor, who can guide you into making a good andinformed decision. On such condition, dont drop out fromyour school now. These are the golden years when youcan garner as many qualifications as you can. Don’tsquander this time with such foolish ideas.

ILOVE MY MOTHER DEEPLY. INDEED, SHE IS THE SWEETEST

person in the world, who is showering all her love onme. It makes me ashamed and ungrateful, therefore,

to admit frankly, she embarrasses me in the company ofmy friends because she is uneducated and gauche in herbehaviour.

In fact, she has studied only up to middle school. I go toa very elite Public School and my classmates belong tohigh society families. Although, they treat her with respectwhenever they meet her, I have seen them sniggering intheir sleeves too, making me both angry and sad.

WH E N E V E R M Y P A L S V I S I T M E, MU M M Y E N J O Y S

talking to them, quite oblivious of their secret amusement. What should I do? I am a

15-year-old girl.It is unbelievable that you should pose this problem on

our page, when the obvious answer should be staring youin the face!! Stop feeling ashamed of your own motherwho bore you and has cared for you all these years, just toimpress your so-called friends.

Let the good lady join your friends’group. Make iteminently clear that you are proud of her, and love herunconditionally. Drop the friends who make fun of her; theyare unworthy of your friendship and are a despicable snootybunch. Stick to the ones who show true respect to yourmother, for these are the ones with the right values.

It is time too that you made a complete transformationyourself. If you love your mother, how can you toleratesomeone ridiculing her? Stop wanting to impress suchpetty minded persons. If they desert you, good riddanceto bad rubbish.


PLEASE HELP ME MAKE UP MY MIND ABOUT WHICH BOY TO

marry. I am a 16-year-old girl who has twoboyfriends. One comes from a traditional family

background, is serious and dependable but compared tothe second one, he is rather staid. The second boy is wittyand fun to be with, and even a bit of a flirt. Both haveasked me to marry them in five years’ but I cannot choosebetween them. Who to hold on to and who to give up?Both of them are earning very well too. Please tell mehow to make up my mind.

You are still too young and inexperienced to makesuch lifetime decisions. And also, you have to wait twoyears to marry legally and in this time, many things couldchange, including your minds! So, for the time being, playit cool, and refuse to choose between the two suitors.you will likely decide against both of them.

Marrying early will also make you miss out on the joysof leading a fancy-free, young adult life and chain youdown prematurely to responsibilities of home, in-lawsand even children.

When choosing a suitor, ask yourself this question: DoI want to spend my lifetime with him? Will I be happy withhim ti l l our old age? The honest answers to thesequestions will help you sort out your confusion.

IBELONG TO A FAMILY OF LAWYERS WITH MY FATHER AND TWO

brothers being very respected luminaries at the bar.My parents are keen that I too study Law to follow the

tradition; with the family clout, it will be very easy to gainentry into any prestigious firm.The truth, however, is thatI am least interested in a career.

I love homemaking, and dream of marrying andbecoming the mother of at least four children.This notionwill indeed sound strange in these times, when girls want to work and earn money and not marry till they arepretty old.

I don’t even want to go to college. After all, what will adegree give me, when all that I want is to be a contentedhomemaker? If my parents know that I would like to dropout of my studies, they will be shocked and angry. Whycand I decide to do what I like and not let others decide mylife choices? I am a 16-year-old girl who will completeschooling next year.

You do have the right to decide what you wish to dowith your life, but think carefully before making anydrastic decision. Education empowers a person and helpsone to stand on one’s feet.

It does not imply that you should take up a career andgive a back seat to marriage and home. When you are

This column is especially for teenagers. Adolescence can, we know, be atrying and confusing time. There are so many questions which seem toevade solutions. A wrong decision, or an indiscreet move, can spelldisaster and ruin a life. Share your problem, worry or doubt with us andWE will help you find a way out — to a happier, healthier and moresuccessful adult life. Send your problems to:

WOMAN’S ERA E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-110 055, Womansera.com

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Q A&Teenache

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Teenage couples often havepeople tell them that younglove rarely lasts. These people

aren't trying to be mean; they aretrying to save teenagers fromheartache. Chances are thesepeople had their hearts broken byyoung love in the past and aretrying to spare the feelings of theteenager they are talking to. Butevery teenager has the sameresponse to this—"it's going to bedifferent for us."

There are some young couplesand high school sweethearts thatmake it. They stand the test of time.Their exciting young relationshipgrows and develops into true love.However, for every high schoolcouple that remains together, thereare many more that don't. And, ofthe couples that do get marriedafter high school, over 50% of them

get divorced before they have beenmarried for ten years.

Young love carries a lot ofemotion with it. It can be anincredibly wonderful and intenseemotion. It can also be extremelyconfusing. Love is difficult for manymature adults to manage, making itthat much harder for teenagers.However, just because it'sconfusing doesn't mean that younglove isn't real. Sometimes it is, andsometimes it's not. Here are somethings to remember about younglove.

Teenagers start a crush mostly tobe able to say “I have a boy- orgirlfriend,'' and to start to know theopposite sex. In fact, they are notfalling in love as they neverexperience the sense of caring,commitment, and completeness inthe relationship. They lack social

skills and control over theiremotions which can all make therelationship difficult.

Romantic relationships can havevery unhealthy outcomes. Bycutting themselves off fromfriendship and other supportivenetworks, they can compromise theidentity formation. Adolescents canbe exposed to abusive and violentinteractions or unwanted orcoerced sexual activity within theirromantic relationships. Aggressionbetween romantic partners iscommon and when it occurs online,the ex-partners may share privatephotos or information on socialmedia, causing embarrassment orhumiliation. Some have beensurprisingly seen to accept thesesituations by interpreting them asreflections of love, jealousy andoverly possessive behaviours.

Teenage Love Can Be A Confusing Emotion.By Himshikha Shukla

IN FACT, THEY ARE NOTFALLING IN LOVE AS THEYNEVER EXPERIENCE THE SENSE OF CARING,COMMITMENT, ANDCOMPLETENESS IN THERELATIONSHIP.

Infatuation Is Confused With Love

Relationships are confusing foryoung people because they areexperiencing feelings of romanticlove and attraction for the firsttime. They are just starting to figureit all out. Since these are feelingsthat many mature adults strugglewith, you can only imagine howmuch more of a struggle it can befor teenagers. The first feelings thatpreteens and teens usuallyexperience are feelings ofinfatuation or a crush. The feelingsare more intense than the youngperson is used to, and are easilymistaken for love.

Young love tends to be based onnothing but feelings. The couple hasnot yet faced and overcome achallenge or difficulty together.They are passionate about eachother. They think about each otherconstantly and want to spend alltheir time together. Chances arethey blush at the mention of theother, get sweaty palms, experiencea racing heart, and desire for theother. Many times, they don't evenknow each other well. Thesefeelings are a natural reaction andnot something the teen ischoosing.

YOUNG LOVE TENDS TO BE BASED ON NOTHINGBUT FEELINGS. THE COUPLE HAS NOT YET FACEDAND OVERCOME A CHALLENGE OR DIFFICULTYTOGETHER. THEY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT EACHOTHER. THEY THINK ABOUT EACH OTHERCONSTANTLY AND WANT TO SPEND ALL THEIRTIME TOGETHER.

When the relationship faces thefirst challenge, like a disagreementbetween the couple, it can be blownout of proportion. Those that areexperiencing young love mistakenlybelieve that love comes withouttrials. However, the exact oppositeis true. True love develops when acouple decides to overcome thechallenges that face them and staytogether despite them.

Teenagers Are Still In TheProcess Of Discovering WhoThey Are

Young love is even morechallenging because you are still inthe process of finding out who youare. When you fall in love and are ina serious relationship before youknow yourself, it can cause manyproblems down the road. To pleasethe other person, you do thingsthey enjoy doing. You may evenbelieve that you like these things fora while. But in the future, therecould come a day when you realizeyou have been wasting your timedoing things that you don't enjoy toplease someone else.

This makes young love confusingbecause the more you learn aboutyourself, the more you may findthat you don't enjoy spendingtime with the other person likeyou once thought you did.And it works the other wayas well. You may think youfound the perfect personthat you are compatiblewith, but then they startrealizing they like differentthings. It's easy to feelbetrayed when thishappens. However, it's mostlikely not that the otherperson was trying to trickyou but that they didn'tknow themselves wellenough.

Teenagers Often Don'tKnow What They AreLooking For

Experience and maturity areimportant in life. When you lookfor someone to be in a relationshipwith, you need to know what you

are looking for. Young love oftenblinds teenagers to the realsituation. This can make love seemeven more confusing. You may thinkthat you found the perfect person,but as you continue to mature and

learn what's important to you, youmay realize that your boyfriend orgirlfriend isn't the type of personyou want to be with.

A Lot Is Going On In LifeTeenagers are busier than ever

these days. They are expected tostay on top of their schoolwork,which often includes hours ofhomework and studying outside ofschool. On top of that, many playsports or have a part-time job.When you add these things in withfamily and friends, it's difficult toadd a romantic relationship on topof that. If the two individuals don'tagree on what the right amount oftime is to spend with each other,then one or both will end upfrustrated and confused.

Teens that find themselves in thethroes of young love need to beopen with each other aboutexpectations. This can help toeliminate confusion in therelationship.

Peer Pressure Plays A Role In ItPeer pressure is something that

teenagers deal with at a muchhigher level than any other agegroup. It can make young loveand relationships verycomplicated. Teens can feelpressured to be in a relationshipeven if they aren't interestedbecause all of their friends are inrelationships. They can also bepressured to take therelationship to the next leveleven if they are not ready to.There is an intense desire to fitin with their peers, and itmakes it easy to cross

boundaries that they wouldn'thave crossed otherwise.

It Might Be One-SidedThere is nothing quite as

upsetting as being a teenager inlove with someone whodoesn't feel the same way.Young love is an intenseemotion that can beoverwhelming. If thefeelings aren't returned,many kids struggle with

TEENAGERS AREBUSIER THAN EVERTHESE DAYS. THEY AREEXPECTED TO STAY ONTOP OF THEIRSCHOOLWORK, WHICHOFTEN INCLUDESHOURS OF HOMEWORKAND STUDYINGOUTSIDE OF SCHOOL.ON TOP OF THAT, MANYPLAY SPORTS OR HAVEA PART-TIME JOB.

how to move forward. Some remainobsessed with the other for yearsuntil school ends and they are nolonger bumping into each other ona regular basis.

Tips On Young LoveDon't date your friend's ex. You

may have strong feelings for thatperson, but you need to determinehow important your friend is to you.Many high school friendships endbecause of young love that doesn'tlast. Your friend might even say it'sOK, but you better know for surebefore you date their ex.

Spend some time getting toknow yourself. You want to be in arelationship with someone that likesyou for you. That means you have to

know who you are, what you like,and what you don't like. Once youknow who you are, don'tcompromise that for any otherperson, no matter how much youlove them. Someone who loves youfor the right reasons won't ask youto make compromises.

Don't isolate yourself. Don'tsacrifice your relationships withfamily and friends for the personyou are dating. You may want tospend a lot of time with them butmake sure that save time for othersas well.

Get on the same page. Talk tothe other person to make sure youare both on the same page and feelthe same way. Then communicateyour expectations. If you are

playing a sport and need time topractice and spend time with yourteam, be upfront about this.

Don't lose focus. School is goingto go by quickly, and you need tohave a plan for what comes next.Don't lose focus because you are soconsumed with your relationship.Whether you plan on going toschool or starting a career, makesure you’re prioritizing your future.

Don't be in a hurry to find love.Spend your time learning who youare and what you like. Enjoy timewith your family and friends andtrying new things. Life is anadventure. If love finds you, thenmake sure you deal with it the rightway; but don't worry about tryingto make it happen.


Brothers are scounderls and some are moronsI am saved in this life that I don’t have a brotherWhen I was in college I have seen my juniors, my batch matesWho have brothers, a lot of brother’sSome were nice, but some were brothers with other needs

From when did I start hating brothers?From the day a brother behaved like a bastard,I was small, but he didn’t spare me!

Whenever someone ask my father,“Oh, you have two girls! No boys”I feel like to carry his head in a basket full of chopped fleshWhy can’t he see me? Am I not enough for my father?Why should I invite an intruder? To harm my soul and body

When my little sister said “if I had a brother he would have taken me on a bike”The next day I drove a 220CC bike all south to meet herOnce I had a friend who kept on saying“If I had a brother my life would have been better”I am still not sure how a brother can make her life better?

So do I have a brother?No my mother is saved from a boy childMy father is saved from another man’s mercyAlways and always his word will be finalI will never say “he is like my brother”Because not all likes are made of love.This poem is srictly not for “my brother is my world girls”.

– Greema Michael, Pondicherry.

He Didn’t Spare Me

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Songs Of SpringThe Power o f P rayer By : Someeta Das

ShortStory

The mornings werenever quite easy.The ch i ldren had to be pul led out o f the i r beds,groaning, andpushed to completethei r morn ingr i tua ls , g iven the i rbreakfast and t i f f inand f ina l ly packedof f to school .

Spring was in the air.The songs of the birdsas they flew to their

nests,sounded melodiousand sweet as Rukministood on the verandahlistening to them. After theday’s hard work, it was latein the afternoon when shehad some time for herselfwhen she could tend to thegarden in the smallbackyard. She wasparticularly fond of hergarden, though it was just avery small patch, and therewere only a few rosebushes, a tulsi tree, alongwith magenta petunia. Butshe always felt relaxed inthis haven. For thisplace gave her asense of freedom, asshe could be amongsther favorite flowers andshe depended on themas they did on her. It wasan interdependence, theyon her for their water and

right temperature, hisclothes to be readied, andthen after a hurriedbreakfast, while Rukminisipped her tea, with agoodbye- see –you- later-rush out, which meant thatnow she could catch herbreath and bring someorder into the disorder ofthe house.

Rukmini lived on theground floor in a fourstoried apartment building,with her husband andchildren. It was a blessingto live on the ground floorfor she had the advantageof the small area near the

kitchen,which liberatedher spirit from the

monotony of daily routinelife. It was here, she couldspend the little time shehad to call her own, whereshe could think, maybeeven heave a deep heartfeltsigh of relief and evensometimes speak or sing toherself, without feelingguilty.

It was a blessing to live on the ground floor for she had the

advantage of the small area near thekitchen,which liberated her spirit

from the monotony of dailyroutine life.

sustenance, and she onthem, for serenity andpeace of mind. With herchildren Meeta aged tenand Raghav, aged twelve atschool,and her husbandNitin at office, this time inthe late afternoon,was thetime she could call her own.

The mornings werenever quite easy. Thechildren had to be pulledout of their beds, groaning,and pushed to completetheir morning rituals, giventheir breakfast and tiffinand finally packed off toschool. Nitin too had to bewoken with his tea at the

She had planted therose bushes herself-gettingthem from the nursery, acouple of red and yellowrose plants and could tendto them only at this time ofthe day. Though shemanaged to water themtwice a day in the summerwhen they withered andappeared to have wilted inthe heat, but in the winterwhen they blossomed, shehad the satisfaction ofseeing her roses bloom, redand yellow, their sizesurprising her. She loved allher plants, but the yellowrose plants held a specialplace in her heart. She hadheard somewhere that onemust treat plants likehumans, which she did,talking and singing to themsoftly, sometimes evenconfiding to them, whenshe did not feel well, orafter a difference of opinionwith the children, or herhusband.

