Beauty Tips

Apply a mix of honey and carrot juice on your face to soften the rough surface of the skin. 

Apply a thick paste made up of turmeric, tomato juice, lemon juice on dark circles to get rid of them. Mix cucumber juice with honey and apply below the eyes to get rid of the dark circles.

Apply a tiny bit of tooth paste on the pimple in the morning brings quick relief.

Apply black beans and fenugreek paste two three times a week for healthy hair.

Avocado oil is useful in treating skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis.

Avoid using tap water if you have a dry skin, instead use mineral water.

Beetroots are less in calories and are effective incurring skin problems.

Boil neem leaves in water and use this water to wash your face and hands, this will act as guard against prickly heat boils.

For normal to oily skin, take a very ripe banana one teaspoon honey and lemon juice. Mix and apply the mask for 10 minutes.

Guava has high contents of vitamin A; C and potassium that help tighten wrinkles.

Include nuts and seeds that contain zinc in your  pregnancy diet to prevent stretch marks.

Mix mashed cucumber with glycerin and apply on sunburn for instant relief.

Apply a mix of honey and lime juice on sunburn affected areas.

Dilute one part of tree oil with 10 parts of olive oil and apply on the skin to prevent sunburns. 

Mix the juice of with lemon with equal part rose water. Apply on acne and let it stay for half an hour for instant remedy.

Mix turmeric into your face cream and apply on problem areas. It’s an effective remedy for skin spots, acne and dryness. 

Rub milk cream and sugar granules on dry skin to soften it.

Rubbing the ice cubes on your face tightens the pores and increases blood circulation.

Soak a cotton bud in olive oil and run it over your eye lashes at night to make them grow longer and thicker.

To cure burning eyes, apply fresh cream over them.

To get rid of dark circles mix papaya with cucumber pulp and apply the mixture below your eyes.

To get rid of facial hair, rub a mixture of turmeric and milk wash off after it dries.

To revive hardened eye pencils, roll the tip in a spot of moisturizer, baby oil or olive oil. It will glide effortlessly.

To rid of puffiness of eyelids, gently rub them with castor oil.

To sharpen an eye pencil without breaking the tip, pop it in the freezer a few hours before you need it.

To soften your nails and cuticles, soak your hands in a bowl of warm olive oil.

To use dry mascara, submerge the closed tube in warm water. The mascara inside will melt.

To weld back a broken lipstick, hover the broken bit over a burning candle and then stick it back on to the stick.

Vodka rids your feet of the odors, soak a cloth in and clean your heels after a day of wearing closed shoes.

Wash your eyes with tulsi leaves soaked in water to heal conjunctivitis, also soak a small handkerchief in turmeric water and when it is wet use it to pat dry your eyes if you are suffering from conjunctivitis.

When waxing at home apply tooth numbing cream on the skin half an hour before waxing, it will be less painful.

Home Remedies Part 3

Add a piece of apple or a glass of hot milk to your child’s breakfast to protect them from depression, anxiety and disobedience.

Adjusting water intake to meal time prevents the blood from becoming concentrated.

Apples are a rich source of antioxidants.

Avoid a combination of proteins and carbohydrates on a daily basis during dinner, they become heavy for digestion.

Boil milk with a pinch of cardamom or rose petals; take this as summer drink, chilled.

Boiling the root of jackfruit and extracting its high nutritional content has been found to control asthma.

Cabbage leaves eases water retention place a few on the affected area.

Cardamoms promote oral health by fighting tooth and gum infections, and preventing bad breath.

Carrots help to keep joint pains at bay. A carrot everyday can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Cashew nuts have no cholesterol and help maintain healthy gums and teeth.

Cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts and peanut promote dental health as they are rich in calcium.

 Consuming equal portion of onion juice and honey can relieve throat and cough symptoms.

Dark chocolates, lowers blood pressure, prevent clogging of the arteries and helps chronic fatigue syndrome. They are also mood boosting anti depressant.

Don’t drink your fruit, eat it. 

Drink a glass lemon juice in lukewarm water with honey after meals, effectively relaxes indigestion and burning. 

Drinking lemon water helps to break fever by increasing perspiration.

