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Wellness

City gets its first private geriatric clinic

PD Hinduja Hospital opens multi-disciplinary geriatric clinic from today; wants to create awareness of gerontology and devise specific treatment plans.
by the Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Considering the high numbers of senior citizens in the country and the fact that by 2050, India will have the second highest numbers of elderly in the world (after China), it is a bit strange that there are not too many hospitals looking into specialised elderly care. Alarmingly, at least a third of this huge population will live alone and require care.

Dr._Preeti_Chhabria_Hearteningly, one of the city’s premier private hospitals, PD Hinduja Hospital, is opening the city’s first geriatric clinic today, on an OPD (Out Patient Department) basis. Says Dr Preeti Chhabria (in pic on left), consultant in internal medicine and who was instrumental in setting up the clinic, “As people age, there are several changes taking place in their bodies, which are accepted as ‘normal’ by virtue of ageing. We want to bring about the awareness of gerontology, and the idea that it is not necessary to accept these signs of ageing as normal.”

She says that these psychological and physical changes cause a sense of ‘burden’ in the elderly. “Their bodies change and their mobility is affected. Add to that the sense of being dependent, both financially and emotionally, on their children, plus the grief of losing children or the spouse, and the person undergoes a lot of pressure in his daily life,” Dr Chhabria explains. “The elderly suffer in silence because people around them may not be aware of or sensitive to the pressure that they are under.”

What to expect at the clinic

Dr Chhabria has worked in the field of elder care in the US for 15 years, and will use her experience in the multi-disciplinary clinic. There will be three doctors in attendance at the clinic – a consultant for internal medicine, a psychologist and a physiotherapist, all working in tandem to devise the best treatment plan for each patient. “We would evaluate their physical and mental status, and we would follow a ‘grading system’ for each patient. We have clinical scales for grading, to include the parameters Normal, Grey and Mild/Moderate Dementia. Anybody qualifying for the last scale is immediately brought to the attention of their families.

“The testing procedures we follow are fairly accurate, to the extent that we can determine if a person is suffering from ageing-related factors or if his or her condition is the product of other factors like illness or stress,” Dr Chhabria explains. The testing also involves evaluating a person’s mood, checking cognitive function and testing memory.

DSC_0033Back to the future

Dr Chhabria says that such a clinic is necessary in an environment that is extremely “tunnel visioned” towards providing only for the youth. “Geriatrics is the other end of the spectrum from paediatrics. In our daily lives, the young have to be aware of the fact that they are going to be caregivers for the elderly, and that they have to ensure that their old age is safe and peaceful. The elderly should not be marginalised, but taken care of with love and empathy.” In the future, Dr Chhabria says there are plans to offer counselling to caregivers of the elderly.

The clinic will remain open on Thursdays between 9.30 am to 5.30 pm. Please call the clinic on 022 39818181/67668181 for appointments and more details.

(Pictures courtesy PD Hinduja Hospital)

Categories
Beauty

10 ways to glam up instantly

Want an instant sparkle to your tired eyes? Wondering how to make your gorgeous lipstick last long? Just read on.
by Ankita Pathak

They say beauty is self-confidence applied to the face. But what happens when you know how beautiful you want to look but don’t know how to achieve the look? We’ve got 10 little ways to help you glam up and stay gorgeous. Here’s what you do:

dark eyeliner– Dark eyeliner is a part of our Indian shringar. But if you’re not a professional makeup artist, it can be difficult to line your eyes with a liquid liner. So the trick is to line eyes first with a pencil liner, because it’s easier to hold the pencil than a brush. Then trace the line you just made, but this time use the liner brush. If you are good at colouring, this should be a piece of cake! Your eye liner will not only stay for long but would also be smudge-free throughout the day.

– Insomnia, stress and late-night TV watching are all giving girls puffy eyes. With eyes like these, you will find that even heavy concealer fails to have any effect. Here’s a quick fix: dab your white pencil liner in your inner eye area. It will brighten up your eyes and give them an instant sparkle!

– For gorgeous lips during the day, dab lipstick on to your fingers and then to your lips. It will give your lips a subtle color wash and leave them looking juicy!

– Whatever the season, there’s no excuse for tardy eyebrows. To keep your brows neat in between brow appointments, invest in a goodeyebrows pair of tweezers and fill in any gaps with a soft, smooth brow pencil that gives a natural finish. Don’t own a brow gel? Replace it with a clear mascara to avoid hair from looking straggly.

