HEALTH AND LIFE STYLE

The proverb “Health is Wealth” is more relevant today, than ever before. As far as definition is concerned health is physical, mental and social well being of an individual. Health is hard to achieve now a days. Population, explosion, environment pollution, urbanization, changed life style and food is largely responsible for deter renting health.

Millions of people of India and across the world suffer from diseases like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and digestive problems largely because of changed life style and food. There is a mad race for earning more and more. As a result basic health is ignored. For a 21^st century man, wealth may not be everything but is not less than anything. People are being jugged in terms of the amount of money they earn and not by their knowledge or ability. Here money counts much and it speaks for the individual. We are always in a run as if catching a moving train. Therefore, we hardly have time for proper and timely food. So we prefer packed food, which is mostly ready made, preserved or salted, or carbonated soft drinks etc. basically the youth mass of our country prefers these junk and fast food.

There is another section in the society who leads a sedentary life because either they have enough wealth or earn enough but not enough reason to burn calories. So they are more prone to have life style diseases. It is painful to mention that there is another large section in our society who doesn’t have access to basic health and hygiene or food. They have enough reason to burn calories but not enough wealth to supplement. Therefore both are suffering that is people who have and people who do not have. It is seen that the haves are more prone to lifestyle diseases than the have nuts. It is largely because of our lifestyle, food and ignorance.

Here some of the health tips to reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases.

1

•        Reducing fats and oils.
•               Cut out fast food and junk food.
•                  Intake of vegetables and fiber food.
•       Cut down intake of salt and soft drinks.
•       Intake of safe clean drinking water.
•      Regular jogging or mild exercise or practice of yoga.

We always complain that we don’t have time for exercise so at the end it is worthy to conclude with a beautiful quotation by E.Stanley:

“Those who think they have no time for exercise

Sooner or later will have to find time for illness”.

                                                                       

The Importance of English

The Importance of English

            The exact date of birth of English is not known. It came into existence as a low West Germanic language and metamorphosis over the years has seen English being accepted by close to 600 million people across the globe. It can be seen as a symbol of Unity, uniting people of various cultures, creed and color by giving them the scope of communication.

Globalization is defined as the shrinking of world, not literally but metaphorically. Even globalization is in a way dependent on English as it serves as the medium for communication. Man is a gregarious animal, he loves to socialize and English again serves his purpose as it is the official language of the maximum number of countries, carrying an unimaginable advantage over other languages.

Starting from striking a deal at the interview hall to the varied challenges in the professional circuit, English paves the way to meet all the challenges. The better someone is at this oral and written weapon, the chances of him/her making it big in the battle of life is more.The career graph of an individual also has a lot to do with English as it shapes up the personality and the growth of the concerned individual. It’s a matter of prestige too if you excel at the most popular language of modern times. Certain areas also take English as the parameter to judge someone’s knowledge and shortcomings in other aspects can easily be veiled.  Even the language of Computers is English, which helps in connecting people worldwide. Certainly, English is the window language as it creates a wide domain of opportunities possible for an individual.

India’s tryst with English dates back to the pre-independence days when the British rulers introduced English in India to overcome the linguistic hurdle with the natives and propel better administration. Since then, the Indians have accepted it gleefully with a warm response and it is now used for all the official purposes in every sector of work in India. Many of the Indians have mastered this vast language and have won international recognition as well as many awards for the same.

If someone wonders how it is possible for a language like English to be the most popular language despite having a 1:2 ratio to Mandarin, (the most spoken language in the world), then the answer is the simplicity of English. The basic fundamentals are easy to pick up and learn with simple and easy pronunciation. However, Mandarin can really be tough as each word can be pronounced in four different ways. But even then it is spoken by a billion people. There is more to it than what meets the eye as far as the popularity of English is concerned.

English is considered as the De jure or the official language of India and it is the second largest English speaking country by population after the USA. In every professional sphere, English is a pre-requisite and it’s looked upon as an essential trait for any venture in the official circuit. From law books to comic books, English adorns everything. The 26 alphabets make up the entire language of English and the various combinations of these letters form the magic known as - The English Language. As a toddler, everyone picks up the 26 alphabets first and as they grow up,they start using them in words and then in sentences with the aid of the 26 alphabets. Slowly, the kids discover their entire academics revolve around English, be it history or geography.  Even the regional schools introduce English because they too believe that English is not just a mere language or a subject.

 The funny part about the English spoken in India is that nearly everyone has a mother tongue influence, depending on their place of birth. But putting across your message in your own flexible way to someone is still a possibility. A torch, a computer, a table and many others don’t have substitute words for them in many regional languages. Without a shred of doubt, English is a flexible language. People don’t have to scratch their brains too much even if they pronounce “but” and “put” differently. The versatility doesn’t only lie in pronunciation, intonation or collocation but by its wide range of usage.

