“Use tribals to teach tribals”. This approach is in the process of being adopted by the health authorities entrusted with the task of tackling tuberculosis (TB) in the Nilgiris district. Deputy Director of Medical Services (TB) P.J. Vasanthan expressed hope that the proposed strategy would help combat TB among the tribals.
Dr. Vasanthan told The Hindu that the incidence of sputum positive pulmonary tuberculosis was very high among some of the tribal groups inhabiting the lower reaches of the district.
Studies have revealed that it was 80 to 120 per lakh population as against the national average of 75 per lakh population.
While the total tribal population was about 30,000 around 10,000 were found in Coonoor, Kotagiri and Udhagamandalam blocks and the rest scattered in Gudalur and surroundings. A report for the first quarter of 2008 showed that the prevalence rate among the tribals was 103 cases per lakh population. It represented as much as 23 per cent of the total number of cases in the district.
New cases
Another factor which was causing grave concern was the repeated emergence of new cases among family members of patients who had already been successfully treated for sputum positive pulmonary TB. The prevalence rate for 2007 was: Kattunayakas: 212 per lakh, Mullu Kurumbas: 195 per lakh, Hallu Kurumbas: 190 per lakh, Irulas: 168 per lakh, Panias: 111 per lakh and Betta Kurumbas: 84 per lakh.
Asked about the reasons for the abnormally high prevalence, Dr. Vasanthan said the main factor was late diagnosis. Most of the cases detected are usually in an advanced state with a high bacterial content in the sputa. An infected person can spread the disease to at least 10 to 15 persons per year, if not detected and treated.
Among the reasons for late diagnosis were lack of awareness, non-availability of facilities, fear of loss of wages and blind dependence on traditional and occult practices.
Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/03/stories/2008050357790100.htm
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
She kept singing, till that fateful plunge
The night before her death she was performing at the India Habitat Centre. The next day renowned classical vocalist and composer Shanti Sharma fell from the second floor of her south Delhi home.
Music, for Sharma, who met a tragic end Tuesday, was a vocation she described as 'god's gift'. The 52-year-old vocalist, an exponent of the Kirana Gharana, was associated as a teacher and a research fellow with the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in the capital for 30 years.
'She set the musical score for 'Ram Leela', the Kendra's flagship production which is watched by hundreds of thousands of people every year. The production has completed 51 years,' said Shobha Deepak Singh, director of the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.
It was said that Sharma was depressed after her daughter's 'senseless death in an accident' a few years ago. 'But she was perfectly normal before her death. She came to the Kendra, practiced late into the night and was preparing for recording. She took to music with renewed vigour after her daughter's death to overcome the trauma,' Deepak Singh said.
The musician had also composed the music for 'Durga', the Kendra's recent production, and was supposed to record the music of its new musical 'Tahe Kabir' in a week's time.
'She was tall and beautiful and wore loads of bangles and jewellery,' Deepak Singh said.
The vocalist, considered by many on a par with popular singer Shubha Mudgal, was a master of the slow and contemplative Kirana Gharana. Her forte was her mellifluous voice.
Sharma, a Tamil from the temple town of Tanjore in Tamil Nadu, spent her early years moving from one town to the other with her father who was in the army. Her mother initiated her into music at the age of 12 and she trained under Guru Sangameshwar in Hyderabad and later under Guru Amarnath.
She decided to take up music as a profession after earning a master's degree in chemistry. 'I rebelled and decided to make it my profession,' she had said in an interview. She later married a fellow student, who supported her in her mission. Since then, she held several jobs at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Sharma also honed her skills from Ustaad Mashkur Ali Khan, who now lives in Kolkata.
'Shanti Sharma was influenced by Ustaad Amir Khan. While releasing her first music CD about 15 years ago, she had actually said that the album was a 'love letter to Amir Khan',' recalls friend and fan Partha Dutta.
Source: http://www.indiaenews.com/art-culture/20080423/113323.htm
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Music, for Sharma, who met a tragic end Tuesday, was a vocation she described as 'god's gift'. The 52-year-old vocalist, an exponent of the Kirana Gharana, was associated as a teacher and a research fellow with the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in the capital for 30 years.
'She set the musical score for 'Ram Leela', the Kendra's flagship production which is watched by hundreds of thousands of people every year. The production has completed 51 years,' said Shobha Deepak Singh, director of the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.
It was said that Sharma was depressed after her daughter's 'senseless death in an accident' a few years ago. 'But she was perfectly normal before her death. She came to the Kendra, practiced late into the night and was preparing for recording. She took to music with renewed vigour after her daughter's death to overcome the trauma,' Deepak Singh said.
The musician had also composed the music for 'Durga', the Kendra's recent production, and was supposed to record the music of its new musical 'Tahe Kabir' in a week's time.
'She was tall and beautiful and wore loads of bangles and jewellery,' Deepak Singh said.
The vocalist, considered by many on a par with popular singer Shubha Mudgal, was a master of the slow and contemplative Kirana Gharana. Her forte was her mellifluous voice.
Sharma, a Tamil from the temple town of Tanjore in Tamil Nadu, spent her early years moving from one town to the other with her father who was in the army. Her mother initiated her into music at the age of 12 and she trained under Guru Sangameshwar in Hyderabad and later under Guru Amarnath.
She decided to take up music as a profession after earning a master's degree in chemistry. 'I rebelled and decided to make it my profession,' she had said in an interview. She later married a fellow student, who supported her in her mission. Since then, she held several jobs at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Sharma also honed her skills from Ustaad Mashkur Ali Khan, who now lives in Kolkata.
'Shanti Sharma was influenced by Ustaad Amir Khan. While releasing her first music CD about 15 years ago, she had actually said that the album was a 'love letter to Amir Khan',' recalls friend and fan Partha Dutta.
