Nature cure

Dr Anjali Sanjeev Raina

Nature cure is a system of healing, and also a way of life, in tune with the internal vital forces or natural elements comprising the human body. It is a constructive method of treatment which aims at removing the basic cause of diseases through the rational use of the element freely available in nature. There are reference in India’s ancient holy books about the comprehensive use of nature’s excellent healing agents such as air, earth, water and sun.
Nature cure is based on the realization that man is born healthy and strong and that he can stay as such by living in accordance with the laws of nature. Even if born with some inherited affliction, the individual can to extract it by putting to the best use the natural agent of healing. Fresh air, sunshine, a proper diet, exercise, scientific-relaxation and positive thinking along with prayer and mediation all play their part in keeping a sound mind in a sound body.
Nature cure believes that disease is an abnormal condition of the body resulting from the violation of the natural laws. Every such violation has repercussions on the human system in the shape of lowered vitality, irregularities of the blood and lymph and the accumulation of waste matter and toxins. Thus, through a faulty diet it is not the digestive system alone which is adversely affected. When toxins accumulation, other organs such as the bowels, kidneys, skin and lungs are overworked and cannot expel these harmful substances as quickly as they are produced.
Besides this, mental and emotional disturbances cause imbalances of the vital electric field within which cell metabolism takes place, producing toxin. When the soil of this electric field is undisturbed, diseases causing germs can live in it without multiplying or producing toxins. It is only when it is disturbed or when then blood is polluted with toxic waste that the germs multiply and become harmful.
There are main basic three principles in nature cure. The first principle is that all forms of disease are due to the same cause namely, the accumulation of waste materials and bodily refuse in the system. These waste materials in the healthy individual are removed from the system through the organs of elimination.
The second basic principle of natural cure is that all acute disease such as fevers, cold, inflammations, digestive disturbances and skin eruptions are nothing more than self-initiated efforts on the part of the body to throw off the accumulated waste materials.
The third principle of nature cure is that the body contain on elaborate healing mechanism which has the power to bring about a return to normal condition of health, provided right method are employed to enable it to do so.
The nature cure system aims at the readjustment of the human system from abnormal to normal conditions and functions and adopts methods of cure which are in conformity with the constructive principle of nature. Such methods remove from the system the accumulation of toxin matter and poisons without in any way injuring the vital organs of the body. They also stimulate the organs of elimination and purification to better functioning.
In nutshell a well balanced diet, sufficient physical exercise, the observation of the other laws of well-being such as fresh air, plenty of sunlight pure drinking water, scrupulous cleanliness, adequate rest and right mental attitude can ensure proper health and prevent diseases.

Childhood learning Emerging trends...................

