G'Day India Apr 2023 Issue 192

FREE AUSTRALIAN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

THE BRAVEST OF ALL (NOW) Two friends, Mannie Kaur Verma and Sheeba Singh take a giant leap

OUT OF FEAR (THEN)

Dr Supriya Singh’s inspiring journey

ANCIENT WISDOM IN MODERN TEXT Willbur Colaco’s new book - 'Drops of Wisdom'

LENSING THE OBVIOUS (FUTURE) Photographer, Anu Kumar strives to archive the ordinary expressions

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Contributors:

Anmol Anand, Debasree Das, Dileep Narayan, Dr Raj Kotharu, Gary Nair, Harpal Sandhu, Manjit Sethi, Narisa Dawar, Sanchita Abrol, Karthik Arasu, Abhi Narayan, Gurpal Singh, Monisha Iswaran, P. Harsora,

Call To Honour Exceptional Women in Victoria

have helped shape Victoria, the nation and the globe have been inducted into the Honour Roll since it began in 2001.

Women from all walks of life, age groups and across industries – from health, science and technology, arts and education to politics and community activism – have been recognised as trailblazers, local champions and change agents.

In recent years, nomination categories have expanded to include emerging leaders aged between 16 and 30 who are redefining leadership in their field of expertise, interest or endeavour.

Celebrating women’s contributions is an important step towards normalising women’s leadership and helps to address a gender imbalance in wider honours, all with the goal of building a society where everyone is valued equally, regardless of their gender.

MELBOURNE, Apr 3: Victorians are encouraged to nominate women in their communities who have made significant and lasting contributions to society, with the 2023 Victorian Honour Roll of Women now open.

Minister for Women Natalie Hutchins today opened nominations for the Honour Roll, inviting the community to put forward women nominees while paying tribute to the hundreds of women honoured in the past.

More than 700 women whose achievements

Celebrating the achievements of diverse women from all walks of life helps open the door for the next generation of outstanding women and shatters entrenched beliefs that only men can be leaders.

The Honour Roll is proud to celebrate the contributions of women of all faiths, cultures, ages, sexual identities and abilities.

Nominations for the 2023 Victorian Honour Roll of Women are open until Monday, 29 May. To nominate and see details of past inductees visit vic.gov.au/victorian-honour-roll-women-program.

Giving Young People A Voice for Their Future

The Youth Client Voice Project is an interactive online platform that shares the stories of 12 young people who have had contact with Victoria Police and the justice system to assist services to better respond to the needs of young people and help get them on the right path.

Young people involved with or at risk of being involved with the justice system have complex histories — this project is providing vital resources to help address these issues, reduce risks and promote opportunities for rehabilitation to break the cycle of offending.

Reignite Geelong works with at risk young people by collaborating with key youth and family workers and young people’s support networks to address behaviour issues and develop positive relationships through training, education and community services.

The Labor Government invested $350,000 for Reignite Geelong in 2022 as part of Youth Crime Prevention Grants.

MELBOURNE, Apr 6: The Andrews Labor Government is giving at-risk youth an opportunity to share their stories in a new project that aims to prevent young people encountering the justice system.

Minister for Crime Prevention Anthony Carbines today launched the Youth Client Voice Project which is a $41,000 investment as part of Barwon Child, Youth and Family’s Reignite Geelong Program.

Since 2016, the Labor Government has invested more than $26 million for the Youth Crime Prevention Grants, which includes $2.1 million to Barwon Child, Youth and Family.

To see the final project visit www.mgaustralia.com.au/youthclientvoice

New Driver Distraction Cameras Switched On

MELBOURNE, Apr 1: New mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras are now operating across the state’s road network to help keep Victorians safe and reduce road trauma.

Minister for Police Anthony Carbines announced that the new AI-enabled cameras have officially been turned on to help catch people using their mobile phone and not wearing their seatbelts while driving.

The Andrews Labor Government has invested $33.7 million as part of the Victorian Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 to introduce the new cameras, which are estimated to prevent 95 crashes that result in injury or death per year.

Initially two mobile phone and seatbelt detection camera trailer systems will roll out, with plans to deploy additional trailers from mid-2023 onwards. Once activated, the cameras will be deployed to more than 200 locations in rural and metropolitan areas throughout Victoria.

A three-month grace period will apply from the technology’s activation before drivers face infringement and demerit penalties with advisory letters sent.

To support the rollout of the mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has

launched a new public education campaign to remind motorists that the cameras are operating.

The rollout of the cameras coincides with new driver distraction road rules which came into effect across the state on Friday, bringing Victoria in line with the Australian Road Rules.

The new rules will extend current mobile phone laws to cover modern technologies like in-built vehicle systems, mounted devices, wearable devices (such as smartwatches) and portable devices (such as tablets).

The new cameras will enforce portable device and seatbelt offences, while Victoria Police can issue fines roadside for illegal use

of devices and seatbelt offences under the new rules. Motorists caught driving distracted will receive penalties of four demerit points and a $555 fine.

The Labor Government has also invested an additional $49.4 million for the installation of 35 new fixed digital road safety cameras aimed at lowering crashes, trauma, and death on our roads. The first of these cameras will start enforcement today, with two new cameras in operation in Avondale Heights and St Kilda.

For more information on the new road rules, visit vicroads.vic.gov.au/ drivingdistractions

Helping Injured Victorians Remain Independent

Not-for-profit Heads Together for ABI, has received a grant for its new Cook.Chat.Eat cooking classes, teaching young adults with an ABI how to prepare a meal from start to finish, including how to read a recipe, do the shopping, invite guests and set a table.

Connecting and supporting young people and families impacted by an ABI, the grant will help develop and deliver the new program at the group’s Footscray headquarters.

Heads Together for ABI is one of five community-based groups to receive a grant to assist with programs that help make a positive change in the lives of Victorians with disabilities.

Other recipients of the Small Grants Program are:

• Brain Injury Matters – Building relationships post brain injury

• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations – Disability Confident Communities

• Stonnington City Council –Accessible Mobility Maps

• Youth Disability Advocacy Service –Disability Pride Starts Here

MELBOURNE, Apr 3: Community-led programs that boost the confidence and independence of Victorians living with an acquired brain injury (ABI) will benefit from a series of grants thanks to the Andrews Labor Government and TAC.

Each year, thousands of Victorians become TAC clients as a result of road accidents and many have their lives

permanently changed due to their injury, with road trauma a common cause of ABIs.

Minister for WorkSafe and TAC Danny Pearson said grants of up to $50,000 supported innovative, community-led projects that improve the lives and independence of people with ABIs, spinal cord injuries (SCI) and other life-altering injuries like blindness and amputations.

Having independence and autonomy plays an important role in a person’s recovery following a serious injury on our roads, with the TAC focused on supporting programs that help clients get their lives back on track.

Last financial year, 3,795 people suffered catastrophic or severe injuries requiring ongoing support and 113 of those were ABIs.

Horticulture Jobs Bearing More Fruit

Minister for Employment Ben Carroll today visited Fleming’s Nursery in Monbulk to officially open applications for the $1.9 million Jobs Victoria Nursery Workforce Project, which will place people into roles including retail assistants, truck drivers, process workers and production line assistants.

Fleming’s Nurseries General Manager Daniel Jansen says their family-run business is proud to be part of the inclusive employment program and welcomes support from Jobs Victoria to find the staff they need.

As one of Australia's largest wholesale nurseries for fruit and ornamental trees, Fleming’s Nurseries offers good long-term career prospects and plans to create five new jobs for people to work as nursery hands and dispatch workers through the program.

people. With 75 per cent of businesses in the industry looking to expand, this program will help strengthen the skilled workforce pipeline.

The Jobs Victoria program is being delivered in partnership with Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria. Jobs will be mostly based in east and southeast Melbourne but there will also be some roles in regional Victoria.

This program will prioritise jobs for people who need additional support to find work, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, young people, women over 45, and people who are long-term unemployed.

MELBOURNE, Apr 4: The Andrews Labor Government is supporting disadvantaged workers to get into the horticulture industry by recruiting and training 100 green-thumbed people looking to work in nurseries and commercial gardens.

These ‘earn and learn’ roles provide workers with both pre-employment and onthe-job training, boosting skills and creating an inclusive workforce community.

Horticulture is an important part of Victoria’s economy, generating $2.5 billion annually and employing more than 24,000

Recruits will have guaranteed work for 12 months, and receive pre-employment and on-the-job training, mentoring support and a workplace buddy. There may also be opportunities to undertake free and formal qualifications.

For more information visit www.jobs.vic. gov.au or call the Jobs Victoria hotline on 1300 208 575.

Treasurer tells Australians to be realistic about economic challenges

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said the world economy is expected to grow less than 3 per cent this year, with India and China projected to account for half of global growth in 2023.

"Growth remains weak by historical comparison, both in the near and medium term," Georgieva said in a speech in Washington, D.C., ahead of the IMF-World Bank spring meetings next week.

"India and China are expected to account for half of global growth in 2023. But others face a steeper climb," she said.

The Australian government has identified boosting trade with China and India as priorities.

CANBERRA, Apr 8: Responding to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) projections forecasting the next five years will be the slowest for economic growth in more than three decades, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Saturday said citizens should be realistic about future fiscal challenges.

Chalmers will in May hand down his second federal budget, which he said would aim to "strike the right balance between

targeted cost-of-living relief, responsible fiscal management and laying the foundations for future growth".

"Australians should be optimistic about the future of our country but realistic about the challenges we face, and how the slowing global economy will affect our own prospects," Chalmers was quoted as saying by the local media.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement came into effect at the end of 2022, eliminating tariffs on over 85 percent of Australia's goods exports by value to the South Asian nation.

Multiple Australian delegations were also sent to China in recent months in a bid to improve the relationship. (IANS)

Australian central bank halts rate hike

Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator increased 6.8 per cent in the 12 months to February, down from 7.4 per cent annual growth in January and the peak of 8.4 per cent last December.

The RBA said the decision is in a bid to provide further time to analyse the impact of the interest rate increase and the economic outlook, with a lag in the monetary policy suggesting the full effect of the interest rate increase is yet to be felt.

Despite the temporary ease on the interest rate hike, RBA Governor Philip Lowe reaffirmed that some further tightening of monetary policy may well be needed to ensure that inflation returns to target.

CANBERRA, Apr 4: The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced on Tuesday that the cash rate target will remain unchanged at 3.60 per cent and the interest rate on exchange settlement balances will also remain unchanged at 3.50 per cent.

The decision to leave the cash rate

on hold is the first time in a year after 10 consecutive rises, which raised the interest rate by 3.5 percentage points since May last year in a bid to curb the skyrocketing inflation.

According to latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the monthly

"The board is seeking to return inflation to the 2-3 per cent target range while keeping the economy on an even keel. In assessing when and how much further interest rates need to increase, the board will be paying close attention to developments in the global economy, trends in household spending and the outlook for inflation and the labour market," the Governor added.

