I lost a very near and dear one to cancer recently. Coping with death is tough, no matter how much you know that it is coming, when it does come, it hits you like a whirlwind. As one of my dearest friends said, the only definite thing in life is death. May sound morbid – but I think that the person I lost kept that in mind and dealt with her life and the cancer very gracefully. Never one to complain, she took everything in her stride. Clear-cut and organized, she dispensed instructions on everything from her funeral to what she wanted to do with her possessions. She was certainly not in denial but at the same time, she made the most of her life and cherished it.
Here are some things I learnt from this experience.
Being around: The best thing family and friends can do in this situation is be available. If circumstances allow you be by the side of a loved one, do so by all means. Bonding, sharing memories and at the same time doing what you can to alleviate pain is a powerful experience. But do understand that it is emotionally exhaustive and take time out while doing the care-giving to talk to a friend, recuperate and recover.
Find a good doctor you can trust: Probably the most important tip. A empathetic doctor who understands the situation and deals with it effectively, is able to be firm when required and understanding during difficult times. We were lucky enough to have the right doctor.
Do not offer false hopes or quack medicine: Coupled with the obvious agony of watching someone you cherish die slowly, the situation can get aggravated by solicitous well-wishers offering their input on everything that would “definitely” cure the disease. Even normal and intelligent people when confronted with serious life-threatening situations may grasp at non-existent straws. Mind you, I see nothing wrong with optimism and hope but I do draw the line at quacks and false comfort. In case of a terminal illness, it is important to remember that most other therapies will offer relief and palliative care. Dietary restrictions or excessive intake of a particular food item is not going to do change the situation dramatically.
Hold the unnecessary advice: Have you seen the Reliance mobile phone ad? That’s what it feels like when visitors offer bucket loads of unnecessary advice. Of course, if you feel that something can undoubtedly be of help to that person, do suggest it gently to a family member. But do not be aggressive and overly loquacious about it.
Help out: Daily chores are where others can help. Whether it is cooking meals, offering a ride or doing the grocery shopping, practical help will go a long way in helping out a family that is coping with terminal illness.
Allow yourself to grieve: Whether you want to take the time out to cry on someone’s shoulder or be by yourself or share memories with your friends, do take the time out to grieve. Understand that it may take time, but do make the effort to get back to your usual activities and routine.
And so it happened… On a sultry evening in August with happy families out to watch the laser show in Lumbini park, something which no one in their wildest imaginations would have thought of, a blast right during the middle of the show. What about Kothi, a market to rival all other crowds in the city? A place where people go to shop for everything from saris to books, in a chat shop…another blast.
A year ago when the Bombay blasts happened, I had blogged about it. I doubt if at that point I ever imagined myself to be in the same city as when a blast occurred. I cannot be blase about this. Especially when I know of so many people who escaped by a hair’s breadth. People who had just gone out to enjoy their Saturday evenings.
After so many deaths, so many bombs detected and defused, there is still no clue as to who exactly masterminded it. The media along with the govt seems to be pointing fingers at just about everyone taking the rest of us along for a ride. We have no conclusive evidence of who is responsible for these disasters. Around 4 months ago, a blast took place in the old part of the city, in the oldest mosque in the city, close to Charminar. I really dont understand it. What are the Pakistani’s and the Bangladeshi’s (apparently these are the culprits for all bombings in the country) thinking off if they wanted to destroy a mosque and the people in it?
Will someone in India finally get some facts straight? Will someone find enough evidence and catch the right culprits and even punish them? Or will they finally be let free because they happen to be a movie star or a politician’s son?
Hyderabad is moving back to normal…albeit slowly… I will say it is back to normal when I see the same crowds in Prasadz IMAX that I saw a week before the blasts. People are chugging along with their lives. There are several who were in the park when the blast happened but thankfully escaped who have had to have their ears checked. Several who happened to be in visual vicinity of the blasts. Hyderabadis as a lot have learned to be cautious and be on their toes… I learnt this on my way to Prasadz to watch a movie when the auto driver told me “Memsaab thoda sa bhi gadbad dikhe tho jaldi se nikal jaana. Time accha nahin hain”
I was watching the new Pepsi ad featuring Shahrukh & John. It seemed cool and fun, but there was a voice in my head screaming, “HOW CAN PEPSI INTRODUCE A NEW TYPE OF CAN WHEN THERE IS A CLIMATE CRISIS!”