Drinking water boiled with coriander leaves helps cure rheumatism, sore throat, indigestion and allergies.

Eat 4, 5 almonds soaked overnight and ground and ground to a paste mixed with honey to relieve cough.

Eat a few raw walnuts along with meals high in saturated fat to help protect your arteries. Walnuts contain Omega fatty acids which can significantly lower depression.

Eating a chikoo helps in removing phlegm in the nasal passage and respiratory tract.

Eating nutmeg kills a number of cavity –causing bacteria in the mouth.

For a sound sleep, eat almonds. The rich supply of magnesium aids sleep and also helps relax the muscles.

For relief from sore throat, drink water boiled with basil leaves, also gargle with the same twice everyday.

Give up drinking coffee at 4 in the evening and instead drink green tea, it will boost your energy till the end of the day.

Grapes can treat constipation, indigestion, fatigue, kidney disorders and other ailments.

Guava, when eaten with seeds, provides roughage that relieves constipation.

Have a teaspoon of bitter gourd juice once a day to destroy stomach worms.

Have mangoes after you exercise, they replenish salts, vitamins and energy.

Have spinach juice regularly to stabilize blood sugar level.

Having a banana after workout helps, as it has magnesium.

Hold a wet tea bag over the mouth ulcer for several minutes to relieve pain and aid healing.

Humming increases ventilation in the sinuses and boosts the immune system

If you are diabetic avoid wearing tight socks with tight elastic bands as they can reduce blood circulation to your feet.

If you are dieting use blue dinner plates and place mats.

Mix a couple of drops of clove oil with a quarter teaspoon of olive oil. Add the mixture to a cotton ball and place it on the aching tooth.

Narrow toed shoes make your toes rub against each other, ultimately causing corns.

Neem oil reduces arthritic pain, inflammation, and swelling of the joints. 

Neem tea acts as a de-worming agent and is a good remedy to relieve indigestion.

Pomegranate juice contains a high concentration of antioxidants that help prevent prostate and breast cancer. It improves blood flow throughout the body.

Powdered dry mango seeds in jaggery [amchur] taken helps to cures diarrhea.

Pregnant women are advised to include tomatoes in their everyday diet, a regular intake of the juicy fruit helps in dealing with morning sickness.

Raisins have antibiotic properties and help cure fever by fighting viral and bacterial infections.

Rich in natural minerals, coconut water is considered the best remedy for hangover.

Rubbing a banana peel on the insect bite reduces the swelling and skin irritation.

Saunf, methi powder and clove help to balance the blood sugar and control hunger.

Scent of fresh ginger helps cure nausea and also helps reduce depression and anxiety.

 Smell cinnamon or chew it to boost your memory, alertness and concentration.

The best time to drink water is one and half hour before and after meals. 

The skin or the pith of the orange has as much vitamin as the orange itself.

To cure burning sensation in the urinary tract, drink afresh glass of bottle gourd juice mixed with a teaspoon of lime juice.

To get instant relief from acidity, drink about 5 grams of elaichi powder and mixed with warm water.

To quit smoking, drink a glass of milk just before lighting a cigarette. Smoking will leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

To stop the bleeding from the fallen tooth, place at ea bag on that area. Low fat high fiber foods like fruits and vegetables keep your stomach muscles toned.

Tomatoes lower the risk of cholesterol-induced damage to the arteries.

Unpolished rice is rich in Vitamin E, B1, B3, magnesium; potassium and iron help control blood pressure and strengthen the heart.

Water melon cleans off the toxic deposits in the kidneys.

When hungry eat an apple, its high fiber prevents the urge to ingest more carbs. 

When trying to walk faster, take short, quick steps instead of trying to increase your stride in length as it can hurt your back.

Whole grains, Ragi reduces developing type 2 diabetes.

Chit Chat with Jenicca Contd..............

Ulsoor lake

Jenicca has grown now in 2 month's time and likes to talk a lot and picks up fast. She remembers the house ,the Block layout and remembers to ask for Rukmini aunty as soon as we reach the security cabin .

 She says a lot of English, Hindi and Gujarati  nursery rhymes ,in her mazhalai, not with  clear pronunciation. She cannot pronounce 'la,' 'ra ',ta'.