Source: http://www.indiaenews.com/art-culture/20080423/113323.htm
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
US working with India to extend 'hope of liberty' in Asia: Bush
President George Bush has said the US is working together with India to promote democracy and extend the 'hope of liberty' throughout Asia even as it's concerned over the situations in Tibet and Myanmar.
'We're working with India to promote democracy and the peace it yields throughout the continent,' Bush told a gathering that included prominent Indian Americans on the occasion of the Asian American Heritage month. 'We're working together to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia.'
Welcoming the recent statements by the Chinese government expressing its willingness to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Bush said it was 'precisely what I have suggested President Hu Jintao do.'
'I think it's important that there be a renewed dialogue and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address the real way.'
'In Burma (Myanmar), the brutal military regime continues to reject the clear will of the Burmese people to live under leaders of their own choosing. So over the past eight months, my administration has tightened sanctions on the regime.
'We've imposed visa bans on the junta's generals and their families and their cronies, trying to send a clear message-and we hope the rest of the world follows as well,' he said.
'Today, I've issued a new executive order that instructs the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of Burmese state-owned companies that are major sources of funds that prop up the junta. I'm sending yet another clear message, that we expect there to be change and we expect these generals to honour the will of the people,' the president said.
Recalling the contributions of the Asian Americans, he stressed the vibrancy more than 15 million Americans claiming Asian or Pacific ancestry had brought in.
'They make America's culture more vibrant, and we're a better place-and a more lively place, I might add-from Songkran celebrations in Los Angeles to Chinese New Year parties in Chicago to Diwali festivals right here at the White House.
'Asian Pacific Americans make our country more competitive. It turns out there's a great entrepreneurial streak that runs throughout the citizens whom we honour today, Bush said. 'Small business owners all over America are creating new jobs and are living the dream. They enrich America because of their love for America.'
'Many Asians have settled in this country after fleeing oppressive regimes. They looked at America as a hopeful place. They include the Boat People of Vietnam, men and women who escaped the Killing Fields of Cambodia, those who endured the Cultural Revolution in China, and victims of the regime in North Korea.'
To increase security and reduce the threats to freedom in the Asia Pacific region, the US has together a multilateral Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) with more than 85 countries to stop the shipment of the world's most dangerous weapons,' Bush said .
'In other words, this is a quest for security and freedom, and we're working with nations all throughout the world, including those in the Asian Pacific region, to protect our peoples from the true threats of the 21st century,' he said.
'We're working with Pakistan and Indonesia and Malaysia and the Philippines and other partners - and Singapore and other partners - to dismantle terrorist networks and to combat the ideology of the extremists,' he said.
Source: http://www.indiaenews.com/america/20080502/115444.htm
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
'We're working with India to promote democracy and the peace it yields throughout the continent,' Bush told a gathering that included prominent Indian Americans on the occasion of the Asian American Heritage month. 'We're working together to extend the hope of liberty throughout Asia.'
Welcoming the recent statements by the Chinese government expressing its willingness to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Bush said it was 'precisely what I have suggested President Hu Jintao do.'
'I think it's important that there be a renewed dialogue and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address the real way.'
'In Burma (Myanmar), the brutal military regime continues to reject the clear will of the Burmese people to live under leaders of their own choosing. So over the past eight months, my administration has tightened sanctions on the regime.
'We've imposed visa bans on the junta's generals and their families and their cronies, trying to send a clear message-and we hope the rest of the world follows as well,' he said.
'Today, I've issued a new executive order that instructs the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of Burmese state-owned companies that are major sources of funds that prop up the junta. I'm sending yet another clear message, that we expect there to be change and we expect these generals to honour the will of the people,' the president said.
Recalling the contributions of the Asian Americans, he stressed the vibrancy more than 15 million Americans claiming Asian or Pacific ancestry had brought in.
'They make America's culture more vibrant, and we're a better place-and a more lively place, I might add-from Songkran celebrations in Los Angeles to Chinese New Year parties in Chicago to Diwali festivals right here at the White House.
'Asian Pacific Americans make our country more competitive. It turns out there's a great entrepreneurial streak that runs throughout the citizens whom we honour today, Bush said. 'Small business owners all over America are creating new jobs and are living the dream. They enrich America because of their love for America.'
'Many Asians have settled in this country after fleeing oppressive regimes. They looked at America as a hopeful place. They include the Boat People of Vietnam, men and women who escaped the Killing Fields of Cambodia, those who endured the Cultural Revolution in China, and victims of the regime in North Korea.'
To increase security and reduce the threats to freedom in the Asia Pacific region, the US has together a multilateral Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) with more than 85 countries to stop the shipment of the world's most dangerous weapons,' Bush said .
'In other words, this is a quest for security and freedom, and we're working with nations all throughout the world, including those in the Asian Pacific region, to protect our peoples from the true threats of the 21st century,' he said.
'We're working with Pakistan and Indonesia and Malaysia and the Philippines and other partners - and Singapore and other partners - to dismantle terrorist networks and to combat the ideology of the extremists,' he said.
Source: http://www.indiaenews.com/america/20080502/115444.htm
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Friday, May 2, 2008
'Globalisation, cause for inequality in Asia'
Inequality is rising across most of Asia, partly as a result of globalisation favouring the well educated and penalising the less skilled, the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday 30th April 2008.
The Manila-based lender said its findings did not mean Asia should turn its back on integration into the world Economy or on market reforms.
Rather, governments needed to pursue a range of policies to reverse the trend of the rich getting richer faster than the poor, the ADB said in a report released in Beijing.
To lift the incomes of the poor, the ADB called for more public investment in agriculture; better job opportunities in the rural sector and informal urban Economy; and a switch in spending from tertiary to basic education.
Alluding to the power wielded by Asia's rich elites, the report also said there was a need to recognise and limit "the very real danger that concentrations of income and wealth pose for social cohesion and growth-promoting policies and institutions".
The ADB's report, "Key Indicators 2007", acknowledged the formidable challenge of crafting policies that spread income in a way that does not sap growth.
