Add Years To Your Life

Times of India >> Dombivli Kalyan Plus >> Health
Water is an integral part of our life. But so far, the criterion for identifying the ‘proper’ type of water for consumption is limited to its taste, purity and water purification system. Little is known about the fact that water can be re-structured and new properties can be derived from it. i.e. water can be made alkaline without adding anything to it.
It has become evident that the water cluster size, the pH of water, its mineral content, the permeability and hydrating ability of water and its ability to transport necessary nutrients to the cellular level are important factors of water.
Studies reveal that there are five places on the world-map where the life-span of inhabitants is well over 100 years, with exceptionally good health. One such race is Hunza. Hunza is situated about 100 km North of Gligit in Pakistan. Many people in Hunza claim to be 150-years old, and many others are documented centenarians. The population of Hunza and the other four places viz. Vilcamba in Ecuador, Georgia in Russia, another place in Mongolia and one in Peru have completely different diets and climate conditions, but they all live longer and healthier lives.
The only common factor found in these places was that the water there contain negative ions, which has a different boiling point, freezing point, viscosity and surface tension and can enter the body cells three times faster. Structured hexagonal, it is filled with mineral solutes, and tests highly alkaline.
Alkaline water is found beneficial as it neutralises harmful acids and disposes them safely without leaching out valuable minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium from the body. This process makes our body less susceptible to diseases.
Research shows that our food is the main cause of aging. Almost 99 per cent of the components of food are composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen and only one per cent is minerals. These minerals play an important role of controlling each organ’s function. Alkaline minerals in food turn into alkaline waste after digesting, while acidic minerals turn into acidic waste. Some amount of acidic waste is excreted from the body in the form of urine or sweat. But acidic waste that has not been excreted circulates along with blood vessels within the body. This acidic waste gradually accumulates in our capillary blood vessels and eventually blocks them. Moreover, the organ accumulating acidic waste begins to slowly deteriorate, causing serious illnesses. Alkaline water helps to neutralise these acidic wastes, making them more soluble in the blood vessels.
There are three types of illnesses caused mainly by acidic waste:
Osteoporosis – caused by solidified acidic waste in the body
Solidified acidic waste that affects joints and organs in result of the raising cholesterol, kidney ailments, arthritis and gout.
The capillary blood vessels gradually block up with solidified acidic waste causing essential organs to be deprived of sufficient quantities of blood and nutrients. This can cause diabetes, kidney ailments, hypertension, cancer and other diseases.
Alkaline water contains structurally smaller molecules, which helps the body assimilate more water and hydrate quickly. By drinking alkaline water, we increase the intake of oxygen as compared with drinking plain water.
Alkaline water can be prepared at home from our regular tap water through user-friendly water ionisers. These ionisers generate ionised alkaline drinking water through a process called electrolysis, which can raise the pH level of the water from anywhere between 7.1 pH to 10.0 pH.
In the past the ability to alkalise our body was dependent mostly on eating an alkaline diet (satvik food) such as fruits and vegetables and avoiding acidic foods like meat and dairy. However, new technology has made the process to alkalise our body much more easier with water ionisers.
Alkaline-ion water is healthy to consume because it increases the anti-oxidants in the water and acts as a solvent of acidic waste stored in the body.
Ionisation cuts the size of the water molecular cluster in half enabling the smaller cluster to penetrate the cellular membranes of the body easily. This in turn speeds up new tissue building and waste removal.
Ionisation splits the water molecule into H+ and OH- ions, thus by drinking oxygen rich alkaline water with oh- ions, more oxygen is available to enrich blood. The ionised oh- molecules have extra electrons that neutralise destructive free radicals circulating throughout the body and thus allow the natural healing processes of the body to predominate and promote health.

