Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Are you getting enough sound sleep?


As per the definition of oxford English dictionary sleep is state of rest in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes are closed, the muscles are relaxed and the mind is unconscious. Though sleep pattern varies as per the age, 7 to 8 1/2 hours of sleep pattern is ideal for adults. Infants sleep throughout the day and night with some intervals, while kids prefer 10 to 14 hours of sleep. Adequate sleep is utmost important to keep oneself healthy. Research has shown there is a peak in the level of growth hormone in the initial hours of sleep. In adults this hormone involved with cell repair and so maintains health of skin, bones and muscles. Insufficient amount of sleep could trigger sleep disorders which makes it clear that sleep deprivation is the root cause of such ill effects.

The hectic city life, long working hours, family responsibilities and busy social life makes it hard to get sufficient and sound sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to various health problems. Insomnia is the major disorder which disturbs regular sleeping pattern and difficulty to getting to sleep. Insomniacs mostly fall asleep with ease but they awake in midnights and then find it hard to get back to sleep. At some point of time everyone experiences sleepless nights. Transient insomnia which lasts for short period is the result of stress and long travel. On the other hand, long term insomnia which lasts for three weeks or more has many possible causes- noise, night shift work, chronic pain or disease, drug or alcohol abuse, depression or other psychological problems, overuse of caffeine or abuse of sleeping pills.

Insomnia can take place due to emotional disturbances due to various reasons such as worries about money or a job, marital problem, death of loved one or serious health problems.

Therapies like psychotherapy, aromatherapy, meditation & deep breathing and hydrotherapy (use of liquid to cure insomnia i.e., taking warm water bath before bed time or sipping warm milk) are applied to cure insomnia. Counseling can also help to cure insomnia which is occurred due to emotional reasons.


‘Do’s & Don’ts’

Take light exercise few hours before going to bed

Get up at the same time every day including weekends

Bedroom should be comfortable, not too hot not too cold with minimal light

Hot cup of milk works as a booster to get into a sleep

Avoid drinking coffee just before going to bed

Let her live… not leave


Had not she aborted, she would have become a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a social worker, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife and a woman. But she was killed before she could experience the womanhood. In India today also a girl child is looked upon as an unwanted offspring. She shut her eyes before she could open them to look outside of the mother’s womb, to look the world full of life.

A surprising study carried out by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says about 50 million girls and women are missing from Indian crowd due to systematic gender discrimination in India. In all most all countries in the world, 105 females take birth for every 100 males. In India this ratio has been highly affected. There are less than 93 women for every 100 men in India’s population. And the one and the major reason for this is the practice of female infanticide in India.

This practice is mostly provoked by other bizarre social practices such as dowry system. Dowry system demands a sum of money from bride’s family at the time of marriage. A birth of a girl child is believed to be great concern for the poor family due to this malpractice. The family would always prefer boy child over girl child so they can demand money at the time of marriage instead of giving.

It would be wrong to think that gender discrimination is only limited to poor families. Cultural beliefs and social norms play huge role in deciding the gender play. The threat to womanhood would not stop, unless these norms are challenged.

It is the worst picture and hard to believe that advertisements of ultrasound scanners which detect the sex of a child highlights the taglines such as ‘Spend 600 rupees now and save 50,000 rupees later’. Here surely the later sum of money indicates the amount of dowry and advertisement claims that you would save this money in future by spending 600 bucks to abort the girl child.

The scientific methods to detect the sex of the child are improving day by day thus threatening the existence of a woman. We need major awareness programs to control this drastic situation. India needs thorough revision of its laws regarding to malpractices against women. We need to do something to prevent the abortions of female foetuses.

‘Smoggy winters… a global warning,


Step out of the home and you will find mumbaikars wrapped in shawls, veils and mufflers, freezing even under sweaters, pullovers, denim jackets and sweatshirts. Even you must be finding it difficult to get out of the blanket early in the morning. Now onwards you will think twice or doubt yourself before saying that Mumbai is always so hot.

Many regions all over the country including Mumbai witnessed coolest winter in the first half of February. The recorded lowest temperature was 8.5 degree Celsius which happened once in the last 48 years, according to some weather reports flashed in the Mumbai dailies. Is constant fall in the temperature has anything to do with global warming?

Like Mumbai many other regions in India have viewed climate change and extreme weather conditions. So, what causes weather change?

Global warming is the rise in the earth’s average temperature which happens due to excess emissions of green house gases.

If climate change forecast of UN panel is to be believed then Indian environment and economy is going to suffer a lot due to global-warming. Some other studies predicted that country will witness consequences such as severe flooding and low agricultural yields.

We will get to see coolest winters, warmest summers and unpredictable and not so desirable rains. Some recent study suggests that the large amount of air pollution in the Indian cities most of which is contributed by vehicles and factories emitting smog* is actually reversing the effect of global warming. Thus, making winters cooler than ever before. According to some scientists, smog absorbs the sun radiation before they reach to the surface of the earth, thus making atmospheric temperature to drop. Due to presence of the smog in the air we are experiencing winters which are 0.30 degree Celsius cooler than what it would be without smog. Temperature will keep falling in the coming decades as it is gradually falling since last 3 decades.

Control on the emissions of green house gases and fossil fuels will help to keep the situation in hand. Adequate amount of awareness among citizens will help to handle climate change and extreme weather conditions.



* mixture of green house gases and fog

Friday, February 8, 2008

‘Reality of crime and justice,


Molestation, verbal abuse, domestic violence, rape, dowry harassment, exploitation these are the few situations women suffer from every now and then. Woman is a mother, a daughter, a wife, a daughter in law, a sister, a friend and most of the time she is victimized by her kin. The serial ‘Kab Kyon Kaise’ highlights the real episodes in the life of women where they are the victims. In any relationship the small dispute or misunderstanding can take a drastic turn which can eventually turn into a crime. A husband can harass his own wife for dowry, in-laws can harass daughter in law, and even sometimes past relationships of a woman can put a scar on her future. Kab Kyon Kaise highlights the anguish and pain of a woman.

‘Kab Kyon Kaise’ is being on air since 26th August 2006 and is broadcasted every Saturday at 9.00 P.M. on DD1. This show on National Network has been produced by Gayatri Tellesoft Ltd. Sakshi Tanwar; the anchor of the show introduces the plot of the each episode confidently.

Each episode is a one story which depicts the sufferings of the fairer sex in the society. The real life incident is wonderfully dramatized by various actors in each story which helps to analyze the motive behind the crime. The anchor confidently introduces the incident and at the end she does not miss to elaborate the morale of the story. Her entire appearance is quite Indian and her voice is confident.

The serial makes audience aware about crime against women and helps one to be cautious.