Let us keep aside the fact that cola itself is total junk. We shovel %^&* down our throats because we don’t really have a healthier alternative. But cans are not bio-degradable and should be phased out instead of being thrust on gullible teenagers. Now, i’m not naive. I know cola companies don’t care %$^ about all this, but i think they will change their packaging if the consumers wake up and smell the crisis. Ok, so some of the cans are fished out of the junk and recycled, but what about the energy that goes into recycling? Is it worth it?
Pop-culture brands have started to treat Climate Crisis as another media event. Another excuse for everyone to get together and sell lots of air time. Take for instance VH1’s Live Earth concert - a 24 hr music extravaganza with concerts in various continents featuring around a 100 artists.
It may be a music buff’s dream, but can you imagine the amount of electricity that must have gone into lighting up all those venues and fueling those mind-numbing sound and light effects?
The irony was that it was all done in the name of saving a climate in crisis. It was just a big party with little pop-ups on TV that sold Philips bulbs and asked you to switch off at signals.
If pop culture brands bombard us with ways to fight global warming the way they do with their other promotions, only then would the youth be motivated to Act.
Do i sound like a bore? If yes, then you need help. If no, then write in to say how you think media and pop-culture brands could motivate their viewers / consumers.
Complacency is one thing I absolutely hate about good hotels. But it is the strongest force that takes over a place rated good, and ends up being at its very root cause of downfall and unpopularity within a year of its ‘good’ rating, or so I have observed!
While its tough to get complacent when it comes to the taste of the food served, given that the cook follows the same steps each day, it is very easy to lose track of quality once a restaurant has established a reasonable amount of fame. But am surprised how little attention, restaurants pay to this key factor, after arriving at the threshold of success. Don’t they realise that even though the food is excellent, customers might not turn up if they found stapler-pins in their kababs or hair in the upma?
Yes, it is astonishing, isn’t it? That they manage to make big goof-ups like this!? What started me on this topic is the chip of crockery that I found in the tamarind sauce I was dipping my chandini kabab in at Samarkhand last Saturday. Given the dim lighting within the place, I mistook it to be a seed or such-like and tried chewing at it. I donot give up easy, so after a bit of struggle, I accepted that it might be a bit of bone, carelessly mixed up with the kabab. And then, sorry about this absolute lack of dinner-table etiquette, but my curiosity leaped over all that etiquette and I pulled out the bit to have a closer look. Guess what!? Yup, it was a bit of the crockery indeed, brown and smooth on one side and chipped and pale-white on the other. It was confirmed as much, upon being shown to the manager.
What really amazed me was the nonchalance of the restaurant managers, the absolute lack of apology or any smooth words at all from the whole bunch. They just took the piece back with them. To do what, you ask? To put it back in the jar of tamarind sauce perhaps!? You will probably go on to say that this is my fault when I narrate to you that this is the second such instance I have come across in this same place, Samarkhand. Six months back, over similar dim-lighting I pulled out a stapler-pin, after it gashed lightly in my mouth. Yes, it was in my piece of starter again!
Forgive me, but I have a weakness for their Dum Biryani, which has been overcome with the last bit of crockery piece I stumbled upon. No more of Samarkhand for me, even if it means missing the perfect Dum Biryani and their out-of-this-world kababs. I might have reconsidered and continued with my weakness for their biryani, had a simple apology come my way. But Samarkhand and its bunch or pin-feeders refuse to step down from the ladder of complacency. Bah!
This kind of taking success and popularity for granted is not just Samarkhand’s fault. I have seen this kind of stupidity at many good places. Hair under muffins at Cafe Coffee Days, hair in the upma at the moderately-scaled Sukh Sagar, hair in idli, eye lashes (surely not mine!) in lemon soda, coffee, sugar. Why? Why give up when you are so close to being someone’s favourite eat-out!? Why take the pleasure out of eating-out for a person who is choosing to come to you!? I simply donot get it!
Surely it is foolish to believe that you will continue to have this rush and this huge demand for your food when it is equivalent to a health hazard? Surely it is foolish to believe that customers will flock, no matter what, even though there are so many more new places to explore? Surely it is not good business sense this, absolute disregard for quality? Tell me?
My post about The Cradle stirred up a lot of questions and discussion about various issues. I am really happy to see that people are still going to that post and asking all kind of things!