Dr.S.S.Verma

Learning is a life long process but childhood is the most important learning phase of it. It is said that in learning process a child learns 20% from school, 40% from parents and 40 % from society. Every parent wants that their child should possess all good qualities but they want this without any sacrifice to acquire them. Socially and scientifically, it is now well accepted that good qualities in a child is a combination of gene chemistry at the conception time itself but it is also accepted that after birth also good qualities can be imbibed in a child during his growing phase by his parents if the they work hard to do so. Every parent want to provide best education to the child with all the worldly facilities within their capacity but during this they (parents) are safe-guarding their child so much that they generally lack in imbibing the desired qualities in the child.
Middle class section of Indian society (the largest) in particular seems to be having one point programme of their life i.e., child's education. Twenty four hours a day parents are thinking about their child's education which is becoming a major source of family tension and a cause of concern for the desired growth of independent personality of the child with desired qualities and this is also leading towards a great mental pressure on the child. In earlier days also, child education do used to be high on priority of parents but their involvement in the child's learning process was not that much as it is today. The reason may be that parents at that time were generally not that literate and they were also busy in other joint family as well as social affairs. Presently, parents with their high level of knowledge are becoming teachers more and are putting extra efforts not only to teach their child but also to counter the teaching of teachers with bad remarks about teachers in front of child.
Children are no more respecting their teachers or elders in the society due to over protectionist attitude of parents due to which children are not interacting in the society. In nuclear family system parents are busy only in pampering their child and they do not hesitate to argue/fight with any one (like teacher, friend, and elder) who by mistake might have involved in any right or wrong argument with the child. Parents are not ready to listen and analyze any comments about their child due to which every body in the society do not bother to comment on the learning of a child. In old days, people were open enough to comment or praise the children. They used to praise the children who were blessed with desired qualities of discipline, politeness and intelligence etc. Gone are such days and people (whether teachers or relatives or others) will never give their straight forward judgment about the learning status of the child.
Children are the future citizen of the country and we always need some good qualities to be imbibed in them not for the sake of the country but for our sake or far the sake of society as well as for their good life process. Such qualities can be imbibed only if parents stop giving over protection/safeguarding to their child. They should let the child explore the world and to learn from all sections of the society. Teachers sometimes may be hard towards a student to make his (teacher's) point across the child. Some good students take it (teacher's hard attitude) as a lesion but over protected children will not loose the opportunity to complain to their parents about the attitude of the teacher. Then over reacting parents will not hesitate to interfere to any level to protect their child.
Parents as well as child are not ready for any suggestions/comments in the child's process of learning. In a foreign TV show, it was really surprising to see the happiness shown by the parents for their child's improvement in learning in the association of a family dog. Their conclusion was that child has developed confidence in reading his lesion in the presence of dog as the dog only listens and do not comment for any mistakes during the learning process. This is the general attitude of modern parents about the learning process of their child. Parents want that their child should not be commented/objected/analyzed. This all is proving a deteriorating in the development of learning/analyzing skills in the child for which type of learning India is used to be recognized as a resource nation of educated people.
Earlier parents were open enough in appreciating the good qualities in other children and used to ask their child to follow the learning from good children. But today the parents are so self-child centered that they think their child is the best and does not need any improvement.
They are busy in fulfilling all the desired/undesired demands of their child with over safe-guarding him without giving a thought that they are spoiling the child's individuality during his learning process. From childhood itself, parents encourage their child's dominance every where and they always motivate the child to be rough with others to dominate. No doubt to say that in the increasing involvement of youth from rich and middle class families in India in day to day social ills like sex abuse, drug abuse, rash driving and fighting etc., such a learning process of child is responsible.
It is must that parents realize the importance of free and fare learning of their child and they should let him learn from every section of society without over safe-guarding so that the child can imbibe all the desired qualities of a good human being