– Sporting no makeup and get a sudden interview call? Do this: take a lipstick and place it directly on top of the apples of your cheek. Aim a little higher and apply. Dab the same lipstick on your lips, and you’re good to go! This will not only give your cheeks a rose tint but will help make your cheekbones look even higher.

– Making lipstick last all night is a task! The key to long-wearing, transfer-proof lipstick is layering. First, apply colour directly to your lips. Next, separate a two-ply tissue and hold one sheet against your lips while dusting translucent loose powder on top. Remove the sheet and apply another layer of colour. Blot one last time with the remaining sheet and you’re good to go—for hours.

– In makeup, as in life, timing is everything. If you tend to apply concealer first, change things a bit: start with eye makeup instead. That way, you can easily clean up any powdery residue that migrates below your eyes and which could cast dark shadows, with a Q-tip soaked in makeup remover or baby oil. Then top with concealer for a bright finish.

foundation– Feel your foundation melting off by the end of the night? You will find that even the best liquid foundation won’t give you a flawless complexion unless it’s well blended. To make foundation melt into your skin, dab it on with a dampened makeup sponge – wet the sponge, then squeeze until it’s almost dry. Next, dispense foundation onto the back of your hand, press the sponge into it, and apply wherever you want coverage. It will give you an air-brushed finish which will stay fresh all day long.

– The bronzed look need not be limited only to summers. For a slimmer face, sweep some matte bronzer in a slant under your cheekbones, on the bridge and sides of the nose and jaw line. Don’t be surprised if you end up looking like a Greek goddess!

– To make your at-home manicure last long, paint the tips of your nails first after you’ve applied a base coat. Follow as usual with two coats of colour. The extra step reinforces the tips, where peeling usually starts.

Do you have an instant glam tip to share? Tell us in the comments section below.

 

Categories
Guest writer

How deep is Mumbai’s depression?

A psychologist explains how a city’s vibrancy and aura of success can be the very basis for depression among citizens.
by Devashri Prabhu

Mumbai is life personified…it is active, zingy, kicking and full of energy. Even when the world sleeps at night, Mumbai is awake and alive. It crawls, runs, jumps, does a jig or two but never stops. It instills hope in you, it hugs you when you feel alone, it smiles with you and it helps you fall in love with life all over again.

You just cannot not ‘live’ when you are here – at least that was what I felt when I came to Mumbai. Then my journey with psychology took me to such corners of the city that showed me a complete different side of the life in this city. I saw people who had given up all the hope to live, all thanks to the wounds that this city inflicted on them, some physical and some emotional.

How can a city so alive be depressed?

emotional disconnectNo, this just can’t be – I revolted. Nobody can give up on living just like that and too in my city, Mumbai! But the truth spoke in numbers – Mumbai does fare badly when it comes to depression. There is a palpable feeling of helplessness in the city which leads us to what we know as ‘depression’.

The city has even prompted many people to end their lives drastically. The most recent example of this was the suicide of young actress Jiah Khan. Whatever her reasons may be, the frantic beat of the city poured a strange loneliness into her, which probably could not be cured even by love. Be it a housewife in a suburb trying to balance the needs of her husband, children on one hand and her personal dreams on the other, or a share broker who had just promised his son a new toy car that he saw in a upmarket toy shop or a struggling starlet, or the model who is trying hard to gain a foothold in the city of dreams, all of them have one thing in common – they all have felt the frustration while fulfilling their everyday goals and functions. This frustration, when it becomes too hard to handle, put a person into depression.

How depressed is Mumbai?

It turns out that depression is striking the city in several deadly ways. During my internship trial at the same clinic, a young girl of 14 to 15 years of age, who had just come to Mumbai – new and fresh and with lot of dreams – was depressed, and the reason was this very city. The city spoke to her in a very different language, a language she could not understand. She soon felt out of place – even among her friends. She felt all alone even when surrounded by her very own family.

Soon she started seeing only faults in herself, while the fault was not totally hers. Thus started the long dark journey towards depression, with an attitude that said, “This is the end of it, depressionI cannot take it any more because I cannot do anything about it.” The ‘I’ loses faith and finally the ‘I’ is crushed and becomes non-existent. The life that we were gifted becomes a burden, a burden so heavy that some people prefer death over it.

The question is: Does anything have so much power over the choices we make, that we choose death rather than facing life? A web definition of depression goes: ‘Clinical depression (also known as a major depressive disorder) is a complex condition marked by sustained instances of a depressed mood and loss of interest in life. It differs from having a depressed mood in that a major depressive disorder lasts for more than two weeks, evolving into a mental illness.’