Since many people had asked specifically about what it was like to actually deliver at The Cradle, I thought I would take the time out to write about my experience.
I was scheduled to go in at 8 PM to be induced. I was met in the reception area and promptly showed to my room. No waiting around, no checking to see if the room was ready. It was, with my name and my husband’s name right on the door!
We settled in nicely and someone came round to make sure we had what we needed. What I needed was food. One nice thing about The Cradle is that for a small fee you can also arrange to have your attender’s meals delivered from the canteen at the same time as yours, or they can order food a la carte when they want. The food selection for patients has a bit more variety than for attenders, but you can count on standard Indian fare… dosas, idlies, meals, chappathis, rice, curd, fruit, etc., as well as sandwiches, soups, coffee/tea and fresh juices and milkshakes. The food is not over the top delicious, but it is solidly nutritious and edible. If you are a patient, a dietitian will come and plan your meals out with you according to your health needs and your tastes.
Anyway, my obstetrician came and checked on me and started the induction process. I brought my OB with me from a different hospital (thru prior arrangement with Cradle administration), but I found the consulting OB staff at Cradle to be amazingly good… personable, caring and very thorough and knowledgeable. I would have been comfortable having any of them as my own OB.
Induction failed, and per previous discussions with my OB and the Cradle staff I was prepped and moved to the OT for a C-section. The OT is of a normal size and well-equipped. I felt as comfortable as anyone would feel walking into a room to be prepared for a procedure (which is to say I was terribly nervous), but again the nursing staff and the docs all managed to be caring and attentive while doing their jobs without a hitch.
Post surgery I was attended to by a host of doctors and nurses. One thing I can say is that they have adequate nursing staff on hand at all times. The nurses almost always come in the room in groups of 2, and they are well trained and good at their jobs. I have terrible veins and these women managed to successfully insert a cannula into my hand on the first go (those little plastic ports used to give injections and IVs so they do not have to prick you separately each time) where in other hospitals an anesthesiologist or phlebotomist was called in to do it instead.
The nursing staff and the personalized attention they give patients is one of the big bonuses of The Cradle. In other hospitals the sisters run in and out quickly, usually because of their patient load. Here the nurses will stay to make sure you are comfortable, and will answer any questions you have. They will even take time out to give you a lesson in swaddling your baby or giving them a bath.
During my stay at Cradle I was seen by the duty OB a number of times a day. Also, a very friendly physiotherapist came by a number of times to discuss proper exercise post-discharge, and ways that I could help my own recovery. The dietitian came back to discuss healthy eating and nutrition. And the baby was examined at least once a day, if not more, by a pediatrician/neonatologist. All of this served to ease my mind about my own health and the health of my newborn. At intermittent times other hospital staff dropped by to make sure I had everything I needed.
As I mentioned before the rooms are well appointed. They keep them spotlessly clean, and the housekeeping staff is friendly. There are toiletries for your use in the bathrooms (soap, toothbrush/paste, shower cap, shampoo), nice plush towels and a bathrobe. The Cradle also supplies gowns for patients and they aren’t the usual crappy ones that tie in the back and leave you feeling exposed. Patients are supplied with brightly patterned gowns resembling the ones that most Indian housewives wear at home, but with a bit more style.
Part of the package is that your baby receives a number of screening tests and immunizations. This is really a great help as it saves you from having to remember to ask your pediatrician to do them later. Another HUGE bonus is that the Cradle takes care of the municipal birth certificate for the babies born there. In my book, this is an amazing perk. If you have to do it yourself you have to go with both parents to the proper office, stand in a queue, and engage in God only knows what to get the paperwork processed. And it takes weeks. Cradle has a clerk who does all the work for you, and in a week or two you go back to the Cradle itself to pick it up. No hassles! Amazing!!!
Some asides… The Cradle houses a Barista that stays open late in case you or your attender gets a craving for a smoothie, a cappuccino or a muffin. They also have a store called Blues and Pinks on the lower floor where you can buy anything from car seats, to baby bottles, to a cute little going home outfit for baby. If you forgot a blanket to bring baby home in, or want to buy a snazzy imported diaper bag, you can head here. Word to the wise… some of the things, such as diapers, breast pumps, etc. can be bought at the pharmacy adjacent to the Barista on the first floor at a lower price. Check there first. Also, both the pharmacy and Blues and Pinks deliver home in case you forget something important or run out later!