It was spring, but both thered and yellow rose trees

were still flowering. Sheknew with the summerssetting in, the plants wouldbe the first to suffer.Somehow she had thefeeling that the plants fatewas intertwined with herown. She did not believe insuperstitions for she waswell educated, and it notpractical and defied logic,but she felt though strangeit was true. Earlier, whenthe yellow rose bush waswilting she felt a sense offoreboding and discomfort,that somethingunfortunate was going tohappen.Eerily enough,something did happen, justas she thought it would.She remembers edit hadhappened twice, that onetime when one of theyellow rose plant was

wilting. She was puzzled asshe had dutifully wateredit, even had given theplants manure a couple ofweeks earlier. Butstrangely, the particularplant did not respond to hercare. She was a littleworried for she cared forthem like her own children,and worried in the samemanner if either of themwere sick. But all thoughtswere driven away when thevery next day her husbandcame home with a ragingfever. She was upset andpuzzled as Nitin had lefthome in the morningwithout any physicaldiscomfort. It took quite afew days for him to recoverfrom that bout of illness,and get back to his regularroutine.The next time, shehad noticed somethingwrong with one of the redrose plant.The buds werethere, but before floweringthey were falling off. Shedecided to call the nurseryand ask them to send agardener to deal with theproblem. But this timecuriously, the very next dayRangav came home fromschool with an injured leg.He had twisted his left legwhile playing, and hurt itbadly. He came limpingback from school,accompanied by his sister.Rukmini soothed him, putsome ointment gently andcarefully nursed him, all thewhile thinking “Is it acoincidence?” Again, ittook a few days for Raghavto be completely fit, beforehe returned to school. Shethanked her stars that itwas not a fracture, andapart from a couple of daysrest, it was nothing serious.It seemed magical as thered rose tree startedflowering once again.

That evening as Rukmini

was tending to her plants,she noticed that one of theyellow rose plant seemed alittle withered. For amoment she stared andtried to figure out as towhat was wrong. It was themonth of April, and thesummers had not quite setin. She had dutifullywatered them twice, inbetween cooking lunch andcleaning. She tried to recallwhen she had last tendedto them. Abstractedly shethought “Today isWednesday-did I not givethe manure last Thursday”.Yes, she remembered that

it was Thursday, for shehad to buy the groceryfrom the local market. Shehad mixed the manure tothe soil, and then bathed,having a quick lunch,hurried to the shops. Thenit struck her, wassomething going tohappen? She was filled withdread, and now had asinking feeling in herstomach as she tried tostop panic setting in.

“What is going tohappen? Are the plantstrying to tell mesomething”, she askedherself. She thought oftaking her husband Nitininto confidence. But sheknew that he wouldprobably laugh at her,and

tell her to be logical and notlet her imagination runwild. She knew she couldnot relate that sense offoreboding to anyone, soshe just prayed silently,asking for courage to dealwith whatever challengescame her way.Sheappeared to be quiet overdinner, as the childrensquabbled over somethingthat happened in school.Noticing her beingunusually thoughtful, Nitinasked “What is wrong? Areyou feeling unwell?”Rukmini shook her headand smiled, saying“ No, Iam perfectly fine”. Thatentire night she tossed andturned trying to imaginevarious things going wrong.Next morning with theusual hustle-bustle of theday, she forgot hermisgivings and appeared tobe her normal self. Settlingthe house once it wasempty, the sense of dreadreturned. Glancing at thegarden,she saw that theyellow rose tree seemedfurther withered. Shehurried out, and startedwatering them andspeaking softly asked,”Why don’t you tell mewhat is wrong? “ She felt ashiver run through her.

The call came just whileshe was having lunch.

The shrill ringing of thetelephone shook her out ofher reverie. It was herhusband, Nitin. His voiceshaking a little, asked hernot to wait for him and tohave her dinner with thechildren. He seemed to bein a hurry, before Rukminicould ask him what waswrong, he had rung off.Now she was in a dilemmaas his voice had revealednothing. She went overevery word he had spoken,


Rukmin i soothedh im, put someo intment gent l y andcare fu l l y nursedh im, a l l the wh i leth ink ing “ I s i t aco inc idence?”Aga in , i t took a fewdays fo r Raghav tobe complete l y f i t ,be fo re he returnedto schoo l .

but could not deduceanything. Did his voicesound worried or anxious?She asked herself. At onemoment she thought ofcalling him, but Nitin hadsaid he would be busy, soshe did not like to disturbhim. Moreover, she feltthat she was worryingunnecessarily and wasreading too much into hiscall. Maybe he would bedining with a client, andtherefore would be a littlelate, she reasoned. Shehurriedly completed herwork, and went to thegarden.

She was now kneelingdown besides the

yellow rose bush, speakingtenderly to it, as she triedto find the reason for itswilting. She sang softlyand it somehow seemed toher that the plant lookedcomforted. Was it afigment of imaginationthat it seemed to beresponding to her words?She spent a few momentsmore and then hearing thevoice of the children, shereturned to the house intime to see them enteringand searching for her.

Dinner, was the usualchatter, with the childrenasking about Nitin and thenrelating what hadhappened at school,Rukmini engrossedlistened, as she askedabout their lessons and sawto their homework beforethey went to play.Sometime later, puttingthem to sleep and glancingat the grandfather clock inthe dining room, she saw itwas quite late and Nitin hadstill not returned home.Again, she started feelinganxious and kept looking atthe clock after every fewminutes. Panic was slowlysetting as it was way pastten and there was still noword from him. Rukminidecided to call him, butNitin was not picking up thephone. It kept ringing tillthe automated servicedeclared that the personwas not responding to hercall.She was alreadyplanning to call Nitin’soffice colleagues and askthem for help when thedoorbell rang. Rukmini got

But what was this? Nitinstood there with a box ofsweets, a smile playing onhis lips. Turningindignantly, Rukminigreeted him with a frown,about to speak angrily as tohow worried she was, readyto vent her anger, whenNitin stopped her bysaying” First listen to meand then speak, for you arespeaking to the VicePresident of the company”Rukmini’s mouth fell open,as the angry words died onher lips. She knew thatNitin had been angling forthe post for quitesometime, for the post hadbeenlying vacant for a fewmonths now.She knew thatthere was anothercontender for the post, andof late Nitin had appearedquite distracted.” The finalinterview was today” Nitinsaid.” I wanted to see thesurprise on your face and sodid not tell you anything”.

Caught unawares,Rukmini started crying.Nitin put his arms aroundher as Rukmini sobbed herheart and troublesout.Hearing her out, herpremonition, Nitin took herout to the garden. Rukministared in surprise anddisbelief. The yellow roseplant now appeared quitehealthy. She saw a smallbud had just startedappearing. She now knewthat connecting the plantsto her own sense offoreboding was just afigment of imagination.Nature, she knew was agreat teacher. The ways ofthe Almighty weremysterious and so Rukminiswore to herself that neveragain would she connectthe two as Faith andPrayers were morepowerful than Fate andDestiny.

She was a l readyp lann ing to ca l lN i t in ’ s o f f i ceco l l eagues and askthem fo r he lp whenthe doorbe l l rang .Rukmin i got ups low ly fear ing thewors t . Was i tsomeone f rom thepo l i ce s tat ionsay ing that Ni t inhad met w i th anacc ident o rsomeone f rom theo f f i ce to in fo rm herthat Ni t inhad beenadmit ted to thehosp i ta l .

We

Dragging her feet forward, with a prayer on her lips, she managed to

open the door.

up slowly fearing the worst.Was it someone from thepolice station saying thatNitin had met with anaccident or someone fromthe office to inform her thatNitinhad been admitted tothehospital. Her hands hadstarted sweating and herfeet refused to obey her.The bell rang again, thistime a little impatiently.Dragging her feet forward,with a prayer on her lips,she managed to open thedoor.

barnacle to the side of a ship andquickly herded me out of the halltowards the customer service desk.It was a closed hall with minimalexit points so he told me to stay putwhile he took actions to plug theexits. He needed more eyes to huntup the baby and needed thecustomer desk staff’s help to do so.By now itwas some 10 minutes sinceI had lost her and before he couldstart explaining to the staff whatwas up I just lost it and startedhowling like a Banshee. The worriedstaff and even more worriedhusband had to spend preciousminutes calming me down lest Iwent into labour there and then. Iremember some part of my mindbeing really surprised that I wasreacting like this and going topieces since till then I had alwaysassumed that I had nerves of steeland could handle any crisis well. Tillthen being a mother who had losther child was a theoretical conceptwith me acting as a silent Judge andJury condemning any parent for thisdastardly act. Probably the powersthat be wanted to teach me somehumility and also acquaint me withmyself that led to this life alteringincident.

Finally my husband’s wordspenetrated that if he had to lookafter me how would he look for ourbaby? Leaving me to continue tosob albeit less intensely, the staffand he then got into high gear withthe first act being to close off all theexit points and check any peopleleaving with a small baby girl. I don’tremember how much time hadpassed when they found ourdaughter sitting behind a stall witha lady who had coaxed her intositting down. When we ran (orwaddled in my case) up to the stallthe lady said that she had thoughtthat this baby might be lost andthus made her sitbeside her at thestall. She explained that she beingalone couldn’t leave her stall to goup to the customer desk and so haddecided to wait for someone tomiss a child.

Seeing my baby I had a bagful of

mixed emotions with relief andanger jostling for equal space. It’shuman nature to transfer the blamefor our shortcomings onto someoneelse; even the one we’ve wronged.It was why I wanted to hug mydaughter to within an inch of herlife and also beat her up. Before youcall child services, no, I didn’t raise ahand on her. I remember staring atthe floor rather than the lady at thestall and mumbling somethingbefore grabbing our daughter andleaving.

I don’t think I thanked the kindlady enough because I was deeplyembarrassed about the meltdown(everyone heard me howling I’msure) and that I had lost our kid inthe first place. I’m sure my husbandthanked her enough for both of us.This incident was like a light shiningupon my holier than thou bearing. Irealised that A, I wasn’t the betterparent, B, I couldn’t handle a crisiswhich involved my kids (remember Iwas expecting our second child)and C, my baby was just that, a babyand I needed to treat her as such.Taking kids to such crowded placeswas ok as long as one parent was a“Black Cat” and hyper vigilantabout their whereabouts.

– By Suruchi Rastogi


A Big ImpactMy husband, almost two year old

daughter and a very pregnant I hadgone to see a lifestyle exhibition ina Hotel.

I was a very possessive motherand almost never let anyone elsetake charge of my chick. Hence itwas I who was toting along theaforementioned chick from stall tostall while she tried to touch thingsand basically stall my progress!

We came upon a stall with handpainted plates from Turkey and inorder to have a closer look I left thehand of my daughter. In all of aminute I was done andautomatically reached for her tinyfingers to only encounter air.Turning to my side and lookingdown I saw a lot of different waistsand footwear but no kid. Confidentthat she wouldn’t leave my side toactually get lost I looked in thestalls around all the while gettingready to scold her for leaving myhand. Never mind that it was I whohad let go of an infant’s hand. Byairline standards any child belowthe age of two is an infant. Here Imust admit that while I was superpossessive of her I was also alwaystreating her like a grown up childbecause she was and is an old souland was mature beyond her years.Does this sound like an excuse forwhy I misplaced her?

Trying to hunt up my husbandwho had wandered off to maybethe next row of stalls I wasunravelling and starting tohyperventilate when I saw him.Imagine a beached whale runningtowards an unsuspecting human.He managed to keep his balance as Icrashed into him and clung on like a

Has somethinghappened in your lifethat has left an indelibleimpression on your mind? Someexperience that gladdens yourheart or which makes you shudderwith pain or embarrassment evenafter years! Why not share it withthe readers of Woman’s Era? Allpublished incidents will be paidRs 200. Send your entries to:

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HomelessHow Teenagers Become Homeless?By Rama

Youngsters who becomehomeless are unexpectedlyportrayed in the media. Here

and there they are depicted ascoming from families and homesthat are portrayed by savagery. Ondifferent instants, they are depictedas youthful swashbucklers, whoventure out from the home toexplore the world and search outthe gleaming lights of the enormouscity. However different occasions,

they are viewed as rebelliousteenagers who venture out fromhome for genuinely negligiblereasons; as instigators burnt out ondoing the dishes, who would prefernot to remain in school or find anew line of work, yet rather need totry different things with the'bohemian' way of life. From thisviewpoint, the roads are believed to'pull' youngsters towards fervor andopportunity.

Teens!

There are a few reasons why ateenager may be living in thepresent homeless circumstance.

Living on the StreetNeedy young people go through

their days searching the roads formoney and food. Some choose tojoin a gang figure the individuals willsecure them. Notwithstanding, theposse movement is similarlyperilous since a large number ofthem require new individuals tofight, put forward murder or takefor commencement and build-upposition inside the gathering.Asylums are accessible in hugeurban communities; in any case,they top off quickly. A pennilessyoung person's bed or perhaps asweeping normally winds up in arecreation center, under a scaffold,interstate underpass, or in theforested areas. The colder time ofyear presents more concerningissues-particularly in colderatmospheres. Without satisfactorywarm asylum, teenagers can turnout to be sick, experience the illeffects of hypothermia or stick todeath.

Discovering Homes in roads,or discarded Buildings

Some poor teenagers may havesome kind of rooftop over theirheads. They need to discoverapproaches to bring in money forfood. Not being of lawful age towork implies numerous youngpeople go to burglary. Some thinkthat it's simpler to skillet handle orsell sex and medications for asylum,food, and money. In any case, thisplaces them at risk for assault,actual maltreatment, and murder.Moreover, most lodgings are pay byweek or day. Accordingly, thisasylum could be lost at any secondsending them back to the roads.Vehicles or deserted structures canbe repossessed, which meansyoungsters should be readyconsistently. They should have anarrangement for what to do if theirimpermanent haven is lost. We havecome dangerously close toaccepting the homeless situation.

SurfersThese are viewed as the

shrouded poor teenagers. Theydon't have a perpetual spot, so theydepend on companions, familymembers, neighbors or outsidersready to loan them a sofa to rest on.While these youngsters may havewarmth or food, they don't haveany feeling of strength since theyneed to locate another spot whenthey outstay their welcome. Thesedestitute teenagers continuallystress where they will rest and maygo through certain evenings living in

the city or even in vehicles whenthey can't discover a spot.Moreover, these children may dorandom temp jobs, tasks or sexualcourtesies for a spot to rest. Withno spot to remain forever, all thatthey own normally fits inside arucksack that they convey.

Issues At Home Several teens that are actually,

inwardly, and additionally explicitlymanhandled will runaway, so theydon't need to suffer it any more. Afew teenagers flee in light of the


fact that their folks are in a highclash separate. They may feel asthough they are the motivationbehind why their folks can't getalong or they would prefer not tobe around their folks battling.Guardians who have a dysfunctionalbehavior or are dependent onmedications and additionally liquormight be careless or advice theirteen to leave their home againsthis/her desires.

Parental Economic Difficulties Guardians, who are jobless and

lose their temporary housing, mayget penniless alongside theiryoungsters. In any case, in light of

THE COLDER TIME OFYEAR PRESENTS MORECONCERNING ISSUES-PARTICULARLY INCOLDER ATMOSPHERES.WITHOUTSATISFACTORY WARMASYLUM, TEENAGERSCAN TURN OUT TO BESICK, EXPERIENCE THEILL EFFECTS OFHYPOTHERMIA OR STICKTO DEATH.

on the present moment by theirparents for different reasons. Forinstance, a parent may kick ateenager out after a fight.Teenagers may likewise be foreverkicked out for drug infringement orcrime as well.