Adopting a bundle of Joy

Uma Ramachandran

Khandawa, a district town in Madhya Pradesh, was in the news as two families - Ahujas and Gehlots - went to the court pleading for adoption of a male child, who was abandoned in a train, and rescued by railway staff, who handed over the child to an orphanage. Since the Ahujas didn't have children the court permitted that they will bring up the child, and when he is an adult, he will have a share in the family property.
India has a long history of adoption. In the epic Mahabharata, the archer Karna was adopted by Adhiratha and Radha and raised as their own son. Lord Krishna was not the real child of Yashoda and Nanda but was nurtured with Balrama as their child. Even royalty has had its share of legitimate adoptions, with kings who did not have a son to succeed them, adopting a male child who could succeed them and perform their last rites in accordance with their religion and faith.
The first thing that strikes you as you walk into Palna, a children's home in New Delhi, is the sunshine pouring in and well maintained lush gardens resonating with happy sounds of playful children. Nowhere can you feel the heaviness that one would have imagined in a place where children have been orphaned and/or abandoned. Slowly, all your preconceived notions about many related issues of adoption, desertion, unwanted pregnancies and teen mothers begin to disappear.
An Indian couple is awaiting their turn to see the bundle of joy which would soon be theirs. Rather open about the subject, they tell you that they decided on adopting a baby girl, after seeing how hay the wife's brother was when the couple adopted a boy five years ago from the same place. They also inform you that they have had to wait for over a year, to get a little girl who is less than three months of age.
As you share that space, absorbing every little expression and nuance, you find an American couple striding out of the president's room into the garden watching their new Indian daughter cradled in the hands of the maid. Young girls giggle; babies cry and the 134 registered children at the home get ready for lunch. It matters precious little why they are here. No thought is given to reasons that preceded their arrival at Palna. All that matters is that they are now here and they have to be able to shape a life that is beautiful, worthy and at par with any other child outside the orphanage.
There has been an accepted trend where childless couples adopt children from other family members. There have been countless instances where an obliging sister-in-law has had a child with the intention of "giving away" the baby to her sister or brother. However, children from outside the family were considered risky, and if an adoption did take place, it was kept secret for fear of disapproval. However, with changing times people have become more open in India too.
There are thousands of couples who cannot have children and have taken a conscious decision to adopt a child whom they can embrace as their own. There are others who have biological children and yet consider adding an adopted child to the family. Many women do not feel the need to get married and others may be widowed. Yet their lives are empty and all they want is a child they can call their own, to share their lives with and who can become the focus of their existence. India's well known unmarried adoptive mother is none other than former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen. But her celebrity status notwithstanding, she did have her share of trouble convincing authorities that her unwed status in no way diminished her sense of responsibility. In another path-breaking case there was a widowed and childless father who, at 48, succeeded in having a baby via adoption.
The process of a child becoming legally available for adoption is guided mainly by the Guardianship and Wards Act (GAWA). The children are either relinquished by unwed mothers or are found abandoned on streets and orphanages. In case of wilful relinquishment, the birth mother is given a period of two months for reconsideration after which the child becomes legally available for adoption. Abandoned children are considered free for adoption after 45 days of being found. Once they are put up for adoption, placement agencies contact interested couples and the procedure for finding them a home starts. It is fairly quick and less complicated for within the country adoptions.
They have already had to cope with the separation and loss of their parents. If they are then detached, they must experience the grieving process all over again. For many children, this separation can be even more traumatic because, if they have experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents, they will often have stronger ties with each other than to their adoptive mother or father.
Adults wishing to adopt a child have to go thought an intensive and sometimes gruelling series of procedures which may involve home studies, adoption education, counselling, addressing cultural concerns, psychological evaluations, and background checks with employers, neighbours and legal authorities. These procedures ensure that the child's future is secure. The problem arises when the child becomes aware that he is not the biological child. The shock and depression that he undergoes can cause severe behavioural disturbances. The child's curiosity to find his biological parents and reason for his abandonment does bring him back to foster care where he was adopted from. In which case, the agency facilitates him with details, provided he is minimum 18-years of age.
The problem is more severe for children adopted by foreigners. They face greater ridicule and humiliation at the hands of their peer group. Also, by this time they have left their native country behind, and they are left with no choice but to be dependent on the society which they are now a part of. The role of parents becomes extremely crucial in minimising this trauma. INAV