Did I find anything wrong with the Cradle? Not much. A few minor things. First of all the doctors and nurses don’t wear name tags of any kind. When you are first introduced to them, chances are you are either in pain or a bit drugged, so you end up forgetting who is who. For the first 2 days I confused half the duty docs. Plus the nurses never tell you their names unless you ask, and I felt weird just calling them “sister” since they were doing so much for me. What else? Well the trays that you eat off of just rest on the bed railings instead of being something on wheels. This is kind of inconvenient, because if the tray is left on the bed, someone has to come clear it or you’re trapped in bed! I felt odd asking the nurses to do that… so if my attender was gone I was in a bind. Also there is really nowhere in the room for the attender to eat comfortably, as the only side table is heavy and not moveable. And I found that the hall lights at night were sometimes left on, making the room unbearably bright… so we had to ask the nurses to turn them off. Those are my biggest complaints… all very minor considering! Oh, and I told the dietitian that I hate cut apples and I got them with every dinner. 
So all in all, especially after my experience there, I would highly recommend the Cradle to anyone deciding where to give birth. You’re not going to get this quality of medical and personal attention for your money at any other hospital in Bangalore.
When a friend suggested I watch the DVD I have to admit I was skeptical. Me and self-help? I don’t need it! She agreed there. ‘Thanks’, I said, ‘but then why me?’ Well, as it turns out, it’s not ONLY for people who need a bit of a crutch but for anyone and everyone. A genius idea for mass marketing, I might add.
So while we are on the subject of self-help on blah, I might as well share an experience that I had recently. I applied the principle in a fun sort of way in my life and it has made a slight difference in attitude and outcome.
This is how it starts…Imagine a person going through a series of failed relationships, deaths in the family, job crisis, financial downfall, etc. She can’t see any hope to break free from all these negative situations in her life. She then stumbles upon an age old “Secret” that has over the decades helped many and made them overcome their road blocks. It made them extremely successful and well known through time because they followed the law of the universe… The Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction of the universe says…Whatever emotion one experiences with whatever task he/she is involved in, that emotion is expressed in one’s behavior and attitude, which is a signal to the universe. The universe then responds with a similar message and situation.
So if one is having a bad day and is cribbing and cursing his way through the day, he is bound to get more and more negative incidents occurring in his life. On the other hand, if one is having a bad day and responds to it positively he is bound to get positive reactions in turn. So this cycle is created by him simply by having responses to situations cropping up in everyday life.
In a nutshell, people invite situations by reacting in a certain way. The universe simply responds to the person’s thought and emotion.
Many narrated their experiences about having achieved more than they could have dreamed of. They got their dream job, dream house, dream lifestyle, etc by using the Law of Attraction in their lives.
All this is fine up to an extent where one can apply it to the daily grind but it going beyond that is certainly crossing the line. There’s a case of self healing and positive thoughts completely curing cancer at the last stage, without medical intervention. That seemed far fetched. Agreed, a positive attitude helps fighting off major illnesses but not without medical treatment. The fact that the author and producers claim and endorse that is ridiculous.
No doubt, selling self-help books, material and courses is an extremely clever way of making money and it may be plain silly to fall into that trap. But somewhere along the line it wouldn’t really hurt to try a new method to have a more positive approach to life. It’s just that someone figured how to put it all together in a book, linking it to some of the greatest people in history to add a mystifying element to it and marketing it on this basis.
I would suggest trying this out in a light hearted, fun spirited way and see how it works for you. Roll out of bed tomorrow and think you’re going to have the best day ever! See how it turns out
If you’re inquisitive to learn more read The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
A friend had been badgering me with invitations to attend an introductory session on this life-enriching course she just attended. Every time I asked her what the course was all about, she merely cooed, ‘Its very nice, its really very nice, you must take it. You don’t know the kind of change your life will undergo.’, and such like. My first instinctive reaction was to stay away from it, I cannot quite explain how that came about. However, eventually her persistence paid off, friends must be obliged, and one busy Monday, I was rapidly finishing my day’s work to join her for my first introductory session on this life-enriching course.
A bizarre session of people coming to stage and talking about how the course changed the very course of their life, left me, frankly, very amused. There were old people, dads, moms, grandpas and grandmas’ proudly talking before the whole lot of about 150 or so people, that they will remain ever grateful to Landmark Education Forum for giving them that power which no amount of education, learning, money, religion, prayer, friendship, thinking and will-power could ever give them. The frightening thing was everybody broke into much enthusiastic clapping at the drop of a hat, everybody cheered for the speaker like he was his best friend up there. It was like a whole new clan had been formed with some sort of black magic. I could say, I was even awed and curious, what is this thing all about? I mused.