Sexual Orientation The same number of as 40% of

homeless teenagers and youth areconsidered among the LGBT peoplegroup. Either these teenagers maydecide to flee from homes thataren't tolerating of their sexualdirection or they may be kicked outby guardians that can'tacknowledge their decision.

Outcomes and Risks At the point when youngsters

flee, a significant number of themdon't think about the results ofliving without a steady home. Thisway of life can prompt variousdangers.

CrimeTeenagers that live on the road

are bound to perpetrate what areconsidered "survival acts," whichmuch of the time implies crime. Notexclusively will they take, howeverthey may likewise join a group oroffer drugs to endure. Mosthomeless teenagers are vigorously'in danger' of engaging inwrongdoings.

Prostitution Mostly homeless teenagers have

exchanged sex for money and somefor food or haven. Homelessyoungsters likewise experiencevarious kinds of physical andpsychological mistreatment.

Emotional wellness Issues and Suicide

Homeless youth experience awide range of psychological well-being issues like discouragement,tension problem, lead issue, PTSDand low confidence at raised rates.These teenagers additionally have ahigher pace of self-hurtingpractices.

Lack of EducationSeveral young people that are

homeless will need legitimatetraining. They either can't or don'tdecide to go to class. Someadditionally can't pursue classessince they don't have enoughresources.


the threats of the road and asylumaccessibility, numerous teenagersseparate from their parents.

Home Instability Kids who have experienced

childhood in the outline may thinkthat its debilitating when theyshould over and again move allthrough support homes. As aportion of these kids become youngpeople, they become less adaptableabout their everyday environmentsand choose to flee.

PovertyMany youngsters who become

homeless come from families livingin neediness. This doesn't reallyimply that the families are notmindful and strong. Nonetheless,we do realize that living indestitution can affect instructiveand wellbeing results and on one'scapacity to find a new line of work.Moreover, as youngsters get moreexperienced, it could be harder forfamilies to keep on supporting themmonetarily.

Kicked Out Vagrancy doesn't need to be a

drawn out thing. A few teenagershave been kicked out of their homes

MANY YOUNGSTERSWHO BECOMEHOMELESS COMEFROM FAMILIES LIVINGIN NEEDINESS. THISDOESN'T REALLY IMPLYTHAT THE FAMILIESARE NOT MINDFUL ANDSTRONG.NONETHELESS, WE DOREALIZE THAT LIVING INDESTITUTION CANAFFECT INSTRUCTIVEAND WELLBEINGRESULTS AND ON ONE'SCAPACITY TO FIND ANEW LINE OF WORK.THIS WAY OF LIFE CANPROMPT VARIOUSDANGERS.

We


ISWIM REGULARLY EVERY SUMMER SEASON. THIS TIME Irealized that I am pregnant. My family membersdo not want me to swim any longer but this the

only type of exercise pleasurable, I would very muchlike to continue doing so. Can I?

Swimming is an excellent form of exercise withor without pregnancy. You can continue doing so tillterm when the buoyancy of the water will ease the

weight of the enlarged uterus and make you feel relaxed.However there is a risk of catching skin, eye, ear and intestinalinfections from the pool so use one that is well maintained andtake all the necessary hygienic precautions one takes beforeand after swimming. Also, do not overexert yourself. One doesnot realize that one can get overheated in the pool too andthis is not good for the baby.

IAM IN THE 8TH MONTH OF MY FIRST PREGNANCY AND HAVE

developed severe itching all over my body. This hasoccurred despite the fact that I am very conscious about

my body hygiene. There is no rash but the itch is making memiserable. Please tell me why has this occurred and what do Ido about it?

Itching without a rash in the last trimester of pregnancycould be due to a condition called Cholestasis of pregnancywherein the liver functions are deranged, as confirmed by ablood test. This leads to a collection of bile in the body whichcauses the itch. Your doctor will prescribe medications for thesame and you will have to apply lotions like lacto-calamineexternally to soothe the itch. The obstetrical implication of thiscondition is that, on rare occasions, it can lead to intrauterinedeath of the baby near term. To avoid such a calamity,obstetricians usually induce labour and deliver the woman atthirty eighth week of pregnancy - two weeks before term.

IAM EIGHTH MONTHS PREGNANT WITH MY FIRST CHILD BUT LOOK

positively huge. At times I find it difficult to lie down, get upfrom the lying position. There is even difficulty in

breathing.Earlier ultrasound have rule out the possibility oftwins. Now it has been found that there is excessive fluid inmy uterus. Please tell me why is it so? What are the implicationsof such a condition and is it possible to decrease the fluid andmake my life comfortable for there is still a month to go.

Excessive fluid in the uterus can cause maternal distress asyou know. The reason for increased amniotic fluid is notgenerally known though some women with congenitalmalformations like anencephaly (absence of the baby’s head)do have increased fluid. There is no treatment for hydramniosbut if it is causing breathlessness, the doctors can give youtemporary relief by removing some amount of fluid.

I AM 21 YEARS OLD AND AM FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT BUT MY STOMACH IS

BARELY NOTICEABLE. WHY IS IT SO?As this is the first time that you have conceived, the muscle

tone of your abdominal wall is good and that does not allow theenlarging uterus to fall forwards. Get yourself examined by anobstetrician and if she says that the pregnancy is growingnormally you have no cause for worry.

– Dr. A.K. Bajaj

IAM ONE AND HALF MONTHS PREGNANT. I AM VERY FOND Ofgardening. It is in fact my passion and has a calming effect onmy stressed nerves. Even the nausea of pregnancy decreases

when I sit in my garden and breathe in the fresh, clean air. Pleasetell me if it is advisable to continue gardening during pregnancy.

The first trimester of pregnancy is not a good time to indulgein your passion for gardening. Studies have shown that weedkillers may cause developmental problems. If you are really keento continue wear rubber gloves while gardening in areas wherepesticides have been used.

IAM TWO MONTHS PREGNANT BUT THE ULTRASOUND REVEALED

just a fluid filled sac with no baby inside. What does thismean? Am I pregnant or not? What should be done?You are pregnant alright but all is not well with the

pregnancy. In all probability you have a blighted ovum. Youshould get the ultrasound repeated after two week.

If no fetal node has appeared by then the conceptus has to beaborted as it is defective. Your doctor may send the products ofconception for karyotyping to detect chromosomalabnormalities if any.

IAM EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT WITH MY FIRST BABY. ON MY LAST

antenatal visit my obstetrician told me that the fluid in whichthe baby floats is less, a fact that was confirmed on

ultrasound. What does it signify? I am very worried.Decreased amniotic fluid alerts us to the fact that all my not

be well with the baby. You will require more frequent antenatalcheckups and serial ultrasounds to monitor the progress of the baby.

If no further deterioration is found, you will be allowed tocarry the pregnancy to near term. On the other hand if thevarious parameters worsen, the baby will be delivered as soon asdeemed necessary.

MY RECENT ULTRASOUND SHOWED A LOOSE LOOP OF CORD

around the neck. I am in the thirty sixth week of mypregnancy. Please tell me what to do? Should we opt

for a cesarean section right away lest the cord strangulate mybaby? Please tell me what to do.

A loose loop of cord around the neck is no reason to panic and according to medical guidelines, not a reason todo a cesarean section. However, in rare cases it can be stretched at the time of labour when the head descendslow down causing fetal distress which may require hasteningbirth by applying a forceps or vacuum.

Some people are not willing to take any risk and give a signature for a preference for cesarean section. Discuss thepros and cons with your obstetrician and make an informedchoice.

Q A&I am Pregnant

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Everyday cooking recipes.

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin1 teaspoon black pepper1 teaspoon oregano 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1 cup chicken broth

METHOD:Heat a large pan on medium

flame. Once hot, add the coconutoil. Put the onion, bell peppers,

CHICKENTACO SOUPINGREDIENTS:800 grams boneless chickenbreast1/2 teaspoon coconut oil1 small chopped green bell pepper 1 small chopped red bell pepper1 medium chopped onion 1 small diced tomato 6 cloves minced garlic2 teaspoons salt

and minced garlic into the pan.Cook the veggies for 3-4 minutesuntil they become soft.

Now add the chicken breast,tomatoes, lime juice, all thespices, and chicken broth. Stir theingredients well. After a boil, letthe soup cook for 25-30 minutesso that the chicken can beshredded easily.

Shred the chicken with the helpof two forks. Mix the soup again.Serve it hot with some freshlychopped coriander leaves.

Chicken taco soup

New

FamilyFavorite!

water and let it boil. Now, add thefish pieces. Put the lid on andleave the pot on low flame for 20minutes. Have it with some brownrice.

VGRILLEDVEGETABLECHICKENKEBABS

INGREDIENTS:700 grams boneless chickenbreast1 small diced onion1 medium green bell pepperlargely diced1 medium red bell pepper largelydiced1 small zucchini thickly sliced2 teaspoons black pepper2 teaspoons oregano2 teaspoons of paprika1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

METHOD:Pre-heat the griller to 350

degrees.Boil the chicken with some

Himalayan salt. Cut the boilchicken into small square cubes.Season them with paprika, blackpepper and oregano. Keep itaside.

Deseed the bell peppers. Placethe vegetables and chicken cubeonto the skewers in your desiredorder.

Place them onto the grill for 4minutes. After grilling each side,remove the heat.

The kebabs are ready to eat.You may sprinkle some saltadditionally. You can have it onlywith hummus dip or can have itwith some cooked quinoa.

Grilled vegetable chicken kebabs

CARIBBEANSTYLE STEAMEDFISHINGREDIENTS:3-4 prominent pieces of fish ofyour choice (low fat) 1/4 cup lime juice1 finely chopped green bell pepper 1 finely chopped red bell pepper 1 sliced onion1 diced carrot4 cloves crushed garlic1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon butter1 teaspoon olive oil 2 cups water

METHOD:Marinate the fish with garlic,

salt, black pepper and lime juiceand let it rest for 10 minutes.

Place a heavy bottom wide poton medium flame. Add the butterand oil to it. After the butter meltscompletely, put the bell peppers,carrots and onion into it. Cook theveggies for the next minutes.

After adding garlic, add the

Caribbean style steamed fish

You can have it with multigrainbread toast.

MEXICANSTYLE STUFFEDPEPPERSINGREDIENTS:4-5 large bell peppers700 grams minced chicken2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder1 small chopped onion4-5 cloves of minced garlic1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper1 small tomato chopped1 ½ cups quinoa 1 1/3 cup shredded cheese

METHOD:Preheat the oven to 375

degrees. Prepare the baking trayby applying some olive oil.

Deseed the bell peppers. Takeout the remaining membranesfrom them. Cut them from thetop. Place the cut bell peppers onthe tray.Place a large pan onmedium flame and add oil.

Now add the chicken, onion,garlic, chili powder, cumin powdersalt and pepper. Cook it for 4minutes until the chickenbecomes slightly brown. Add thetomatoes and cook for another 1minute. Add the quinoa and 3/4cup cheese with the sautéedingredients after removing thepan from heat. Mound the fillinginto the bell peppers. Add theremaining cheese on the top.

Pour little water into the tray.Bake uncovered for maximum 30minutes until the cheese meltscompletely. Enjoy it hot.

Mexican style stuffed peppers

SLOWCOOKEDCHICKEN STEWINGREDIENTS:800 grams chicken breast1 small onion diced1 small red bell pepper diced1 small green bell pepper diced4 cloves of garlic minced1 small tomato roughly chopped2 teaspoons olive oil1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper1/4 teaspoon paprika3-4 large cups of water

METHOD:Boil the chicken breast with a

pinch of salt. Toss the chickenwith paprika and black pepper.

Heat a large pan on mediumflame. Add the oil. Now add theonion and garlic. Let it cook for 1-2minutes. At this point, addtomatoes, bell peppers andchicken to the pan. Sauté theingredients for next few minutesand add the water.

Cook the soup for next 1 houron low flame.

Slow cooked chicken stew

GLUTEN-FREETOMATO PASTAINGREDIENTS:1 packet gluten free pasta

1 cup diced tomatoes1/2 cup onion diced3 cloves of minced garlic3 teaspoons olive oil1 cup mayonnaise1 egg yolk1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon black pepperSome freshly chopped basil

METHOD:Cook the gluten free pasta

according to the instructions.Drain the water and rinse it withcold water.

Take a large pot and place it onmedium flame. Add the oil. Sautéthe garlic, tomatoes and onion for

2 minutes. Now keep on lowflame.

In a separate bowl mixthe egg yolk and mayo

well. Add the pasta to the

pot with the yolkmixture. Mix all theingredients till you geta creamy consistency.

Stir everythinggently on low flame for3-4 minutes. Add saltand pepper. Mix again.

Transfer the pasta toa plate. Garnish it with

freshly chopped basil.

Zucchini Pizza

Gluten-free tomato pasta

ZUCCHINIPIZZAINGREDIENTS:5 medium zucchini1 cup pizza sauce (You can make itat home)1/4 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon Italian seasoning2 teaspoons of fresh herbs- basilor thyme1/4 teaspoon chili flakes1/3 teaspoon olive oil1 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella2 teaspoons fresh parmesancheese

METHOD:Preheat the oven to 375

degrees. Prepare the baking trayby coating some olive oil.

Cut the zucchinis lengthwise.Scape out the soft center of thezucchinis. Sprinkle some saltinside them. Arrange the cutzucchinis on the baking tray.

Spread pizza sauce inside thezucchinis generously.Add themozzarella cheese, zucchinicenters, fresh herbs, chili flakesand Italian seasoning. Sprinkle theparmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 20 minutes until thecheese melts and gets lightbrowned. As it is very filling, youcan have it only for lunch.

BRUSSELSSPROUTS WITHHONEYMUSTARDCHICKENINGREDIENTS:4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice2 tablespoons mustard paste2 tablespoons honey4-5 cloves of minced garlic1 large chopped onion4-5 medium chicken thighs1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon freshly ground blackpepper1 1/2 cup Brussels sprout

METHOD:Preheat the oven Preheat the

oven to 425 degrees. Place baking

Brussels sprouts withhoney mustard chicken

One-pot chickensoup with kaleand white beans

sheets into the nonstick tray andgrease them with some olive oil.Take a small bowl. Whisk 2tablespoons of olive oil, 1

tablespoon lemon juice, mustardpaste, honey, garlic, salt andpepper.

Dip both sides of the chickenthighs into the sauce and placethem on the prepared tray.

In a separate bowl, mix theBrussels sprouts with onion, 1tablespoon of lime juice and 2tablespoons of olive oil. Seasonwith salt and pepper and place thesprouts around the chicken on thetray.

Roast it for 35 minutes until thechicken is golden and the sproutsare crispy.

Serve this hot. You can have itwith brown rice or quinoa.