"But the need for redistributive policies will not go away -- especially if increasing inequalities turn out to be an enduring feature of developing Asia over the next two or three decades," the ADB said.
Inequality had certainly been a salient feature of the region's development in the past decade or so, the report said.
Relative inequality has increased sharply in Nepal, China, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Laos.
In China, it is now at a level more usually associated with Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. The country's Gini coefficient stood at about 0.47 in 2004, up from around 0.40 in 1993, according to the ADB.
In a society where income was perfectly distributed, the Gini coefficient would be zero; if all the income was concentrated in the hands of one person, it would be 1. A reading over 0.4 is considered by economists to be a cause for concern.
Absolute inequality -- measured by actual dollar differences in incomes -- has also increased virtually everywhere, with the richest 20 percent of Asians enjoying much bigger increases in living standards than the poorest 20 percent.
This trend was evident even in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia where relative inequality had declined, the report said.
Inequality to some extent is a natural part of development. Not everyone can get rich at the same time. Wealth trickles down.
But the ADB said globalisation was playing a major role in accentuating inequality by creating more opportunities for the mobile professional at the expense of the unskilled labourer.
"Widening differentials in earnings of the college-educated vis-a-vis less-educated individuals appears to be the single most important observable factor accounting for increasing inequality," the ADB said....
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Globalisation-cause-for-inequality-in-Asia/209262/
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
The Manila-based lender said its findings did not mean Asia should turn its back on integration into the world Economy or on market reforms.
Rather, governments needed to pursue a range of policies to reverse the trend of the rich getting richer faster than the poor, the ADB said in a report released in Beijing.
To lift the incomes of the poor, the ADB called for more public investment in agriculture; better job opportunities in the rural sector and informal urban Economy; and a switch in spending from tertiary to basic education.
Alluding to the power wielded by Asia's rich elites, the report also said there was a need to recognise and limit "the very real danger that concentrations of income and wealth pose for social cohesion and growth-promoting policies and institutions".
The ADB's report, "Key Indicators 2007", acknowledged the formidable challenge of crafting policies that spread income in a way that does not sap growth.
"But the need for redistributive policies will not go away -- especially if increasing inequalities turn out to be an enduring feature of developing Asia over the next two or three decades," the ADB said.
Inequality had certainly been a salient feature of the region's development in the past decade or so, the report said.
Relative inequality has increased sharply in Nepal, China, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Laos.
In China, it is now at a level more usually associated with Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. The country's Gini coefficient stood at about 0.47 in 2004, up from around 0.40 in 1993, according to the ADB.
In a society where income was perfectly distributed, the Gini coefficient would be zero; if all the income was concentrated in the hands of one person, it would be 1. A reading over 0.4 is considered by economists to be a cause for concern.
Absolute inequality -- measured by actual dollar differences in incomes -- has also increased virtually everywhere, with the richest 20 percent of Asians enjoying much bigger increases in living standards than the poorest 20 percent.
This trend was evident even in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia where relative inequality had declined, the report said.
Inequality to some extent is a natural part of development. Not everyone can get rich at the same time. Wealth trickles down.
But the ADB said globalisation was playing a major role in accentuating inequality by creating more opportunities for the mobile professional at the expense of the unskilled labourer.
"Widening differentials in earnings of the college-educated vis-a-vis less-educated individuals appears to be the single most important observable factor accounting for increasing inequality," the ADB said....
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Globalisation-cause-for-inequality-in-Asia/209262/
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
US consulate in pact with an NGO to stop women trafficking
The US consulate in Kolkata is going full steam to reach out to women migrants to that country who could fall prey to the trafficking network. So, next time you are planning a visit to the US, do not be surprised if an 'anti-trafficking' brochure is slipped into your documents.
The consulate is collaborating with Apne Aap Women Worldwide to launch this anti-trafficking campaign among prospective migrants.
Posters highlighting the problems of human trafficking will be displayed in the consulate's visa waiting room. The consular section is also distributing brochures and pamphlets to visa applicants containing information on the nature of the problem.
The brochures also contain contact details of helplines both in the US and India so that people going to the US can get help in case they are forced into prostitution or servitude.
"In the US, a victim of crime has rights. Victim assistance, such as counselling, emergency shelter and legal aid, is available. There are laws that could help you regardless of your immigration status," a brochure said. It also states that victims of abuse or violence can also contact the National Women's Health Information Center at the US Department of Health & Human Services.
In fact, the US has a special visa category, T Visa, to bail out victims arrested for crimes they have been forced to commit.
"This is a special case where the US law sees you first as a 'victim' other than a criminal. So, even if a person is arrested for, say prostitution, but it turns out that she has been forced into it, the victim will not be deported", said Deborah A Miller, consul at the US Consulate in Kolkata.
Founder president of Apne Aap Ruchira Gupta said how she came across at least three women from Kolkata in the US who had been subjected to physical and mental torture by their husbands. "In India, the failed tea gardens in north Bengal have become catchment areas for women trafficking," said Gupta.
The US has also launched a special drive since December last in which law enforcement agencies record finger print details of migrants who have been convicted there.
"Finger prints of visa applicants will be verified with the recorded ones. If they are found matching, they will be denied visas," said Miller. The consulate in Kolkata has denied 12 persons entry to the US on these grounds since December.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/US-consulate-in-pact-with-an-NGO-to-stop-women-trafficking/303966/
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
The consulate is collaborating with Apne Aap Women Worldwide to launch this anti-trafficking campaign among prospective migrants.
Posters highlighting the problems of human trafficking will be displayed in the consulate's visa waiting room. The consular section is also distributing brochures and pamphlets to visa applicants containing information on the nature of the problem.
The brochures also contain contact details of helplines both in the US and India so that people going to the US can get help in case they are forced into prostitution or servitude.
