Dreading the monsoon and the illnesses accompanying it? Chill! Here are some sure-fire tips to keep you healthy, happy and safe this monsoon!

Diseases and ailments to watch out for

Malaria and Dengue are major diseases that can strike anyone. Before you go out:

• Apply a strong insect repellent to keep mosquitoes away, and to prevent yourself from being bitten.
• Install mosquito netting on all the windows of your home.
• Avoid wearing dark clothes. Research tells us that mosquitoes are attracted to dark colours (not only black) because dark colours absorb heat while lighter colours tend to reflect heat. Since mosquitoes have sophisticated and highly-sensitive heat sensors, they are attracted to darker clothes, where there is more heat.

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“I’d sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio.
You gave them all those old-time stars
Through wars of worlds invaded by Mars
You made ‘em laugh, you made ‘em cry
You made us feel like we could fly… Radio!”
(Lyrics of Radio Ga Ga by Queen)

Way back in the 60’s, when I was a kid, radio was king!

My generation had no TV and the whole family looked forward to being informed (the news) and entertained (music/entertainment programmes) on the “magic box” called ‘radio’.

On rainy days you would find us gathered around the radio to listen to Saturday Date and the Bournivita Quiz Contest and Hawa Mahal on AM radio.

All of us listen to the radio and take it for granted, but when did radio first start and who invented it?

It all started with Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) who is generally considered the Grandfather of Radio Communication.

As with anything new, radio was initially perceived in a very negative way, with many people saying it was just a passing trend and would die a quick death.

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular,” said David Sarnoff in 1920.

“The radio craze will die out with time,” predicted famous inventor Thomas Edison in 1922. But as we can see, most of these people had to eat their words.

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Sheila had two miscarriages. On having a complete medical check-up she was told that the miscarriages had occurred because of Toxoplasmosis, a disease she had picked up from her pet cat’s faeces.

10-year-old Vikas was always complaining about bodyache, breathlessness and weakness. A medical check-up showed that he had Psittacosis, also commonly known as ‘parrot fever’, which he had caught from his pet parrot.

Prakash got rabies after being bitten by his dog, which had earlier got into a fight with a rabid stray dog. Prakash was hospitalised, but passed away a few days later.

For many people (myself included), pets are more than just pets, they are a part of the family. But just like other members of your family, pets can also infect us with germs.

Yes, we should all love our pet dog, cat, parrot, rabbit or whatever, but we also need to remember that our pets can also make us sick. We need to be enlightened to this fact, so that we can take the right precautions and ensure that our pets as well ourselves stay healthy.

Rabies: The WHO tells us that out of 59,000 rabies deaths worldwide, approximately 50% are from India. Rabies is a killer disease that has no cure.

If you have a pet dog, ensure that it gets its anti-rabies vaccine shots on time, and keep it away from stray animals. Rabies is also called ‘hydrophobia’ because the affected animal develops a fear of water.

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How do you react when the whole world seems to be ganging up on you? When your world seems to be falling apart? Do you stand up and fight back or do you collapse like a house of cards? Take this quiz to find out. Read the questions carefully, then answer “T” for True, “F” for False or “U” if you are Undecided.

1. At present you are working towards at least one important goal in your life.

2. Your romantic history has never been a pleasant one.

3. You suffer from a phobia or phobias (like a fear of enclosed spaces) which prevent you from doing the things you love.

4. You have problems in expressing your anger.

5. You can say with confidence that you are not a quitter.

6. The best antidote when you are bored is a quick, short vacation.

7. You can honestly say that you love/like yourself.

Score
0. T F U

1. 2 0 1

2. 0 2 3

3. 0 3 1

4. 0 3 1

5. 2 0 1

6. 3 1 2

7. 2 0 3

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Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is a therapy which uses dance to treat physical as well as mental disorders. DMT originated in the USA and later spread to Europe and Asia. The pioneers and propagators of this therapy were Marian Chace, Blanch Evan, Trudi Schoop and Mary Whitehouse. Tripura Kashyap and Dr Sohini Chakraborty (who has a Ph.D. in DMT from Tata Institute of Social Sciences) introduced it to India.