ONE-POTCHICKEN SOUPWITH KALEAND WHITEBEANS INGREDIENTS:2 ½ cups of shredded chicken

BELL PEPPERZUCCHINICHICKEN STIR-FRYINGREDIENTS:2 cups of zucchini thickly sliced850 grams thinly sliced chickenbreast1 tablespoon minced ginger1 tablespoon minced garlic1 cup low sodium chicken broth1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce1 tablespoon brown sugar3 teaspoons sesame oilSome roasted sesame seeds

METHOD:Take a large pan on medium high

heat. Add two tablespoons sesameoil. Stir fry the sliced chicken breastfor 2-3 minutes until it becomestender. Transfer it to a bowl. In aseparate bowl, mix chicken broth,1/2 tablespoon sesame oil, soysauce, brown sugar well so that all


7 cups of chicken broth2 cups of chopped fresh kale1 large onion diced5 cloves of minced garlic1 tablespoon olive oil1 ½ cup slightly drained whitebeans1/2 teaspoon sea salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper

METHOD:Take a large pot and heat it on

medium flame. Add the oil andput the onion in it. Stir it for 3-4minutes until the onion is soft.Now add garlic and sautéfor 2minutes. Add the chicken broth,beans, chicken and keep theflame on low. Cook for 15minutes to enhance the flavors.Season with salt and pepper.Add the kale and cover the potfor few more minutes. Turn offthe flame.

Enjoy the soup hot. The bestpart about this soup is it can bestored in the fridge for few moredays. You just need to reheat thesoup in the microwave beforehaving it.

Bell pepper zucchinichicken stir-fry

RecipÏes by: Pooja BangaFounder of Cultivating Health, is a certified Nutritionist.

the ingredients get dissolved. Addthe remaining sesame oil to thepan. Sauté the garlic and ginger for40 seconds. Add the sauce to it andcook for 2 minutes. It is the time ofadd the zucchini. Stir them until thezucchini becomes soft. Turn off theflame and add the fried chicken toit and mix well. Garnish with theroasted sesame seeds.

ConclusionIt is not important to starve or

indulge into bland foods whilelosing weight. In the weight lossprocess, you have to pick the rightingredients based on theirnutrients but how to make themtasty is absolutely in your hands.You just need to make sure thatyou are not adding any harmfulingredients such as excess salt,ajinomoto etc. To maintain thehealthy weight just stick to healthydiet, keep hydrated and workoutregularly.

Meditation is a solution tocope with all the dailyproblems. Be it a toxic

working environment or a constantquarrel, mostly we arerecommended to practicemeditation. No matter what, theyoga experts’ videos and tips andtricks are all over the internetindicating it as a great stress-busterand anxiety resolution.

The sudden outbreak of a deadlypandemic Coronavirus has given usmore reason to make it a habit ofmeditation. Unfortunately, due to

our working from home hectic andstrenuous days in the presentscenario, it is quite difficult tofollow the meditative procedure asit requires a lot of time.

But if one tries to take out someminutes to allow them to breathe inmind, they can change the brainwaves in another direction. Thisdirection generally leads to the endof the positivity making you filledwith optimism and enthusiasm.

When a day starts withmeditation, your mindautomatically makes a plan,

organize the whole day, andprovides a sense ofaccomplishment of goals per day.Interestingly, a report suggestedthat in the coming years, the worldwitness a growing population ofmeditation. It has been estimatedthat 200–500 million peoplemeditate worldwide.

In the past years, the practicehas suddenly gained importanceand immense popularity. Takinginto the health benefits’consideration, it’s no surprise that alarge number of people use it.


Meditation5 myths to bust regarding peaceful act of attaining

higher-self esteem. By Disha Sharma

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Another study revealed that itcan reduce insomnia by 50 percentamong people. Most importantly,mindfulness meditation canimmediately reduce post-traumaticstress disorder 73% of the time.

An interesting co-relation ofmeditation with children is thatalmost 10 times more children usedmeditation in 2017 as compared to2012. In the year 2017, according toNational Health Statistics 5.4percent of children aged 4–17 hadmeditated in the past twelvemonths, compared to 0.6 percent in2012. The percentage of boys andgirls who used meditation was quitesimilar. However, due to variousassumptions and theories availableon the internet or through word ofmouth, several myths have beendeveloped around it. From labelingit as a religious practice to calling ita hard practice, meditation issurrounded by random hypothesis.Here are five myths that can bebusted to make meditation anecessary component of your life.

Myth: Meditation must bepracticed in silence

Vipassana meditation, which isgenerally carried out in peace andsilence is mostly recommended byyoga experts. Meditation can bedone while walking, running,humming, or singing. The idea is toallow a fresh breath of air inthoughts that can bring out thefocus on the full attention towardsour breathing. A quiet mind andactivated brain are not necessarilyto be accompanied by a still or quietbody, said Stephanie Thoma,meditation facilitator, networkingstrategy coach, and author of‘Confident Introvert’.

Myth: Meditation is hardIt’s not challenging to sit down

to meditate for long hours. But still,it can be easily done anywhere andanytime. It is a simple act of sittingand putting our all thoughtstogether. Our goal is to achieve ahigher self and attainment of self-esteem growth. It shouldsomewhere bring out the required

growth as a person to make us feelproud of ourselves. Problems likeimpermanence, anxiety, or stresscan easily be removed bychannelizing our thoughts byindulging yourself in meditation.Stephen McManus, a meditationteacher, and director of ‘ThreeJewels’ Meditation Studio in NewYork City suggested the same.

Myth: Meditation is a selfishindulgence

It’s a completely absurdstatement that meditation is aselfish act of indulgence. Becausesleeping and physical exercise arenot at all considered selfish.Meditation is an essential exercisefor your mind and awareness. Itmakes you calmer, less reactive, and

more centered. This positivelyinfluences people around you andempowers you to do a better job atwork, said Giovanni Dienstmann,meditation teacher, creator of themeditation blog Live & Dare, andauthor of “Practical Meditation: ASimple Step-by-Step Guide.”

Myth: You must be sitting tomeditate

It’s not necessary to practicemeditation while you’re not moving.Other than this, it can be walkingmeditations, hiking meditations,meditations, in which you observeyour environment and narratewhat’s around you. Several types ofresearch have suggested thatmeditations while moving are morebeneficial than non-movingmeditations. It includes reducinganxiety and worry, leading toachieving a more peaceful state ofmind, and organising your thoughts.Moving mediation boost bloodflow, increased blood circulationand improving digestion,” said Dr.Judy Ho, clinical and forensicneuropsychologist, associateprofessor of psychology atPepperdine University.

Myth: Meditation is a religious practice

The most prevalent notionregarding meditation is that it’s areligious practice. But in fact, it notat all related to religion. There is nodogma of religion attached to themeditation. Be it Hindu, Muslim,Sikh, Parsi, Christian, or any personbelonging to any caste, creed, orsect, a belief in God does not rely onthe existing differences in thesociety. Whether it’s a prayer from aHindu or calling Allah, one persononly tries to reach out to theirhigher esteem or self. Manytheorists have stated that it’s an actof balancing life acts.

Therefore, it can be said thatmeditation is beneficial to boostyour mental and overall well-beingof a person. It only enhances thegrowth of a person to live a betterlife with a sense of accomplishmentall day.


3We

AN INTERESTING CO-RELATION OFMEDITATION WITHCHILDREN IS THATALMOST 10 TIMESMORE CHILDREN USEDMEDITATION IN 2017 ASCOMPARED TO 2012. 5.4PERCENT OF CHILDRENAGED 4–17 HADMEDITATED IN THEPAST TWELVE MONTHS,COMPARED TO 0.6PERCENT IN 2012.

Tricking a tea lover!I Fee l Cur ious . . . By : Muniza Tariq

ShortStory

High on tea, I to ldmysel f : must benervous. I t was herf i rst day after a l l .As days passed, Irea l ized thatSunita Did i wasneck-deep in otherpeople ’s domest icaf fa i rs and the i rwei rd foodpreferences. Thesecond she wouldsee me around, shewould start rant ingabout how st ingy afami ly i s or howf in icky people ingenera l are.

Hiring Sunita Didi asmy cook was, atbest, an act of

desperation. If I had theluxury of time, I would havelooked for someone whoused oil more judiciously,salt more carefully, andwords more sparingly butthat was not to be. My jobhad been eating up mydays and the acid in mystomach had been eatingup its lining.

It was onlyunderstandable that Ibrought Sunita Didionboard withoutinterviewing her orsampling her cooking.Recommended by a friendwho stayed in the samelocality as me, Sunita Didi

delivery box. She soundedlike a bird flying aroundlooking for humans to crapon. No horns, no claws -she seemed fine to me.

As it is the case with allbeginnings, ours too wassort of rosy. She wouldshow up on time and maketea for me. Which was theonly thing she excelled at?Only with time did I realizethat it was the perfect cupof tea that made meoverlook her culinarydisasters, which madethem known from the veryfirst day. The Aloo-Jeerasabzi she cooked the firstday is impossible to forget,as it was to chew. MasoorDaal was so in love withthe pressure cooker, it

I realize that it was the perfect cup of tea that made

me overlook her culinarydisasters.

was my last and only resortand I didn’t want to rejecther. So, even though myfriend Riya the one whorecommended her—keptinsisting that I get her tocook once, I just called thecook over for one quickchat, took her phonenumber, gave her mine,and told her she was in!She was short. Her headwas small and not theregular kind of small. Itlooked like it wascompressed to fit a small

refused to flow into a bowl,and the chapatis were allshapes but in one state:burnt.

High on tea, I toldmyself: must be

nervous. It was her first dayafter all. As days passed, Irealized that Sunita Didiwas neck-deep in otherpeople’s domestic affairsand their weird foodpreferences. The secondshe would see me around,she would start rantingabout how stingy a family isor how finicky people ingeneral are.

How can I make chole inless oil, Didi? She’d ask me,beating the base of a panwith a ladle vengefully;sending a shiver down myspine that I felt wasdiminishing every singleday.

Interestingly, most ofthe time, these one-sidedbitching sessions endedwith praises for me.

‘Why can’t they all belike you? You are notpeeking into the kadhai,checking how much oil I amputting or how much salt Iam adding. It is food. Theyshould be grateful theyhave ample of it. Less salt,more salt, how does itmatter? The stomachaccepts everything. Look atyou! You never complain.You eat everything I makewith a smile. They mustlearn something from you.’

You must learn how tocook is what I wanted toscream at the top of mylungs but didn’t because —any guesses? —that verysecond she gave me a cupof tea.

I made my peace withthe burnt or uncookedmeals that I swallowedwithout chewing. It wasbetter than instant noodles

any day and that is whatkept Sunita Didi in my life.

Then one day, after anearly morning run, Ireturned home, humming asong, basking in therunner’s high andcompletely missed thewater that had leaked fromthe fridge. I landed on mytailbone and consequently,in a lot of trouble.

I was to be bed-riddenfor days, which meant Ineeded someone to cleanup my house as well.

Life further cornered meinto choosing Sunita Didifor shouldering otherdomestic responsibilities aswell. She met myexpectations and failed atcleaning and dusting asmiserably as she did atcooking.

The bitching sessions Ihad survived standing

tall and restless were nowserved to me on the bed.She would pinch-hold thedusting cloth, slap randomsurfaces with it, talkingaggressively. One day,when she sent one of myfavourite lamps tumblingdown a side table, the onlything I thought was it waslong overdue.

All I could do was cringeand cover my face with thebook I was reading. Shedidn’t stop, neither toapologize nor to explain.

She picked up the jutelampshade put it back onthe ceramic base which hada huge crack, thanks to thefall, and collected theshards of the broken bulb,before letting me in on asecret.

‘RiyaDidi, your friend,she and you are a worldapart, no? I know Ishouldn’t be saying this butonly yesterday, a bowlslipped out of my grip. She

forget, albeit temporarily,that she had the nerve tobitch about my friend andbreak my lamp almost atthe same time.

As luck would have it,the following weekend, myfriend Riya showed up tocheck on me.

She asked me how I was.I told her I was miserable.She said, ‘Ahhhhh!’

Then she added; ‘now Iunderstand.’

I didn’t so I asked her totell me what exactly shemeant by that.

With a nervous giggle,she said, ‘don’t tell SunitaDidi I told you, ok? But shewas telling me that youhave been cranky and youhave been screaming ather. She told me you can’tget over the lamp shebroke.’

My eyebrows were onewith my forehead and myfists were clenched.

‘Relax! It is ok! It is onlynatural. You are bed-riddenand have every right to feelcranky.’

I was so furious; wordsleft me and hid somewherewhen she added: ‘Try andbe nice to Sunita Didi, ok? Ifnothing, she makesamazing tea, no?’


The b i tch ingsess ions I hadsurv i ved s tand ingta l l and res t lesswere now served tome on the bed. Shewou ld p inch-ho ldthe dust ing c lo th ,s lap randomsur faces w i th i t ,ta l k ing aggress i ve l y .One day , when shesent one o f myfavour i te lampstumbl ing down as ide tab le , the on ly th ing I thoughtwas i t was longoverdue.

We

Statement of ownership and other particulars aboutWOMAN’S ERA

FORM IV, See Rule 81. Place of publication: New Delhi. 2. Periodicity of

publication: Fortnightly. 3, 4, & 5. Printer’s, Publisher’s,and Editor’s name: Divesh Nath. Nationality: Indian, r/o E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-110 055. 6. Namesand addresses of individuals who own the newspaper andpartners or shareholders holding more than one per centof the total capital: Divesh Nath, Rohit Nath, r/o E-3,Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-55.

I, Divesh Nath, hereby declare that the particularsgiven above are true to the best of my knowledge andbelief.

Sd. Divesh Nath, Publisher.

gave me an earful. It wasn’teven my fault. The bowlwas oily but no! But you areso different. Not a wordabout the lamp. And let metell you something Didi,breaking of glass is good. Itis supposed to avertphysical harm. So, in a way,I saved you.’

As special as I felt, Icouldn’t help but wonderhow long before I explode.

‘Didi, Tea!’ With thosemagical words, she pulledme back and made me

Teens need extra nutrients tosupport bone growth, hormonalchanges and organ and tissue

development, including the brain.Teens should eat breakfast, drinkwater and limit highly processed food,sugary drinks and eating out. Healthyeating habits and physical activity canhelp lower the risk of obesity.

The teen years are the time ofrapid growth. They need extranutrients to support bone growth,hormonal changes, and organ andtissue development, including thebrain. The two main nutrients ofconcern for teenagers are calcium andiron.

Calcium is important for bonegrowth. If teens optimizetheir bone health, they havea decreased risk offractures and ofdeveloping osteoporosisduring adulthood. Femalesare particularly at risk if theydo not meet their calciumrequirements. Females aged 13 to17 have a daily recommendedintake (DRI) of 1300 mg/day. Malesof the same age meet theirrequirements at about 1400mg/day. Most teens do not meetthese daily requirements.

Iron is another importantnutrient for teenagers. Teensneed iron as they gain lean bodymass. Females also need ironwhen they start menstruating. Onaverage, male teens meet their ironrequirements with little difficulty.However, females aged 13 to 17 barely meet their requirements of 15 mg per day.

Food Habits ForYoung TeensConcerns of eating habits in youth. By Himshikha Shukla

Food habitsAlong with physical changes,

teens become more independent asthey grow. Dietary options are oneof the first decisions teens startmaking on their own. However,some teens tend to make poor foodchoices. Overall, teens tend to failto meet their daily recommendedamounts of vegetables and fruitsand whole grains.

There are four major food habitsof concern.

Skipping breakfastBreakfast is an important meal of

the day as it helps to ensure dailynutrient needs are being met. It alsoimproves school performance andhelps maintain a healthy weight.The majority of teens do not eatbreakfast on a regular basis.