Last time when she came she was finding it difficult to say my name and now she is clear of it and says nicely with proper pronunciation. 

To make her pronounce mosquito, it was split in syllables as mos- ki-to and bingo she could say from machiko to mosquito .

TTD Temple at Malleshwaram.

She has picked up a lot of English words like hair wash, hair comb, 'thachi' time,  doctor check up, what's this, and she herself answers this is chikku's, mama's etc.

She can identify shapes like circle, triangle, square, oval ,crescent, rectangle,pentagon hexagon and also colors apart from the primary violet, pink, light shades.Earlier she could not identify white ones now she is clear of it.

While helping her out to write something on the slate, I introduced sleeping and standing lines instead of saying them as straight lines and for the strokes it's up and down or left to right. This is how they are taught in nursery to learn to draw the lines.

She can say the Tamil rhyme Aroru thalai mela aattukutti meyudaam kandava, kettava sollaadeengo' it's a game where something is placed on one's head  [the one is mostly a child ]and the same person has to find it and take it out .

The meaning is a goat's  kid is grazing on someone's head and those who have seen it heard others saying it should not reveal  about it.

She enjoys walking on the road freely talking about what comes to her mind , it could be what she sees or from her memory, once she started talking about her trip to the zoo with her relatives.

You ask her to dance, she would do so in circles as she was exposed to 'garba' dance .If she is in a good mood , she would come charging at me and sink her face in between my legs and say 'Zoom'. Anjana says that she loves me and likes to play with me. She will shower me with a lot of kisses 'vaali' on my cheeks, face forehead and lips. She loves to be pampered and attended with love.

She loves dancing, playing with the cooking set, preparing watermelon juice, khichdi, applying butter and jam on bread slices to make sandwich. She loves to play with her Cooking set,she has two sets and loves to make dosa, apply  Amul butter and  Kissan jam to the bread slices, make khichdi in the cooker, vada in pan, makes watermelon juice and serves the juice glass  on a plate and says,' please take water melon juice.',when asked how is the juice, she says, 'super'.
 

 She picked up a lot of sentences in English like,' I want to sit here, go there, to go to park, computer abcd, don't go anywhere, don't leave me and go, I go to park, I want to sleep, excuse me, all the best, sleep tight, sweet dreams, happy wedding anniversary, can sing the Happy birthday song fully, wait, I am coming.... where are you going, what is this, no., not again... 'patti please give me this'... or names them, 'patti I nayine  Dettol soap', I am Dettol soap bath   [ bath] where is mami',  etc.

She loves Anoushka , her new born cousin, though she had difficulty in saying the name as anushka, she would often say anuksa, and later corrected it.

To get her into the habit of washing hands, Anjan has trained her to count up to 'twenty or sing the happy birthday song' or she sings dhobi aaya.. so that by the time she finishes the song she can wash off the soap. She has learnt to count one to twenty in Hindi also.


She has found out that while speaking in English, if she doesn't know the apt word in English she substitutes it with either Gujarati or Hindi or Tamizh word and it looks so funny but we need to appreciate her talent.

I play with her baby elephant and mother elephant, I crawl on all all fours and take her  under me and as  I keep moving she also moves like a baby elephant. I jump like a frog and rabbit she also does the same. 

 She loves to say in Tamizh, dosa venduduthha.... vegalai,,, [whether dosa is cooked or not]and venduduthu for cooked. She has picked up Tamizh words like iru, vaa, odivaa, odivaa, inga vaa, enge pore, utkaan [ can't say 'ra'] poyitaa, poren, podu, kudi thanni, vaayi, kannu, kaalu, etc, she says, 'paatti ,jenicca ,katti thaachhi'

Some of the pictures are the kittens and the  dogs she normally sees in the campus. She loved the kittens playing hide and seek!

Once she picked up the word,'shut up' and I told her to say,' I will not say shut up' she was going on saying later when she forgot she said, I will not shut up boluchu'', I burst into laughter coz, she knows 'bolu chu' is for 'say'. 

Once I told her to apply cream on the slices and she immediately responded by saying that, cream is applied on legs , it was my fault I should have made it clear to her that it's milk cream. She knows that cream is for applying.