"In the US, a victim of crime has rights. Victim assistance, such as counselling, emergency shelter and legal aid, is available. There are laws that could help you regardless of your immigration status," a brochure said. It also states that victims of abuse or violence can also contact the National Women's Health Information Center at the US Department of Health & Human Services.
In fact, the US has a special visa category, T Visa, to bail out victims arrested for crimes they have been forced to commit.
"This is a special case where the US law sees you first as a 'victim' other than a criminal. So, even if a person is arrested for, say prostitution, but it turns out that she has been forced into it, the victim will not be deported", said Deborah A Miller, consul at the US Consulate in Kolkata.
Founder president of Apne Aap Ruchira Gupta said how she came across at least three women from Kolkata in the US who had been subjected to physical and mental torture by their husbands. "In India, the failed tea gardens in north Bengal have become catchment areas for women trafficking," said Gupta.
The US has also launched a special drive since December last in which law enforcement agencies record finger print details of migrants who have been convicted there.
"Finger prints of visa applicants will be verified with the recorded ones. If they are found matching, they will be denied visas," said Miller. The consulate in Kolkata has denied 12 persons entry to the US on these grounds since December.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/US-consulate-in-pact-with-an-NGO-to-stop-women-trafficking/303966/
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Open Sesame
Ever since it came into effect, the Right to Information (RTI) Act has forced the Indian state, notorious for its stonewalling ways, to open up.
Now political parties are facing the heat. In a recent order, the Central Information Commission (CIC), which oversees RTI, has declared all political parties should disclose their income tax returns.
The reason given by the CIC is that information on the funding of parties is a "democratic imperative and is in public interest". We agree entirely.
In the US, for instance, the Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory body, keeps records of campaign finance and enforces laws on the limits and prohibitions on contributions.
Anyone can log on to their website and access the latest campaign finance information on presidential candidates or on those running for other offices.
One can also find out the names of individual or corporate fund givers, how much they have donated and to whom.
Though this is by no means foolproof — slush funds do find their way to election candidates — it is a remarkably transparent system.
The Indian electoral system, by contrast, is opaque and the funding of political parties and candidates has largely been unregulated.
This has meant that a huge amount of black money has made its way to parties and their leaders. As a result, potentially good candidates, who don't have financial muscle, have been effectively kept out of the electoral arena.
It's only a few years ago that things changed for the better with candidates contesting Parliament and state assembly elections having to reveal their financial worth when filing their nominations.
This happened after a PIL was filed in the courts seeking disclosure of an election candidate's background.
Candidates also have to maintain an account of campaign expenses, stick to a maximum limit and file a return of expenses. However, we still have little idea of the amount and sources of contributions to parties and their leaders.
We are saddled with a situation where leaders such as Mayawati have amassed vast fortunes, claiming that they have been showered with "gifts" from their supporters.
And that has been accepted by the income tax authorities. Disclosure of tax returns could be a first step towards making political parties a little more transparent.
Unsurprisingly, parties have come out against efforts to reveal their IT returns. They must agree to reveal their sources of funds for public scrutiny. For, murkiness in campaign finance is at the root of much corruption.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/TODAYS_EDITORIAL_Open_Sesame/articleshow/3002761.cms
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Now political parties are facing the heat. In a recent order, the Central Information Commission (CIC), which oversees RTI, has declared all political parties should disclose their income tax returns.
The reason given by the CIC is that information on the funding of parties is a "democratic imperative and is in public interest". We agree entirely.
In the US, for instance, the Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory body, keeps records of campaign finance and enforces laws on the limits and prohibitions on contributions.
Anyone can log on to their website and access the latest campaign finance information on presidential candidates or on those running for other offices.
One can also find out the names of individual or corporate fund givers, how much they have donated and to whom.
Though this is by no means foolproof — slush funds do find their way to election candidates — it is a remarkably transparent system.
The Indian electoral system, by contrast, is opaque and the funding of political parties and candidates has largely been unregulated.
This has meant that a huge amount of black money has made its way to parties and their leaders. As a result, potentially good candidates, who don't have financial muscle, have been effectively kept out of the electoral arena.
It's only a few years ago that things changed for the better with candidates contesting Parliament and state assembly elections having to reveal their financial worth when filing their nominations.
This happened after a PIL was filed in the courts seeking disclosure of an election candidate's background.
Candidates also have to maintain an account of campaign expenses, stick to a maximum limit and file a return of expenses. However, we still have little idea of the amount and sources of contributions to parties and their leaders.
We are saddled with a situation where leaders such as Mayawati have amassed vast fortunes, claiming that they have been showered with "gifts" from their supporters.
And that has been accepted by the income tax authorities. Disclosure of tax returns could be a first step towards making political parties a little more transparent.
Unsurprisingly, parties have come out against efforts to reveal their IT returns. They must agree to reveal their sources of funds for public scrutiny. For, murkiness in campaign finance is at the root of much corruption.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/TODAYS_EDITORIAL_Open_Sesame/articleshow/3002761.cms
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Introduction to Silver Innings :Part 2 : Health & Fitness
Dear Friends,
Hope you enjoyed our First awareness series - Introduction to Silver Innings : Part 1: Ageing.
This is Second in this Series explaining Health & Fitness in Silver Innings: www.silverinnings.com
Main Menu: Health/Fitness
Thanks to decades of biomedical research, there are some clear pointers as to how to stay fit and well throughout later life. Our chances of ageing successfully are affected most by lifestyle. You need to keep fit and healthy so as to remain independent and mobile. It is never too late to change your lifestyle and diet or to take up some form of exercise to improve your strength and stamina. Being active and doing exercise can also be enjoyable. Age is no barrier to taking up a new programme to stay fit and healthy.
Quality of life will improve if you take steps to age gracefully and take care of your mind and body. Determine to do your best at slowing the aging process and you will feel better and continue to be able to more activities for a longer period of time. Promoting the healthy lifestyles of older people is vital in helping them to maintain health and functional independence and lead healthy and independent lives.