An hour later, my friend left me for her class, and a whole new lot of us, new-comers on the thresh-hold of this secret atrium of Learning about life-enriching potions, were gathered at a small room, away from the senior graduates. They were called another equally respectful term, which I forget, but it was largely to this effect. Within the smaller room, came a grinning professor. Apparently her ‘real’ life occupation was that of a professor too. She skillfully guided rows and rows of us into giving up our names, occupations and brief introductions.
One of the first things she did was ask us to write down on a sheet, a perplexing problem from life, a problem which has been gnawing at our minds since long, a problem which has little solution. I sat and chewed the back of my pencil, thinking hard, right then there seemed to be just one problem, the problem that I didn’t have one! But when she saw too many of us blinking, without writing down anything at all, she gave us her problem and how Landmark helped her conquer a solution to the same. I faintly recall it was how her mom caught her the moment she stepped home from work and rattled all her problems, about the maids, gardeners and such-like, and how she used to ask her mom to shut up for a while and how her mom used to take hurt at this. She even told us the solution, I suppose, but I do not remember, I rather spotted a squirrel outside the window and watched it bite into a half-eaten guava.
Soon I realised everyone around me was furiously writing down their problems in the sheet and I sat blank, my mind blanker than my sheet. After a long time, just as she was about to move onto the next topic, a brainwave struck me, ‘I am lazy’, yes, I almost said aloud, that is indeed a pathetic problem. I scribbled as much on my sheet. By now, the professor was discussing problems with people who didn’t mind discussing them with the class, and she was helping them analyse why they do what they do, no one might really be at fault and how things happen the way they do. Salary problems like my sister earns more than me or my colleague earns more than me, marital conflicts like why does my mother in law not let me take the dog out for a walk, severe job dissatisfaction like my boss does not recognise my worth or my field has no growth opportunities, time management like I get up at 5.30am everyday and yet I reach office late, friction with relatives like my aunt keeps eying my husband’s progress compared to her son -in law’s, and even sexual problems were all discussed. It was err…. interesting, even though petty and a waste of time hearing them all, given that I barely knew their names.
I will not bore you with further unnecessary details of the course, so lets get on with the catch. The catch is after the introductory session, you will not be forced, but you will feel like signing up for the course paying the fees of, hold your breath, life enriching courses do not come free, 5.5k. Now, I hear the amount is even bigger. No change in booking will be allowed, once the amount is paid, consider yourself enrolled for that period or forget about your cash. No, absolutely no refund. Am sure though, they have damn good, sincere reasons for the same. When it was my turn, I said I want to think about it, and thereafter got cold-shouldered, right till the time I picked my bag and ran out, looking like I had to take a call on my cell-phone.
What am astounded with is the great number of people whom they managed to convince that they absolutely need to do this course to figure out life. They paid up fees in advance and left the room at peace with the world that all problems will now go away, life will finally be chill! How did they do it? Or were a few of them their people, like plain-clothed policeman, ensuring that the initial momentum is generated for people who wait to see who else is signing up? Or were they people who had come decided that they will take the course hearing about it all from their friends’ and family member’s? Surely these will be the kind of people who will stand on that stage 6 months later and talk of their wonderful experience and learning from Landmark. I have not done the course, but I cannot believe there can be any learning that can be had, which will make drastic changes in my thinking, in my life. Things are somewhat solid and quite set now for me.
I cannot help but think that if there is anyone who can solve my problems, however trivial or large, it is me alone. No course can replace positive thinking in one’s life. With this kind of thinking in mind, and then seeing the prolific success of the Landmark Education Forum, I feel helplessly at a loss. I feel there is something that I am missing, despite attending the introductory session, I cannot trust someone else to make any change in my life. Yes, there are things that happen which change our life altogether, turn it around all at once, but how can a course do that, and that too in a way that I turn out to be a totally different person from what I am today. How? How?