(IANS)

Australian PM's popularity soars: Poll

the poll chose Albanese and only 26 per cent opposition leader Peter Dutton.

Dutton's net approval rating was negative-13.

The poll, which was conducted during a week where Albanese secured support for his signature climate policy, found that Labor now leads Dutton's coalition 55-45 on a twoparty preferred basis.

By comparison, Labor won the election in 2022 with a 52-48 margin.

The poll was published days after Labor claimed victory in the by-election in the seat of Aston in Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs, ending the coalition's 33-year hold on the electorate.

CANBERRA, Apr 3: A new poll revealed that popular support for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government has grown.

According to the latest edition of Newspoll published by The Australian, Albanese's net approval rating, which is calculated by subtracting the portion of voters dissatisfied with his performance from those satisfied,

has grown from positive-17 in March to positive-21.

It marks a significant turnaround in 12 months from Albanese's negative-14 rating in mid-April 2022 -- a month before he led the Labor Party to victory in the election.

When asked who would make the better Prime Minister, 58 per cent of respondents to

It was the first time in over 100 years that an Australian government has won a seat from the opposition in a by-election and means the coalition holds only two seats in Melbourne, which is predicted to become Australia's largest city within a decade.

The result has sparked speculation over the future of Dutton's leadership.

(IANS)

CANBERRA, Apr 5: The Australian government has announced funding to save the country's top cultural institutions from a state of disrepair.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and

Tony Burke, the minister for the arts, on Wednesday said that the federal budget for 2023-24 will include A$535.3 million ($361 million) to preserve the nine National Collecting Institutions (NCIs).

The nine museums, archives and galleries, seven of which are based in the Australian Capital Territory, house approximately 54 million objects.

Despite their cultural value, the institutions have long complained about funding shortfalls that have left them unable to maintain aging buildings.

The funding will be provided to the National Film and Sound Archive, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia and so on.

In addition to the funding, Albanese said a clear line of government oversight of works undertaken at the NCIs will be established to ensure they never again fall into disrepair.

"I want all Australians to be able to visit, appreciate and learn from these institutions for generations to come," he said in a media release.

New funding to save Australian galleries, museums from disrepair Australia launches national strategy to save iconic marsupial species

"These are special places and we should be proud of them. They preserve, protect and celebrate Australia's stories and history," the Prime Minister said. (IANS)

CANBERRA, Apr 6: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek launched a national strategy to oversee the protection and recovery of the greater bilby -- an iconic marsupial species -- from extinction.

The rabbit-like mammal that can grow up to 55 cm long, once inhabited two-thirds of Australia's mainland.

As a result of habitat loss, bushfires and predation by introduced species, bilby populations now inhabit just 15 per cent of land mass -- mostly in central Australia.

"Unfortunately, over the years, bilby populations have shrunk considerably," Albanese said.

"But we have a very special Easter message here today, a new plan to help

protect the bilby."

The government will invest A$5 million ($3 million) in programs to protect the species.

The new plan draws on Indigenous knowledge and research, with First Nations' traditional owners in central Australia enlisted to remove and manage feral species and repair bilby habitats.

Environment Ministers from six of the seven mainland states and territories have signed on to the plan.

Plibersek said that with its pink ears, soft grey coat, and little bouncy feet, the greater bilby is an iconic Australian animal.

"Coming up to Easter, Australia's answer to the Easter Bunny, the greater bilby deserves greater protection," she said.

"In the lead-up to Easter, if you can choose between an Easter bunny and an Easter bilby, make sure you choose the Easter bilby."

(IANS)

Australian opposition rules out support for Indigenous Voice proposal

CANBERRA, Apr 5: Australia's opposition party announced it will not support the government's proposal to establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Peter Dutton, the leader of the Liberal Party, said after a special meeting on Wednesday that an overwhelming majority of the federal party had decided to oppose it.

It is expected that Australians will head to the polls in the second half of 2023 to vote on proposed changes to the constitution that would formally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the country's founding document and establish the Indigenous Voice.

If successful, the voice would advise the federal parliament on issues relating to Indigenous people.

Dutton said that the Liberal Party room supported recognition of Indigenous people in the constitution but opposed enshrining the consultative voice, instead calling for a legislated local voice mechanism.

He said that a handful of Liberal members could campaign in favour of a yes vote in the referendum but that he would actively join the "no" campaign.

The announcement is a blow to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a strong proponent of the voice, who had called for unity in favour of the referendum.

For a referendum to be successful, a simple majority of all voters in addition to a majority in at least four out of six states must vote in favour.

According to a poll published by News Corp Australia on Wednesday, more than 50 per cent of voters in five out of six states support the proposal.

Nationally, 54 per cent of 4,756 respondents said they intended to vote yes on the referendum while 38 per cent were opposed.

Over-65s were the only age group where more than half of respondents said they are against the proposal.

Internet access must be a basic human right in developing nations

now be considered a basic human right, according to researchers from University of Birmingham in the UK.

assessments," said Dr Merten Reglitz, lecturer in global ethics at the University of Birmingham.

LONDON, Apr 9: Internet access must be considered as a basic human right in developing countries else there is a risk of ever-widening inequality, new research has said.

People around the globe are so dependent on the Internet to exercise socio-economic human rights such as education, healthcare, work, and housing that online access must

In developing countries, Internet access can make the difference between people receiving an education, staying healthy, finding a home, and securing employment -- or not, said the study published in the journal Politics, Philosophy & Economics.

"The Internet has unique and fundamental value for the realisation of many of our socio-economic human rights - allowing users to submit job applications, send medical information to healthcare professionals, manage their finances and business, make social security claims, and submit educational

"The Internet's structure enables a mutual exchange of information that has the potential to contribute to the progress of humankind as a whole -- potential that should be protected and deployed by declaring access to the Internet a human right."

The study outlined several areas in developed countries where Internet access is essential to exercise socio-economic human rights, like education, health, housing, work and social security.

For people in developing countries, Internet access can also make the difference between receiving an adequate level of healthcare or receiving none.

"Small businesses can also raise money through online crowdfunding platforms. The World Bank expects such sums raised in Africa to rise from $32 million in 2015 to $2.5 billion in 2025," said the study.

India moves one step further towards having its own 'space shuttle' or reusable rocket

of-the-art technologies including accurate navigation hardware and software, pseudolite system, Ka-band Radar Altimeter, NavIC receiver, indigenous landing gear, aerofoil honey-comb fins and brake parachute system.

RLV is essentially a space plane with a low lift to drag ratio requiring an approach at high glide angles that necessitated a landing at high velocities of 350 kmph.

According to ISRO, the LEX had used several indigenous systems like the navigation systems based on pseudolite systems, instrumentation, and sensor systems and others developed by it.

CHENNAI, Apr 2: India moved a step ahead in getting its own reusable launch vehicle or reusable rocket (simply put similar to space shuttle) with the country's space agency successfully completing the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX).

The test was conducted at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka in the early hours on April 2, 2023.

The Indian space agency said the adaptation of contemporary technologies developed for RLV LEX makes other operational rockets more cost-effective.

In a first in the world, a winged body has been carried to an altitude of 4.5 km by a helicopter and released for carrying out an autonomous landing on a runway.

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the RLV took off at 7:10 a.m. IST by a Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force as an underslung load and flew to a height of 4.5 km (above the mean seal level-MSL).

Once the predetermined pillbox parameters were attained, based on the

RLV's Mission Management Computer command, the RLV was released in mid-air, at a down range of 4.6 km.

The Indian space agency said the release conditions included 10 parameters covering position, velocity, altitude and body rates and others.

The release of RLV was autonomous. RLV then performed approach and landing maneuvers using the integrated navigation, guidance & control system and completed an autonomous landing on the ATR air strip at 7:40 a.m. IST. With that, ISRO successfully achieved the autonomous landing of a space vehicle.

The autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle's landing - high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path - as if the vehicle arrives from space. Landing parameters such as ground relative velocity, the sink rate of landing gears, and precise body rates, as might be experienced by an orbital re-entry space vehicle in its return path, were achieved, ISRO said.

The RLV LEX demanded several state-

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the landing site with a Ka-band Radar Altimeter provided accurate altitude information.

Extensive wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations enabled aerodynamic characterisation of RLV prior to the flight.

ISRO had demonstrated the re-entry of its winged vehicle RLV-TD in the HEX mission in May 2016. The re-entry of a hypersonic sub-orbital vehicle marked a major accomplishment in developing reusable rockets.

In HEX, the vehicle landed on a hypothetical runway over the Bay of Bengal. Precise landing on a runway was an aspect not included in the HEX mission.

On Sunday, the LEX mission achieved the final approach phase that coincided with the re-entry return flight path exhibiting an autonomous, high speed (350 kmph) landing. The LEX began with an Integrated Navigation test in 2019 and followed multiple Engineering Model Trials and Captive Phase tests in subsequent years.

(IANS)

Half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan don't want kids

TOKYO, Apr 8: Nearly half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan said they do not want children in a recent survey by a pharmaceutical firm, citing reasons including economic concerns and the burden of childbirth and parenting.

Of the 400 respondents between 18 to 29 years old, 49.4 per cent said they are not interested in having children, the highest percentage in any of the last three annual

pregnancy white paper surveys conducted by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

By gender, 53.0 per cent of men and 45.6 per cent of women have no interest in becoming parents, according to the online survey.

The government's data showed the number of babies born in Japan in 2022 slipped to a record low of under 800,000 for the first time

since records began to be compiled in 1899.

The drop came much earlier than the government expected.

According to a 2017 government forecast, births in Japan would fall below 800,000 for the first time in 2033.

(IANS)

Mate G’Day

Getting married in Australia

Who can solemnise Marriages under the Marriage ACT?

The Marriage Act provides for three categories of authorised celebrants who may solemnise marriages within Australia. The first is Ministers of religion of recognised denomination who are registered under the Act. Secondly, State and Territory Officers authorised by virtue of Subdivision B of the Act.

The third category is Marriage celebrants registered by the Commonwealth under the Marriage Celebrants Programme who are registered under the Act. This includes marriage celebrants who perform religious ceremonies (whether or not they are also designated as ‘religious marriage celebrants’) and marriage celebrants who perform civil marriage ceremonies (whether or not they are also designated as ‘religious marriage celebrants’).

Religious marriage celebrants are a subcategory of Commonwealthregistered marriage celebrants under the Marriage Act. Designation as a ‘religious marriage celebrant’ enables the celebrant to lawfully refuse to solemnise a marriage if the celebrant’s religious beliefs do not allow the celebrant to solemnise the marriage (it does not mean they do, or only, perform religious marriage ceremonies).