Sub Menu : Physical
This section has various Physical activities and related articles.
Sub Menu: Mental
This has various articles on Psychological & Mental Health
Sub Menu: Alzheimer’s & Dementia
This my favorite subject.This section has anything and everything about Dementia and also interesting Ten Movies About Alzheimer's Disease You Shouldn't Miss and Dementia Education through Cartoons.
Sub Menu: Medical
This section has information with regards to Medical and interesting Emergency Medicine Manual
Sub Menu: Alternate Therapies
This section explains various Alternate Therapies Like Aromatherapy,Tai Chi and Pranic Healing
Sub Menu: Diet
This section has various interesting articles with regards to Diet and also read 1 day diet plan for senior citizens recommended by our Dietician Neha Chheda : http://silverinnings.com/diet%20plan%20for%20senior%20citizen.html and 1 day diet plan for a Diabetic, High BP senior citizen : http://silverinnings.com/diet%20plan%20for%20diabetic%20n%20high%20bp.html
Sub Menu: Lifestyle
This section gives various option for ideal lifestyle and various Tips.
Pls note each sub menu has Important links in the bottom,don't forget to have a look.
Hope this will Help you to surf each and every section,we request you to read each article,it will add more colours to your Silver Innings.
Next Series: Finance
Did you join your own website,join here: http://silverinnings.com/primary%20individual%20form.asp and spread the word.
Thanks and Happy Surfing.
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Hope you enjoyed our First awareness series - Introduction to Silver Innings : Part 1: Ageing.
This is Second in this Series explaining Health & Fitness in Silver Innings: www.silverinnings.com
Main Menu: Health/Fitness
Thanks to decades of biomedical research, there are some clear pointers as to how to stay fit and well throughout later life. Our chances of ageing successfully are affected most by lifestyle. You need to keep fit and healthy so as to remain independent and mobile. It is never too late to change your lifestyle and diet or to take up some form of exercise to improve your strength and stamina. Being active and doing exercise can also be enjoyable. Age is no barrier to taking up a new programme to stay fit and healthy.
Quality of life will improve if you take steps to age gracefully and take care of your mind and body. Determine to do your best at slowing the aging process and you will feel better and continue to be able to more activities for a longer period of time. Promoting the healthy lifestyles of older people is vital in helping them to maintain health and functional independence and lead healthy and independent lives.
Sub Menu : Physical
This section has various Physical activities and related articles.
Sub Menu: Mental
This has various articles on Psychological & Mental Health
Sub Menu: Alzheimer’s & Dementia
This my favorite subject.This section has anything and everything about Dementia and also interesting Ten Movies About Alzheimer's Disease You Shouldn't Miss and Dementia Education through Cartoons.
Sub Menu: Medical
This section has information with regards to Medical and interesting Emergency Medicine Manual
Sub Menu: Alternate Therapies
This section explains various Alternate Therapies Like Aromatherapy,Tai Chi and Pranic Healing
Sub Menu: Diet
This section has various interesting articles with regards to Diet and also read 1 day diet plan for senior citizens recommended by our Dietician Neha Chheda : http://silverinnings.com/diet%20plan%20for%20senior%20citizen.html and 1 day diet plan for a Diabetic, High BP senior citizen : http://silverinnings.com/diet%20plan%20for%20diabetic%20n%20high%20bp.html
Sub Menu: Lifestyle
This section gives various option for ideal lifestyle and various Tips.
Pls note each sub menu has Important links in the bottom,don't forget to have a look.
Hope this will Help you to surf each and every section,we request you to read each article,it will add more colours to your Silver Innings.
Next Series: Finance
Did you join your own website,join here: http://silverinnings.com/primary%20individual%20form.asp and spread the word.
Thanks and Happy Surfing.
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The problem of old age in India
A man's life is normally divided into five main stages namely infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. In each of these stages an individual has to find himself in different situations and face different problems. The old age is not without problems. In old age physical strength deteriorates, mental stability diminishes; money power becomes bleak coupled with negligence from the younger generation.
There are 81million older people in India-11 lakh in Delhi itself. According to an estimate nearly 40% of senior citizens living with their families are reportedly facing abuse of one kind or another, but only 1 in 6 cases actually comes to light. Although the President has given her assent to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act which punishes children who abandon parents with a prison term of three months or a fine, situation is grim for elderly people in India.
According to NGOs incidences of elderly couples being forced to sell their houses are very high. Some elderly people have also complained that in case of a property dispute they feel more helpless when their wives side with their children. Many of them suffer in silence as they fear humiliation or are too scared to speak up. According to them a phenomenon called 'grand dumping' is becoming common in urban areas these days as children are being increasingly intolerant of their parents' health problems.
After a certain age health problems begin to crop up leading to losing control over one's body, even not recognizing own family owing to Alzheimer are common in old age. It is then children began to see their parents as burden. It is these parents who at times wander out of their homes or are thrown out. Some dump their old parents or grand parents in old-age homes and don't even come to visit them anymore. Delhi has nearly 11 lakh senior citizens but there are only 4 governments' run homes for them and 31 by NGOs, private agencies and charitable trusts. The facilities are lacking in government run homes.
Rights of the Elderly
Parents cannot be evicted from a house without due process of law if they have been staying there from before.There is three enactments that can be applied.
Under section 125 of the CrPC,a magistrate can order a child to maintain his old parents under the Maintenance of Parents Act.
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act say an aged parent can demand maintenance from children in the same way that a wife can demand it from her husband.
The Domestic Violence Act too provides parents with the right to seek relief from any kind of abuse.
A National Policy on older persons was announced in January 1999 which identified a number of areas of intervention-financial security, healthcare and nutrition, shelter, education, welfare, protection of life and property for the wellbeing of older persons in the country.A National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) was constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to operationalize the National Policy on older persons.