New culture on small screen

Zeenat Zafar

Small screen has replaced the big screen and doing good business. There is a stiff competition for numero uno slot by producers of serials. Daughters are in; the middle-class working woman is hackneyed and saas bahus are pass‚. As an offshoot, sisters at war - making and breaking each other's homes - have reared their heads like never before.So if Hindi serials Betiyaan Ghar Ki Lakshmi and Maayka - Saath Zindagi Bhar Ka on Zee TV are gunning for a high TRP, Betiyaan Apni Yaa.Praaya Dhan on Star One is as desperate to get its share of eyeballs.
Nearly all the daily soaps on Zee TV have sisters ruling the roost, bringing out the worst in each other. If it's sisters (Bani and Piya) at war in Kasamh Se, it's sisters (Tara and Urvashi) as sworn enemies in Saat Phere - Saloni Ka Safar and sisters as rivals (Anya and Esha) on Jab Love Hua.
The focus on sisters seems to have augured well for the channel's TRP. Zee TV has already edged out Sony Entertainment Television from its runner-up position and numero uno Star Plus makes no secret of the fact that it sees Zee TV as a clear threat.
"We have always taken up subjects that establish a strong connect with the viewers," Ashwini Yardi, programming head, Zee TV, had said on the launch of Maayka recently. "With Maayka, we are talking about the strong emotional bond that every daughter shares with her maternal home after her marriage."
The trend is fast picking up, but not everyone feels it will continue for long. "I think it will get saturated quickly because in a few months' time all the serials will seem similar," says Manu Chaobe, the man behind the serial Kahiin to Hoga - which, incidentally, revolves around five sisters - on Star Plus.
Not that they are any different now but still, it was Kasamh Se which had ushered in the trend with three small-town sisters holding hands and making their way into the big, bad, bawdy city. And with its soaring popularity, other serials promptly followed suit.
"Characters in serials have to have grey shades. They can't be simply black or white. So now if Piya is playing the wicked, scheming sister in Kasamh Se who is leaving no stone unturned to marry her sister Bani's husband, she may later even undergo a change of heart," says Rekkha Modi, the serial's dialogue writer. "Her evil streak offsets Bani's goodness."
The trend may have been healthy for the serial but not quite for the viewers. "I do watch the serial but it is getting quite tiresome, creating undue stress," says Anuradha Gupta, a housewife who once upon a time thrived on serial gossip. "It also bodes ill for society at large," adds Pratibha Nathani, the self-styled crusader who had moved court last year to trigger a ban on adult content on television.
"For one, such serials telecast in the name of entertainment promote tension and stress. In the past, serials such as Hum Log and Buniyaad also showed problems the common man faced but they provided solutions and were realistic," says Nathani. "But these serials create unrealistic worlds far removed from the common man's reality and the evil force seems all pervasive."
But script writers contend there is reason enough for that. "All is fair in the TRP war," says Modi who has also been associated with the "golden era" -as she calls it - of serials such as Kasauti Zindagi Kay, Kkusum and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
"When Tulsi in Kyunki. killed her son Ansh, it set the TRP soaring as viewers lapped it up. Compared to that, sisters at war is mild. Besides, I don't think anyone takes these serials seriously. So it doesn't really influence their personal lives," she says. Chaobe agrees, adding, "Evil and enmity go hand in hand. They are mandatory in soaps and generate interest by way of causing unexpected twists and turns. Besides, as TV is a woman-oriented medium, different relationship between women are a must as they can connect easily. But since it's equally important to prevent boredom, the nature of the relationship changes. Hence the shift from daughters-in-law to daughters, sisters-in-law to sisters."
If preventing boredom is the under laying concern, there is a case for producing serials revolving around lighter themes, or at least ensuring that imagination is reined in. Many years ago, the comedy serial Idhar Udhar starring real-life sisters Ratna and Supriya Pathak as reel sisters had viewers glued to the small screen.
Later, Hum Paanch, another humorous serial revolving around five sisters, also enjoyed a successful run. The vibes were positive; sisters bore no malice and even went to the extent of sticking out their necks for each other. Then came serials that highlighted a friction-fraught relationship between sisters. Justujoo on Zee TV was a tale of an illicit relationship between a married man and his sister-in-law. Ajai Sinha, its director, insisted that it was inspired by a true story and hence was close to reality. Hamare Tumhare on Zee TV revolved around the friction between two sisters, emanating out of a shared bitter past. "But those were meaningful," says viewer Gupta. "Today they border on the inane."
Yet sisters soon made way for the saas-bahu wave on Star Plus. With Kyunki.. and Kahaani..hitting it off with hoi polloi, the channel's experimental zeal paid off and with it, negative energy became the order of the day. But today, although sisters enjoy a high rating, Star Plus isn't that keen to label it as a trend or cash in on that blood tie. As Shaileja Kejriwal, the senior creative director of Star India, stresses, "I don't think it's a trend at all. People need variety and stories project conflicts of different types in an effort to engage viewers."
But Modi insists that the trend has engaged people. Not everybody agrees. Even small screen actors such as Mona Singh are tired of it. "I simply can't relate to such serials any more. Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin was one of its kinds.
But it's time for a change and time to get away from kitchen politics and show happy, successful stories rather than so much of negativity," she says. So perhaps it's time for the script writers to get off the TRP tiger. After all, it's a risk worth taking. INAV