If Marathi is the mother tongue of the Maharashtrians, Tamil is the mother tongue of the inhabitants of Tamil Nadu, so in the very same way, English can be touted as the mother tongue of the world. Simple in nature, English continues to gobble up more fan following than ever before. Especially with the world turning into a small village now, the need of this magnanimous language is realized even more. In a nutshell, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that English is now in our system and a part of life

                                                                                           

An ethical approach to a better life

                    An ethical approach to a better life

                                                                                       

Ethics is a requirement for human society. It gives man moral strength, meaning and purpose for living besides helping to make value-based decisions. Ethics is a way that guides us when no one is watching. It is true that the world views of societies determine the standard for actions and behavior. We generally accept certain modes of actions as valid and acceptable on the basis of certain concepts and assumptions behind it. For example, get rich-quick-scheme may be quite attractive in amazing wealth without much effort. Hard work, ethics and principles hardly matter if it hurts others in various ways. Our value awareness helps us to be kind to one another, reach out to the needy, be tolerant to different views and care for others. We will be careful in utilizing our resources and refrain from certain luxurious putting a limit to pursing pleasures. We will be more accommodating in all situations. Pleasures have to remain at modicum in our lives to help relax our minds.

Exploiting others to indulge in inhumane activities, unethical transactions, and running business without a moral base create a society of corruptions and bribery, which is contrary to moral standards. We have come a long way using various means of modern technology in our day to day life. Such knowledge gained should be used for good and not bad. The guidance of a good value system is essential to use the knowledge without values leads to character erosions and its consequences.

Value Based Life Style

Five basic human values – They are love, truth, right conduct, peace, and non-violence. Love in words is truth, love in actions is righteousness, compassion, and it brings forth non-violence. Good values produce superior character and responses in us.

Family values – Family provides the initial learning experiences that make one genuinely human and mounds children into ideal people. It is said that “as the families are, so be the mankind.” Family life helps to develop a system of sound values with the right priorities. It is a place where one can be oneself without guise, nurturing abilities, practicing trials and received love. Family values make members respect each other and caring and loving.

Politics and Sports – A political system has to embrace a number of moral principles to ensure equality, freedom and goodness to its citizens. Democratic values must always be upheld. Trying to win elections at any cost embracing deceptive methods reveal only the degraded value system. If the winners and losers in cultural and sports events are at loggerheads trying to stamp on each other foot, they reveal their poor character. Sports-spirit shows balanced responses to victories and failures.

Religion and Community life – Although the spiritual value help and encourage us to be better human beings, our youth associate religion and spirituality with inner divisions and social conflicts. The values wee got from religions in the past helped us to stop being selfish and to become sacrificial. One could perform the best for humanity when he is guided to do his services as if doing for God. For example, the doctor treating his patients believing that god is visiting him in the guise of patients. That’s doctor’s opportunity to please god with his humble services.

All religions, in different degrees, accept the value of love and place it as synonym for God. Even those who do not have faith in any particular religion can accept good values and on that basis use their knowledge for the good of the society.

Media Ethics – Journalistic ethics carries importance because a majority of readers believe without questioning what the newspapers publish. News media should create awareness among people against deception and corruption. They have to work as the conscience bearers of the society.

Ecological Sustainability – Thinking for the future is a luxury for those who are surviving one day at a time. However, we have to look at the implications of using knowledge unscrupulously for development that affects and makes the earth uninhabitable. We have to have value awareness for development, which is meeting our needs without harming the ability of other people to meet their needs.

Coping with the realities of life – We all have to cope with the realities of life. Technical knowledge alone does not equip anyone to successful overcome obstacles in life. It is the personal quality that contributes just 15%. Hopelessness and frustration should not rip us apart. We can help others, especially, our youngsters to focus on their potential to become victorious and non victims, realizing that crisis experiences are not to break us but to make us.

                   “When the soul awakes,

                   All sorrow vanish.”

                                                    

KHADI- FROM FREEDOM FABRIC TO FASHION FABRIC

                             KHADI

                                 FROM FREEDOM FABRIC TO FASHION FABRIC

Khadi first caught the imagination of the nation during the freedom movement under Mahatma Gandhi, who propagated it as not just a fabric, but a way of life. A way of life that centered around the village, where the practice of Khadi would be able to generate employment, income and hence, self- reliance. Khadi was meant to be a supplementary industry for agriculture, a crucial element in a self- sustaining economy. But it was not simply about the making of yarn at home, it was the spirit behind it. Gandhi’s vision was clear: “if we have Khadi spirit in us, we should surround ourselves with simplicity with every walk of life. The Khadi spirit means also an illimitable faith. The Khadi spirit means fellow- feeling with every human being on earth.”  Spinning yarn in the charkha, Gandhi believed inculcated discipline and dedication. It was meant to be a great social equalizer and also a tool to bring women into the fold of the freedom movement. Khadi was infact, a masterstroke, taking the freedom movement beyond the rarefied circles of the social elite and educated out in the masses. The image of Gandhi sitting in front of the charkha acquired the weight of historical symbolism.