Besides getting a medical help here are certain simple things that you must do when you feel depressed:

– TALK or SHARE:  Talk to someone who has a positivity around him or her. Just talk it out. Your friends will understand you. Go to a friend, hang out with him/her, chill for some time, let yourself loose.

– LOVE YOURSELF: Be Geet from the movie Jab We Met. It’s okay to indulge in yourself completely once a while. You have to stand in front of mirror and say that you love yourself dearly, thank the whole of your being  for just ‘existing’. Stay away from self-pity.

– ACTION: Bring some action in your life. Dance, jog, run, do yoga or whatever activity that suits you. A little spring in your step makes a difference to your mood.

– AFFIRMATIONS: Fight negative thoughts. Fight against them, and give them a hell of a fight. In reality, they are nothing but little packets of irrational fears, that are created to destroy your developing self. Just start every thought with ‘I can…’ and fill the blanks with your wishes and dreams and believe in them. ‘Faith’, one of the most important tools, will help you in this battle.

– NOVELTY: Try things that you have never tried before. The excitement of trying something new gives you a rush, it helps break the monotony of your daily routine. Besides, it might just give you a fresh perspective to life, the one that may move you to a better you.

There is no be-all-end-all way in our life. The city we that we call ours has the power to heal the wounds that we carry with ourselves, just like, our life. The questions that are still unanswered may be because we were searching the wrong cabinet or maybe we are in a situation where our ladder is  at the wrong wall. But so what, it’s never too late for anything in life. Time, after all, has the answers to everything and all we have to do is give time some time!

Devashri Prabhu has a Masters in Psychology and her interests lie in areas like Mental Health, Social Issues and Spirituality.

(Pictures courtesy theviewspaper.net, she.sulekha.com, healthposts.easemyhealth.com)

Categories
Achieve

Love by candle light

This visually-challenged man won over a sighted woman and together, they run a candle-making business that employs other blind people.
by Vrushali Lad

They met over 10 years ago, when he was peddling scented candles that he made himself, in a corner of the market at Mahabaleshwar. A Mumbaikar on holiday to the tourist spot, she promised that she would come to help him sell candles while she was still there. Eight days later, she asked him to marry her.

“I was stunned,” says Bhavesh Bhatia (43), founder and proprietor of Sunrise Candles, an enterprise that began in a small room in Mahabaleshwar and is today headquartered in the same town in a professional manufacturing setup. “Several sighted people would come and help me out of sympathy, but this brave girl wanted to spend her life with me because she believed in me.”

The girl in question – Neeta (40), a Bhayander resident who had to work on convincing her family to let her marry Bhavesh – is today the backbone of a flourishing candle business and wax museum that employs 85 visually-challenged persons from the State and outside. “It was hard work at first, but I never lost sight of the fact that this was a man who was making a living despite his disability. He wanted to reach out to others like him, and I wanted to share that dream,” she smiles.

Small beginnings

Bhavesh BhatiaBhavesh was not born blind, but lost his eyesight gradually after a childhood illness. Not one to sit and lament his fate, he worked odd jobs to make money, but it was his stint at the National Association for the Blind’s (NAB) candle-making course in 1999 that changed his life.

“I learnt how to make plain white candles at NAB. Dyes and scents were extremely expensive,” Bhavesh remembers, revealing that in those days, he didn’t even have the money to buy himself a pair of slippers. “I saved Rs 25 every day from selling candles. I had a small board on which I set up candles and sold them at the market every day.”

This was how he met Neeta, and after their wedding, the couple lived in his small home in the hill station town. “We took a Rs 15,000 loan from Satara Bank, where NAB had a special scheme for blind people,” Neeta says. “From this, we purchased 15 kilos of wax, two dyes and a hand cart for Rs 50.”

Bhavesh would make candles all day, and there weren’t enough utensils to even melt the wax in. “I began to worry that the same vessels I cooked food in were used for candle-making,” Neeta laughs. Ever the optimist, she procured a two-wheeler to ferry her husband and his wares across town. Bhavesh first set up a table, then a larger stall. She later learnt to drive a van, which made things much easier.