Increased consumption ofhighly processed foods

This includes foods such as softdrinks, snack foods, conveniencefoods and desserts. Everyoneshould aim to decrease their intakeof these foods. However, for someteens, up to one half of their energyintake is from these other foods.This is of concern as highlyprocessed foods are often high infat, calories and sugar but are low invitamins and minerals.

Increased eating outsidethe home

Eating outside the home hasincreased, and a lot of the foodsconsumed in restaurants are high infat and calories, especially at fastfood restaurants. There has been anincreased consumption of pizza,cheese burgers, and salty snackswith teens, mostly due to eatingout. Teens should aim to eat morefood prepared within the home,especially snacks.

Increased consumption of soft drinks

A study looking at Americanyouths aged 6 to 17 found soft drinkconsumption increased from 37 percent in 1978 to 56 per cent in 1998.

The increase in soft drink

● Drink about a half cup of waterevery 15 minutes during physicalactivity.

● Drink one to two cups of waterafter physical activity.

● Sports drinks and energy drinksare not usually necessary. Forcasual athletes, water is all youneed.

Healthy eating tips for normaland overweight teens● Increase intake of whole grains,

vegetables and fruits.● Enjoy regular physical activity.● Eat three meals every day and

enjoy snacks between meals, fivemeals a day.

● Enjoy a variety of foods.● Drink water instead of soft

drinks, sugary juices or sportsdrinks.

● Limit foods high in sugar, sodiumor saturated fat.

● Eat fast food and processedfoods less often.

● Eat when you're hungry; stopwhen you're full.

● Pay attention to portion sizes.

Unhealthy eating habits likeeating too much, not eatingenough, or restricted eating can bebad for your teenage child’s healthand wellbeing, now and in thefuture. Encourage healthy eatinghabits by being a good food rolemodel, creating a healthy foodenvironment, and sending healthyfood messages.

WATER IS IMPORTANTFOR ACTIVE TEENS.PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CAN MAKE A TEENDEHYDRATED. DRINKTWO TO FOUR CUPS OFWATER ONE TO TWOHOURS BEFOREPHYSICAL ACTIVITY.consumption could be attributed tothe increase in restaurant eating.

Water is also important for activeteens. Physical activity can make ateen dehydrated. Here are sometips on staying hydrated.● Drink two to four cups of water

one to two hours before physicalactivity.

● Drink another two to four cups ofwater 10 to 15 minutes beforephysical activity.

We

Everyone knows that gaming isn’t justa fun pastime, but also a viablecareer. If you’re a professional

gamer, you could make an obsceneamount of money on competitive gaming,Twitch streaming, creating ‘Let’s Plays’,and making yourself a brand name to your fans.

People know of Ninja and Fornite,PewDiePie on YouTube, but what aboutfemale pro gamers? I remember thinkingthat gamer girls didn’t enjoy competitivegaming like StarCraft of Call of Duty, but Iwas dead wrong. Gaming is a billion-dollarindustry, and these women are riding thatexpensive way to stardom and extremewealth.

Why Should Boys Have All The Fun!Geek Girls And Online Gaming.By Himshikha Shukla

More and more female gamersare drawn to the fun, flexibility andfreedom that mobile gamingaffords. This is especially the case inAsia, where mobiles are the primaryinternet-enabled device for manypeople. Gaming has becomeextremely lucrative, not just forcompanies like EA and ActivisionBlizzard who make the games, butalso for the best players in e-sports -competitive online gaming. Topfemale e-sport players have earnedupwards of $20m (£16m) through acombination of sponsorship, prizemoney and endorsements.

They are now seen as keyinfluencers with millions offollowers who watch them playonline via live-streaming. In Asia,entire teams and leagues made upof female gamers are now makingan impact on the world stage,including the Female EsportsLeague, a regional gaming circuit tohelp boost female representation inesports. Last year, mobilecommunications firm Singtelprovided sponsorship to the league.

The number of females playingvideo games in Asia is growing at afaster rate than their male rivals,according to the latest research.Women are levelling the playingfield across all of Asia's key marketsincluding China, India and Japan.The female video gamingcommunity grew by 19% last year,according to data commissioned byGoogle. Asia is regarded as theglobal capital of video games,accounting for 48% of the world'stotal gaming revenue.

Female Gamers: HugeCatalysts In Online Gaming

Among the millions of gamersjoining the ranks every year,females have been a huge catalystfor growth. There are a number offactors that are contributing to thisrise, with storylines becoming moreinclusive and connectivity improvingacross the region. For 2019, thenumbers of female gamers hadgrown to 38% of the 1.33bn Asiangaming population, according toGoogle which collaborated with

market researchers Niko Partners.For China, they now account for45%, while for South Korea, Japanand Southeast Asia the figure is 40%.

Men may dominate sportsoffline, but the online world is agreat leveler for both sexes. A newsurvey finds that though popular

notion suggests that gaming is thebastion of men, women equallyindulge in online real money games.And, that there isn’t muchdifference between the time spentby each of these gender groups inplaying these games.

The survey by YouGov, aninternet-based market research anddata analytics firm headquartered inthe UK, has found that most of theactive gamers in India spend lessthan three hours a week on thesegames (52 per cent of therespondents) and a third (30 percent) spend between 3 to 5 hours aweek playing these games.

What’s more, it appears thatwomen are not shying away frominvesting monetarily in these gameseither. The survey found that theonly difference is that as compared


THE NUMBER OFFEMALES PLAYINGVIDEO GAMES IN ASIAIS GROWING AT AFASTER RATE THANTHEIR MALE RIVALS,ACCORDING TO THELATEST RESEARCH.WOMEN ARELEVELLING THEPLAYING FIELD ACROSSALL OF ASIA'S KEYMARKETS INCLUDINGCHINA, INDIA ANDJAPAN. THE FEMALEVIDEO GAMINGCOMMUNITY GREW BY19% LAST YEAR,ACCORDING TO DATACOMMISSIONED BYGOOGLE.

to men, on an average ahigher number of women tendto be spending smalleramounts of up to Rs 100 (49 percent vs 34 per cent), while menseem to be more indulgent thanwomen and invest between Rs101- Rs 1000 monthly in thesegames monthly (35 per cent vs 27per cent).

Unfortunately, there is a darkside to the rise of female gamers asmany have been harassed online.They are turned into memes andeven was a victim of sexualharassment online. Once you gopublic and you get noticed there willalways be people hating on you,finding faults and mistakes. Thegaming community can be verytoxic.

Indian Girls As GamingStreamers

Experts advise choosing ausername that doesn't include yourreal name or other identifyinginformation when creating accountsand profiles. From gamers tostreamers to game developers andentrepreneurs, women are carving aniche for themselves in the onlinegaming arena. Indian female gamersare slowly storming the male-dominated online gaming space.

Nearly 18% of all gamers in Indiaare women, according to ‘Think

With Google APAC – Play like a GirlReport, 2020’. Moreover, thenumber of women is increasing at a

faster rate than male gamers. Forinstance, Sonneeta Thapa is afemale gamer who has two millionsubscribers on Youtube. ForThapa, anyone can succeed ingaming if they have the passion forit. Online gaming platforms are forall – men and women — yoursuccess depends on your passionnot your gender.

Unlike popular belief, onlinegaming is just like any other field, soa woman’s presence should be anormality not a shocker. It is anecosystem where women are takingcharge in the online sports industryas developers, as gamer artists,working closely with the productand the data.

Online Gaming: as a lucrative career option

Gaming industry in India startedto bloom about a couple of yearsago in India. Though initially beinga male space, the online gamingarena is now witnessing a suddeninflux of women gamers comingon to the platform and theecosystem. The gamingecosystem has a bright pathahead, so women gamers whoare looking at online gaming

as a career option stand a lot togain.

The gaming industry is boomingat this time and anyone wants to bea part of it, this is the right time.People should not shy away fromgaming and consider this as alucrative career option. Indiangaming developers should focus oncreating games which can be takento international markets. The bestway to stand up to slander is tosimply prove your worth. Womengamers should not let anythingruffle them and simply focus onbeing their best. While five yearsago, it might be unimaginable foranyone to look at online gaming asa career option, now the spaceopens a bright future in multipledimensions for women to explore, if only they overlook the hurdles.


SONNEETA THAPA IS AFEMALE GAMER WHOHAS TWO MILLIONSUBSCRIBERS ONYOUTUBE. FOR THAPA,ANYONE CAN SUCCEEDIN GAMING IF THEYHAVE THE PASSION FORIT. ONLINE GAMINGPLATFORMS ARE FORALL – MEN ANDWOMEN — YOURSUCCESS DEPENDS ONYOUR PASSION NOTYOUR GENDER. We


spicy foods etc. Early detective measures or dangersignals of cancer are a lump or hard area in thebreast, a change in a wart or mole, a persistentchange in digestive and bowel habits, a persistentcough or hoarseness, excessive loss of blood at themonthly period or loss of blood outside the usualdates, blood loss from any natural orifice, a swellingor sore that does not get better, unexplained loss of

weight. Improvement of personal hygiene oral, skin andgenital will help to reduce the incidence of certain types ofcancer. All drugs, cosmetics and food additives should betested for carcinogenesis. Special efforts should be madeto reduce the amount of radiation. Early detection andprompt treatment of precancerous lesions such as cervicaltears, intestinal polyposis, warts, chronic gastritis, chroniccervicitis and adenomata is one of the cornerstones ofcancer prevention.

MY MOTHER IS ABOUT 70 YEARS OLD AND USUALLY REMAIN

sick, many times old age related problems. I wantto know about the priorities explicit by clinician

for optimal care in case of older patient. Optimal care for the older patient is facilitated when

the clinician explicitly sets priorities, deciding whatspecific evaluations and therapies are most likely toprovide benefit. Setting these priorities should be basedupon the patients goals for care and life expectancy, theprevalence of specific diseases, the performancecharacteristics of screening or diagnostic test and theeffectiveness of therapeutic interventions. The conceptsof "number needed to screen' and 'number needed totreat' often help put diagnostic tests and interventionsinto perspective. Interventions that are likely to help wellelders may differ from those that will benefit frail elders ofyounger people. Tight glucose control in an elderlydiabetic who values her independence might be sacrificedif it would require initiation of insulin therapy withplacement in a nursing facility. Colon cancer screeningmight be advised in an 80 year old man in good healthwho is highly motivated (number needed to screen toprevent one death over remaining life, about 200) but notfor a man of the same age with multiple comorbidities, alie expectancy of less than 5 years, or an aversion tomedical care. Some interventions produce almostimmediate benefit and those may be useful at any age.Even the oldest old people can benefit from beginning anexercise program. Likewise, an 80 year old person with alimited life expectancy is likely to benefit from a screeningfor falls and a fall risk reduction program (number neededto screen to prevent one fall over one year, about 20)

– Dr Sanjay Teotia.

MY DAUGHTER IS ABOUT THREE YEARS OLD, SHE DEVELOPED

fever, difficulty in respiration, nasal discharge andloss of apatite. We have consulted a local doctor for

this problem. He advised treatment but treatment was noteffective. After that we have consulted a child specialist,after examination and on the basis of symptoms he told usthat she is suffering from Hemophilus influenzae infectionand advised treatment and child get good response of thetreatment. What is your opinion about the disease.

Hemophilus influenzae infections occur usually betweenthe age of three months and four years and are nearlyalways associated with septicemia. Infection with H.influenzae usually begins in the nasopharnx and spreadslocally or through the blood stream. Most nasopharyngealinfections are mild and confer immunity from subsequentserious illness after the early months of life. As the infantshave transplacentally transferred antibodies during thefirst three to four months of life, infection with Hinfluenzae is relatively less frequent during this period.There is extensive destruction of bronchial epithelium andhemorrhagic edema. The onset of the illness is gradualwith nasopharyngeal infection. Certain viral infections asthose due to influenza virus probably act synergisticallywith H influenzae. These alter the respiratory epithelialresistance and therefore promote proliferation of thebacteria in the damaged respiratory epithelium. The childhas moderate fever, dyspnea, grunting respiration andretraction of the lower inter-costal spaces. The course issubacute and prolonged. Patients do not respond totheraphy with penicillin. Complications of Hemophilusinfluenzae pneumonia include bacteremia, pericarditis(inflammation of outer, layer of heart), empyema (Pus inlungs), Meningitis and polyarthritis. Hemophilus influenzaepneumonia is best treated with broad spectrum antibioticsin divided doses for ten days.

IAM A 27 YEARS OLD WORKING WOMAN, MY BOTH PARENTS AND

mother in law recently died of cancer. Because of threedeaths due to cancer in my family I developed cancer

phobia. I want to know about the preventive and earlydetective measures of cancer.

Cancer prevention as per world health organization isthe elimination of or protection against factors known orbelieved to be involved in carcinogenesis and thetreatment of precancerous conditions. It is necessary togive up-to-date information about cancer hazards andshould be instructed in the avoidance of exposure to suchhazards eg. cigarette smoking, strong sunlight, chewingbetel leaves with or without lime and tobacco,consumption of alcoholic beverages, intake of hot and

Readers are invited to send in any health and medical queries they would like to be answered. Woman’s Era willprovide answers to your questions and offer solutions to yourproblems. Individual replies cannot be sent. Address yourletters (neatly written on white paper) to:WOMAN’S ERA E-3, Jhandewala Estate, New Delhi-110 055.Womansera.com

Q A&Your Body

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In 2013 India started usingNeonicotinoid pesticides inorder to protect a crop that

Monsanto had promised the Indianfarmer he would not have to usepesticides on. These are the worstpesticides in the world and theyhave been indicted for having killedbillions of bees on the planet. Icalled a meeting of ICAR in 2014 toask for the ban of these pesticides.ICAR refused, even though theyadmitted that the bee populationhas gone down sharply. They saidcotton was more important thanfruit, grain, and flowers which aredependent on bee pollination!

If the bees have gone down innumber drastically, how has thehoney production tripled? Till 2013the yearly growth rate was only 0-

4.8%. From 2013-14 the growth raterocketed from 5.3 to 11.1 percent.This could not have happenednaturally. How have hundreds ofhoney companies come into themarket? This question has alwaystroubled me. I don’t eat honey.

Last month the environmentmagazine, Down to Earth, answeredthis question in a deeply detailedinvestigation that they took monthsover.

You should read it. We do nottake food adulteration seriously andyet it is the highest form ofcorruption and should have thedeath penalty on it. I will attempt toencapsulate what they havediscovered, but again, I repeat, goonto their website and read theexpose.

Let's start with the basics:Honey is eaten because it is

known to be an antioxidant and hasanti-microbial (killing germs)properties. It is expensive to createbecause thousands of bees have tobe maintained and fed a steady dietof flowers. Sugar has no nutrientvalue and is known to add weightand cause chronic disease. It ischeap.

The FSSAI is the governmentorganisation in charge of foodstandards.

In 2017 the FSSAI ordered thathoney should be tested foradulteration with corn, sugarcane,rice, and beetroot syrups. The testwas called C3 and C4. The testswere isotope tests, SMR, TMR,foreign oligosaccharides tests, and

Beekeeping in IndiaBitter truth about honey in India. By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi

Beekeeping in India

pollen counts. In 2019, FSSAImysteriously issued a directiverevising, and downgrading, theparameters and allowing theadulteration to go undetected.

The Director of the National BeeBoard told Down to Earth that hehad written a letter to thegovernment saying that by reducingpollen count FSSAI has legalised thepractice of adulterating and sellingrice syrup and corn syrup as honey.The cheating of the consumer, by

blend syrup”, “Tapioca fructosesyrup”, “Golden fructose glucosesyrup”, even “Fructose Rice Syrupfor Honey”. Anyone from India canlook up the marketing portals likeAlibaba, Okchem, and Tradewheel,

and order from a host of Chinesecompanies.