Computer Literacy High On Cards

Times of India >> Dombivli-Kalyan Plus >> Digital Divide
The digital divide has become the most serious divide in history. It is the need of the time that the effort to bridge this divide be taken up as a challenge by the government, NGOs and industry organisations.
Experts suggest that computer training should be made mandatory and included in the right to education from the high school level. In today’s age of information technology, the scope of the word ‘literate’ should be expanded to computer literate than limiting it to ‘capable of reading and writing one language.’
Anagha, a computer assistant in BH Madhavi English school informs, “The students are introduced to computer education from a tender age of eight. They are taught Logo to build their logical abilities. From class 5-10 they are taught Windows 95 and basic internet usage such as surfing the net and sending e-mails. Senior students of class 11 and 12 are given education or making power-point presentations and basic scripting of HTML, which helps them decide if they are interested in making a career in computer scripting, which has become very popular among students.
Gurunath Patil, superintendent, Pragati College says, “Basic computer education has been made compulsory in both junior and senior college. However, advanced courses of specialised certificate courses are optionally available on the campus.” When asked how the college has managed to provide such updated courses, he discloses, “Due to lack of qualified faculty, the college has tied up with Datapro, which provides faculties to the college. Computer labs have been an initiative of the government and therefore students can avail the facilities at a discounted rate.” Most of the courses range between Rs 500-1,000. moreover even people who are not students of the college are permitted to use the knowledge of these professional faculty members.
On the other hand, an official from K V Pendharkar College stated that they had kept computer as an optional subject at degree levels for both commerce and science. “But most students asked for computer education. So over the years the college has made computer education compulsory.”
Many companies like Artintel, from Navi Mumbai have not given up hope. They provide the infrastructural assistance to the schools and provide them the computers on rental basis and believe that basic computer knowledge should be made compulsory.
However, a faculty from a popular computer institute in Dombivli east is disillusioned about the fact that most of the college principals from the suburbs are very un-cooperative when approached for conducting awareness campaigns.
“They presume that we are here only to sell the courses to their students, while our intention is merely organising these workshops to educate students about the various career options which computer education can open up for them.”
However, the fact remains that many of the schools and colleges cannot afford to provide computer education facility to students due to lack of funds to develop the required infrastructure. “Setting up a computer laboratory is very expensive. We cannot expect all the students to pay for these courses. Though basic computer knowledge is imparted in all schools and colleges today, it is still an option subject in most educational institutions of the suburbs,” complains a senior educationist from Dombivli.
Over the years, the educational board has realised that computer education is
now an integral part of our country’s social fabric. For this global village to become a reality, the common man needs to be empowered with the strength of computer literacy. How this dream can be realised best need to be seen!

Red-Ribbon Day

Times of India >>Dombivli-Kalyan Plus
World AIDS Day has a special place in the history of the AIDS pandemic. Since 1988 December 1has been a day for bringing messages of compassion, hop, solidarity and understanding about AIDS to every country in the world.
Every year, World AIDS Day draws world attention to the prevention and care of HIV/AIDS patients. ‘Stigma and Discrimination’ is the theme for the World AIDS campaign 2002-2003. Under the slogan ‘Live and let live’, the campaign argues that ignorance, denial, fear and intolerance surrounding HIV/AIDS must be tackled in order to reverse pandemic.
Stigma and discrimination continue to fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic hampering prevention and care efforts. People living with HIV/AIDS and their families have to deal with a traumatic health crisis and negative responses in daily life. “My colleagues didn’t openly say anything about me, but the environment was no longer the same. They avoided me. If I entered the room they would leave abruptly. Then they asked me to keep a separate glass for water. I decided to quit the job,” says a 25-year old discreet factory worker infected with HIV.
Since the first case was reported in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, HIV has spread rapidly from urban to rural areas and from high-risk groups to the general population. At the end of 1999, an estimated 3.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the country. Currently, the infection rate is estimated to be 0.7 per cent in adult population (between 15 and 49 years of age). In fact, the epidemic has become the most serious public health problem faced by the country since independence.
In Maharashtra, HIV has reached 60 per cent of Mumbai’s sex workers, 14-16 per cent of sentinel STD clinics and over 2 per cent among women attending antenatal clinics (ANCs). The epidemic is slowly moving beyond its initial focus among sex workers. Sub-epidemics are evolving with potentially explosive spread among groups of injecting drug users (IDUs) and among Men having Sex with Men (MSM). The epidemic continues to shift towards women and young people with about 25 per cent of all HIV infections occurring in women. This also adds to the Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) and paediatric HIV. Mumbai has recorded 20-40 per cent bed occupancy by HIV positive persons in certain referral hospitals.
Microsoft Corp chairman Bill Gates, the richest man in the world and whose company dominated the computer software market, gave a US $100 million grant to fight HIV/AIDS in India which is the second worst affected country in the world by the epidemic. The drive is targeting truck drivers and migrant labourers who are seen as vulnerable to HIV infection. Gates is concerned about India’s health. “India is at a very early stage in the AIDS epidemic, so if the right things are done now, we can prevent it become widespread.” In an interview with the Times of India, Gates suggested that India was a test case for the world in HIV/AIDS epidemic because it held both the problems and the solutions/ the Gates Foundation has committed more than $5 billion worldwide since it was established in 1997. It now grants roughly $1.2 billion a year, mostly to the health-care sector.
From the moment scientists identified HIV and AIDS, social responses of fear, denial, stigma and discrimination have accompanied the epidemic. Discrimination has spread rapidly, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the groups most affected, as well as those living with HIV or AIDS. Activists say Indians living with HIV/AIDS have been thrown out of their jobs or homes and even refused treatment by doctors.