Source: http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/problem-of-old-age-in-india.html
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
There are 81million older people in India-11 lakh in Delhi itself. According to an estimate nearly 40% of senior citizens living with their families are reportedly facing abuse of one kind or another, but only 1 in 6 cases actually comes to light. Although the President has given her assent to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act which punishes children who abandon parents with a prison term of three months or a fine, situation is grim for elderly people in India.
According to NGOs incidences of elderly couples being forced to sell their houses are very high. Some elderly people have also complained that in case of a property dispute they feel more helpless when their wives side with their children. Many of them suffer in silence as they fear humiliation or are too scared to speak up. According to them a phenomenon called 'grand dumping' is becoming common in urban areas these days as children are being increasingly intolerant of their parents' health problems.
After a certain age health problems begin to crop up leading to losing control over one's body, even not recognizing own family owing to Alzheimer are common in old age. It is then children began to see their parents as burden. It is these parents who at times wander out of their homes or are thrown out. Some dump their old parents or grand parents in old-age homes and don't even come to visit them anymore. Delhi has nearly 11 lakh senior citizens but there are only 4 governments' run homes for them and 31 by NGOs, private agencies and charitable trusts. The facilities are lacking in government run homes.
Rights of the Elderly
Parents cannot be evicted from a house without due process of law if they have been staying there from before.There is three enactments that can be applied.
Under section 125 of the CrPC,a magistrate can order a child to maintain his old parents under the Maintenance of Parents Act.
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act say an aged parent can demand maintenance from children in the same way that a wife can demand it from her husband.
The Domestic Violence Act too provides parents with the right to seek relief from any kind of abuse.
A National Policy on older persons was announced in January 1999 which identified a number of areas of intervention-financial security, healthcare and nutrition, shelter, education, welfare, protection of life and property for the wellbeing of older persons in the country.A National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) was constituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to operationalize the National Policy on older persons.
Source: http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/problem-of-old-age-in-india.html
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Ability Unlimited
Their wheelchairs spinning faster than a kathak dancer, the artistes of the unique Ability Unlimited dance troupe hold audiences spellbound all over the world. Through dance, members of this 150-strong troupe of mentally/physically challenged people find a voice in a not very inclusive society.
There’s much hullabaloo in the office of Ability Unlimited, a professional dance company located in the inner lanes of Patparganj, east Delhi. Cardboard cartons pepper the office space even as gossamer dance costumes, assorted face masks, music cassettes, CDs and sundry paraphernalia add to the melee. A few young people are orchestrating some packing. “Arre bhai yeh us carton me daalo,” gestures one emphatically to the other. Meanwhile, a few youngsters pore solemnly over a sheaf of passports for the group’s departure to San Francisco in a couple of days. “Have the wheelchairs been taken care of,” asks a volunteer.
Wheelchairs?! I do a doubletake as I’m told that each member of this amazingly talented troupe is either physically or mentally challenged! “We have the entire spectrum of disabilities in our group,” smiles Guru Salauddin Pasha, a disabled rights activist, choreographer and professional dancer who founded Ability Unlimited (AU) in 1999. “There are physically, mentally, visually challenged artistes, plus the hearing impaired, autistic/dyslexic ones, those with cerebral palsy, and some with both mental and physical challenges.”
With a bank of over 150 performers -- ranging in age from 27 years to five-year-old Zubair who has no limbs -- the group has given over 100 spellbinding theatre performances across India and around the world, in the past eight years. The group’s wide repertoire -- which draws upon the rich groundswell of traditional Indian folklore and mythology -- includes Martial Arts on Wheels, Ramayana on Wheels, Durga, Bhagawad Gita and The Panchatantra Tales, among others.
Deeply moving and beautifully executed, UA’s dance productions -- a far cry from staple Bollywood fare -- are engrossing. The Ramayana, for instance, with its 24,000 verses, is the troupe’s favourite theme and recounts the story of love, loyalty, heroic renunciation, fierce battles, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil by persons with disability on crutches and in wheelchairs, the first of its kind in the history of dance theatre worldwide. Unsurprisingly, this production has won the troupe a number of international and national awards.
Indeed, the performances of these disabled artistes have to be seen to be believed. The troupe’s recent 90-minute performance at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium on July 3, for instance, left audiences spellbound. The artistes portrayed the most challenging scenes in a captivating dance theatre performance. “The spinning speed of my troupe’s wheelchairs is faster than an accomplished Kathak dancer’s spins,” reiterates Pasha. This summer, the troupe is off to the US, Canada and the West Indies; last year they showcased their talent at the House of Commons, in the British Parliament.
As the world’s first, and only, professional dance theatre exclusively employing disabled people and also run by them, AU trains its members using innovative choreographic techniques and therapeutic methods. “Dance for the disabled is like a medicine without side-effects,” says Pasha. “Moving to music is therapeutic for the body and uplifting for the spirit. Movement set in choreography -- and performed publicly -- challenges an artiste’s physical, mental and emotional strength.”
AU artistes, trained stringently in the techniques of Natya Shiksha theatre, are also proficient in voice modulation, speech therapy and special choreographic movements. After training -- which may take anything from a few months to over a year, depending on the person’s level of disability -- a member gets absorbed into the troupe. Each of AU’s productions is researched, conceived, directed and choreographed using ancient Indian traditional techniques with therapeutic music and movements.
“Our novel learning and performing experience elevates, enables and empowers these specially disadvantaged young people with the ability to go through life with dignity,” says Pasha who has directed Europe’s biggest therapeutic theatre project Ramayana on Wheels with Finnish children and adults. The multi-faceted choreographer, an erstwhile scholar at Cornell University, New York, Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia, and Dance Theatre Raatikko, Finland, has also orchestrated Durga and Martial Arts on Wheels with 200 differently-abled children and adults.