World of light

Today, Sunrise Candles purchases wax from the UK, and has developed over 9,000 designs of plain, scented and aromatherapy candles. “We train blind people so that they can understand the work and not just help us at our unit, but some day go back home to set up their own business,” Bhavesh explains. “Neeta trains a lot of blind girls, and does all the work for the enterprise such as banking, handling the paperwork and managing our workshops and demonstrations.” With his team of helpers and volunteers, Bhavesh travels across India for exhibitions, delivering motivational talks, taking candle-making workshops and even imparting free training in places such as colleges and cancer associations. The couple has also set up a wax museum and a gymnasium for blind people at Mahabaleshwar.

From the days when Bhavesh didn’t have the money to purchase wax and dyes, to today, when “even 25 tonnes of wax is consumed in a day,” Sunrise Candles has indeed come a long Sunrise Candlesway. “It has been a wonderful journey with Neeta at my side,” Bhavesh says. “I wanted to prove that being blind is not the end of the world. It is not just about being employed – it is about having a sense of achievement through one’s work.”

Bhavesh is now working on creating the world’s tallest, unbreakable candle – to stand at 45 feet – for a world record. “The current record is for a 22-feet high candle made by a sighted person in the West. Our candle will be made entirely by my visually-challenged brothers and sisters. There is no question of whether we can do it – the question is, how are we going to do it the best possible way?” he grins.

If you want to order candles, or learn candle making, or wish to invite Bhavesh Bhatia for a motivation talk, contact Sunrise Candles at +91-98506 00634/94220 34729. You can also look up the company at www.sunrisecandles.in or write to them at info@sunrisecandles.in.

Categories
Beauty

Must-haves for hair and skin

Here’s presenting a list of some mandatory hair and skin essentials that you must include in your daily beauty regime.
by Deepa Mistry

Do you tend to forget about taking care of your skin and hair, in the chaos of your busy life? Just a little extra care and planning will help you maintain healthy hair and skin every day. To help you make it easy, we bring you a basic beauty essentials checklist that you can refer to on a day-to-day basis.

For the skin:

aloe vera gelAloe gel: Aloe vera has massive amounts of beneficial properties, and has been used over the years for healing skin allergies, hair problems, insect bites etc. Aloe gel helps soothe pain and rejuvenate skin cells. Aloe vera gel can be used directly or combined with your skin cream for smooth and moisturised skin. Aloe gel applied for 20 minutes on the scalp helps reduce dryness and itchiness in your hair, giving you silky hair after each wash.

Moisturiser:  Even though Mumbai weather is humid, we tend to avoid applying moisturiser as it makes skin oily. But skipping the moisturiser dehydrates the skin. A good amount of moisturiser used on a daily basis is very essential as it will revive dry and dull skin. Apply a deep-hydrating moisturiser every night before going to bed. During the day, apply a light moisturiser before sunscreen if you have dry skin.

Sunscreen: No matter what the weather, exposure to the sun is common while outdoor. Sunscreen is a must every day, use sunscreen with minimum SPF of 30 and remember to reapply every three hours.

Lip balms: A must-have for every girl. A good lip balm is the best solution for chapped lips; also add a subtle lip gloss for shine and whichlip balm will help the balm stay on longer and more effectively. You should ideally opt for one with a mild SPF to protect lips from harmful UV rays that may tan your lips.

Wet wipes: Most of us are outdoors in the day. Our skin tends to pick up a lot of dust and grime. A pack of wet wipes is the handiest tool for each one to cleanse the face from time to time. These days, wet wipes come with various properties like cooling, moisturising, deep-cleansing, make-up removing etc. Pick the best suited to your need and skin type.

For hair:

Shampoo and conditioner suitable for the weather: Weather change can wreak havoc on your hair, which none of us would like, so ditch your regular brand and go with a shampoo and conditioner that best suits your hair in that particular weather.

hair careStyling products: We would insist on using as little hair styling products as possible, as they damage your hair a lot. But there are times when you might have to style your hair for a party or a wedding, or may be your latest funky hair cut requires daily styling. At such times, use products with mild chemicals. If you intend to blow dry or iron your hair, make sure you apply a hot styling product for heat protection, extra smoothness and shine.

Hair serum: A lightweight serum will help you maintain shine and control frizz. The second advantage is, it can also double up as a leave-in conditioner. Use a dollop twice a week on either dry or wet hair to maintain those beautiful locks.

Do you have a beauty tip to share, or a question to ask? Ask your question in the comments section below or write to editor@themetrognome.in and Deepa will answer it for you.