Factors which contribute to HIV/AIDS-related stigma:
- It is a life-threatening disease
- People are scared of contracting HIV
- People living with HIV/AIDS are often thought of as being responsible for becoming infected

Religious or moral beliefs lead some people to believe that having HIV/AIDS is the result of moral fault (such as promiscuity or ‘deviant sex’) that deserves to be punished.
There is an urgent need to bring about an exchange of knowledge and experience in HIV prevention among people and their practical applicability to today’s scenario. Hope 2002, the second international conference on substance abuse and HIV being held in Mumbai at Hotel Taj Intercontinental from December 1-3, 2002 aims to highlight the latest discoveries in the solution of addiction related problems, including HIV and analyse the effectiveness of current strategies and suggest improvements. They plan to promote the enhancement of joint ventures, skills, and versatility of demand, education/HIV prevention programmes.
Ignoring the existence of HIV and AIDS, neglecting to respond to the needs of those living with HIV infection, and failing to recognise growing epidemics in the belief that HIV/AIDS ‘can never happen to us’ are some of the most common forms of denial. These denials fuel AIDS stigmas by making those individuals who are infected appear abnormal and exceptional. “When the patient comes to our ward, its written on the file ‘HIV’ in big letters. Its kept next to the patient. Anybody can see it,” said a private hospital worker in Mumbai.
A more enabling environment needs to be created to increase the visibility of people with HIV/AIDS as a ‘normal’ part of any society. The two-year campaign (2002-2003) will focus on eliminating stigma and discrimination. UNAIDS says, “Help us fight fear, shame, ignorance and injustice worldwide.”
By the end of 2001 an estimated 40 million people were living with HIV. A further 5 million new infections are predicted by the end of this year. Figures like these make it seem like AIDS is winning. But all over the world, people like you are making a difference. So wear the Red Ribbon. Volunteer your time or make a donation, however small, however large, to your local HIV/AIDS organisation. Because lives depend on it.

I’m Pregnant! So What!?

Times On Wheels, Lead Story

Actresses are no longer cagey about announcing their pregnancies. Career and motherhood go hand-in-hand for them

There was a great deal of suspicion that Madhuri Dixit-Nene was expecting a child. But we now give you the official and final word on the subject. The stork is indeed visiting the Nene household. The actress who ruled the Mumbai film marquee in the 1990s is two-month’s pregnant with their first child.
The Mumbai skyline is suddenly filled with several storks, busy delivering babies in celebrity homes. Some time ago, actress Twinkle Khanna gave birth to a baby boy at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. The baby boy has been named Araav, which means peace. Twinkle however, hopes to continue her career after she becomes a mother.
Malaika Arora-Khan too has become a mother of a baby boy. The model will be seen on December 6 in the much-anticipated ‘Kaante’ doing several dances. After Twinkle Khanna-Kumar, Malaika Arora-Khan, actress-anchor Renuka Shahane has turned to be in the ‘family way.’ Renuka, who was all geared up to make her debut as a director this year, has now shelved her plans after giving birth to her bundle of joy earlier this month.
With so many celeb-moms around, Madhuri has not really shaken the filmi-industry with her pregnancy. But her filmi career is on pause mode for a while. Madhuri said she will be giving birth to a child sometime in April next year. She will, however, not be staying back in India for delivery of the baby. “I do wish to stay here. But, apart from the fact that I would want my child to be a citizen of the US, its more important to be with my husband at a precious time like this. I would want him to be around all the time.”
Then what happens to her filmi career? There is not much more left to achieve as far as attaining popularity is concerned. It is time to take it easy, and choose the right roles. She informs that Neena Gupta and Rituparno Ghosh have offered her with very tempting roles. But all those offers are put on hold. “If they (producers) can wait, its fine by me. I cant this of doing films for two years at least.”
“I myself had a wonderful childhood,” recalls Madhuri, when questioned on child-care. “We didn’t grow up too fast. The simple pleasure of going down to play is fast disappearing. Children have almost no physical activity.” So, she knows what to do when her kids are born. Send them to play!