AU classes include contact improvisation, creative dance techniques, choreography, and performance skills. The organisation’s outreach programme impacts 120,000 disabled people across India. In fact, AU was the first Indian outfit to conduct therapeutic workshops for tsunami victims (Andaman, Nicobari, Katchal and Ranchi tribes) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with support from UNESCO. This helped tsunami victims overcome their stress, fears and insecurities. “Theatre is an all-encompassing, universal vehicle for creative vision,” says Pasha. “Apart from entertainment, it is also a medium of therapy, empowerment and enrichment.”
Interestingly, training to AU artistes is imparted by physically challenged teachers so that the nuances of a particular handicap can be factored into the training. Everything, from lighting to costume designing to stage setting is managed by these special people.
AU also regularly invites well-known dance gurus, choreographers, light designers, music composers, painters and costume designers to conduct classes at its workshops. “This gives students an opportunity to become professional artists, choreographers and directors,” says Hemlata Meena, a polio-affected student of Delhi University and an AU artiste who has essayed the role of Sita and Durga in the troupe’s productions. Gulshan Kumar, 12, another polio victim, adds: “Dance has given me a new lease of life.”
AU believes in using the arts as a vehicle to broaden thinking and resolve issues of inclusion confronting the disabled. “We’re committed to changing the apathy and negativity that surrounds the education, employment and inclusion of disabled persons into a positive, dynamic force by providing each of them equal access to the therapeutic values of theatre,” explains Pasha.
Most artistes at AU believe that India is not the most disabled-friendly nation despite the fact that it has a staggering 70 million disabled people, more than the combined population of Great Britain. “I call our handicapped the ‘silent minority’ simply because they have such little visibility in public spaces. There’s no infrastructure for the disabled, very few jobs, and even fewer educational avenues. The disabled live in choked desolation not because they are incapable of leading a dignified, productive life but because we don’t care enough,” says Pasha.
To sustain itself, AU also offers dance theatre classes, choreography classes, summer dance workshops, theatre arts camps, teacher training workshops, and specialised classes in Delhi as well as lectures/performances, workshops, residencies and stage performances across India. It conducts regular training programmes through the year for disabled students of all ages. Says a trainer: “Our focus is on the exploration of an individual’s dance vocabulary while shoring up his confidence.”
AU, says Pasha, is open to collaborations in dance therapy with various dance, movement and art therapists, institutions and universities. Its Delhi centre also acts as a referral point for Asian dance, drama, music and yoga therapy. In addition, the outfit also conducts ‘motivational’ performances for the corporate sector. “Our performances motivate employees to dream big and work hard to make organisational dreams come true. Most companies have a reservoir of potential and talent but they are unaware of their own abilities. Seeing disabled artistes perform so well motivates employees to make optimum use of their potential and capabilities,” says a volunteer coordinator.
The group’s larger aim is to augment the visibility of disabled people’s potential. “All we want is dignity for the disabled and their active participation in a more inclusive society.” Towards this end, Pasha and his magical troupe work tirelessly to serve up an engaging cocktail of dance, drama, music and the arts. “These artists,” Pasha concludes, “don’t need mercy, they need opportunity.”
By Neeta Lal
Source: http://infochangeindia.org/index.php/20070801253/Disabilities/Features/Ability-Unlimited.html
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Caste walls
Dalit Bhimnagar was separated from Maratha Dare by a 60-foot road when the villages were set up to rehabilitate Koyna dam oustees. Now, a new barrier in the form of a 155-m wall has caused simmering caste resentments to erupt in this western Maharashtra region. Our correspondent travelled to the divided villages to investigate how strong the caste divide really is in 21st century India.
Nestled amid lush green fields and dwarfed by the rugged Sahyadri hills, the twin villages of Bhimnagar and Dare in western Maharashtra’s Satara district are unlike the other villages that dot this sugarcane-rich region. Most villages in the region are untidy clusters of mud-and-brick houses located unmistakably along the banks of rivers and streams. But Bhimnagar and Dare are more like cement-and-brick housing colonies planned on either side of a 60-foot-wide public road passing through Koregaon taluka. A plan that has gone seriously wrong over the years, as the district authorities realised last week.
On April 14, when the nation celebrated Ambedkar Jayanti, around 75 residents of Bhimnagar unsuccessfully attempted self-immolation in front of the Satara district collectorate, protesting the construction of a 155-metre-long wall denying them access to the village community hall located in Dare. The wall was built with a Rs 3.72 lakh grant from the local MLA’s funds; work on it commenced on March 19. The officially stated purpose of the wall is to secure the premises of the zilla parishad-run primary school within the premises of the community hall.
Bhimnagar sarpanch Sanjana Kamble says: “The wall was constructed by the Marathas in Dare to segregate the dalits in Bhimnagar. The Marathas want a separate existence as upper castes.” Dare deputy sarpanch Babaji Sakpal replies: “Dare was declared a revenue village, independent of Bhimnagar, in 1992, and the community hall was legally ours. There is no Maratha-dalit issue here.”
Timely intervention by the district authorities prevented escalation of the crisis into a full-blown caste war. The Marathas in Dare were persuaded to allow the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations inside the community hall and later to pull down a portion of the wall to allow access to the dalits from Bhimnagar.
The Marathas, though, treat this as a strategic compromise whilst they await a court decision in a case filed by Bhimnagar residents in 2002 challenging the redistribution of land between the villages when Dare came into existence as a separate gram panchayat. “We won the case in the lower court but the Bhimnagar residents went into appeal in the sessions court. The matter is sub-judice, but they choose to ignore this fact,” says Sakpal.
Meanwhile, the district administration, still shaken by the dalit outburst, is keeping its fingers crossed. Sub-divisional officer Sanjay Shinde concedes this is at best a “temporary truce” between the two communities. “Our main concern is to maintain law and order. The communities involved need to understand the reality. It will be the court of law which decides who will be in legal possession of the community hall,” he says.