Between 9 December 2017 and 9 March 2018, all Commonwealthregistered marriage celebrants, excluding ministers of religion, were able to nominate for recognition as a religious marriage celebrant based on their religious beliefs. All Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants who were ministers of religion and perform ceremonies on behalf of an independent religious organisation (that is not a recognised denomination), whose registration was current immediately before 9 December 2017, were automatically listed on the register of marriage celebrants as ‘religious marriage celebrants’.

If you have further questions, you may contact me on 0425 853 086 or navee64@gmail.com.

NEW YORK, Apr 5: Five Indian-Americans are in Barron's fourth annual list of the 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance for achieving positions of prominence in the financial-services industry and are helping to shape its future.

The list includes Anu Aiyengar of JP Morgan, Rupal J. Bhansali of Ariel Investments, Meena Lakdawala-Flynn of Goldman Sachs Group, Sonal Desai from Franklin Templeton and Savita Subramanian of BofA Securities.

Aiyengar is the global head of Mergers and Acquisitions at JP Morgan -- a role she assumed in January after serving as co-head of the division since 2020.

She offers clients equal measures of expertise and steadiness when navigating

challenging markets.

According to Barron's, she "has long credited her love of number crunching, legal contracts, and building client relationships for bringing her to the mergers-and-acquisitions sphere".

Bhansali, 55, chief investment officer and portfolio manager of Ariel Investments' global equity strategies, sees the current state of the market as a time when investors should reposition their portfolios, because what worked in the past is "unlikely to work in the next decade".

She believes that managing money is what she was born to do and is passionate about encouraging women to work in finance.

Desai, 58, became the first woman chief

investment officer in Franklin Templeton's history in 2018. She oversees $137 billion in assets.

She joined the firm in 2009 after working for the International Monetary Fund, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, and Thames River Capital.

Lakdawala-Flynn, Co-Head, Global Private Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs Group, wears several hats, including co-chairing the global inclusion and diversity committee.

According to Barron's, her career in finance began soon after a sports injury. A zealous gymnast who at one point wanted to compete in the Olympics, Lakdawala-Flynn had to stay at George Washington University one summer to rehabilitate her knee.

She did an internship at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, working on the institutional equity sales desk.

5 Indian-Americans among 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance Richard Branson's rocket company Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy

SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 5: Virgin Orbit, the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has filed for bankruptcy after announcing to lay off 85 per cent of its employees.

The low Earth orbit launch company, spun out of Branson's Virgin Galactic, filed for bankruptcy protection with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

"On April 4, 2023, Virgin Orbit and its domestic subsidiaries commenced voluntary proceedings under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware," said the company in its filing.

Virgin Orbit will now seek a sale of the

entire company or its assets as possible resources to resolve its bankruptcy status.

Virgin Orbit laid off nearly 85 per cent of its workforce -- about 675 employees -- after it failed to secure key funding.

It has ceased operations "for the foreseeable future", its CEO Dan Hart told employees last week.

"Unfortunately, we've not been able to secure the funding to provide a clear path for this company. We have no choice but to implement immediate and extremely painful changes," Hart told the employees.

Branson founded Virgin Orbit in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin

Subramanian is head of US equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America Securities. She is responsible for recommending US sector allocations for equities and determining forecasts for the S&P 500 and other major US indices, as well as developing and marketing the firm's quantitative equity strategy to institutional and individual clients.

Barron's is a leading source of financial news, providing in-depth analysis and commentary on stocks, investments and how markets are moving across the world. (IANS)

Galactic.

Virgin Orbit has been developing an airlaunched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for launching small satellites to orbit.

In January, its rocket carrying satellites into space suffered an "anomaly", abruptly ending the first foray into orbital launch from the UK territory.

An investigation into that failed mission "is nearly complete and our next production rocket with the needed modification incorporated is in final stages of integration and test", a Virgin Orbit spokesperson said in a March statement.

(IANS)

Out Of Fear (Then)

story has a reason.

Meet Dr Supriya Singh, who has done everything in life out of fear of not living fully – from being an anthropologist, learning six languages, becoming a financial journalist in Malaysia and Australia, doing her PhD at La Trobe University, and writing nine books.

Doing her PhD led to her part-time job at the Centre for International Research on Information and Communication Technologies set up by the Victorian Government.

This centre was taken over by RMIT in 1998.

I first met Dr Singh at an International Women’s Day conference. I was transported to her world, which involved the art of writing letters as a medium of communication, where newspapers would come on a lazy afternoon and things were much simpler.

She fell in love with Malaysia and its tea ceremonies, and later went to Borneo as her husband was transferred.

Away from Delhi and with her Master’s degrees from India and the United States – and now living in a land where forty-five thousand people were mainly Chinese – Dr Singh soon adapted by learning Mandarin and Simunul, a language of the Bajau people.

Sabah, in Borneo in 1971 was still very much a Somerset Maugham type of place. In those days, to call long distance was terrifying because it was expensive, and those calls were made only if someone passed away.

In all the stories I have shared so far, many have had the power of human benevolence, but never have I written stories about migrants. Not that I’ve never spoken about it – after all, we’re all the products of migration.

But all that’s ever been spoken about migrants was just the outer layer – never have I fully indulged the subject to its core, perhaps because I am one too. But now more than ever it has become important to talk about it, giving the next generation a full view of the gaps that have been witnessed.

A handful of people have shaped the path before us. With such stories, often we paint a picture in our head about the heavyladen luggage packed with treasures of our

lives, or simply the cross-border transitional displacement.

So, this edition will look at four women, from their thirties to their seventies, who have broken stereotypes. These women are unstoppable, bringing not only themselves but the whole discussion of migrancy to the forefront.

In this first series, we speak to one such woman who has taken an extraordinary leap into the future. She calls herself ‘not quite a migrant tragic,’ though she has migrated twice, first from India to Malaysia in 1967 and then to Australia in 1986. Her story started before the Partition in Rawalpindi.

But every person has a story, and every

A letter took two weeks to reach India, and by the time someone read that letter, life had somewhat moved on – and that’s the effect of migration. It has its own charm; the long distances and that piercing silence that would drive anyone to loneliness and make them great writers.

Dr Supriya was already a sociologist. Migration made her a writer. She started getting published at the New Straits Times in Kuala Lumpur – but it didn’t matter, as only six people read the paper from Kuala Lumpur in Sabah during those days.

“And then as a sociologist, I was a writer. So, you will know once you're a writer, you are always.”

Born into a family where her mother had become a scholar of Punjabi literature, living amidst a museum of languages in Delhi was a sense of pride for Dr Supriya.

Dr Supriya Singh’s fear of not living fully led her to learn six languages, revisit her memories in the backdrop of her garden and seek to preserve her saris as art in the NGV.

During our conversation she mentioned that when she was a new bride in Penang, an older woman speaking Punjabi as it was spoken in villages 100 years ago, called her beautiful tanchoi sarees ‘rags’ – an old Punjabi word for ‘clothes’, it upset her so much that she ran to her room and cried.

Also, during those days milk in Malaysia was not easily available, as the Malay and Chinese seldom drank milk.

Coming from India, where milk flowed in abundance, was a difficult migration change for the bride; later drinking strawberry milk from a carton filled with preservatives had its own story.

But the best part of her journey was that in Australia, she realised she would always be an Indian in Australia. She delighted in wearing saris and later the salwar kameez. She just was being herself.

She recalls this would play to her advantage as a journalist; bankers often saw her as a housewife from India in a sari and talked openly of themselves. By this time, she had already written about the history of the central bank in Malaysia.

She was part of the consumer finance movement in Australia and even wrote her

thesis on marriage and money. She was far away from the world of Malaysia now and this second migration came easy, surrounded by universities and saris.

Before this interview, I met Dr Supriya for a coffee, and she asked me about my mother adjusting here. I was honest: I really didn’t know how to answer. Then Dr Supriya addressed the elephant in the room. The most unsettling behaviour that human beings take time processing: loneliness.

Her book The House over Diamond Creek in 2021 stemmed out of that loneliness and fear. Even in her speeches she mentioned that she writes for herself to make sense of her life and the loneliness that sparked her writings.

Her sister had passed away in Delhi just before COVID. Grief is lonely. That whole process transports one to the past which shapes the history and identity of a person.

In her case it was her mother and siblings. When her mother passed away, she couldn’t talk to her siblings because the mother they knew, a housewife of pre-Partition Rawalpindi, was different to the mother she grew up with, a mother and scholar in independent India.

Her memories of picnics in the grounds of Delhi gave her the capacity to stretch her eyes as far as the trees would go.

Somewhere in lockdown, sitting in her own garden in Melbourne, she was able to deal with the grief as well as the joys of the past.

Along with her memories of writing a book came the delicate, intricate saris. These beautiful pieces of art always worried her –who would wear them? Her daughters-in-law don’t wear saris and it was hard to think of

these garments being laid aside after she died.

That fear made her approach the National Gallery of Victoria to preserve two of the beautiful pieces as pieces of art, and part of her history and that of Victoria. She hopes these saris will forever be a great way of understanding the writer and the uniqueness of Indian textiles.

Dr Supriya these days is learning Gurbani, which she didn’t get a chance to study in all these years gone by, and reading about the poet Kabir is also a way of making sense of the times. “Everything is temporary and now this too shall pass.”

This is the life of a woman who has walked seven decades, plunging herself into a new and exciting Malaysia, learning languages, then becoming a professor in another continent that had yet to discover a love of saris.

After the interview, I called her on FaceTime and she took me to her favourite garden, where she wrote her book, as if transporting me to her world of memories.

As far as I could see were trees that shared her secrets of joy and loneliness. I felt melancholy and as I tried digressing from this odd feeling it pulled me back to the fear that the professor was talking about.

Being a migrant is not as simple as it sounds; the process of becoming the person in the journey is what makes an incredible story.

Even today it’s not easy, as it was difficult for the professor and every decade will have a lingering effect on the next.

By Nandita Chakraborty

The Bravest Of All (Now)

Two friends take a giant leap from friendship to seek courage and hope in others. Educating migrant women to break from the cycle of abuse.

In the second of our migrant stories, we talk to two friends, Mannie Kaur Verma and Sheeba Singh, who cemented their friendship in service of other (South Asian) migrant women with the birth of Veera Brave Girl, a non-profit organisation, empowering women to escape abuse.

Every generation of women feels obligated to feel it came easy for their predecessor. Reality can just fog the past. The roots of migration are layered and complex. ‘Now’ has exactly the lingering effect of ‘then’. Veera Brave Girl is about two girls knowing that gap and not looking away. It's as simple as that.

Sheeba, with her background in government and community safety, saw that there are young girls falling through the cracks. “I always say the story of Veera is a story of friendship and hope and courage.”

Co-founder and director Mannie, recently recognised as one of Australasian Lawyers’ Rising Stars 2023, had a similar perspective through her advocacy work and personal experiences.