Jago Zara

Times of India >> Dombivli Kalyan Plus >> People Tree
The students of Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) of K V Pendharkar College, Dombivli had been organising various seminars and meetings aimed at creating awareness about various social evils in society. This time they felt, as responsible citizens, they ought to bring to light the skills of physically and mentally challenged persons. Marginalized by the society and labelled as worthless and a burden, the students realised that challenged persons from many organisations in and around Dombivli were engaged in productive work and contributing their but to the society.
The class decided to organise a meet to draw attention to the plight of challenged persons to make an impact in the society. That is when the idea of Jagruti, meaning ‘awakening’ took ground. Jagruti was a recent two-day exhibition cum sale held by students of BMS of K V Pendharkar College, Dombivli in their college campus. The event was inaugurated by Manish Karlekar, employment officer in National Association for Blind (NAB). It showcased products made by physically and mentally challenged students from various institutes such as Sadichcha, Rotary School for Deaf and Astitva.
Deepali Bhosale, a member of the organising committee said, “These children enjoy interacting with other normal people.”
Sadichcha is a rehabilitation center for mentally challenged people, which teaches these students specialised skills that help them gain financial independence. They are trained to embroider napkins, make gift items, greeting cards and candles under supervision of the teachers. The Rotary School for Deaf follows the 3A’s: Awareness, Acceptance and Achievement to educate and rehabilitate deaf children. “They can easily lip-read if you talk clearly. Some of them can even speak a few sentences after many sessions of practise,” explained a supervisor from the school.
Besides the products which were displayed for sale, the students had also made posters which showed how hearing impaired children should be treated – as a part of society. The theme showcased was ‘We need love, not pity.’ Astitva, another institution dedicated to the upliftment of the handicapped, trains mentally disabled children. The students learn to make paper bags, liquid soaps, candles, dusters and food items.
Lauding their efforts V N Kulkarni, principal of the college said, “Our college has always encouraged students to organise events which contribute to society. It is our duty to encourage physically and mentally challenged persons.”
The exhibition generated overwhelming response and people donated generously towards various causes.