The ‘Instalment Generation

Ritusmita Biswas

They are often called the 'instalment generation', a new class of job holders who spend lavishly, even by taking loans. Ritusmita Biswas takes a look at this emerging trend

The young and unabated spending spree: Do they go together these days? Perhaps, looking at these instances.
Soma and Shantanu wanted a break. She is a busy airhostess and he an ad executive and both with on-the-edge work schedules. Their last break was their honeymoon three years ago and now they believed they had earned a well deserved holiday. The only problem was that despite their plush job they right now had no money as they had just bought a flat and their second car. But then it was not really a matter of concern as there were more than one financial agency willing to lend a buck in need to this hi-fi working couple.
Poorvi Jain wanted that dress badly. She was just 16-year-old and looking good at the happening party next day was a must. Her parents were out of town but what the heck, she always had the visa credit card to fall back on.
Ritu knew that she was indulging herself to much in her shopping spree and the next few months of debt would be hard on her budget. But she could not check the temptation. After all she need not need to pay now.
Gone are the days when being in debt was a bad word and a concept that middle class people dreaded. It's the in-thing now and the instalment generation seems to be living merrily doling out monthly instalment payments for the several 'essential' (that's how it's seen) luxuries that they definitely need to go alomg
Save and then spend seems to be an outdated concept right now. Even Buntys and Bablis from small town India are big spenders these days whatever be their means of finance. And if you thought 'shop till you drop' was related only for women, think again. Surveys show that men today are equally great spenders on personal items. Be it wheels, boom boxes, laptop or latest mobiles and even clothes, men are neck to neck with women in spending budgets. From cell phones to branded footwear they are 'must- haves' for them.
The new generation is not hesitant to buy on loan money. A recent survey across the metros done by a reputed publication group points out that not only for major purchases like houses or vehicles but people in urban India also take loans to meet personal expenses like vacations, consumer durable, jewellery or even clothes. For instance, six per cent of those surveyed said that they would finance a vacation on loan or buy clothes and eight per cent agreed to take a loan to buy a consumer durable.
Says 60-year old Gyanendra Prasad, "Our generation couldn't even dream of it. We abhorred the concept of credit and due to financial compulsions even if we took one our only aim was to pay it as fast as we could But not any more. I see my son and daughter spending a fortune on credit. It shocks and puzzles me. There's a total change of moral values."
Agrees his wife, homemaker and entrepreneur Shukla: "This generation loves to live a fast life and so no amount of cash is enough for their sustenance. Therefore compulsorily they need to borrow."
But his son Naresh counters, "It has nothing to do with moral values. In fact, there's nothing wrong in taking a loan if you can pay it back. I have a good job and am confident of paying back a loan. So why shouldn't I take one?"
Says Subha Munshi, a software executive working in the IT hub Sector V in Kolkata: "You need to live life when you are young. We are earning well. This is the prime time of our life and so we like to enjoy and spend even though on credit. We are having everything that we want and are working to get them. Our generation doesn't believe in abstinence and sacrifice."
Young India is bombarded with choices today. The choice of brands to wear, cars to drive, places to study in, holidays and boosted a huge job market throwing up careers that the previous generations only dreamt of. A reason why they are confident spenders. The same survey shows that 32 per cent youth differ with their parents in money matters. It also points out that every second youth or 55 percent in urban India owns a personal cell phone. They are just about getting used to good things in life be it branded goods or conveniences.
Says psychologist Paramita Deb, "Young people today are confident and epicurean in belief. They live life confidently and for the moment. They are sure of their earning potential and hence confidently function on credit unlike their previous generations."
However, these needs are often based on a false sense of social prestige or keeping up with peers. "The social pressure often forces a man to over spend and the monthly EMI becomes too much of a strain and then there is a breakdown. We deal with several such cases of nervous breakdown on a routine basis."
Agrees call centre executive Sonali Sharma: "I have been feeling so dejected for the last few months. My monthly pay packet seems to be spent even before I see it. Everything is distributed to pay the EMIs that I need to. Working is no fun at all as I do not even now look forward to my pay."
But then there is always the next thing to buy; the next dream that young urban India looks forward to. (TWF)