I met the girls at an International Women’s Day seminar, talking to young students of all genders from universities. There are so many things that I didn’t know, especially that fiftyfive women lost their lives due to domestic violence in 2022.

Sheeba explains that many women coming from Southeast Asian communities often have a lower skill set, almost no English proficiency, almost no financial background support.

When they come here, they’re often students jumping from one course to another just to try to keep their visa alive. Suddenly they end up working in food trucks and cleaning jobs. They become the invisible minority just because of their socio-economic background.

Sheeba found that these girls are sometimes assaulted as part of their work or abused domestically.

One of the cases that really shook Sheeba involved someone she knew. She worked several jobs, and during one of her jobs in a restaurant she got assaulted by one of the employees. “The hook was … if you report it, then I can report you and get you deported as well.” So, these girls will do everything not to get deported and not go to the police.

When Sheeba asked her to report to the police, also extending support in coming with her, instead the girl said that this is usual.

Sheeba was gobsmacked. We talk about women empowerment and here was a girl whose voice was so completely taken away. “Oh, I'll go to work, and you know, I'll do my job and by the way, I might get assaulted and that's completely fine. I'm like … it doesn't happen. It is not usual.”

Though both the Indian and Australian governments are stepping in, there’s not enough time in the day for them to do what these girls are set to doing. With full-time jobs and being mothers, their world is filled with that endearing care.

So, when they cross paths with the survivors it’s difficult to fathom what these

girls have been through. Parents sell their houses either for their dowry or for them to settle abroad – and there’s no turning back, as there is no home to go back to.

But the founders of Veera Brave Girl believe if they support one person, it’s enough – one less traumatised person in this world. The charity came into being in February 2022, and since then they have been able to actively support victims and run workshops.

They are committed to empowerment via education, and they brought medical and legal professionals together to create a booklet. Now the booklet is available for the ladies, but they also run workshops to take

them through the contents.

It's divided into two parts. One is healthy relationships. What is consent? What does a healthy relationship look like? Other topics include contraception. Australians might take these things for granted, but because of a closed cultural environment, these girls may not fully understand these concepts, which can seriously impact their lives.

The second component is the law. How do intervention orders work? In case of assault, how would one report it? How do divorce laws and child custody work?

The other gap they found is that these girls have very low self-confidence: ‘I'm not a resident if I don't know English,’ as if their world is smaller.

But Mannie and Sheeba have dedicated

a whole program to that as well. Some of these girls go through cycles of abuse and it can take so long for the truth to be told. And both the friends hugely believe that the South Asian community must come together to acknowledge there is a problem.

They look at the intersection of migration and domestic violence; many of these girls are victims because of their vulnerable status as migrants. Employers have them on hooks and they’re isolated in a foreign country on visas – their families are back home and don't really know what they're going through.

The only person they know is her husband, who then becomes a perpetrator. So where do they go?

When something's happened and the victim seeks help, Veera Brave Girl creates

a safe space for them for three months. That gives them time to get back on their feet. Think, plan, calm down and then start living life again.

Now is the time to rise and be brave, such as in the bravery of this friendship, peeling the layers of misinformation and misguided truth.

Patriarchy mixing with migration is a transitional transaction to human tragedy – when will this labyrinth be free of such inhumanity?

These girls are our future, and we need many Veera Brave Girls to shake the core of migration.

By Nandita Chakraborty

Lensing The Obvious (Future)

Kumar dedicates time as a part-time assistant in Melbourne at Niagar Galleries, giving her the space and time to create more stories but predominantly making her living from photography.

As an artist, she’s not going to restrict herself only representing India.

She has thought about this quite a lot because she doesn’t want to limit herself in that way. But at the same time, she thinks that this is an ongoing exploration.

In retrospect, Kumar feels like she has a kind of insight into India; she feels like she’s not sure she would feel comfortable telling a story that's not hers.

In the last and final instalment of our three-part stories following the migration trail, we finish with a unique artist, Anu Kumar from Melbourne, who moved from Delhi when she was only eight months old.

Her career in photography was by chance. This realisation made her connect with her roots to understand her displacement from her heritage and her town of Kavi Nagar, and her identity as a woman. In the process, she defined herself as the artist raised in Australia.

That’s the meaning of her collection at the latest ‘Melbourne Now’, an initiative by NGV at the Ian Potter Centre, Federation Square.

Kumar’s photography has been published in the New York Times and Vogue Italia and was recently exhibited at Melbourne’s Centre for Contemporary Photography (2022).

Photography is a very insular field within the art world, but it's also its own. Kumar, now thirty-two, talks about loneliness and finding herself as an artist.

She did two years of occupational therapy at Monash University like any good Indian daughter to keep the parents happy. But, because she didn't have the passion, she ended up failing her exams. They gave her an option: repeat the year or quit. So, she quit.

Kumar went overseas, ending up in Nepal and India for about six months.

Kumar was never someone to take photos at all and didn’t have a camera. Kumar’s older brother called her a Luddite, resisting all technologies. Then, on her nineteenth birthday her dad bought her a DSLR, an

entry-level Canon.

She thought ‘why not?’ Kumar started taking photos and really liked it, eventually applying to RMIT for courses in commercial photography.

In-between her three years in RMIT, Kumar got a job as a journalist at The Age, thinking it was her dream job at the time. But photojournalism wasn't quite right for her. Kumar points out that she was glad she did it because sometimes one needs to try new things to know what they don't like.

The turning point came when she was in her mother’s family house in Ghaziabad. Spending a lot of time going back and forth there, Kumar ended up taking photographs, switching her digital camera with a film camera.

She thought that completely changed the game. It wasn't even so much how the images looked, but the process for her was just a lot more enjoyable.

Kumar still thinks she wouldn’t still be a photographer today if she was working with her digital camera. She started photographing her town and family, giving birth to a series of collections.

An extensive archive of her family images has taken its own cycle of time, work, and dedication; it started with one of her first photos for this series, back in 2013–14. Ghar, published by Perimeter Books, takes us into the world of Kumar back in Kavi Nagar. Kumar has just come off a book tour for Ghar; she went to New York, Paris, London and Delhi.

Between her books and exhibitions,

The responses from other Indians are filled with gracious sentiments of her showcasing India in a way that feels familiar and nostalgic to them. “I don't feel like I need to be pushing myself in a direction just for the challenge … My priority is small … I like it, that something in me, I'm excited by it.”

With a career spanning more than a decade, worshipping Dayanita Singh (Indian photographer) as her idol, Kumar the artist is familiarising herself with India each time she visits – but there will always be that slight distance on knowing each other completely.

Kumar feels privileged to have two families in two worlds. Growing up, she didn’t have access to understanding her favourite artists; it wasn't something that was a priority in her household (not faulting her family for it at all). But sometimes the art world can feel completely alien to Kumar.

But Melbourne has exploded with so many artists from South Asia that it’s hard to keep the enthusiasm down. ‘Melbourne Now’ is a grand showcase of this, from 24 March – 20 August 2023 with free entry.

The story of an artist is no different to a migrant, an artist constantly working through the arts in loneliness, trying to make sense of herself and her art to connect to the past. Whereas the migrant is silently trying to balance this crisis – either being fearful, brave, or capturing life in a lens encompassing the layers of human stories.

Concluding these three-part stories has made me ponder the invisible thread of a migrant’s life.

The lens of a photographer can tell a bigger story of that tussle.

The question is whether she has inherited the right to tell stories of an India she has yet to fully explore; a third ‘cultural kid’ dilemma, or simply something that comes with being a photographer?

By Nandita Chakraborty

A photographer strives to archive the ordinary expressions of everyday life as an examination of the self, family and belonging.

Ancient Wisdom in Modern Text

Willbur Colaco’s new book meanders the lanes fraught with life’s daily struggles and tips to overcome them.

Adelaide-based Willbur Colaco has earned the distinction of being an Amazon #1 bestselling author in under six months of the release of his debut novel ‘Drops Of Wisdom’. This is no stroke of luck, for there is no such thing in an industry that releases a new title in your world library every hour. In the spirit of the theme of the book itself, this success talks to the pursuit of closing the gap between where one stands and where one wants to be.

Willbur’s tryst with books started on a torrid summer afternoon at the turn of the millennium, when a keen teenager explored the newly launched Crossword bookstore in his hometown of Baroda, India. Immersing himself in a sea of books, he discovered rich literature penned by highly successful industrialists and spiritual gurus. He took a fancy for Robert Greene’s 48 Laws Of Power and, quite literally pinching pennies he got off his piggy bank, he bought his first book. One purchase turned into a great habit and before he knew it, he was consumed by the geniuses of Dale Carnegie, Steven Covey, The Dalai Lama, Robin Sharma and Shiv Khera.

Dispensing drops of wisdom, though, takes more than just inspiration. It needs a gamut of worldly experience that Colaco has gained from a rugged journey that started with an Environmental Science degree in India and was soon tapestried with a Post Graduate degree in South Australia. His subsequent commissioning into localgGovernment jobs in Adelaide, and diversification into the real estate industry as a buyer’s agent, continued alongside his lifelong commitment with exercising and bodybuilding. Trophy holder of many a bodybuilding competition, he believes there is a strong interconnection between physical and mental fitness, the pursuit of both leading one to spiritual wellness and an ability to be one with God. ‘I look at my workout as a means to show my gratitude for what I have been given – in mind, body and wealth.’ As a young child he had spotted a poster of Lord Shiva and was taken in by his physique, his mystique, the grandeur. ‘He is so much handsomer than Jesus,’ he remembers telling his mother. The conservative Catholic family was aghast at the remark. But his fondness for Shiva stuck, and he attributes his merits to date to the direction his Lord has shown him.

But do we really have the stomach for a spiritual guidebook in today’s world that is obsessed with AI chatbots and Netflixand-chill subscriptions? ‘All the more reason that the book is timely,’ he asserts. The current generation is so consumed by gadgets and their associated comfort that they barely have time to reflect upon their aspirations and what course they need to walk in order to meet them. Food apps serve their gluttony. OTT shows serve their sloth. Social media image filters serve their vanity. All of these are but various means to one end: a constant distraction from the realization of one’s ultimate goals. No matter how severe these distractions are, the penny drops for us at some point in life: what have I been doing? Let’s get working. Anxiety and confusion get the better of an unclear mind. Colaco hopes to assist such minds with nuggets of his own experiences and tribulations, life events he has either thrived on or survived, to get to his today – which he regards as fulfilling and secure, with a healthy lifestyle, a loving wife and daughter, and a debut book that was painstakingly self-published with the selfless help and love from creative artists that he collaborated with in Norway, India and Australia.

The book is available on Amazon and other online bookstores and is due to go into a reprint soon.

By Nishant Kaushik

YOGA AND NATUROPATHIC RITUALS FOR SOUND SLEEP

Sufficient sleep is a fundamental aspect of good health. However, over 30 per cent of people suffer from insomnia, and this figure increases to 40 to 60 per cent for those over 60 years old.