Advertising Filtering Into Schools

Have you lately noticed a trend of steady increase in tantrum-throwing sessions by children bawling in supermarkets or stores? NO! Well… nor have I. However, I have noticed another detail added to regular tantrums – cribbing; not because their parents refuse to buy them a pack of chocolates, but instead a pack of specific ‘Cadbury’s Éclairs’.
As almost all parents would admit, advertisements have become the bane in their lives, especially with children vulnerable to their influence. Many have become victims of the ‘consumerist demands’ of their off springs following the barrage of advertisements. Given the similarity between educating and advertising, how different is it for children to distinguish between the two and how susceptible are they, therefore to commercial appeals?
Study has shown that advertising does not directly influence its audience. It may, nonetheless, play an important role in children’s consumer socialisation, teaching them consumer values and ways of expressing them. The impact is deep and long-lasting, as was realised in a survey conducted on youth between the age group of 20-25 years who had complete recollection of products which were marketed to them 8-10 years ago in school. Most of them listed out names of toothpaste samples such as Pepsodent, Close-up and Aquafresh, which distributed free samples of their toothpastes along with attractive game-boards and mouth-hygiene charts.
Free samples of felt-pens alongwith colouring books were also used to lure children into making purchases of those products. Some of them responded that, a particular drawing competition required specific brand colours such as Camel or Fevicryl to be used. Students not possessing these paints were made to make immediate purchase or disqualified from the competition.
A similar incident, but at a larger scale was uncovered in an article published in Mid-Day by Shailesh Bhatia on August 13, 2002 – Mira Road school ‘milking’ students featured the milk distribution programme the school started in June, under the Ryan School Milk Nutrition Programme. Students of St. Xavier’s High School, Shanti Park, Mira Road, don’t only have to study hard to score well, they also have to drink a particular brand of milk supplied by the school, according to the parents.
The brand in question Mimo, produced by the Vijaya company, comes in 200 ml packs on which it is stated that it is meant for school children and not for sale. Parents allege that their children have told them that the school gives primary students an additional 25 marks and secondary students 45 marks (that is, 5 marks extra per subject) for drinking the milk. Parents said the school charges students Rs 110 for plain milk and Rs 120 for flavoured milk per month. A parent said, “The money is collected in cash by the respective class teachers. The school does not issue a receipt for the same.” Another parent remarked, “It is absurd that the school can go to such an extent to promote a brand of milk. School authorities even the differentiate between students by addressing those students who drink the milk as Mimo kids.”
Many parents and critics fear that children are particularly susceptible to commercial appeals because young viewers lack the necessary cognitive skills to defend themselves against what are often highly attractive and skilfully worded persuasive messages. Advertising may also influence a child to buy a particular attractive or highly valued attribute rather than other brands of the same type.
It seems that the better children are able to retain and understand factual and emotional appeals made about products by advertisements, the more they distinguish advertisements. Children exposed to commercials are likely to be socialised into over-materialistic ways.
Other undesirable consequences are that they lead youngsters to pressure parents into purchasing products unnecessarily. The extent to which children ask their parents to buy them things they have seen advertised can vary across items. Researchers agree that children are more likely to make requests for products which are frequently consumed by them, such as breakfast cereals, snacks or sweets, or for products that are of particular interest to them, such as toys or those with special offers.
In the post-liberalisation era, new social values are replacing the age-old traditional ones. The change in the youth behaviour is not only the part of westernisation. The increased economic affluence in urban centres also plays a very prominent role. As purchasing power goes up, families offer more money to their offsprings. “This is a trend of consumerism,” remarks psychologist Dr Regmi. Modern youth lifestyle is expensive and confined to the rich urban youth. The ingress of new trends in urban centres are the result if emerging affluent urban population who can afford modern means of living.
We live in violent times as more and large numbers of cases of extortion continue to rise in the city areas. As their aspirations fail to match opportunities, youngsters in urban areas are taking to crime as a short cut to fulfil their wishes. Unlike older generation, today’s youngsters – those born in late 80s – grew up in different social condition. The materialism dominates their lifestyle and idealism is replaced by money.
A PhD study titled ‘A study of the perceptions of adolescents regarding the influence of advertisements on selected aspects of their lives’ was formed on the basis of data collected from 1248 English-medium school children from Vadodara. The study took into account the responses of 100 school children in classes eight, nine and eleven. It was conducted by Ritu Bhatia, who revealed how the impact of advertisements on lifestyles, habits, behaviour, emotions and thinking patterns of the adolescents was enormous. The in-depth study took into account four areas of influence – the social, cultural, educational and emotional life.
While the study concedes that most advertisements have pushed children towards a consumer culture, exposed them to violence and influences that are harmful to the interests of the society, it also portrays the positive role that advertisements play in educating children. “Advertisements have also had a high impact on the educational aspects of the adolescent’s life. Those who criticise advertisements would also concede that some commercials and ads for social causes are informative, resourceful and absorbing, and they should be endorsed by keeping society’s and adolescents best interests foremost in mind,” says Bhatia in one of her remarks.
Parental intervention plays a prime role. The position of parents and society is illustrated by the fact that a product which is unacceptable to the parent will actually be vetoed there are many examples of products [e.g. new sweets] which failed to establish a market among children despite being heavily advertised. Parents should raise their voice against the exaggeration of ads, and the exposure to vulgarity, aggression and limitless cravings, but they should also take the initiative to shape the child’s attitude towards advertisement and its content. Research has further revealed that in families where the advertisements are questioned and criticised for their stereotypes, manoeuvres and therefore be geared to help the child think, evaluate and question the media messages. Parents should help the adolescent children to resist advertisement by explaining the purpose of commercials to them and explain that they are made to make people want things they may not need.
Even if advertising can persuade children to try out a new product on one occasion, the product itself will have to provided the necessary reasons for the child to buy it again. If the product fails to meet the child’s expectations, it will not be bought the second time, regardless of the total amount of advertising devoted to it.