The FSSAI issued directives tosugar importers saying they hadevidence that this Chinese importwas being used to adulterate honey.The FSSAI announced in 2020 thatthe Nuclear Magnetic ResonanceSpectroscopy (NMR) was nowmandatory for any companyexporting honey (the Indianconsumer is expendable, of course,so the standards for detectingadulteration in honey remained thelow ones revised in 2019.)

Did the fructose syrup importstop? No. It simply changed itsname.

SUGAR SURUPThe Chinese were not hiding

their product. On all the largeChinese portals they wereadvertising a sugar syrup called theAll-Pass Syrup. The advertisementsclaim that the chemical mixture,called syrup, can pass the honeyadulteration tests – C 3, C4, TMR,SMT, Oligosaccharides, and evenNMR!! Companies in India areimporting this chemical mixture,which was being sent to India insome cases as “industrial rawmaterial”, and even “paintmixture”, from China.

11,000 tonnes of this mixturehave come in annually. Nasik,Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, andPunjab. The factories that make thissyrup are all “legitimate foodprocessing businesses.” The FSSAIchooses to look the other way.Down to Earth ordered samples


honey processors, has beenlegalised "You can understandwhy". By now the companies sellinghoney have increased massively andbecome very powerful. BabaRamdev had jumped in as well. Butstrangely enough, the honeyfarmers were all going bankruptbecause these companies hadstopped buying their honey.

So, we have a huge honeyindustry that uses no honey? So,what do the “honey” bottlescontain?

Sugar syrup imports into Indiafrom China have increased steadily.Fructose and glucose syrup wasbeing imported from China to Indiain bulk amounts. In 2014, 10,000 MTcame in. By 2017 it was more than4,300 MT. These syrups areimported under the names of“Fructose syrup (F55/F42)”, “Honey

HONEY IS EATENBECAUSE IT IS KNOWNTO BE AN ANTIOXIDANTAND HAS ANTI-MICROBIAL (KILLINGGERMS) PROPERTIES. IT IS EXPENSIVE TOCREATE BECAUSETHOUSANDS OF BEESHAVE TO BEMAINTAINED AND FEDA STEADY DIET OFFLOWERS.

online from two Chinese supplierscalled Wuhu Foods and CNN Foods.In their order, they specificallystated that they wanted this syrupto pass all the government tests.Both companies wrote that theirproduct could pass any Indian tests,even if the adulteration was up to80%, and added that their Indianclients used this percentage in theirso-called honey bottles. Thesamples that Fedex brought insimply said “syrup” and “paintpigment emulsion.”

ADULTERATION RATIO:Down to Earth took pure raw

honey and mixed it themselves withthe Chinese and Indian adulterants(from a company in Jaspur) indifferent proportions – from 25% to75% – and sent these to the Gujaratbased lab Centre for Analysis andLearning in Livestock and Food(CALF) of the National DairyDevelopment Board. The samplespassed all the tests up to 75%adulteration!

In August 2020, Down to Earthbought honey marketed by 13companies and sent them to thesame Gujarati Laboratory.

All the large companies passedthe tests except for Apis HimalayaHoney (they probably put morethan 75%!) Three of the smaller

brands: Dadev, Hi Honey, andSociete Naturelle, failed and eventhe C 3 test showed that they hadmore than 20-27% cane sugar. Allthese three are labelled as RawUnprocessed Natural Honey! ButDown to Earth did not stop there.They sent all the brands for the goldstandard test - the Nuclear

Magnetic Resonance SpectroscopyTest (NMR). Dabur and Saffola haveput it on their bottles that theirhoney has passed the NMR test.

There is only one testing point inIndia – the Export InspectionCouncil (EIC) in Mumbai. Theyrefused to do the tests. So, Down toEarth contacted a well-knownGerman Lab, which specialises onlyin honey adulteration testsincluding the NMR, and sent thesamples – from the same batch thathad passed the tests in Gujarat.They sent 17 samples from these 13companies: Patanjali, Baidyanatha,Zandu, Saffola, Markfed Sohna,Nature’s Nectar, Dabur, ApisHimalaya, Hitkari, Dadev,Indigenous, Hi Honey, SocieteNaturelle.

Only three companies passed thetests: Saffola, Markfed Sohna, andNature’s Nectar.

All the others FAILED – includingDabur and Saffola, who put it ontheir labels that their honey haspassed the NMR Tests. This meansonly these three companies areselling us, pure honey. The rest areall massively adulterated withchemical sugar syrup. In any othercountry, these people would be injail and the company would be shutdown. The Down to Earth article ismeticulous in its exposure. ButFSSAI has ignored the expose.

FSSAI is implicated in the scandal– after all, they agreed to previousattempts at adulteration bydeliberately lowering the standardsfor the large honey companies.These honey companies have evenfailed the lowered standards ofadulteration – with no action beingtaken against them.

During the COVID lockdown,people went all out to improve theirhealth. Honey sales from March2020 went up by 35%. But instead ofmaking their bodies healthier,people were starting the day withshots of sugar syrup, which is justpoison. Sugar increases theinflammation in the body,suppresses immunity, and makesthe body vulnerable to disease,including diabetes, and Corona.


IN AUGUST 2020, DOWNTO EARTH BOUGHTHONEY MARKETED BY13 COMPANIES ANDSENT THEM TO THESAME GUJARATILABORATORY. ALL THE LARGECOMPANIES PASSEDTHE TESTS EXCEPT FORAPIS HIMALAYA HONEY(THEY PROBABLY PUTMORE THAN 75%!)THREE OF THE SMALLERBRANDS: DADEV, HIHONEY, AND SOCIETENATURELLE, FAILEDAND EVEN THE C 3 TESTSHOWED THAT THEYHAD MORE THAN 20-27%CANE SUGAR.

We


MY SON HAS GOT MILD SYMPTOMS OF CORONA

and is on home quarantine. How do I keep the other members of the

family safe?When one member of the family is in

quarantine, the whole family will need to stayhome. Keep other people and pets in the houseaway from your child as much as possible. See

to it that only one person takes care of the sick child sothat others are not exposed. If the child is over two yearsold and can wear a face mask or us a cloth to cover hisnose and mouth, without finding it difficult to breathe,make him wear it when the caregiver is in the room. On theother hand do not leave him alone when he is wearing amask or cloth face covering. On no account should thecaregiver remover her mask when she is in the same roomas the sick child, whether the child had covered his face ornot.

If possible, the sick child should use a differentbathroom from others. If not, clean the bathroom often.Keep other people and pets in the house away from yourchild as much as possible.

I AM ABOUT TO DELIVER MY FIRST CHILD. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO

EXPECT IN THE INITIAL STAGES?During the first few weeks you’ll notice that your baby

keeps his body curled up in the fetal position he was usedto in the womb. Also, babies spend most of their timesleeping. You feed and burp him, change his nappy and heis asleep again. This is normal. Sneezing and hiccups occurfrequently and don't indicate infection, allergies, ordigestive problems.

I have an eight month’s old son and as yet he has notdeveloped sleep pattern. This is making all of us irritable.Please tell me how to make him sleep properly at propertimes or is it too early to start doing the same. This is theright time to develop a proper sleep pattern.

To help him do so you could set a routine for every nightand adhere to it. Put him to sleep at the same place so thathe associates the place with sleep. Keep the area dimly litand quiet so that he understands the difference betweennight and day. Do not switch on the lights while feeding.Quickly burp and change his nappy without talk or play asyou would do in the day. You could put him to sleep bypatting, singing to him, rocking or walking him around inyour arms or in the pram. If he wakes up after he hassettled down, gently soothe him back to sleep. Do not takehim to the hustle bustle area of the house that will provokehim to wake up.

Such rituals may take up to an hour initially but after amonth or so you baby will get the ‘it’s time to sleep’message and will miraculously fall asleep within minutes. Ifyou need to wake your baby up for whatever reason donot do so by shaking him. Such rough handling can bedangerous. Instead tickle is toes or blow gently on hischeek.

– Dr Amrinder Bajaj, MD.

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SORT OF NAPPIES SHOULD I USE FOR

my child? The disposable ones are too expensive andI do not know if cloth ones are good enough. Also

please tell me how often should I change the diaper andwhat is the right way of doing it?

You could use cloth nappies, disposable ones or ajudicious mixture of both - the latter while going out andcloth ones at home. You would probably need 10 diapers aday. Before changing the diapers make sure thateverything you need is at hand so that you do not leavethe baby unattended. After each bowel movement or ifthe diaper is wet, lay your baby on his back and remove thedirty diaper. Use the water, cotton balls, and washcloth orwipes to gently wipe your baby's bottom and genital area.When removing a boy's diaper, do so carefully becauseexposure to the air may make him urinate. When cleaning agirl child, wipe her from front to back to avoid infection. Donot powder the local area. Wash your hands thoroughlyafter changing a diaper. Make sure that your working level,be it in the kitchen or by the wash basin or nappy changingshould be high enough so that your back remains erectwhile performing these chores. Repetitive/constant backbending can lead to chronic backache.

MY BABY GIRL HAD TWO PEARL LIKE SHINY FRONT TEETH IN

the upper and lower jaw. She looks beautifulwhen she smiles with her four teeth. I so want

her teeth to look as beautiful as now. When should I startmaking her use a tooth brush?

Not now! As soon as your daughter has 10-12 teeth buyher first toothbrush with soft bristles, many fancy ones areavailable in the market to attract her attention. Make agame of brushing her teeth so that it becomes anenjoyable experience.

MY SON HAS SYMPTOMS OF FLU. THE DOCTOR HAS

said that we should observe him for a while. Ifthey do not subside soon or worsen we might

have to get him tested Covid 19. How his test to be done? To test a person for coronavirus, a long swab stick is

inserted in the nose or at the back of the upper part of themouth to get a sample. The latter induces a gag reflex (adesire to vomit) the child can puke on the person taking thesample increasing the risk to the health worker, thoughhe is fully protected with a PPE kit.

Coughed up phlegm (sputum) can also be used. Earlier it would take a few days for the report to come andpatients were treated as Covid positive till the reportscame but nowadays rapid diagnostic tests are available fora quicker report.

Q A&Child Challenges

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Stay Young!M

odern times abound withclichés like ‘sixties are thenew forties. Even so, it is

paradoxical that the quest for theeternal ‘Fountain of Youth’ seemsto be as intense as ever during thepresent times too. There is noconclusive evidence of theexistence of such a fountainanywhere in the world, even thoughtales of the same can be traced backright from the 5th Century BC in thewritings of Herodotus, to the mostpopular legend associated with theSpanish Explorer and the firstGovernor of Purerto Rico, Ponce deLeon, who apparently travelled toFlorida in 1513 searching for thesame.

While people go all out huntingfor that elusive fountain, SophiaLoren, the diva from yesteryears,had the ultimate word in this regardwhen she said “there is a fountainof youth: it is your mind, yourtalents, the creativity you bring toyour life and the lives of people youlove. When you learn to tap thissource, you will truly have defeatedage.”

So instead of chasing themythical mirage of the fountain ofyouth, can we focus on tapping intothe abundant source that lies withineach one of us and enjoys our livesto our greatest potential? The threemajor pillars for leading a life aimingat overall well-being are Body,Mind, and Soul. A healthy bodykeeps us active; a healthy mindbuilds our focus and a healthy soulmakes us feel fulfilled. The linkbetween the body, mind, and soul isscientific, with research revealingthree separate neural pathwaynetworks within us. This calls upon

us to manage the delicate balanceamongst all the three by identifyingways to maintain and improve thewell-being of each of these.

Though there are many focusareas under each of these pillars,let’s narrow them down to thefollowing major seven. All the sevenare within the realm of one’s circleof influence without having to relyon any external sources for

The Eternal Fountain of Youth Within. By Sujatha Rao

execution. Though they are listedunder the particular pillar theymajorly contribute to, they alsomake some overlappingcontributions to the other pillars.

BodyIn many religions across the

world, the human body is referredto as the “Vessel of God” and it’sthrough this vessel that we makesense of the world and also relateto the rest of the universe. It is ouronly true “till-death-do-us-apart”companion in life. So how do wetake care of it to reap the bestbenefits out of it?

ExerciseContrary to the normal notion of

taking care of our bodies bypampering them, it’s by putting touse every part and by stretching itto its limits, we render the bodyresilient and capable of deliveringits best. The most common adage“if you don’t use it, you lose it” isbest suited to the human body.Evolution has prepared our bodiesfor delivering physical tasks

requiring great endurance, andsitting in front of various

devices for most of the day wasdefinitely not one of them. Whilemost of our modern-dayoccupations may demand us todo so, we have to consciously fillour days with activities thatcounter the ill effects of the same.

Research recommends at least150 active minutes of exercise perweek. While it would be good to dosome work-outs by hitting the gym,even moderate ones done in theclose confines of one’s house, go along way in ensuring better health.

DietIn a sense, our bodies are what

we eat. Anyone who has tried tokeep those extra kilos off knows themeaning of this. While almost all ofus know the importance of eatinghealthy food, very few of us canresist the temptation of gorgingupon junk food knowing very wellabout its harmful effects. In recenttimes, we Indians have becomemore susceptible to life stagediseases such as diabetes, heartailments, hypertension, etc., notonly due to our genetic factors butalso due to our unhealthy eatinghabits.

Mind“Biology gives you a brain. Life

turns it into a mind” said JeffreyEugenides. Can we turn this superpowerhouse into something thatenables us to enhance itsperformance to the maximum? Itappears that we can, by taking caremajorly of the following:

ANYONE WHO HASTRIED TO KEEP THOSEEXTRA KILOS OFFKNOWS THE MEANINGOF THIS. WHILEALMOST ALL OF USKNOW THEIMPORTANCE OFEATING HEALTHY FOOD,VERY FEW OF US CANRESIST THETEMPTATION OFGORGING UPON JUNKFOOD KNOWING VERYWELL ABOUT ITSHARMFUL EFFECTS.

StimulationAs per neuroscience. feeding the

brain with new experiences andnew challenges enables it to makebetter neuro connections therebypreventing it from atrophying.Being open to life-long learning,improving our skill sets acrossvarious areas, etc., go a long way inkeeping our brain sharp andfocused.

SleepSleep affects almost every

system in the body – from the brain,heart, lungs to metabolism, mood,

the tyranny of the past and theuncertainty of the future by givingour soul a chance to breathe free inthe truth and beauty of the present.

MindfulnessPracticing mindfulness allows us

to be fully present in the momentallowing us to venture into theworkings of our mind, senses, andemotions. Research has highlightedthe fact that regular meditationencourages neuroplasticity andrenders the long-term practitionershave younger brains by protectingtheir brains from cognitive decline.

PurposeHaving a sense of purpose is

traced to better health in humanbeings. The purpose is what drovethe evolution to take place bydirecting the individuals and speciestowards survival and flourishing.The goals that foster a sense ofpurpose, however small, lead to theuplifting of self and the community.The ultimate joy comes from findingmeaning and purpose to drive one’s life.