In India, sleep disorders are prevalent, with the country ranking as the second most sleepdeprived nation in the world.

According to a Lancet study, approximately 5.4 per cent of Indians aged 30-69, or around 28.8 million people, are at moderate or severe risk of sleep apnea, which is a prevalent sleep disorder.

Inadequate sleep has been linked to several health problems, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, a suppressed immune system, and endocrine disorders. Studies have also shown a correlation between lack of sleep and premature ageing, as well as the exacerbation of chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and kidney disease. Sleep specialists caution that individuals with insomnia should avoid becoming reliant on medication and instead consider lifestyle adjustments and rule out underlying conditions such as depression, which may be the root cause of their sleeplessness.

Incorporate therapies and relaxation rituals to promote better sleep, this is where yoga and naturopathy can come in handy:

Early and Light Dinner: For optimal sleep, it is recommended to consume dinner at least two-three hours prior to bedtime and to include easily digestible foods. Consuming a heavy meal close to bedtime can diminish sleep quality and hinder digestion.

Research also suggests that having an early breakfast is beneficial, as eating late increases the risk of acid reflux and acidity. It is advisable to avoid or significantly limit alcohol intake in the evening, as excessive consumption can cause significant sleep disturbances, despite its initial calming effects.

Acupuncture: Acupuncture is a technique that involves inserting a small needle through the skin at a specific point on the body. This process can help alleviate stress, depression, and pain, and is commonly used to treat insomnia.

Acupuncture is considered one of the safest methods for treating insomnia. In a small study conducted in 2017, researchers administered traditional acupuncture or sham acupuncture (where needles are not inserted as deeply) to 72 individuals with primary insomnia. Participants received treatment three times a

week for four weeks.

The results showed that acupuncture was more effective at improving insomnia symptoms, sleep efficiency and total sleep time during treatment. Sleep awakenings and selfrated anxiety also significantly improved two and four weeks after treatment.

Massage Therapy: Massage therapy is a well-known stress-reducing technique that can help release the tension we accumulate throughout the day. This therapy can improve blood circulation and significantly alleviate bodily pain, which can prevent individuals from achieving a restful night’s sleep.

Moreover, it can also unblock and release negative energy, which may contribute to overall discomfort. The calming effect of massage on the body and mind can make it easier for people to switch off and fall asleep. A massage performed in the late evening, in particular, can promote a good night’s sleep.

Yoga: Yoga and meditation are powerful tools that can help address the underlying causes of sleep issues, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, without any negative side effects. These ancient practices serve as relaxation techniques, helping to quiet the mind and calm the body, leading individuals toward a state of inner peace.

Practicing pranayama and meditation before bedtime can help address the root causes of sleep issues. In fact, a study reported that 55 per cent of yoga practitioners experienced improved sleep, with over 85 per cent reporting decreased levels of stress. Furthermore, there are multiple studies that have demonstrated the positive impact of yoga on sleep for individuals from various backgrounds.

Here are some yoga poses for better sleep

Child’s Pose or Balasana: Balasana, also known as the Child’s Pose, is a kneeling yoga posture that offers a range of physical and mental benefits. This pose involves stretching the lower back while relaxing the entire body. To perform the Child’s Pose, begin in a kneeling position with your buttocks resting on your heels.

While exhaling, lower your body forward, stretching your arms out in front of you until your forehead rests comfortably on the mat. Keep your arms relaxed and alongside your body. You will feel a stretch in your shoulders, buttocks, spine, and arms. This pose is a great way to relieve tension in the body and calm the mind.

Corpse Pose or Shavasana: Shavasana relaxes the nervous system, controls anxiety and stress, and brings deep rest to our body and mind. To perform this pose, lie down on the back and keep your eyes closed, and do not allow any thoughts to come into your mind. Concentrate on your natural and spontaneous breath. Stay in this position for five minutes, allowing your body to fully relax and recharge.

Crocodile Pose or Makarasana: It is a deeply relaxing yoga posture that involves lying on your belly with your arms crossed under your head. Rest your forehead on your wrists and allow your heels to turn outwards while letting your legs relax and flop open. Close your eyes and focus on releasing tension from your body as you breathe deeply.

Alternate Nostril Breathing or Anuloma Viloma: Anuloma Viloma has a balancing effect on the nervous system. It provides relief from mental tension, insomnia, and hypertension. To perform this, sit comfortably. Press the right nostril with the thumb and inhale through the left nostril.

Hold your breath for some time and then press the left nostril with the ring finger and exhale through the right nostril. After exhalation, inhale through the same nostril and hold your breath for some time. Then exhale through the right nostril. The exhalation must be longer than the inhalation. Practice ten rounds.

Humming Bee Breathing or Bhramari

Pranayama: It is a popular yogic breathing exercise that is known to have a calming effect on the mind and nervous system, making it an effective tool for stress relief and relaxation. The vibrations created by the humming sound.

BALLARAT RUSH PART 2

BY DEBASREE DAS

Pick Your Own Sunflowers in Dunnstown: Can’t get enough of the floral bliss, why not club your begonia experience with a family adventure in the sunflower fields?

Last year I took my daughter to visit the village of Dunnstown and we managed to grab some mom-and-daughter time among the giant sunflowers. It was the most beautiful paddock we’d ever seen. There’s an ample amount of parking and a cute food truck to grab some munchies too. The short season starts in March and you need to book online.

Adventures fill the soul, but good food fills your tummy, let me suggest some of the places where you can refuel yourself and your family:

Lilly’s at Eureka: Located at the Eureka Centre, Lilly’s is nested amidst the outdoor playground (which my daughter loves) and pool with splash park (open during warmer months). Their coffee and brunch menu rocks and I am a fan of their outdoor seating. Grab their Goldmine pancakes which come with “gold flakes” and a side of chocolate “dirt”. Highly recommended. We as a family love to relax in their outdoor space with coffee and brunch.

Hydrant Food Hall: Serving an innovative seasonal menu and aromatic speciality coffee in a lush green setting. Their rainbow pancake, topped with fresh fruits, marshmallows and maple syrup, is an absolute favourite for kids (even I tried it once).

The Forge Pizzeria: The locals love to dine here and who doesn’t love a good woodfire pizza? My daughter loves the kid's size Bolognese and Napoli pasta.

Delicious vegetarian food can be found at Cafe Merkama and Carboni’s Italian Kitchen. If you're looking for Indian food, try Indian Grill opposite the Eureka Stockade Memorial Gardens, Ballarat Indian Restaurant near Sovereign Hill, or Aroma of India in the city centre.

Well, all that good food is making me feel sleepy. Staying overnight with family in the city of Ballarat? Let me suggest you some places worth a visit:

Kryal Castle: Stay overnight in a castle suite! Includes free all-day entry to the medieval-themed adventure park where you can create some magic potions, take photos with mythical beasts and watch the knights battle on horseback.

Sovereign Hill Hotel: Stay in the heart of the action with all the goldrush excitement right on your doorstep, how exciting does that sound? Waking up to yet another day of an adventure of the gold rush era. I personally haven’t stayed here but we plan to do so this year on the Labour Day long weekend.

Quest Ballarat Station: 1, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments, so a good option if you need connecting rooms. I am planning to book a stay once I have my extended family who is flying from India this year. The location is what I love the most – it is right in the centre of Ballarat, next to the train station. The lake bike trail also starts just over the road.

Wherever you wish to stay in Ballarat, I can’t wait to see what family adventures you choose to cherish.

You can mix and match your itinerary. Ballarat is a destination not just for a weekend road trip, it offers a much more boarder adventure to families and your overseas extended family who visits you. My family always say no matter how many times we visit Ballarat, we get to discover something new. Now there you go, keep this destination in mind for your next weekend trip or a weeklong adventure during the school holidays.

Child Impact Report’s Importance in Family Law

BY GURPAL SINGH

In family law proceedings and in a dispute for the custody or guardianship of, or access to, a child of a marriage/relationship who has not attained the age of 18 years, the court is governed by the principles of care, welfare and development of a child who is under 18 years. The court may direct a family consultant to give the court a report on such matters relevant to the proceedings as the court deems appropriate. Once such an order/direction is made, the family consultant must ascertain the views of the child in relation to the matters of concern; and include the views o the child on the matters of concern in the report.

The term family consultant has been defined under the Act to include a person so appointed under the law or the regulations. Invariably, the family consultants are trained and experienced case worker or a psychologist.

The court of family consultant cannot require the child to express his or her view in relation to any matter. At the same time, the court is required to be informed of the family violence order as it applies to the child or a member of the child’s family although failure to inform the court of the family violence order does not affect the validity of any order made by the court.

A Child Impact Report, is used primarily to summarise the factual background and causes of conflict between the couple(s)/ partner(s) and the potential impact the

conflict can have on the child or the children involved. The report writer makes a detailed analysis of the family situation, and such report writer/family consultant is trained and experienced practitioner to make an appropriate assessment in the matter. The assessment by the family consultant provides an overview of the material issues required determination including the current structure of the family, proposed changes and the potential impact of such proposed changes on the members of the family, and the children in particular.

While preparing the report, the family consultant, also known as the Court Child Expert will consider a range of issues including but not limited to a. Child development, b. Child/Adult relationship and c. the presence of risk factors importantly affecting the care, welfare and development of the child. The impact report also focuses on these type of issues on the parenting of the child/ren. The parents learn more about their child’s experience and help their cause to understand the impact of separation and change in the child’s circumstances as a result of such separation on the child/ren. By involving the child/ren in the court process, the

parents can consider and make reasonable decisions about the future arrangements which would best suit their child/ren’s needs and requirements. Additionally, the child impact report helps the Judge to have a better understanding of the family situation, contentions, and an understanding as to what all is going on with the child/ren which further assist them in making decisions regarding the management of the case. Such an assessment and the conclusions are generally considered and relied upon by the court to make appropriate orders in regard to the conduct of the case and the care, welfare and development of the child.

The assessment is conducted in two parts, including an assessment with the parent and meeting with the child. The child expert meets separately with each parent to find out about the child/ren, to identify the concerns of family violence, or other risk issues which may impact the child and parenting matters after separation.

A child impact report is ordered and provided by the court and there is no cost to either party unless the report is procured privately and is funded privately.

The report writer separately meets with the child/ren and in case there are more than one child, the child expert may meet with the children together or separately. Sometimes, the children and parents are observed jointly by the child expert. The children are given the opportunity to express their views.

A Court child expert must notify the child welfare authority or police if the expert reasonably suspects that a child had been or is at risk of being abused, and/or the expert reasonably suspect that the child is being ill treated or is at risk of being ill-treated or a child has been exposed or subjected or is at risk of being exposed to or subjected, to psychological harm.