 
She has learnt to 'Om Jai jagadeeshagare .... the Bhajan  song ,the first four lines as I used to sing when she comes and joins me while doing pooja.


It was my dream come true for me, always whenever I prayed to God for grand kids, I made it a point to imagine them sitting with me and doing abhishekam to the small idols that we have and when I prayed for Santaanams for my daughter and son, I would hold a baby in my hand and Pray.. She would wait patiently and do the pooja with me sing and offer flowers and in the end would show her palm and ask for 'prashad' that is the 'diamond sugar'.You can make her eat anything by saying it's 'prashad'. 

She has found out that while speaking in English, if she doesn't know the apt word in English she substitutes it with either Gujarati or Hindi or Tamizh word and it looks so funny but we need to appreciate her talent.


I only taught her to knock and ask for permission by saying, 'May I come in,' and many times I just kept forgetting it and as soon as I entered she would say it for me, ''Patti, may I come in? '' It seems she insists everyone to ask her permission at Baroda.  

Every day she brushes her teeth by standing on the small plastic stool and almost after a fortnight she started opening the tap on her own to wash her hands, rinse her mouth. Sometimes she says out of anger she won't was her mouth for that she is told that bacterias and germs would eat her teeth, so after cooling down she would mention this and wash her mouth fearing the germs.

 It was so funny Revathi used to come wearing jeans and tee shirt, once she came wearing a salwar suit, chikku did not go to her as she could not recognize her in salwar.. in spite of Revathi conversing to her in Gujarati.. it took sometime to go to her..

Anjana told me that even in Baroda once Dipen went and had a hair cut after months and also shaved off his stubs Chikku neither recognized him nor went to him , it took so much of reassurance from Dipen and finally in the night she played with him. I think she fixes up a mind impression of people and too early for her to come to terms with changes.

I remember when Arjun was two and half years old, when I went to deliver Anjana, one of my cousins, Suresh  [due to his height] was temporarily made to step into the role of appa for Arjun. All the time he was shown as appa, and all of a sudden after my delivery nearly a  week later, when the real appa came and said  'hi' to him he was spell bound and with his gaping mouth was looking at him in awe and this worried my husband thinking that Arjun has lost his speech!

To scare her we always would call Alex, and bark like him , and she would keep quiet, sometimes she would say, 'don't call Alex, chikoo good girl, mum mum kaaliye'

 At night she keeps telling me' patti, don't make noise, chikku is sleeping,' as soon as she sees me in her room.  ..


Once Arjun barked like Alex and told her that he would call him ,and after she finished eating, she just knocked at his room and told him not to call Alex, since Arjun did not hear her, he opened the door and asked her, immediately ,she softened her voice and told him in a clear voice, 'mama, don't call Alex, chikku had eaten mum mum ' we were taken by surprise at her adult way of handling.


Whenever she answers the phone the first thing she says , 'hu... Bangore me chu.... 'and all the planes that fly over ,go  from Bangore to Boston or Baroda [ Boston coz Arjun went for 15 days when she was here]

She loves ghee, after her quota, if we say , 'no more ghee, ghee katam' immediately she would say, 'thatha, ghee katam shopping ma thi le aavo' and she would add to her list badam ,chana, goode  [jaggery ]and ghee pan.....




If she can't open a bottle or something which needs strength, she would automatically go to thatha and ask him to open, we do not know how  she knew this..

All  I need to do divert her attention is to take the doll named Anoushka and start talking to her saying, 'come Anoushka, Patti will play with you cooking set, hockey, bat ball, ' she would come running and take the doll from me and would say, 'chikku would play with Anoushka..' No one should take her Anoushka.

She loves to give me company in the kitchen and would say, 'paati, I want to sit here' and show the platform, after sitting there or on the rice tin, she would ask umpteen questions watching me do something and would like to know what I am doing and later would start saying all the nursery rhymes on her own.

She loves to play with people who come down to her level and play , in that way she prefers her grand aunt Lily as she also has two grand daughters of 7 5 years has a lot of experience. Chikku does not like men folk esp if they have mustache , she keeps asking, 'uncle gaye'?