ConclusionTo sum up, working out and

eating right will take care of thebody and you may end up ‘falling inlove with the shape of your body’and ‘every day discoveringsomething brand new’ to quote thelyrics of Ed Sheeran’s most popularsong “Shape of You”. Similarly,taking care of what is inside thehead is far more constructive andimportant than worrying aboutthat receding hairline on top. And the glow emanating from the person in possession of a kind and warm soul can blindsideany wrinkles on such a person’sface.

Hence, let’s dip into thatfountain of youth within ourselvesand stop worrying about theadvancing age. A person with anagile body, housing a razor-sharpmind and a kind soul within radiatesbeauty, poise, and warmth and forsuch a person age definitely is just a number.


etc. A proper 7-8 hours sleep perday keeps the housekeeping job ofeliminating the toxins from thebrain. Good sleep boosts immunityand alleviates the body from the illeffects of stress by recharging themind. Proper sleep also improvesboth cognitive and physicalperformances.

Social LifeAs human beings are social

animals, healthy relationships arevery vital for their overall well-being. People with better social lifetend to live longer, undergo less We

A PROPER 7-8 HOURSSLEEP PER DAY KEEPSTHE HOUSEKEEPINGJOB OF ELIMINATINGTHE TOXINS FROM THEBRAIN. GOOD SLEEPBOOSTS IMMUNITYAND ALLEVIATES THEBODY FROM THE ILLEFFECTS OF STRESS BYRECHARGING THEMIND. PROPER SLEEPALSO IMPROVES BOTHCOGNITIVE ANDPHYSICALPERFORMANCES.

stress, and lead healthier lives. ASwedish study of people aged 75and above concluded that dementiarisk was the lowest in those withsatisfying contacts with friends andrelatives.

SoulSpiritual health is more than

about religion and it includes peoplefrom all walks of life and beliefs. Itinvolves identifying the greaterpurpose and direction in life andunderstanding what makes our livesuniquely meaningful to each one ofus. It also means breaking free from

Time PaysAnd how! By Naushad Valiyakath

ShortStory

Yes, we could guessthat we are at ther ight p lace to te l l astory, but we wi l lhave to wait forthe r ight t ime tof ind i t . When theyc lose the sta l l togo home, we mustfo l low them.Meanwhi le, let useat our vada pav.Hmm! What ayummy vada pav!

Let us think about astory. A story isalways waiting to

born where we have aninterest in something andwant to think about it. Wecan find a story easily in anyplace of the city, town, orvillage, if we are not one ofthe very few who could notfeel such things. As we walkalong the streets, we stopto look up at something,which interests us for astory and today we are hereon a busy street looking forsomething unusual.

As we are walking alongthis street of a big city, wecan watch many activitieshere but, so far, it meansnothing to us. Thensuddenly, a vada pav stallattracts our attention.

The first thing thatinterests us in this stall is itscrowded customers to buyvada pav, which we havenot seen at any other vadapav stalls of this street.The second thing is itsstaff. There are only twoemployees at the stall, anold woman and an old man,who seem to be husband

from the kitchen and sat inthe chair where the oldman was at the tablecounting money. Shepoured coffee in a cup forher husband, and asked,“How much is our today’scollection?”

The old man put backthe money in the bag andtook the coffee cup in hishand. He said, “Twothousand four hundred andforty four.”

“How much is thetoday’s profit you couldthink of?”

“Say about, onethousand.”

The old woman sippedher coffee thoughtfully.“Did you make the fixeddeposit in the bankyesterday?”

“No, yesterday wassecond Saturday and Iwasn’t aware of it. I will doit tomorrow.”

“How nice it is that wehave one lakh rupees inhand to deposit in a bank!”

The old man laughed.“And that is within sixmonths!”

The old woman smiled alittle. “Although we hadclosed our stall early today,it is now already 10 pm.Shall I bring our dinner?”

“Yes, please!” When she went away,

the old man sat still at thetable, thinking. ‘How welove someone for life whowould never love us back!We are all prisoners ofrelationships in the name ofblood, and nothing! Howsuddenly a terrible changehad taken place in our life!How was it only six months

“Although we had closed ourstall early today, it is now

already 10 p.m. Shall I bringyour dinner?” “Yes, please!”

and wife, and might be theowners of the stall. Thethird and the last thing thatmakes wanting to knowmore about theseindividuals is their hurriedactions. The old man isfrying vada in the boiling oiland taking it out morequickly than anyone shoulddo normally. The oldwoman is placing the vadapav in the customers’ handsand taking money fromthem so speedily, as if shedoes not want to lose anyof her customers.

Yes, we could guess thatwe are at the right place totell a story, but we will haveto wait for the right time tofind it. When they close thestall to go home, we mustfollow them. Meanwhile,let us eat our vada pav.Hmm! What a yummy vadapav!

The old woman came

ago, we had nothing to eatfor days when our only son,Prayag, left us to go to livewith his wife. Now we haveone-lakh rupees in hand tosimply deposit in a bankand forget it. Thanks tothat, LIC policy’s money,which had made us a vadapav stall owners and it isdoing very well more thanexpected. It is doing wellbecause of my wife only. Ifshe has not served thecustomers so fast, half ofthem would not havestopped there waiting forvada pav. Yes, the stall runsso good because of herhard work only.’

Suddenly, the mobilephone rang. The old manpicked up the phone to seethat the call was from hisyounger brother, and heimmediately put it on theanswer.

The old woman was atthe stove to make the

meal hot, thinking. “How itwas only six months ago,we became lonely herewhen our only son, Prayag,left us to go to live with hiswife. We had never been soalone in our life as horriblyas that moment! Now wehave one-lakh rupees in ourhands as another son toprotect us. Thanks to that,LIC policy’s money, whichhad made us vada pav stallowners and it is doing verywell more than weexpected. It is doing wellbecause of my husbandonly. If he has not beenmaking vada so tasty, thecustomers would not havestopped there waiting forlong to eat it. Yes, the stallruns so good because of histasty vada only.”

Suddenly, her mobilephone rang. The oldwoman took her phonefrom the kitchen drawer to

see that the call was fromher younger sister, and sheimmediately put it on herear.

The old man put thephone on the table andmoved towards thecupboard to open it. Forthe old man, the concernedthing in the phone call fromhis brother was muchgreater than his real life. Hetook out two note bundlesof five hundred rupees fromthe cupboard and began towrap them in a piece ofpaper. Just then, his wifewas in the hall with themobile phone in her hand.She asked with greatsurprise, “What are youdoing with this money?”

“Oh! I am sorry!” the oldman said. “I forgot to tellyou. Praveen called me justnow. He is in a greattrouble. His life would beruined forever if I would nothelp him with one lakhrupees.”

“Did your brother ask formoney?”

“Yes, he has asked me aloan of `one lakh.”

“How could he know wehave money?”

“That I don’t know, buthe will be here tomorrowmorning to take thismoney.”

The old woman shookher head grudgingly, andsaid, “But I have made upmy mind to give this moneyto Renu.”

“Who, Renu?”“My sister. She had just

called me up and asked mea loan of rupees one lakh.You know she has troublethat I could not say now.She needs this moneyurgently, and I havedecided to give this moneyto her only.”

“No. I will give thismoney to my brother.”

“You can’t. I will give

this money to my sister.”The old man bit his lip,

made an angry gesture andhit the table with his fist.“Don’t forget, we havemade one lakh rupees inless than six months,because I could make verytasty vada. So I have thefull right to give this moneyto my brother.”

The old woman walkedforth and back rapidly withan enraged look on herface. “You may be makingtasty vada, but that doesn’tmean you can sell it too.The stall runs because ofmy rapid selling of vadapav. So I have the full rightto give this money to mysister.”

The old man reachednear her and whispered inan unpleasant voice. “Whenhusband and wife are in anydoubt which one of the twohas the full right oversomething? Anybody cantell that it is the husbandwho has the full right. So Iwill give this money to mybrother.”

“Nonsense!” sheshouted. “There is no suchrule in business. We two arethe equal partners in ourbusiness, as the money wehad to start this stall was

from one of our LICpolicies, which had our jointnames. My sister is alsocoming tomorrow morningto take this money and Iwill see that my sister getsthis money. Good night!”she entered the bedroom,slamming the door.

“Try to have a goodsleep, so that in themorning you would befresh enough to win thecash from me. Good night!”the old man said, and liftedthe note bundles from thetable and carefully put it inhis trouser’s pocket. Then,he lay down on the sofa bykneading his emptystomach.

He began to think again.‘Man ought to be head

of his house. I will turneverything upside downtomorrow to give thismoney to my brother.What happened to hertoday? She was not likethis. She had alwaysobeyed me without anyquestion. Yes, earlier shedepended on me and nowshe started earning. Butshe is still my wife. Ipleaded a lot with my sonnot to go and when he stillwent away with his wifeand children, I fell downunconscious. It was mywife, who took me to thehospital and stayed therewith me to make me wellagain. My brother came tosee me and spent sometime with me on thehospital bed. Instead ofgiving me support and help,he stated his viewpoint. Hesaid that what hadhappened to me was myfate. I was fated to lose myson. It had all been decidedby fate and nothing couldbe done to change it. Yes,this was what Praveen toldme when he learned that


The o ld womanwalked fo r th andback rap id l y w i than enraged look onher face . “You maybe mak ing tas tyvada, but thatdoesn ’ t mean youcan se l l i t too . Thesta l l runs becauseo f my rap id se l l i ngo f vada pav . So Ihave the fu l l r i ghtto g i ve th i s moneyto my s i s te r . ”

use or not, this money isnot for you.”

“Then, for whom?”“This money is for your

mom and dad’s old age.Bye, Prayag, good night!”

The old man put thephone on the table andturned toward his wife. Hesaid laughing, “Your savedwords to use on your sisterwill go in the air withouthitting her ears, because Ithink your sister or mybrother has so far noproblem, but they willhave a problemtomorrow.”

“What problem?”“They will have a

problem of not getting ourmoney.”

The old woman laughedand said, “Sometimes awrong path may also leadto a right direction. Nexttime when you meet RamPrasad, tell him that youwould be going to depositten lakhs in a bank. Let ussee what happens then.Shall I bring our dinnerfrom the kitchen?”

“Yes, please!” the oldman said and sat down onthe sofa, smiling.


“To your brother only.”The old man rose to sit.

“I don’t want my brother totake this money. You give itto your sister.”

“I also don’t want mysister to take this money.”

“Why? Whathappened?”

“You know when lasttime Renu visited us I feltvery proud by thinking shehad come to comfort me.Instead of comforting me,she had blamed me. Shesaid I was to blame forPrayag leaving us, becausewe hadn’t brought up himproperly. Her words mademe more uncomfortable,you know. Instead of givingher this money, I want togive her words back. So,you can give this money toyour brother.”

“You know, when I sawPraveen near my hospitalbed I felt very proud bythinking he had come tohelp me. Instead of a wordof support he said I wasfated to lose my son. So, Idecided to leave mybrother on his fate.”

“That’s good! We willnot give this money toanyone. We will put thismoney in the bank.”

The old man smiled. “Iwill make this money afixed deposit tomorrow.”

Suddenly, mobile phonerang. Both of them jumpedto their feet by seeing thename displaying on thescreen –Prayag. The oldman switched it on thespeakerphone.

“Hello, dad! Are you atthe stall or home?”

The old man said, “Weare at home. Tell us.”

“How is vada pav stallrunning?”

“We all are doing well.”“With a bit of my luck, I

came to know that youhave one lakh rupees in

Prayag had left us. If so,why should I interfere withmy brother’s fate? Who amI to let fate’s plans gowrong? If Praveen’s fatehas decided to ruin him,then let it happens. I willnot give him this money. Iwill tell my wife tomorrowto give this money to hersister.’

The old woman fell ontothe bed and let drop

two tears from her eyes bythinking. ‘Never had Idisagreed with what myhusband wanted to dobefore. But it is for mysister. If she fails to returnone-lakh rupees in time,which her son had takenfrom someone, then itwould be a police case.After losing my son to hiswife, I was extremelyworried. It was myhusband, who made mecomfortable again. Thattime Renu came to meetme just once, and what shehad told me! When shelearned that Prayag hadleft us, she said to me thatit all were depending onhow someone was raised.She said it was all my fault,as I failed to bring up myson in a good way. If so,why should I bother for herfault to raise her son? I willnot give her this money. Iwill tell my husband now togive this money to hisbrother.’

The old man opened hiseyes and looked at the dooropening sound. As soon ashe saw his wife coming outfrom the bedroom, he said,“Dear, you give this moneyto your sister.”

The old woman cameand sat down on the sofa.She said, “No, dear, yougive this money to yourbrother.”

“To your sister.”

“Sometimes a wrongpath may also lead to

a right direction.

cash!”“How do you know?”“Yesterday, I went to a

departmental store to buysomething and there I sawPraveen uncle and Renuaunty. While I was havingsome conversation withthem, Ram Prasad came tous. Ram Prasad told us thathe had met you near thebank as you had been thereto make a fixed deposit ofrupees one lakh, withoutknowing the bank wasclosed due to secondSaturday.”

“So?”“After knowing that, I

could hardly believe myluck. Two months ago, afriend loaned me rupeesone lakh. Now he needsthat money from meurgently and I didn’t knowwhat to do until this goodnews. Dad, give me one-lakh rupees to repay myloan.”

“No, I can’t give you.Sorry!”

“What is the use to put itin a fixed deposit? Give it tome, I promise I will return itsoon.”

“Whether it will be in our We


WE ALL LOVED TO EAT PLUMS IN THE SUMMER SEASON,winters are a season of dried fruits including the dried plums. Do tell us how we can use

them in our dishes.Dehydrated plums are all crinkled and wrinkly and are

called Prunes. This dry fruit is a storehouse of nutrientsand an excellent source of energy.Prunes are deliciouslysweet and juicy. They not only induce enriching flavour tothe dish but also enhance its colour. We can use it in themaking of various dishes including cakes, puddings andeven bread and stuffed kulcha. Prunes are quite versatilemaking it easy to be used in sweet and savoury dishes.

WE HAVE HEARD THAT THERE ARE PLANTS AND HERBS THAT

help one to cope with stress in our l ives which are known as adaptogen.

Please elaborate.Indian superfoods like ashwagandha, tulsi, mooring,

turmeric have adaptogens and they are most effectiveprevention and treatment of stress and help lead a happyhealthy life. Cordyceps, Siberian Ginseng, Holy basil, Gojiberries, Licorice, Astragalus Root, Jiagulan and Reishi aresome more of superfoods that can make our life tensionfree and happy. So for health, healing, happiness: eat welland sleep well.

MO S T O F U S T H I N K O F T U R K E Y A S I M P O R T E D M E A T,but now we find there are farms breeding it in india. Please give us some tips for cooking

turkey at home.Turkey meat is healthy. It is a leaner protein source

compared to red meat and even chicken. It is full ofminerals like potassium, zinc, selenium and lots of Bvitamins. It ’s naturally low in sodium and lower incholesterol compared to other meats. Cook differentparts of the bird separately.

The turkey breast cooks very quickly. It is perfect forgrills and roasts. Marinate with spices and make it intokebabs. The turkey leg is like red meat, you braise it anduse in curries and stews. The offals, neck and wings arevery flavourful and perfect to be had in soups.

TILL NOW WE WERE TOLD TO EAT A BALANCED DIET IE GOOD

variety, fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables andeverything in moderation. But is it enough or we have

to keep in mind some important way to consume food?Yes, the way food is consumed, too has a lot of bearing

on our overall health. Research confirms that just by eatingslower, you’ll consume fewer calories. If you eat slowlyyou’ll chew your food better, which will lead to better

digestion. Being mindful of the foods you eat, youpay attention to the aromas, textures, flavours andtaste of food.