Gurpal Singh is the principal lawyer of Melbourne law firm, Saundh Singh & Smith

Finding motivation to meditate…

BY ARCHITA BAWEJA

Lisa, my colleague had all the reasons to meditate at one point in time but now she says it’s tough for her to take out any time because of her family and busy working hours. How many of us are in the same boat? A busy workday and a hectic schedule, no time, doubt is among the few reasons we lose our motivation to meditate.

Even though we know meditation helps manage stress and increase immunity. It also cultivates happiness and enhances optimism. In spite of all this it’s hard to get motivated. These reasons will help energize you to start meditating today.

1.) Remember your goal: Did you start meditating for a calmer mind or to lower your stress or anxiety levels? When you find your commitment and frequency slipping, recall those targets. Also, do something you believe in like yoga, breathing or listening to recordings of religious books. Writing your goals down and sharing them with others has also been shown to boost motivation and success.

2.) Make a schedule: Pick a time of day to meditate that you know works for you. If you are not an early riser, don’t expect to get up at sunrise each day and pop a squat on your cushion. That expectation will cause guilt about hitting the snooze button and skipping your practice. Choose a time that makes sense in your schedule.

3.) Place for meditation: Try and make

this place peaceful and try and stay clear of distractions.

A simple way is to have light colours in the room or have some plants that you feel happy seeing. Let yourself be alone, shut the door, turn off your phone or silence it. Close your eyes or gaze downward at one spot and let yourself feel soft and empty of thought.

4.) Focus on the benefits of meditation: Meditation can help one sleep better, slow down, find a happy place. It also helps to make you feel like you have more time in a day. When I feel like I’m rushing from place to place, trying to tick off boxes on an endless to-do list, the first thing I do is sit and breathe until the frenzied feeling dissipates.

5.) Stop comparing: There will always be more experienced meditators in the world, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t meditating properly. Start small and at your own pace and build up your own individual routine and practice, resisting the temptation to doubt what you are doing.

6.) Try a meditation app: Many meditation apps are available to be downloaded onto your phone, some are free while others charge a small fee. These offer different features like guided imagery, breathcentred meditations, calming sounds, timers, reminders, etc.

Meditation apps keep track of your progress and can help you to build your meditation muscles.

All of the external distractions and inner chatter will come and go and be there around you each day. However, your meditation practice, and the pure, clear you that it roots for and strengthens, will eternally be there.

NEW WRIST DEVICE CAN ‘SIGNIFICANTLY’ REDUCE TICS IN TOURETTE SYNDROME

A new wrist device has shown to significantly reduce the severity and frequency of tics among people with Tourette syndrome, according to results of a clinical trial.

In the trial, which included 121 people across the UK, the prototype wrist device --Neupulse -- delivered electrical pulses to reduce the amount and severity of tics experienced by individuals with Tourette’s.

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental condition that is usually diagnosed between the ages of eight and 12. It causes involuntary sounds and movements called tics.

Tics are repetitive, stereotyped movements and vocalisations that occur in bouts, typically many times in a single day, and are often preceded by a strong urgeto-tic, referred to as a premonitory urge (PU).

“The Neupulse device has shown the potential to dramatically improve the lives of those with Tourette syndrome, who often face challenges managing their tics,

by providing increased control over their tics on demand,” said Professor Stephen Jackson from the University of Nottingham, who developed the device along with the spin-out company Neurotherapuetics.

The device was used by trial participants at home at a similar time each day for 15 mins for a period of one month. A subset of people were also videoed each day. Each week participants gave feedback on their experience.

The results, detailed in the preprint site

MedRxive and not peer-reviewed, revealed that people who received active stimulation experienced a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of their tics.

On average, they saw a reduction in tic frequency of more than 25 per cent while they received stimulation.

After using the device for four weeks, people who received active stimulation experienced a reduction in their tic severity of more than 35 per cent. In total, 59 per cent of the people who received active stimulation experienced a reduction in tic severity of at least 25 per cent.

“The results of this trial mark an exciting step towards an effective, non-invasive treatment for Tourette syndrome that can be used at home. We are now focused on using the knowledge from the trial to develop a commercial device that can be made available to people with Tourette’s,” said Dr. Barbara Morera Maiquez, Chief Research Officer at Neurotherapeutics.

THE FUTURE OF WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY

Self-driving cars, the Internet of Things, and augmented and virtual reality have all revolutionised a variety of industries in recent years. Wearable technology has been the most remarkable advancement in the market, despite there being many other noteworthy developments. Surprisingly, the two challenging years of seclusion have increased our awareness of technology and our health. We became aware of the value of a strong immune system and the capacity to critically analyse the Internet during the epidemic. People used screens to interact with their loved ones and keep tabs on their Covid statuses.

People are spending more money on nutrition and fitness than ever in the postpandemic period. We can link to biometric and movement-tracking sensors - thanks to wearable technology. Numerous methods have been used to verify the invention. This explains why the concept is being backed by so many companies.

The future of wearable technology Technology is constantly evolving. We are exposed to new innovations every minute. In this competitive environment, wearable technology might not be a phenomenon in a few years. Smartwatches shall also endure future ups and downs. In a short period, visual elements shall evolve and may become as common as clothing and footwear.

Energy harvesting, i.e., running devices on solar power or converting body heat and movement into raw power, can change the world of wearable technology. That is the future!

Contribution to the healthcare industry

The healthcare industry has a plethora of futuristic aspirations and wearable technology implementations. Medical devices that monitor real-time biometrics have seized a significant portion of the market. This is a compelling argument for advancing technology for the benefit of health.

Businesses and investors are already working globally to develop and market devices that can monitor, diagnose, and provide remedies for individuals. In addition, efforts have been made to create a device that can be implanted beneath the skin to monitor drugs, blood-oxygen levels, and other critical signs. This is a remarkable achievement in

aiding and supporting persons with chronic diseases.

Authentication

Similar to tech giants such as WhatsApp and Tesla they prioritise safety and security by requiring two-factor authentication and digital keys rather than physical keys for user identification and authentication.

Wearable technology in the coming years can make use of the user’s biometrics to authenticate the account instead of adding details and going through a set of information for the same.

Wrapping up!

Everything that operates on the digital radar is the future. Some of us still live in traditional ways, but at the end of the day, we are all tied to technology in some way. It has changed the way we manage our daily routines over time. Our daily activities have been a piece of cake, from ordering groceries online to scheduling medical tests.

While the aforementioned talks are eagerly anticipated by the industry, some forecasts about wearable technology may turn out to be muted. They must be as practical as feasible according to designers. Over time, we expect to notice noticeable improvements in our charming wrist doctors!

By Varun Gupta

GAMING APPS CAN HELP DETECT EFFECTS OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES

Gaming apps can help identify ongoing problems with navigation -- a common longterm symptom of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) -- making these issues easier to diagnose and treat, claims a study.

The human ability to navigate is controlled by a complex network of mechanisms, involving several different cognitive processes in the brain, which makes it particularly vulnerable to damage.

Yet the process of wayfinding, and the ability to orient back to the direction you have recently come, are rarely tested in TBI patients, despite the significant impact these challenges can have on daily life.

To understand, researchers at the University of Hertfordshire, UK tested people for navigational abilities using mobile adventure game Sea Hero Quest.

They found that patients with TBIs had significant deficits in their navigational abilities, which were not previously revealed through a self-assessment. This opens an avenue for better detection and treatment for people suffering the long-term effects of TBIs.

“The biggest benefit of this work is that it shows that navigation deficits experienced by TBI patients can be detected using a relatively quick, low-cost method that can be tested remotely -- our participants can take part in a certified scientific study while sitting on their sofa!” said Dr Rebecca Knight, senior lecturer in

psychology at the varsity.

“We hope that by using these apps, we can gather a large amount of data and get greater insights into the mechanisms behind this deficit -- as well as creating interventions to better support people as they manage long-term impacts of their injury,” she added.

Sea Hero Quest was originally created by game developers Glitchers, in collaboration with academics and game developers from around the world, to help scientists understand how

navigational abilities vary with age and gender.

This study, detailed in the journal PLOS ONE, is the first time this diagnostic tool has been used on subjects with TBIs.

Researchers hope that their findings will open the door to larger-scale studies that will provide more detailed understanding of the mechanisms affected, and potential treatments to improve navigational abilities. (IANS)

GOOGLE ROLLING OUT NEW INDICATOR IN MAPS

Tech giant Google is rolling out a new indicator in its mapping platform ‘Google Maps’ which will help users to prevent losing their pin.

With the new indicator, when the users manually put a pin in the map by tapping a location or when they find a place through Maps search, they can now explore around without losing their pin, reports AndroidPolice.

If the users pan or rotate the map, an indicator will continue to point in the initial direction as the pin’s original placement after the pin left the screen.

Moreover, if the users tap the indicator, it will automatically re-centre itself on the pin.

Meanwhile, last week, the tech giant was rolling out the “Immersive View” feature more widely in Maps.

The Immersive View feature, which was sold as a “whole new way to explore” with Google Maps, augments the existing

photorealistic aerial views of popular locations and landmarks with time and weather contextual flyovers of the specific mapped regions.

Google Maps Immersive View combines

scenic views of a city and its landmarks with suggestions of places to learn about or visit, as well as views of the interiors of some buildings.

(IANS)

Why Are Committed Partners Seeking Extramarital Affairs?

However, the reality is that committed partners are increasingly seeking extramarital affairs due to various complex and interrelated reasons.

A survey conducted by Gleeden in collaboration with IPSOS gives us a deeper look into the top reasons for infidelity in India and the evolved relationship dynamics that they are witnessing today.

Physical attraction toward the other person

This is the most common reason for infidelity. Many people cheat on their partners because they are physically attracted to someone else. According to Gleeden’s survey, people’s private events and parties were the most common occasions for committing infidelity at 26 per cent while social media stood next at 25 per cent, and infidelity committed on dating apps for singles amounted to 19 per cent. This shows that it is easier for people to feel attracted to someone in a social setting and succumb to temptation.

Lack of attention from the official partner

When partners feel ignored, unappreciated, or unloved, they may seek attention and affection elsewhere. This is especially true when there are communication breakdowns in the relationship. The survey highlights that a lack of emotional support was cited as the second most common reason for infidelity and 57 per cent of responders affirmed having been unfaithful to their partner at least once out of which 45 per cent of cheating occurs during the first year of a relationship.

Feelings

Sometimes people cheat on their partners because they develop strong emotional connections with someone else. This can happen when people share common interests or deeply connect with someone. 44 percent of respondents in the survey believe it’s possible to be in love with two people at the same time. This indicates that emotional infidelity is a common phenomenon.

Desire to spark a new romance

Monogamy can be challenging, and some people feel the need to experience the thrill

of a new romance. According to the Gleeden survey, 37 per cent of respondents think it’s possible to cheat on a partner and still be in love with them, indicating that some people cheat simply for the excitement of a new relationship.