I am not over-confidently asserting that this is another of those fake things, that trick people into believing they are going to get a fresh breath of life. I have friends who have actually done the course and believe in its supreme power and can’t help repeating that they are grateful to this course for the kind of person they have become today. At the same time, I cannot help feeling scared that some sort of hocus-focus does happen, some smooth talking… Probably, its merely about encouraging people and telling them that they CAN do it, solve their own problems, a sort of Confidence generating thing? Probably, its a breather of a social life, in the kind of lonely lives we now lead, this kind of a social thing simply lends you a shoulder to cry on, gives a listening ear for your problems and a group of friends who will express genuine concern at your regrets. Probably this is how new religions and new beliefs and new practices come about. This kind of blind belief in a great talker.
I am probably going round and round in circles trying to figure out what this was about, but I hope someone who has done this course tells us what it really is about. Don’t just use adjectives and say ‘it was great’, ‘it was wonderful’, no, tell us succinctly what you learnt. If possible, give the exact difference in your life, the before and after kind of snapshot from your life!
We all love to enjoy the gloomy clouds and days-off during the monsoons, but absolutely hate it when it comes to the rain damaging our hair or skin. When was the last time you did something to save your hair or skin from the rains in your busy schedule? Here are a few tips, that may help you cope up with the monsoons without making you look “all washed out”!
Skin Care
Cleansing
Skin requires regular cleansing in order to keep it looking fresh and healthy. Here are some home recipes you can use to get ever-refreshed skin.
Dry skin: You can use almond paste or honey. Take ten crushed almonds and make a paste and add two tsp of honey. Massage on face for 5 to 7 minutes, rinse face and pat dry.
Oily Skin: You need a very mild cleanser to get the dead skin and dirt off from skin. Use pure oatmeal scrub to cleanse oily skin or use ripe papaya pulp as a mild exfoliant.
Toning
Toning is a necessity at night. During monsoon, a lot of airborne and waterborne germs are let free. So a good anti-bacterial toner will go a long way to prevent skin infections and breakouts. It is a good idea to get anti-bacterial face wash too.
Dry Skin: You need to gently tone a dry skin since the size of your skin pores is small. Use five drops of chamomile oil in a one tsp milk to tone dry skin
Oily Skin: Mix ten drops lavender oil in one tsp water to tone oily skin. Sweep the above mixture on your skin with gentle strokes by help of a soft cotton ball and nothing very harsh so that you avoid scratching pimples with further may result it scars or blemishes.
Moisturizing
Moisturizing in the rains is as important as it is in summer.
Monsoons can mean a de-hydrating effect on dry skin and an excessive-hydrating effect on oily skin. The skin gets wet often and with the constant wetting and drying, a lot of dehydration (yes, in the rains!) takes place. That explains the itchy feeling one gets during monsoons. Use a non-water based moisturizer, if you happen to get wet often. Otherwise a water- based moisturizer will do just fine.
Dry Skin: Take I tsp honey, I tsp fresh curd and I tsp jojoba oil. Mix all of these together and apply on your face and neck. Leave it on for 10 mins and then wash off with plenty of water.
Oily and Combination Skin: In 2 tsp rose water add 2 drops of strawberry oil and fresh orange oil. Mix and apply on face and neck for 10 mins and then wash off.
Hair Care
Hairstyles and Grooming
Styling can only be done when it goes suddenly from damp to dry. Damp hair is very flexible. It stretches easily and breaks. It needs to be handled cautiously. Towel dry gently and don’t pull or comb wet hair. Use your fingers or a blow dryer to dry hair until it’s just slightly damp. Then pick up your styling brush. If you have to rush, just style the front and sides of the hairline, which frames your face. Focus on the top of the crown, which creates the top layer of the hairstyle.
My best buy is L’Oreal Liss Extreme Reflexium Leave-In conditioner to tackle the frizzy hair and Schwarzkopf’s Hot Oil Treatment.
Got trapped in the rains? Your hair is limp and lifeless. And you have a party or an important meeting to attend. Don’t panic! Here are some tips that can put life into limp hair. Firstly detangle using a wide-tooth comb. Blow-dry until hair’s just a little damp. If you’re at work, let hair air-dry. Take a few long curler clips (available at markets) and insert them wherever you want to restore wave or shape. Let hair set for a few minutes, remove the clips, and shake.
Home Remedies
Beer makes the super soft silky and shiny. Use it after shampooing your hair by rinsing beer on your hair and leave it on for twenty min. See the difference to believe for yourself.
Three teaspoons of Olive oil, half teaspoon of castor oil and coconut oil mixed together with a paste made of methi seeds is a must try tip to avoid frizziness in rains.