 She loves dogs and there are plenty in NGV, everyday she would identify and say the names of them, loves to touch them and comes home to report to members in the house. Pugs: Oscar, Minto, Nano, Brownie. Labrador, and golden retriever: Melon, Peepo, Zimbo, Jasper, Ganesh, Sunny, Pinky, Brownie, Plinto [pup] Rikky, Lika, Cyber, - Alsatians, sam is dachshund, leo, spike, ruby fashion are Pomeranians.She loves to play with people who come down to her level and play , in that way she prefers her grand aunt Lily as she also has two grand daughters of 7 5 years has a lot of experience. Chikku does not like men folk esp if they have mustache , she keeps asking, 'uncle gaye'?

She likes to play for herself once she finishes her lunch or dinner or after nap banana. She takes Anoushka the doll , the elephant , teddy soft toys and makes them sit in line and plays train.. She makes a bed for Anoushka the doll, wraps her on a sheet, puts her to sleep imitating what all we say to make her sleep by threatening her that she would call Alex, and would not sing om sai namo namaha etc.. She sings four lines of this song.

She wants me to play atleast ten times doctor check up.. if  she does not have anything to do. I take  mobile ear phones and use them as stethoscope  and make her breathe in , deep breath etc and examine her chest, back , mouth, nose eyes and finally the pulse, by counting upto sixty..She won't even allow me to do all she wants is injection!

I call the nurse and give her injection by rubbing her arm and she smiles , and asks for chocolate?I give her and demand fee, she gives me either one rupee, or three rupees.

Her doctor would dive her chocolates at the time of her visits and she follows it. The good thing is she does not know that chocolate is for eating! she likes the sound of the wrapper.

 After sitting on a sofa, she sits on my  shin and i keep moving my leg up and down like an elephant , after her safari, she has to feed me with banana, coconut and jaggery, in this way she would know what an elephant eats , and later I ask for money , in return, i bless her on her head and spray water with my  palm. [ like trunk ]

When I take her out to buy or go for a walk, she wants her 'motu purse' and transfers coins from my purse to hers, and some times I used to wonder how the changes disappeared, this I came to know once when I saw her transferring, poor girl she does not know the value of paper currency all she is fascinated is the tingling sound of the coins! 

When we play hide and seek, after counting when I ask her 'ready' she says 'ready' and as I keep looking for her saying to myself where is chikku, she would blurt out 'behind the door', but to surprise her, I would go to all the rooms and finally come to her and say 'thappo',on her turn she would come and see in the same place. She likes to hide behind the window curtain.

She is a bundle of energy wrapped in her body and never tires unless she wants me to massage her legs!

 She was attending a 'mother toddler' school for activities for small kids below 2 yrs along with her mother, She is used to be with her mom in school, now she has to be without her in background. Prayaan has moulded her a lot and she has atleast tried to come out of her shell, started mingling with like aged kids. This school was a good beginning for her.

Very soon she would be going to a play school from 'Prayaan' to 'Learning Tree' in Baroda, I wish her and pray that she enjoys her play school as she enjoys with us! God Bless her!

Which side is Greener?

Ambujam finally got irritated and gathered enough courage to ask her rebellious daughter Ragini. What is that you expect from us while your sister Padmini listened to us from the word ‘go?’

 ‘Do I have to answer you, how many times have I told you not to compare Padmini with me, she is a fool to listen to you even now!’

 ‘What is wrong with her, she is happily settled in New Jersey, managing her kids well with a job and earning in Dollars?’

‘That’s what you see, I neither want an ‘Americanized husband’, nor want to go anywhere’.

‘But why? All your cousins are in States and they have good reputation and we can visit you once in a while. We will also be happy and proud of you both.’

‘If I say no means ‘no’.’

 ‘But what is the logic, there should be something in your mind, people recommend boys in States and I find it difficult to say ‘no’ to them.’

‘If you insist, ok here it is. First of all I cannot slog like Padmini doing the house hold work, managing the office and kids.’ 

‘Didn’t you hear when she said that her husband hardly helps her as he is busy with his frequent touring jobs, apart from ferrying the kids, supervising their studies Padmini has to go to work and with no servant to help her out has to do all by herself.’  