Lack of sexual satisfaction

Sexual dissatisfaction can be a significant driver of infidelity and this holds especially true since 41 per cent declare that even after having regular sex, they are not to be fully satisfied and 55 per cent fancy being intimate with someone other than their partners. When people feel sexually unfulfilled in their relationships, there is a common tendency that may seek physical intimacy elsewhere.

Other motivations include the desire to engage in physical contact with the person they like, the need to demonstrate their continued seductiveness, and the desire to exact vengeance on an unfaithful partner. It’s important to remember that these causes of adultery are complicated, and many of them may be connected to one another.

(IANSlife)

India has a rich cultural heritage, and for years, marriages have been considered sacred without much emphasis on what constitutes a happy marriage.

Stay hydrated with tender coconut water

In India, heat waves are a frequent occurrence. To inform people of the severe weather conditions and advise them to take the appropriate measures, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issues heatwave warnings. A heatwave is defined as a period of time when the highest temperature is between 40 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius, with some locations experiencing temperatures that are higher.

It is essential to take the necessary measures during a heatwave to prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion. Staying inside during the hottest part of the day is one of them, as is dressing in airy, loose clothing, and consuming plenty of water, coconut water, and other fluids to stay hydrated.

Varun Khurana, Founder and CEO of Agritech start-up Otipy shares some of the benefits of coconut water to stay hydrated and cool during these prevailing conditions including:

Electrolytes: Coconut water is an

excellent source of electrolytes like potassium, sodium, and magnesium. These minerals help to maintain fluid balance in the body, which is essential for hydration.

Hydration: Coconut water is a natural source of hydration, and it can help to replenish lost fluids due to sweating. It is an excellent alternative to sugary or highcalorie drinks, which can contribute to dehydration.

Cooling properties: Coconut water has natural cooling properties that can help regulate body temperature and reduce heat stress.

Nutrients: Coconut water is rich in nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamin C, which can help to boost the immune system and reduce inflammation in the body. This can be particularly important during a heatwave, as the body may be more susceptible to illness and infection due to the stress of the heat.

Low in calories: Coconut water is a low-calorie drink, making it an excellent alternative to sugary or high-calorie drinks that can contribute to dehydration.

Overall, coconut water is a pleasant and nutritious substitute for other beverages and offers a host of advantages for general health and well-being.

You can enjoy tender coconut in a variety of ways in addition to the different types, such as by blending it into smoothies or using it as the foundation for cocktails like mojitos. So, beat the summer heat while still enjoying the cooling flavour and health advantages of tender coconut!

(IANS)

Listening to music can make your medicines more effective

Want your medicines to be more effective? Research suggests that turning up your favourite song while popping the pills may be of help soon.

While previous studies have used musiclistening interventions as a tool to treat pain and anxiety, a team from the Michigan State University in the US took a novel approach by studying the effects of music-listening interventions on chemotherapy-induced nausea.

“Music-listening interventions are like overthe-counter medications,” said Jason Kiernan, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing. “You don’t need a doctor to prescribe them.”

“Pain and anxiety are both neurological phenomena and are interpreted in the brain as a state. Chemotherapy-induced nausea is not a stomach condition; it is a neurological one,” Kiernan said.

The small pilot study, published in the journal Clinical Nursing Research, included 12 patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment who agreed to listen to their favourite music for 30 minutes each time they needed to take their as-needed anti-nausea medication.

They repeated the music intervention anytime nausea occurred over the five days beyond their chemotherapy treatment. The patients in the study provided a total of 64 events.

“When we listen to music, our brains fire all kinds of neurons,” Kiernan said.

While Kiernan did see a reduction in the ratings of patients’ nausea severity and their distress (how much it bothered them to be nauseous), he cautions that it is difficult to isolate whether it was the gradual release of the medication doing its job or the increased benefit of the music.

He aims to do further research on this based on a previously published study that showed an increase in the amount of serotonin, a neurotransmitter -- released by platelets in

the blood -- after listening to unpleasant and pleasant music.

“Serotonin is the major neurotransmitter that causes chemotherapy-induced nausea. Cancer patients take medications to block serotonin’s effects,” Kiernan said.

Researchers found that patients who listened to pleasant music experienced the lowest levels of serotonin release, indicating that the serotonin stayed in the blood platelets and was not released to circulate throughout the body. Results also showed that after listening to music they found unpleasant, patients experienced greater stress and increased levels of serotonin release.

“This was intriguing because it provides a neurochemical explanation and a possible way to measure serotonin and the blood platelet release of serotonin in my study,” Kiernan said.

“In 10 to 20 years, wouldn’t it be neat if you could use a nonpharmacological intervention like listening to 10 minutes of your favourite music to complement a medicine?”

HEALTH

HIGH BP IN MEN IN

THEIR 30S LINKED WITH

DEMENTIA RISK IN

THEIR 70S

77% OF YOUNG INDIANS NOW SPEND THE MOST ON PHONES, APPARELS

Having high blood pressure in your 30s is associated with worse brain health around age 75 like high dementia risk, especially for men, a new study has revealed.

The research, published in JAMA Network Open, found that the high blood pressure group had significantly lower regional brain volumes and worse white matter integrity. Both factors are associated with dementia.

The researchers from University of California-Davis Health compared magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans of older adults who had high blood pressure between the ages of 30 to 40 with older adults who had normal blood pressure.

The research also showed that the negative brain changes in some regions -- such as decreased grey matter volume and frontal cortex volume -- were stronger in men.

The differences may be related to the protective benefits of estrogen before menopause.

“Treatment for dementia is extremely limited, so identifying modifiable risk and protective factors over the life course is key to reducing disease burden,” said Kristen M. George, an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health

Sciences.

High blood pressure is an incredibly common and treatable risk factor associated with dementia.

“This study indicates hypertension status in early adulthood is important for brain health decades later,” George added.

Compared to participants with normal blood pressure, the brain scans of those transitioning to high blood pressure or with high blood pressure showed lower cerebral gray matter volume, frontal cortex volume and fractional anisotropy (a measure of brain connectivity).

The scores for men with high blood pressure were lower than those for women.

The study joins a growing body of evidence that cardiovascular risk factors in young adulthood are detrimental to latelife brain health.

“This study truly demonstrates the importance of early life risk factors, and that to age well, you need to take care of yourself throughout life -- heart health is brain health,” said Rachel Whitmer, senior author of the study.

Indians aged between 18 and 34 now spend the most (77 per cent) on mobile phones and apparels and over 65 per cent of them use personal funds for such purchases, a report has shown.

Among the rest, 26 per cent seek financial help from friends and family and 7 per cent rely on loans for such purchases, according to data shared by Moj, the country’s largest short-video platform.

The report found that over 77 per cent of young India spends most of their time watching short videos, followed by 16 per cent on news and entertainment channels and 7 per cent on television and OTT.

About 60 per cent of young India’s purchase decisions are influenced by short video and social media followed by online platforms and television.

Offers and discounts are one of the top influencing factors for more than half of young India’s purchase decisions, followed by the reliability of products, convenience, and free shipping, the findings showed.

“Young India today is fearless and confident, and the short video format offers them an open canvas to demonstrate their creativity to the whole world. Short videos are also increasingly becoming the go to entertainment format,” said Udit Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, ShareChat and Moj.

With over 300 million monthly active users (MAUs) and 50 million creators, Moj is the preferred destination for short video content in the country.

“Young India uploads 3 million videos on Moj each day and spends 34 minutes on average per day on the platform,” said the company.

(IANS)

(IANS)

least once a week can avert death risk

Health tip: Lentils help reduce blood cholesterol since it contains high levels of soluble fibre

4 Reasons for Root Canal Treatment

The structure of a tooth is made up of various layers. The innermost part is made up of a soft substance and is known as pulp. This pulp is connected to a nerve which further gets attached to the sensory network of nerves transmitting sensations. The outer layer of a tooth envelopes both these inner components and protects them from harm.

But in case of tooth decay, the acids produced by the bacteria go past the protective layer and reach the pulp of a tooth. That’s when endodontists prefer to go for a root canal treatment. Let us read the cases when root canal treatments are a must.

The reasons to carry out root canal treatment are:

Deep decay

dental crown on the tooth after performing root canal treatment.

Injury to pulp

Tooth decay is not the only culprit to harm dental pulp. There are times when the dental pulp gets damaged due to trauma. It can be an extremely painful condition and requires to be treated as soon as possible. Dentists often prefer root canal treatment for such injuries as they can be deep and cause much harm to the pulp.

The procedure of root canal treatment

Measuring

Walking 8,000 steps -- about four miles (6.4 kilometres) -one or two days a week may significantly reduce the risk of an early death, according to a study.

While regular exercise is known to lower mortality risk, the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open looked at the health benefits of walking intensively only a few days a week.

The findings showed that people who walked 8,000 steps or more one or two days a week were 14.9 per cent less likely to die over a 10-year period than those who never reached that mark. For those who walked 8,000 steps or more three to seven days a week, the mortality risk was even lower -- 16.5 per cent.

The health benefits of walking 8,000 steps or more one or two days a week appeared higher for participants aged 65 years and older.

“The number of days per week taking 8,000 steps or more

was associated with a lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality,” said the researchers from Kyoto University in Japan and the University of California, US.

“These findings suggest that individuals may receive substantial health benefits by walking just a couple of days a week,” they added.

For the study, the team used daily step counts from the 3,100 participants in 2005 and 2006 and examined their mortality data 10 years later.

Among the participants, 632 took 8,000 steps or more zero days a week, 532 took 8,000 steps or more one to two days a week and 1,937 took 8,000 or more steps three to seven days a week.

According to the Mayo Clinic, walking for regular activity can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression.

Tooth decay is the worst enemy of our teeth. Bacteria enter the cavities in our teeth causing considerable damage as tooth decay. Anti-bacterial medications prove futile as the inflammation caused by the bacterial infection hinders the blood supply to a tooth.

As mentioned above, when the decay reaches deep down to the nerve of a tooth, a root canal treatment is the call of the hour. When left untreated, deep decay can spread to gums and other parts of our bodies such as the lungs or the brain.

Cracked or chipped tooth

Our teeth are fragile enough to crack or chip-off when subjected to trauma. This can also occur while chewing hard foods such as nuts, ice, corn on the cob, rock candies, etc. Cracked teeth can or cannot be painful, but they can always hold room for food particles to get stuck which is a breeding ground for tooth caries.

These damaged teeth need to be repaired to fill the cracks and chipped off parts. Root canal treatment makes sure the decay does not reach to the pulp.