(Pictures courtesy aloeveraforliving.com, beautybeaucoup.blogspot.com, www.virginhairseduction.com, doctor.ndtv.com)

Categories
Deal with it

The scrap house

An artist put a lot of scrap and unused material to creative use and created a themed home in Sion. Read on to know how.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

I was invited to view the Jamkhedkar residence in Sion last week, amidst the Ganpati fervour. The Jamkhedkars celebrate the festival with a 10-day themed Ganpati decoration, and at first sight, I was slightly bewildered by the living room in which I was invited to sit. I could hear a waterfall close by and the ceiling, with angel motifs and a beautiful woman on it had an eerie 3D effect.

Dr Neela JamkhedkarActually, everything about the house is themed – the bedroom’s theme is ‘Khajuraho’, the living room is a ‘Kashmiri shikara’ (see pic above), the kitchen is a ‘garden’ and the music studio they own on a lower floor is ‘cave’ themed. Says Dr Neela Pimparkhede Jamkhedkar, (61, in pic on left), whose idea the house’s design is, “When we purchased the house and studio about 10 years ago, we had little money left over to get the interiors of the house done with furniture and all the fixings. Besides, I had always wanted to decorate the house my own way.”

Neela’s idea of decorating the house was simple – decide on a theme per room, then look for items she already possessed and which could be put to use, and lastly, go sourcing for items she would need. “You will be amazed at the amount of things every house has, things which are no longer usable but which we can manipulate and use as something else. I got a lot of such items together – an old painting of a woman I had done, urns and murtis I had brought from my maternal home, and even sheets of cardboard that were just lying about.”

Getting down to work

Chor Bazaar became Neela’s favourite go-to refuge for things she could buy. “My husband and I would do the rounds of the place, and I picked up so many beautiful, ornate things there,” she says, pointing to the sliding door that closes off the living room from the passage, and the front door of the house. “See how beautiful these doors are. I got them at not over Rs 2,000 per door at the time. Then I got them home and made my carpenter work on them to create the designs I wanted.”

She also sourced several wooden partitions and strips from a local scrap shop, which she would buy at Rs 30 a bag (till the shop owner wised up and demanded an exorbitant amount). Door done up with wooden strips“I had hired a local carpenter, Rampreet, a most patient man who would do exactly as I said. I got him to carve each strip to the design I wanted, and then these were pasted in a pattern (in pic on right).” She even hired a local painter, Nandu, to implement her designs and assist her wherever required – Neela is an accomplished artist on both fabric and canvas.

Chor Bazaar also came to the rescue when Neela wanted knick-knacks and smaller items. “For example, I got a lovely little beer keg for the bar that I created for my husband and son,” she says, showing off the little corner which is adorned with a mural and which holds bottles and a running waterfall. “I also bought a measure of cloth and stitched it myself for the lamp over the dining table. Besides this, I got a small mandir from Satguru’s and created a little puja corner in the bedroom. It is everyone’s favourite space in the house,” Neela says.

Lessons learnt

Neela says that though putting the house together this way took a long while, it gave her the kind of creative satisfaction nothing else could give. “Our house is not expensive, but it has taken a lot of effort and ideation to get it to this stage,” the former Ayurvedic practitioner says.

“The setting up of the house had taken over my mind completely. There were days when we would have no money left over for the cab home after making our purchases. My husband and I once carried giant murtis home in a BEST bus!”

She contends that it is easy to decorate your home yourself, provided you have a clear idea of what you want and the resourcefulness to procure the items you need. “I am always looking for interesting objects that can be put to use. And I make a lot of things at home myself – I have painted entire carpets and put together canvasses too,” says the artist, who has also held exhibitions of her work previously.

“In a city like ours, using every square inch of space is essential. Besides this, one must keep learning all the time,” the senior citizen says. “I learnt to use the Internet so that I could browse different designs and interpret them my way. I look up a lot of Street Art as well. When I’m not painting, I’m designing sarees or strolling through interiors exhibitions. Eight years ago, I got a diploma at JJ School of Art, which honed my skills further. I also plan a different theme for Ganpati each year. Planning and designing my house taught me several things.”

She adds, “I have learnt one thing – the world is a beautiful place and we have to participate in its beauty. If we invest ourselves in beautifying our homes, we will find the kind of happiness that nothing else can give us.”

Dr Neela Jamkhedkar is open to conducting a paid tour of her home and explaining the various ideas she has used in designing it. If you want to see her house and get design inputs for your own home, write to editor@themetrognome.in and we will facilitate the interaction.

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