Two tablespoons of curds which is kept outside for three to four days mixed with three teaspoons of lime juice applied as conditioner after shampooing. Keep the mixture on your head for 30mins and wash off. This is the best method to avoid flaking of scalp and roughness.
Important Tips for Clean and fresh hair:
• If possible keep your hair tied in the monsoons. Go for a shorter hair cut if you want to avoid dirt build up on your scalp or get splits ends. A well-groomed look is essential in the monsoons.
•Do not let your hair get wet in the rain. Pollution, floating toxins in the air come down with the rain and settle on your scalp. This makes your scalp feel itchy and may cause dandruff. Always cover your hair. My advice- make umbrellas or raincoats your best friends, to avoid danger to your pretty locks.
• Rinse your hair with a gentle shampoo and condition it after, if your hair happens to get drenched in the rain. This way you prevent dirt build up on your head.
• While traveling by public transport or perhaps if you drive a scooty or something, keep your head covered with scraf/cap,etc. This protects your hair from probable damage.
By the way, the famous BOB cut has returned and perhaps you can try the new side swept bangs with slightly longer strands around the centre.
Further recipes, remedies and any find of extra helpful information is always welcome. Feel free to express yourself and ask for help, after all, I am here to help you’ll out. And please if you guys want me to write about something let me know so that I can gather all the neccessary information and help you all out!
As I always say, Glad to have helped!
After all monsoons are there to be enjoyed, so take total advantage of my guides! 
BlackBubblegum 
Last year around October, while crossing a street a speeding motorcyclist pretended i was the invisible man and proceeded to run me over. It wasn’t too bad, 12 stitches and a busted ankle (Could have been worse, i would have lost my good looks) from then on began a nice little saga. I weighed in at 175lbs working my way to get under 170.
Then boom, couldn’t workout for another two months, got married, traveled around and when i got home i came on the scales at around 210 lbs. For those who cant visualize it Google the term beached whale. You will get the picture.
Anyway, since march, i have had constant ribbing about it and for the last month or so i have been gradually hitting the gym with regularity.
The aim is to get back to 175lbs before the year is out.
The Plan -
Spirits not Beer
Climbing not using the Elevator
Steamed vs Fried
Sweet n Low vs Sugar
Diet Coke vs Classic
Gym 4 days a week vs 2 days
Cardio at least twice a week
Weight Train at least twice a week.
For those looking for the easy way out i would recommend cocaine not weed, smoking vs not.
Sunday morning I drove down to the nearby Wockhardt hospital to see what TAI CHI was all about. We were instructed by a real-life Ninja who showed us how, with the regular practice of correct breathing, he could control the flow of Chi and survive strangulation and killer punches.
The Ninja demonstrated how Tai Chi was martial art for internal strength rather than for exterior muscle and tone. He asked a hefty looking guy from our group to come up and punch him in the stomach. It turned out that the guy was a trained boxer and was more than happy to show off his punches. However, the Ninja was unfazed - because of his training, he was able to spread the impact of the blow all over his body rather than let it overwhelm his tender stomach. “It’s about controlling your body with your mind - about chanelling your energy to produce the desired effect,” he said.
Later, we all gasped as the Ninja’s frail-looking assistant lay down with her head and shoulders on one chair, her legs on another with her abdomen unsupported and had a 70 kg man stand on her abdomen for half a minute.
The one hour workshop, however, was aimed at regular people who wanted to learn Tai Chi exercises that would help relieve stress, cure joint pains, backaches, promote fitness etc.
Just a few minutes into the demo, I realized how poorly we breathe. We barely fill our lungs to their full capacity. It’s amazing how effective a deep breath can be! Try it now if you’ve never experienced it!
The Tai Chi Fan routine is another stress buster - this involves slow continuous movements done while you are holding a red paper fan that aids coordination.
Practicing Tai Chi with its rythmic movements helps you find your center of gravity - helps you align your meridians and correct your posture, thus preventing or reducing back aches.
Practice of Tai Chi is also supposed to promote vitality in senior citizens and longevity in people of all ages and lifestyles. So I guess you have to train like a Ninja to live long like a Turtle!
If you’d like to learn more about how to stay fit with TAI CHI, call Satyajit on 9341309200 (Bangalore). They also conduct a variety of Tai Chi workshops for corporates: self defence, stress relief, flexibility…
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