 ‘And during festival time she has to cook all Indian food items all alone as they are not available in the open market.’  

‘What is the use of minting in Dollars if you can’t find a servant to help you out? ‘

‘I prefer a husband ‘truly Indian’. With both our earnings we can very well hire a cook, keep a driver, have two cars, and live in a joint family with in-laws happily.’ 

‘The days we cannot cook there is always hotel or caterers. I would look for a father –in-law who is still in -service so that he and his wife are independent.’ 

‘We can shower them with love; joint family would give room for saving for both the father and son, we can be together at the same time having space for each one of us.’

‘Mixing with friends and relatives now and then on occasions would be happier moments to cherish with.’

‘You and appa are always there whenever I want to come and see you.’ ‘I can get the same reputation and respect from all by living here in any part of India!’

‘I do not believe in visiting home once in two years would boost your energy for the rest of two years!’ ‘So, stop brain washing me to accept Americanized husbands, is it ok for you?’ 

‘Now go and get me a cup of coffee, I have severe head ache, do you think by being in America I can pamper myself like this right royally?’

‘Please ma, please’, she patted her mother Ambujam. 

Ambujam was speechless and she needs to gather herself from what Ragini has just said, how is that she never thought in this angle?

Baby Factory

  Here I am furnishing the link to what appeared as mentioned in the title .

 

Full story:
http://www.bangaloremirror.com//index.aspx?page=article&sectid=81&contentid=2011061820110618200635183d79a58ba

After reading ,though I appreciate the well wishers who volunteer  ' to rent their womb' for the childless couples who due to reasons known to them, opt for this procedure.
 On the other hand, from the  accompanying photo we could make out the prospective mothers are quite happy ,may be because they are into a 'rich harvest ' at the cost of leaving their family for almost nine months.
But they are surely playing with their emotions, in the long run it may scare them with nightmares!

With the advancement of technology, one wonders where are we going to have the full stops?

Secondly as per the survey many career oriented couples do not want to undergo the long carrying process, so conveniently opt for this system. Will they be able to give the special bondage the umbilical cord gives?! When they do not have the time to bear with the pregnancy why do they want to have the child at all in the first place?

Do you call this ethical or unethical?

Missing and Found

When my son Arjun  nee Karthik, was just a year old, in 1979, we went to the family deity in Tiruchendur in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. We were in Raipur[ Chathisgarh / M.P ] and he knew only Hindi.

As usual we stayed in one pundit's place, my husband decided to got to the sea and take bath and he went with my son Karthik. And within a few minutes he came back saying that he forgot the soap box and went back a few steps suddenly he remembered our son missing!

He immediately shouted and called his name and the entire street people gathered and we told him that he was wearing a pyjama and jibba in light blue colour and was tonsured [ mottai] . WE did not know what to do and he knew only Hindi and those people there, no one knew Hindi. How are we to find him, and we did not have a photo of him also.

Finally the pundit's grand son who was my son's age ran like wind and finally found him around 3 furlong away from our street!

Then only we could breathe, and thank God that he was not last in Tirupathy otherwise we would not have got him.

*                          *                              *                             *                 *

Next time when he was 13 yrs old we visited Bannergatta National Park , Bangalore in 1991 along with two of my brothers and their family from Hosur [ T.N] apart from my family of son, daughter and husband in two cars.

After visiting the park,we came to Bangalore city to have dinner and we parked the car near LalBagh and walked towards the hotel. In the mean time my daughter wanted balloons and my husband took her.I was under the impression that Karthik was with him.After ten minutes we all assembled to go to a hotel for dinner, we noticed he was missing.All hell broke loose and my husband blaming me, my brothers blaming and each one was blaming each one.

Finally we decided to take responsibility of each child [ all the three couples have two kids each ] while looking for him so that we do not lose them and somehow we felt that we should find out from the car drivers also. when we went to enquire ,Arjun  was there in one of the cars.

He always had a fascination for numbers and till now we do not know how and what made him remember the car number [ both Ambassadors] and like a flash once he learnt that he has lost track of us went and sat in the car!

then we were all praise for him and no fight and we had our dinner leisurely and peacefully and reached Hosur by 1 am.

God is Great that we could be with him.