Twenty- five Seven

A joke for today

August 29, 2012

My friend Dee always manages to make me smile with her email jokes. While many of them are too risque to share, this one brought a smile to my face which was as downcast as the overcast sky. It’s no fun to get up to a dark , grey sky pouring down in sheets……….

Thanks Dee for the smile for today.
Sweet labourings

August 27, 2012

After yesterday’s sybaritic experience at home, today turns out to be wet and gloomy.

With my book in its last stages of correction before going off to the type setters, I was busy tying things up and tweaking recipes last minute. Since I have been officially designated as the Master Chef Puran Poli Maker of my generation after single-handedly making over two dozen polis for my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday last year, it was absolutely necessary for me to get at least that recipe pat. So the moment I got up I got down to making the stuffing of daal, sugar, cardamom and saffron . But the rest of the day turned out quite differently from how it had started out and the poli making plans had to be shelved. By afternoon though, the storm had settled and we converted our spare bedroom into a spa. Anna Shetty had expressed a desire to have a head massage and a pedicure so I contacted my friend Kay for the number of a masseur who is supposed to be an absolute whizz. It was an afternoon of sheer bliss – to soak one’s feet in hot water, have the most wonderful foot massage and have my toenails buffed to a pretty pearly pink.

Anna Shetty and MIL went for the head massage which turned out to be more than that. As the masseur wrung out the fatigue from the head, neck, arms, back and shoulders, I could see the tension ease out of M-I-P and Anna Shetty .

This morning I woke up the the wonderful aroma of saffron, cardamom and pure ghee……. it Bayda the bai who had woken up early and had attacked the puran with renewed vigour . I have just packed up a dozen of the best ever polis in my Samsung style and will deliver them to Anna Shetty before end of day.

I can’t thank God enough for leaving someone behind to appreciate the fruits of my labour.
Intimate Health Issue or Public Health Debate?

August 26, 2012

Women’s intimate health, should the issues remain hushed or is it time we spoke out?”

Health and wealth, two issues closest to the human heart are popular topics that can be
discussed at length anywhere at any time. And it seems the more intimate the
problem, the more publicly it is spoken of. Consider this conversation heard in
the lift last night.

“Don’t see much of your mum these days. Is she well?”

“Oh ! She suffers from incontinence and feels embarrassed going
out”.

“What a shame, but why don’t you buy Diapers?” and the advisor
goes on to give a complete run down on how he tackled the problem of his own
mother.

Also consider this incident that occurred several years ago when
my little girls were still little, and they
found a sanitary pad slipped under the front door by an overzealous P & G campaign
that announced its Whisper with a Shout!
Nothing could have been more subtle and for a while this act of irresponsible
marketing actually put me off buying the brand till I found it living up to its
promise of protecting me for those special days.

While health issues need to be discussed to bring to light the
plight of millions of suffering women, I think it is equally important to
discuss issues at relevant platforms. For that matter all issues have to be
discussed in context: it is equally embarrassing to be discussing
men’s health issues for that matter. Jokes about Viagra for instance are in
poor taste and do nothing to promote an intimate man’s issue that needs to
be addressed.

A lot of information handed out in the name of public interest is damaging
and counterproductive – every doctor will vouch for Doctor Internet or that other equally irresponsible Mrs. XYZ who happily shared her own intimate health issue with all those who cared to hear. TV, that other God of Wisdom,
that uncovers stories like female circumcision in Africa, female foeticide or other issues closer to home violate the privacy of the individual.

Intimate health issues are intimate – in fact all health issues
are intimate:

Discussing lack of bladder control is equally disconcerting as
discussing dengue or malaria. Suffering an intimate health
issue is bad enough but worse still to have it discussed in public fora.

So while I feel women’s health issues should not be ignored, there is no need to make public announcements to increase public awareness.

This post is a part of the weekend blogging contest at <a href=”http://www.blogadda.com” title=”The largest community of Indian Bloggers” target=”_blank”>BlogAdda.com</a> in association with <a href=”http://18again.com/” title=”18again.com” target=”_blank”>18again.com</a>

A joke for today

Sweet labourings

Intimate Health Issue or Public Health Debate?