BEING RICH IN HEART HEALTHY FATS AND FINE

flavour, organic or cow ghee is undoubtedlyan all time favourite of us Indians. Please tell

us more about it.Yes the body needs good fats for the proper functioning

of the brain, ghee has it all. It is a good source of vitaminK2. The health benefits of ghee are myriad, but only whentaken in moderation. Too much ghee can have a negativeimpact on your health. Use cow ghee only, not ghee frombuffalo milk. According to Ayurveda too cow ghee issacred, cleansing, medicinal and nourishing food.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT SOME NATURALLY PROBIOTIC-RICH FOODS.It is very important to take care of our gut health for a

healthy mind and body. The micro organisms in the gutconsists of good bacteria and sometimes bad bacteria. Thegood bacteria is known as probiotics. Probiotics optimiseour immune system.

Some of them are as following: yogurt, is a fermentedfood contains lots of probiotic cultures. Kimchi is a popularfermented cabbage and radish dish, it contains many helpfulbacteria such as lactobacillus. Cucumber pickles are brined insalt water ans fermented giving us beneficial bacteria.

Traditional buttermilk popularly known as grandma’sprobiotic is simply the liquid leftover from churning butter. Itis low in fat and calories and contain several importantvitamins and minerals. Kefir is a fermented milk drink whichcontains several major strains of friendly bacteria and yeast.

WHAT ARE BACTERIA AND WHAT DO THEY DO?Bacteria are microscopic, single celled organisms that

exist in their millions. Some are harmful but most serve auseful purpose in our body. Bacteria breakdowncarbohydrates (sugar )and they help us absorb the fattyacids which cells need to grow.

The good bacteria colonise our respiratory anddigestive systems. By having good bacteria in your body,bad bacteria don’t get a chance to grow and causediseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity andcardiovascular problems. Without the right balance ofbacterias your body might suffer from constantinflammation. Our immune system too needs the rightcombination of bacterias to keep us healthy.

WHAT IS THE MYTH AROUND ‘RICE’, IS IT REALLY HARMFUL AS IT IS

MADE OUT TO BE NOW A DAYS?Rice is very wrongfully villanised these days and is often

cut out from diet by many people. However rice is anexcellent source of energy and b vitamins. Also it is easier fordigestion, especially for elders and children. Polished ricewhich looks shinier undergo a polishing process that robsthem of their outer covering which contains many essentialnutrients.

— SAVITA BHARGAVA

Q A&Kitchen queries

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I was in my late 20s and hadbroken up with a man I was datingfor a very long time and he was mysenior in high school. I went abroadto Dubai to get over the heartbreakand to get away from all hismemories. At the point when I gotback, I decided that I wouldtransform myself, quit beinghopeless and pessimistic, anddiscover the man I planned to

marry. I simply needed a pleasanttypical person to settle down with.I played the drum and wasadditionally planning to return toplaying and to discover my perfectpartner. I posted an advert for aDrummer in nearby cafes. I had afew calls and discovered a band Iloved and went along with them. Ihad one last call from a personname Madhav, who wasapproaching me if I was stillsearching for a band. I accepted thecall and disclosed to him that I haddiscovered a band. He disclosed tome he was an engineer andadditionally played the drums and Ihad a discussion with him,however, left it at that. I thoughthe appears to be a decent person. Ihad put a promotion on the webadditionally, on a dating webpage. Ifiltered through 30+ likely folks andafterward went over his messageto me. He noted in his message thathe was an engineer and playeddrums. I pondered internally "Is

this the person I just addressed acouple of months back about theband"? I got together with a coupleof folks from the site yet manywere somewhat abnormal and notappropriate and I was going tosurrender. So I figured I wouldattempt one final individual,Madhav. At the point when I ranghim, he had no clue about what myidentity was. We talked andunderstood that he was the veryperson that called me about theband gig!! We got together sevendays after the fact and startedseeing each other week by week, atthat point day by day. We sharedquite a few same hobbies and heseemed as though the typicaldecent person I had envisioned. Hedropped a proposal for work inDelhi to stay with me. We currentlyhave 2 kids and are still married 25years later. I trust I made my luckand I believe we were bound tomeet.

–By Rama

One Fine Day


AS YOU SAY

E-3 Jhandewala Estate,New Delhi-110055.Womansera.com

Name:

Mobile:

E-mail:

invites readers’ opinions andreactions onarticles, short storiesand features publishedin Woman’s Era. The bestletter will be given a prize of `500. Address your letters byE-mail to: [email protected] by post to:

WOMAN'S ERA

The prize is awarded to:Sujata Reddy

The article ” SocialMedia Effects OnTeens” by Rama inJan 2021 is anawakening call forteens as well asparents. An adverse

effects told by the writer aretotally fact based and today’sreality which we can’t overlook.However, we can not deny thetruth that social media haspositive aspects as well butlooking at the present scenarioone can firmly say social media hasa high negative impact on teens/youth...certainly! Today’s youth isbusy in their phones, chatting withfriends, commenting and fightingon social media, watching sillyvideos, playing games, scrollingthrough the useless stuff ofbeautiful celebrities..honestly, the

list is endless! This has becomepart and parcel of their lives whichis completely useless andpointless. Like cigarettes or anyother drugs this phone addiction isruling over the teens’ mindseventually lives. It is literallydestroying the young person’s life.It’s also highly distracting fromtheir own personal goals, dreamsand aspirations. Watchingmindless stuff and spending hourstogether on social media candamage the career prospects. Itmay cause losing their ability tothink, reason and logic and couldbe end up with inactive the brain.It can kill motivation and energy aswell. According to the studiesdone by the various scientists, thiscan lead to anxiety and depression,unrealistic expectations, unhealthysleeping and eating patterns,loneliness, cyber bullying etc.

– Sujata Reddy, Bengaluru

Advances in technology mean

the present teenagers are

confronting issues that no

past age has ever observed. While a

few issues are not actually new,

electronic media has changed or

intensified a portion of the issues

youngsters face. The commonness

of advanced correspondence has

changed how teenagers interact

with their friends and romantic

partners. Because of this, numerous

adolescents need basic relational

abilities like realizing how to get on

expressive gestures. A lot of this

brokenness can be connected to the

abuse of technology. Teenagers'

social media and messaging habits

just as how they devour media is

changing how they impart, date,

and learn, rest, exercise, and the sky

are the limit from there. Truth be

told, the normal teenager goes

through more than nine hours every

day utilizing their electronic devices.

How Social Media Negatively

Affects the Teen Brain. By Rama

Social Media

Effects on Teens

Appropos theeditorial "Are thefarmers right?" inWE Jan 2021. At theoutset, Farmers stiron the Delhiborder has been acause of greatworry to thegovernment as

unions are stubborn with theirdemands by refusing to budge evenan inch despite several rounds oftalks. It is thus obvious, unions havemade up their mind to continue untilthe government repeals the threefarm laws. Despite the bleak optics intalks had so far, the silver lining in theblack clouds is two sides agreeing toremain engaged to thrash out the

demands gives a ray of bright hopethat victory is not far. However,further round of talks betweenunions and centre endinginconclusive after unions harped thatcentre withdrew the 3 farm laws andgovernment asking the unions tocome out with alternative plan orsuggestions instead of repeal. As thestalemate continued with nooutcome in sight, farmers shouldrelent to end the impasse by lookingat a larger picture of farm laws whichconfers benefits to farmers thansticking to a single demand ofwithdrawal of farm laws.

– R.Srinivasan, Secunderabad

The article'Women's HeartHealth Matters' byHarshit Tripathi ispretty informativeand timely. Webelieve thatwomen are thebest multitaskers.

A woman plays multiple roles oneafter the other and sometimes

juggling everything togethersimultaneously. Her transition froma daughter, sister, wife, mother,colleague, friend to grandmother(honestly, the list is endless) iscommendable. As she grows older,the struggle and burden becomeharder.Maintaning work -life balancebecomes challenging and it leads tostress and anxiety.In such stressfullifestyle,a woman can not certainlyoverlook her health.

– Sujata Reddy, Bengaluru

It is true, english is avery importantsubject in today' scompetitive world.Without english noone cancommunicate withothers properly.But along with

english student must learn theirmother or regional language. If,anyone can not speak his or her ownlanguage it is very derogatory. Forthat, in my opinion when any studentstay in home please talk andcommunicate with family memberswith mother language. Also useregional language when write lettersto relatives.

– Shubhankar Bhattacharjee,West Bangal

"ARE THE FARMERS RIGHT?"

'WOMEN'S HEART HEALTH MATTERS'

ENGLISH MEDIUM

“SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTS ON TEENS”

EDITORIALWOMANHOOD IN THE NEW AGE:

This is not the new age. There is yet a lot to be

achieved and stereotypes to be shattered to call this

the new age. However, for elder publications like this

one, it is crucial to define and redefine the bygone era

and the age in which we live today. Perhaps, definitions

lend a connection between the two ages while also

being the chronicle of change. With the advent of new

technologies, urbanization across the globe, and the

dawn of social media, the fabric of relationships has

evolved to being something, which was nothing less

than a taboo in the bygone days of a globally non-

connected world.

With this in view, Woman’s Era hopes to change a

part of its editorial stance and recognize the changes

that have come about, addressing

problems within, from this January

2021 issue onwards. Our lead article

speaks about how the lines

between womanhood and girlhood

are being blurred, and she (you the

reader) has taken advantage of this

global change. In the days and

months to come, with this theme in

view, Woman’s Era magazine will

strive to look into the problems that

this new story gets into our lives.

ARE THE FARMERS

RIGHT?Well to a certain extent. The

movement to repeal the 3 Kisan bills, if

not addressed properly by the Modi

sarkar, will have the same ramifications

like the Anna movement had in abolishing the then

regime of Congress, which is now living on the verge of

extinction. The farmers may have a wrong

interpretation of these 3 Kisan bills, but the problem is

that it’s just too late for the government to take them

back. In case they do, then there are other new laws like

the NRC, CAA, etc which will also have to be addressed

and revoked. PM Modi is right in his stand that these

bills will not be taken back, only amendments to a

certain extent will be done, and that the government is

willing to speak. He also has the support of the SC on

this issue, with a committee being setup for this

deliberation. His jumla of transferring Rs. 18,000 crores

on 25th December 2020, on the touch of a button to the

farmers is more or less ‘fake’ as most of the farmers are

not linked to the system and if the state of Bengal could

block those transfers, so could the other states,

regions, and the last mile authorities. The big question

is: how will it end? The farmers may relent based on

some political understanding or there could actually be

a withdrawal of the 3 bills. Plain reading of the bill

suggests that someone in Niti Aayog has loosely and

carelessly drafted the bill and since the BJP was in

power in both the houses, this bill also got passed and

subsequently notified. Sure the Home Ministry must

have found out the drafting culprit by now.

COVID VACCINE SHOTS:

Fundamentally, the biggest problem in administering

the vaccine is the cold chain of -20 and -70 degrees

Celsius that is required to distribute it. With so many

news items coming up on social networks about its

failure, one can only wait to see when the masses get

vaccinated and not before that. Usually any vaccine will

have some side effects but one should not disregard the

immense positive it has for the human

community. In one analysis, Indian figures

for infected people is wrong as it is likely

to be much higher. But then again if one

looks at the farmers’ movement at the

outskirts of Delhi NCR, it implies that

COVID could largely be only a question of

immunity. Whichever way, with the news

and views on the mutated version of this

virus making rounds at the end of the

disastrous year that 2020 has been, one

can only be asked to be careful and

cautious of whom or what they get in

touch with or touch. Remember, it’s

still not over; cause you never know

when it comes to bite you.

LOCKDOWN AND OUR

NEW LIVES:

In case readers are thinking that they’ll soon be able

to live life like the pre-COVID times after the mass

vaccination, they have to pinch themselves out to the

new reality. The new world order will be here to stay

since the economies and people’s movement have been

altered to a low speed. There are companies and

countries, which are more happy with the smaller

formats of their business affairs and surely a lot of

homes that are happier now with lower expenditure

and not fighting for space in the material world of show

offs. Hence, you as a person need to be careful while

taking the next step for a new salary hike, a new

prospective job, changing the career path, a new loan,

or planning a new large expenditure. The advisory also

extends to companies and countries that have survived

the ongoing COVID era so that their employees and

population don't lose the remaining wealth in it.

On these notes of caution Woman’s Era wishes all its

readers a very Happy New Year 2021.

We

[email protected]

Woman’s Era � January 2021

5

Heart health is as important an

issue for women as it is for

men. A disturbing fact

highlighted by the Indian Heart

Association states that women are

less likely to get themselves checked,

or follow any preventive measures or

health plan. The myth was that

women are protected from heart

disease. However, today, women in

India are rubbing shoulders with men

in terms of heart disease incidences,

and more so in the urban population.

The main reasons for this increased

prevalence are added work stress,

lack of adequate physical exercise,

consumption of junk food, and a rise

in smoking habit. On the bright side,

as diagnostic facilities are getting

better, more women are coming

forward for health screening.

Heart diseases in women

result in various symptoms.

Chest pain is one major

Complete guide for a healthy heart.

By Harshit Tripathi

Women’s Heart

Health Matters70

Woman’s Era � January 2021

How will English affect your future?

By Kalpana M Naghnoor

Nadu or even watching Tamil

movies, it’s hard not to notice that

sentences and dialogues are

liberally speckled with English.

Tamil is one of the oldest languages

in the world yet English idioms like

‘cut and dried’ have commonly

mutated to ‘cut and right’, of course

with an altered inference. Clearly

Indians like English.

NEP and Actuality

These are just nuances, but the

bigger picture is the new National

Education Policy. The schools were

closed for the most of 2020 due to

the pandemic and then online

classes began. Connectivity and

affordability came into play. New

mobiles need to be purchased for

4G compatibility, against an

economic downturn. The dilemmas

of the lower income group grew as

they grappled with changing times.

They are ambitious to hear their

children speak English fluently, but

the pandemic, quandary in

upgrading the mobile or the

inability, burdened already by hefty

tuition fee in private schools, it’s

hard for that ambition to fructify.

Their perception is that English will

enable them with better job

opportunities, which is a fact.

Goals of an Educational

Program� Formulating a curriculum

which the people want, and need is

essential. Industries and job

opportunities are in metropolitan

and semi-metropolitan areas and

where the workforce is culturally a

mixed group. Here a common

language is essential to

communicate.

� Education must arm the

generation with the ability to

communicate in India and globally.

The interdependence of countries

for trade and commerce is factuality

and our workforce must be able to

cope and communicate with all.

� Any new educational policy

must be formulated to enhance

learning and make the incumbent

industry ready. Children must be

challenged to add skills to their

environment, so they can as adults

bring in the change in their socio-

economic scenario.

� Ambitious parents are looking

for English medium schools for their

children, an elective priority, and

EnglishMedium

There is no nation in the world,

like India, which is inherently

a non-English-speaking

country, yet a vast majority of us

communicate in English. While some

struggle with it, others are eloquent

like Mr. Shashi Tharoor. Recently

Indian pop music too enjoys

inclusion of snappy rhyming words

from English paired with Indian

ones, and punch phrases that bring

the rhythm to life, the television

series Bandish Bandits is a classic

example. These songs make me wonder

where the public is with the

language. Travelling through Tamil

we.pdf - woman's era

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