Social activist Bharat Patankar believes the genesis of the present social crisis lies in the rehabilitation policies, or lack of them, in Maharashtra when the Koyna dam was constructed in the 1950s. “In the absence of a rehabilitation policy, the displaced were rehabilitated on fallow or forest lands. A majority of rehabilitation sites comprised mixed communities, and it was hoped that, like elsewhere, living together would lead to the abolition of caste,” says Patankar.
Bhimnagar and Dare, planned as rehabilitation sites for Koyna dam oustees, were exceptions. The residents of Dare are all Marathas hailing from a single village, Bamnoli, while the residents of Bhimnagar are all dalits from a dozen different villages that were displaced by the Koyna project. “We were from 10-12 different villages, most of us distant relations, seeking safety in numbers against the prevalent exploitative village system controlled by the upper castes,” says septuagenarian Dagdu Lokhande, a first-generation displaced.
Patankar, known for leading a decades-old struggle for equitable distribution of water in the Krishna river valley, recalls that besides Bhimnagar, another village settlement of dalit displaced families called Siddharthnagar was also set up in the district, in the late-1950s. “Reference is made to a speech by Ambedkar during which he advises dalits to seek strength in numbers. This caused the dalits of present-day Bhimnagar and Siddharthnagar to create islands of their own to escape oppression,” he explains.
Patankar feels setting up villages along caste lines has proved to be a costly mistake: “If you base your existence on caste-based seclusion, than you have to live with it. And the whole logic that goes with it (Marathas not wanting to settle in what is proclaimed to be a dalit settlement) will have to be borne.” He expresses surprise that the state government has allowed village settlements based on caste to gain official recognition, though Maharashtra later adopted a rehabilitation policy and other laws that were against such segregation/seclusion of communities.
The dalits of Bhimnagar recall moving here in 1959, followed by the Marathas who came in the next couple of years. Their new settlements were then attached to a group gram panchayat at Satara Road Padali. In 1989, Bhimnagar-Dare became an independent gram panchayat and was put under an administrator until local body elections were held in the state in 1994. In 1992, Dare was declared an independent gram panchayat.
Simply put, the state government gave its official stamp to the caste divide in Bhimnagar-Dare when it issued an official gazette dated November 11, 1992, constituting the Maratha settlement as a revenue village, registered as Dare Tarf Tamb, vide powers vested with the district collector under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.
“Till then, the Marathas and the dalits used to share all common amenities like a primary school, community hall and temple, even a common garbage dump,” recalls Sanjay Kamble, deputy sarpanch of Bhimnagar. Sakpal, his counterpart in Dare, also concedes that there were hardly any contentious issues: “It was a peaceful existence. Not a single crime was registered here, not even a non-cognisable offence.”
Sarpanch Sanjana Kamble, however, disagrees: “The Marathas were always uncomfortable with our presence. Even before they got independent village status, they got a separate primary school. Today, we have two primary schools operating within 100 metres of each other; our school has 40 students and two teachers, while their school has 22 students and two teachers. Is this not a criminal waste of manpower and resources by the zilla parishad administration?”
The residents of Bhimnagar say the April 14 incident is not an isolated one, and their frustration has been building up for the past 14 years. “Ever since we came to know of Dare’s independent status as a gram panchayat we have been seeking copies of the official gazette notification, revenue records and survey maps. But officials refused to part with them,” says activist Suresh Kamble.
Bhimnagar’s residents finally procured a photocopy of the gazette notification from the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, in Pune, nearly a decade after it was published. They also succeeded in laying their hands on some revenue maps, which showed that the village land had been equally divided between Bhimnagar and Dare. This was not acceptable to them.
“Firstly, we were not taken into confidence during the entire land redistribution exercise conducted under the supervision of a government-appointed administrator. Secondly, what is the basis for the land division? Bhimnagar with a population of 584 gets 4.31 hectares, while Dare with 270 residents gets 4.30 hectares,” says Sanjana Kamble, unable to understand why the bill for common water supply then has to be shared 60:40 respectively between Bhimnagar and Dare.
Residents of Dare insist that whatever land they held in possession has been legally allotted by the government. “We have our papers in place. Our counterparts from Bhimnagar have no records to show the court. Hence their case was thrown out by the lower court,” says Sakpal, producing the ‘legal’ file. A quick look reveals that it is indeed fully updated with officially provided revenue documents.
Sakpal says that unlike the dalits, the Marathas of Dare believe in legal battles. “We do not believe in violent agitations. All the top district officials, our ‘Mai Baap’, were camping here for two days to broker a peace. We chose to heed their advice while the Bhimnagar residents chose to disregard their advice,” he says.
The Kambles and Lokhandes of Bhimnagar say they will not be content with a portion of the wall being pulled down. “We have given the district administration one month to come clean on all counts. We are demanding a transparent and fair administration,” says activist Suresh Kamble.
For their part, the dalits are leaving no stone unturned to attain a better standard of living. Bhimnagar was declared a ‘Nirmal Gram’ by the state government in 2006 for maintaining excellent standards of overall cleanliness, sanitation and water supply. The green cover it has acquired through sustained tree plantation drives compensates for the non-existent internal roads. In contrast, Dare boasts asphalted internal roads -- proof of its political clout.
Patankar feels governments over the years have failed in their duty to socially and economically empower the weaker sections of society, leading to their alienation. “This issue is not limited to Bhimnagar and Dare. Caste groups have become vote banks and further divided Indian society. The educated have become more caste conscious than ever before… in work and marriage preferences. The most dirty work is still left to the lower castes,” he says.
“Unless confronted by a strong socio-political movement, caste differences will remain unsolved in Bhimnagar-Dare as elsewhere,” concludes Patankar.
By Anosh Malekar
Source: http://infochangeindia.org/index.php/200804217069/Human-Rights/Features/Caste-walls.html
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
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