Gradually Khadi was accepted from a freedom fabric to a fashion fabric by the people. In 1985, designer Devika Bhojwani pioneered the Swadeshi label of Khadi ensembles; which were distributed through nearly 5000 Khadi Emporiums. There had been a time when Khadi as a fashion was not doing well for people. Synthetic material was quickly replacing the handmade fabric. People, who had got used to the high quality of important materials, felt that Khadi was rough and coarse and associated it with shapeless kurtas, mostly worn by politicians. Therefore, in spite of financial assistance and governmental support to thousands of traditional spinners in India, they had tough times selling their products. But soon, to display Khadi’s potential a fashion was organized in Mumbai, 1989. Nearly eighty-five dazzling garments by Devika Bhojwani were presented at this show. This was the first step towards changing Khadi’s earlier image of being unfashionable. She also said that though the government is taking initiative to revive Khadi, nothing much would improve until the implementation, and the cost per and other concerns, were controlled. Eventually with increasing interest of the western world in use of handloom and Khadi, many Indians began to use it for their designs. The government also made efforts to promote Khadi, as this fabric had the essence of both moral and social values. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) board hired the services of leading fashion designers to help create a new range and brand of Khadi wear. Many researchers were being made to improve the quality of Khadi.

Now, through many exhibitions and fashion shows Khadi is promoted as wholly hand spun, hand woven and hand patterned fabric. In one aspect it is now when Khadi has made a successful journey from freedom fabric to fashion fabric, that the social equality is well sustained; which was Gandhi’s ultimate motive behind his trials of making Khadi accepted by all. With many designers experimenting with Khadi, the designs are no longer as simple as they used to be. Rather a great deal of new designs and colors were introduced. Khadi as a fashion fabric was used to create apparel such as, casual shirts, waist coats, skirts, wrap- arounds, trousers, parallels and tops for women. The journey of this awesome fabric which bears such ethnic importance has thus, completed a commendable journey from the era of freedom to the era of fashion yet, upholding its importance.

Undaunted Willpower, dreams come true

                     Undaunted Willpower
                                                                          Dreams come True

She is an independent woman now. She can do whatever she likes. She can live her life freely. In her school days she was praised by her teachers for her knowledge and intellectual power. She had dreams, dreams untold, and dreams to do something big for the society and for her family. But one day the social customs and tradition dragged her to the end of her dreams. The heart breaking news came when she was only 12 years old “you need not go to school, your marriage is fixed. The only thing you should learn is household works." She knew her dreams are shattering like broken pieces of glass and she is unable to fix them. She remained a strong girl from the beginning but this disturbing news restrained all her will power and started to make her weak. Gradually the date of her marriage came closer. She felt totally helpless. Nobody was there to help her. She was unable to take any proper decision. At last the cursed day of her life appeared, it puzzled her enough and she was left out of choice. She left home because she was determined not to end her dreams like this. Then she went to her teacher to seek help. Her teacher took an initiative and brought a great change in her life. She was finally able to stop her marriage.

Now she is a teacher of a primary government school. As her parents were unable to meet her study expenses, she had to earn by herself. Her teachers helped her a lot. She had undergone an extreme financial crisis which she doesn't want anybody else to suffer the way she did. She received a lot of help which made her to stand and she wants to spread the same help she got, to others as well. She started giving free tuition to poor kids. She motivates them and helps them who are about to give up their dreams due to utter poverty. She supplies books, pens, copies, and study materials free of cost according to her ability.

Those parents who are planning for their daughters’ marriage during underage she always makes them aware about the importance of education. She inspires them by saying her own story. She says that a girl is not a burden. She says that girls can be a helping hand to their parents. Thus, she has succeeded to save many lives. Now some of them are well established in their respective fields.

She said that if the social prejudices are broken, girls can have a golden future. We are all aware of the fact that in this 21^st century girls have their own existence.  In this changing society, girls are not only equal to boys but also in some sphere of life girls can go ahead of boys. Girls are now able to take up any job which was previously assigned to males only. They are now free and independent .They can live their life alone.

She said that there are still so many girls, sacrificing their dreams. Prejudices, poverty and social customs are swallowing them intellectually and eating their will power. I can save very few among them. A great change in mentality of the society is necessary to secure them all.

"As she is not only a woman but a mother to a child, a wife to a husband, a friend to a sister...

When she can play so many roles, why to leave her uneducated?"

                                                                             - Madhuchhanda Pyne

                                                                                         (14MEN055)