Most people know that dancing is beneficial for health; it’s good exercise, it helps boost a person’s mood, and people just enjoy it. DMT, however, takes dancing to another level altogether.

While you dance, DMT therapists assess your body language, non-verbal behaviour and the emotional expressions expressed during your dance, and then suggest remedial actions, which may include:

Mirroring: Here the instructor “mirrors” the person’s movements, to illustrate empathy and help them understand what they are going through.
Jumping Rhythms: Research has shown decreased levels of vertical movement in people with depression, and jumping improves this.
Props: The therapist may give the person a white flag, to help them experience an emotional surrender.

Who can benefit from DMT?

DMT can be beneficial for people of all ages who are suffering from physical as well as mental disorders.

Physical issues: Chronic pain, childhood obesity, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, etc.
Mental Health issues: Anxiety, depression, eating disorders, poor self-esteem, post-traumatic stress.
Social issues: Autism, aggression, domestic violence trauma, social interaction, family conflicts.

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You are through with high school and entering college, you and your school buddies were going different ways; but you had sworn lasting friendship, and to seal the pact, you decided to get a wacky tattoo done on your arm.

Years later you can’t even remember what made you agree to a tattoo. And it now embarrasses you to the extent where you’ve even started wearing long-sleeves to hide it. You’d like to get rid of the horrible thing but you don’t know how. So before you get a tattoo done, or you want to get rid of one, think.

If you are one of those who thought tattoos were all about cobras, skull and crossbones, you are wrong.

The tattoo craze today is cute, the back/neck tattoos, like an arabesque or mandala sunburst made ‘chic’ by the likes of Drew Barrymore.

If you have already made your mind up to get a tattoo, then do take the following precautions:

• Make sure the tattoo artist breaks open a fresh pack of unused, sterile needles.
• Check and make sure he/she breaks open new packs of unused ink and pours them into disposable, unused cups.
• If he/she refuses to meet these standards then walk out… without a tattoo. After all your health, and even your life could be at stake.

Remember, AIDS, HIV, Hepatitis B & C and other skin diseases can be transmitted through contaminated tattoo needles.

Pamela Anderson had Hepatitis C. She got it when a tattoo artist used an infected tattoo needle on her. And that too, in a health-conscious country like the U.S.A.

If there’s one other thing that’s growing as fast as the “get a tattoo trend,” it’s the “take them off again trend,” as the U.S. witnessed almost 98,000 laser removal of tattoos in the past one year.

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One thing almost everybody is looking forward to, once things settle down, is to go out and party! But some of us are still a little apprehensive about being stranded, or if in company, whether we’ll have something intelligent to say.

Here are some Hi-5 tips to ensure that you are a HIT at any party.

1. Bring something… anything!

Don’t be naive to believe a host who says; “Just bring yourself!” or “No need to bring anything!”

It would be great to live in a world where people always say what they mean, but we don’t and, if you still arrive at a party empty-handed, after reading this article, then shame on you!

Your gift could be from flowers to chocolates, a book or a bottle of perfume or wine or… anything, depending on your budget.

Believe me, people do appreciate it when you bring something.

2. Dress to impress…yourself.

Most people tend to shop for a new wardrobe for a party, but actually, this is not a good idea. The fact is that a new wardrobe makes most people over-conscious and hence detracts from their ability to really relax and mix around.

A good choice of clothes would be to wear something which has “good energy” and in which you’ve had a good time before.

If you want to stand out in a crowd, wear something a cut above the rest. For example, if you know that almost everyone will be wearing ‘denim’, then it would be a cool idea to wear ‘khaki.’

However, if you feel you’re going to be more comfortable blending in, then wear what you feel everyone else will be wearing.

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