Repeated procedures

The process of degeneration of our natural teeth is a continuous one and any laxity in their care can result in decay time and again. What follows are extensive dental restorative works. In cases where not much of the tooth structure is left, dentists prefer to put on a

This is the preliminary stage where a dentist first sedates the patient with light sedatives to numb the area around the damaged tooth. The tooth is then drilled up to the pulp chamber. Measurements of the root canal are then carried out to know the extent of decay and possible treatment options. This measurement is done with the help of X-rays or Apex locator.

Cleaning

The decay or damage to the pulp is removed from the measured tooth. The root canal inside the tooth is then thoroughly cleaned with an antiseptic solution. The hole is filled with a temporary filling and left as such for a few days to ascertain any sensitivity.

Filling

Once the tooth is free from all the infection, the temporary filling is replaced with a permanent filling.

Additional Treatment

If the tooth structure is still found fragile, it can be capped with a dental crown. Otherwise, the above three steps are enough to cure a tooth.

To know more about root canal treatment, visit our Healthy Smiles Dental Group Blackburn clinic. You can also call us on 03 9877 2035 to book an appointment.

Dr Ved Berani BDS(Mum), ADEC(Aust), MBA(Melb), FIADFE, MFGDP(UK)

Principal

Dentist & Clinical Advisor

9877 2035

www.healthysmiles.com.au

steps at

Eating handful of nuts & seeds daily can lower heart risk by 25%

Want to boost your heart health? Eating a handful of nuts and seeds can help you reduce the risk of heart disease by 25 per cent, according to a new study.

The study showed nuts lower cholesterol levels and are linked to a lower risk of cardio-vascular disease. By eating nuts, you reduce your risk of suffering or dying from a heart attack.

One of the reasons is the composition of fatty acids in nuts, the researchers said.

“Even though nuts cannot be used to treat high cholesterol, we believe that the effect is significant enough to be used as a preventive measure amongst the general population,” Erik Arnesen, research fellow at the University of Oslo said.

Researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 60 previous studies.

“If you eat a handful of nuts every day, which is around 30 grams, you will have a 20 to 25 per cent lower

risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease. Many people do not eat nuts or seeds at all,” Arnesen said, in the paper published in the journal Food & Nutrition Research.

Arnesen emphasised that even though scientists say, “the more

the better”, eating just a few nuts is better than none at all.

Almonds, pistachios and walnuts appear to be the best for lowering cholesterol, but according to Arnesen there is so far no conclusive evidence for recommending specific kinds of nuts over and above others.

“Nuts have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels in the blood, which is important to keep low in order to prevent the build-up of fat in the arteries. This atherosclerosis, as it is called, is one of the greatest risk factors for heart attacks,” he explained.

However, the researchers were uncertain whether eating nuts reduces the risk of strokes and diabetes Type 2.

“We are not sure about this. Nuts do not appear to affect blood pressure, which is one of the risk factors behind strokes. We cannot be sure whether nuts are good for blood sugar levels either, which are linked to the risk of diabetes Type 2,” Arnesen said.

GUT MICROBES LINKED TO ATTENTION DISORDER IN KIDS

The microbial composition of the gut may affect a child’s susceptibility to attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study.

ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood.

Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.

To understand the link between ADHD and gut microbiota, a team of researchers from Taiwan compared faecal samples from 35 children with ADHD and 35 healthy controls.

The human gastrointestinal tract hosts a large population of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

The results published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry showed that samples from children with ADHD had higher

levels of certain species of fungi and lower levels of other species.

“The human body is home to a complex and diverse microbial ecosystem, and findings from this study suggest that dysbiosis of the fungal mycobiome in ADHD can influence patient health,” said the team including Lian-Jen Wang, child psychiatrist at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

Dysbiosis is often defined as an “imbalance” in the gut microbial community that is

associated with disease.

In experiments with cells grown in the lab, one species in abundance in samples from children with ADHD -- called Candida albicans -- increased the permeability of cells that line the intestine.

This could create a “leaky gut” that allows bacteria into the bloodstream, possibly resulting in inflammation throughout the body and brain.

The study also showed that abundance of Candida was found much higher among males with ADHD than without the disorder. No such differences were observed among females with and without ADHD.

“As ADHD is a male predominant disease, whether microbiome dysbiosis is involved in sex specific manifestation of ADHD warrants further investigations,” the authors noted.

(IANS)

(ANI)

Sleep deprivation causes health concerns

A state of decreased response and motor activity, sleep is quickly reversible. The fact that all creatures experience this phenomenon in some way indicates that it probably has some evolutionary significance.

Sleeping takes up roughly one-third of a person’s lifetime or eight hours per night. There are many explanations for why people slumber. These hypotheses encompass memory consolidation, energy saving and restoration.

For the best possible physical, immune, mental, and cognitive wellness, getting enough sleep is crucial. Nearly 30 per cent of adults (according to a study from the United States) report having trouble sleeping enough. Short sleep duration has been linked to a number of unfavourable health outcomes, such as decreased performance at work or school, slowed reaction time, an increased risk of accidents, mental health disorders like drug abuse, depression, and anxiety disorders, as well as complications during pregnancy and all-cause mortality.

The inability to function well at work

Autistic children should be kept away from TV screens, tablets and mobile phones as far as possible since this exposure is said to aggravate symptoms. Medical experts says that this flare-up of symptoms due to screen exposure is called ‘virtual autism’ and cases are on the rise in the post pandemic era, especially in children under the age of five.

Prof Vivek Agrawal, head of psychiatry department in the King George’s Medical University (KGMU), said children below the age of five are spending six-ten hour watching screens. “We are seeing five-six such cases in the OPD which used to be one-two earlier during pre-pandemic era. Luckily, it is reversible if identified in its early stages and corrective measures taken,” said Prof Agarwal.

He said traits like social interaction, communication and behavioural challenges among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are getting flared up. Renowned paediatric neurologist from Lucknow, Dr Rahul Bharat, said, today gadgets are used a lot in homes. Parents give these gadgets to kids during infancy, which is a critical time for brain development when children learn by observing others, exploring their surroundings and learning through free play.

“Since these ASD kids have strong visual memory and have limited interests, letting a child see screens for too long makes the situation worse,” he said. He also said the rise in virtual autism cases is being recorded all over the world in the post Covid phase.

or in school because of insomnia can result in psychosocial problems, which then may make it challenging to keep up with interpersonal relationships. a bad work environment and decreased output. Depression and anxiety at the job may result from this.

Slow response times increase the chance of serious injury, permanent disability, and death in homes, workplaces, and roadside collisions.

Major health issues brought on by insomnia include mental health disorders like

depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse. Insomnia and psychiatric disorders are inversely correlated, and it is frequently essential to treat both conditions concurrently in order to hasten recovery and increase the likelihood that both conditions will respond sustainably.

Drug abuse and insomnia are both related to mental conditions. Patients with drug use disorders and chronic insomnia may have “forgotten” how to fall asleep on their own without the aid of a sedative.

Increased chance of chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Your chance of developing heart conditions like coronary heart disease, an irregular heartbeat, and heart failure rises when you consistently get inadequate sleep. It raises the risk of diabetes and uncontrolled blood pressure, both of which can result in chronic organ damage. Reduced immunity brought on by insufficient sleep can cause repeated infections and slow healing.

Sleep deprivation can worsen pregnancy problems. It increases the possibility of preterm birth, C-sections, more painful labour, depression linked to pregnancy, and low birth weight babies.

By Dr Aabid Amin

REDUCE SCREEN TIME FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN

“During the pandemic, parents gave gadgets to children and spending too much time in a virtual world is depriving a young child’s growing brain of important stimulation. Hence, speech stuttering and affecting cognitive capacities got impacted,” said Dr Rahul Bharat.

He cautioned parents about the dangers of exposing young children to four

or more hours of screen use every day.

“Lack of communication among parents leads to issues affecting children. In most cases, aggressive behaviour and tantrums shown by children can be addressed. The first three-six months are very crucial for the child and so parents should be focused on their development,” he added.

RAVEENA TANDON RESPONDS TO TROLLS WHO QUESTION HER PADMA SHRI WIN

Actress Raveena Tandon was recently feted with India’s fourth highest civilian honour, Padmi Shri, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi for her contribution to Indian cinema. However, a section of Internet users trolled the actress questioning the win. Now the actress has responded to the trolls saying that she will choose silence as she doesn’t want to give any importance to them.

Hitting back at the trolls the actress said that she is not bothered about people with a following of not more than 20 as they come with their own agenda. She said: “I don’t want to give any importance to them as they have their own agenda. The comments of a few, who have 20 followers and haven’t seen the work that I have done, will not diminish my body of work.”

The actress further said: “They only see the glamour; they don’t see the hard work and long hours we put in. We know how polarised things are on social media today, but others have sent such beautiful (wishes).” Talking

ONE THING THAT HASN’T CHANGED IS VIRTUE OF HARD WORK: ANIL ON 4 DECADES IN BOLLYWOOD

Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre has shared her learning experience and how she became successful in the industry. The actress said she tried to grab all the opportunities that came to her as she never wanted to miss any chance of becoming successful.

Sonali said: “You must be stupid if you do not seize the possibilities that come your way. So, I made sure I never let go of any opportunities that came my way and learned everything from that, and that is how I am here today.”

She made her acting debut with the movie ‘Aag’ which was released in 1994. However, she got major success with the 1996 film ‘Diljale’ opposite Ajay Devgn. Sonali also acted in several successful movies such as ‘Duplicate’, ‘Major Saab’, ‘Zakhm’, ‘Sarfarosh’, among others. The actress appeared on ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ as a celebrity guest and shared her success story.

During the show, Kapil also played a video of Divya Dutta in which she shared a memory with Sonali. In the video, the ‘Delhi-6’ actress

said: “When I was doing an acting course with Sonali, the shooting for the film ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ was happening close to our college. We used to climb the wall to view the shooting in the nearby bungalow. When I invited Sonali to join me, she refused to watch them from a distance and mentioned that she would work with them one day.”

Bollywood star Anil Kapoor has summed up his journey of over 40 years in Hindi cinema, where he has been feted with numerous awards and honours.

Anil took to Instagram, where he shared a string of photographs featuring his journey of four decades in Bollywood. The pictures show Anil winning multiple award during his run in the showbiz industry.

He captioned it: “In the 4 decades that I’ve been around, tides have changed, talent has changed, tastes have changed and audiences certainly have changed... The one thing that hasn’t changed is the virtue of hard work, persistence and conviction, and they are rewards enough.. But a few awards don’t hurt.”

The 66-year-old star, who has appeared in over 100 films in his career, established himself as a leading man with his roles in ‘Meri Jung’. He was later seen in blockbusters such as ‘Karma’, ‘Mr. India’, ‘Parinda’, ‘Tezaab’, ‘1942: A Love Story’, ‘Taal’, ‘Nayak’, ‘Welcome’, ‘Race’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, ‘Malang’ and ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ to name a few.

He made his debut in international films with Danny Boyle’s Academy Award-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Looking forward, Anil will next be seen in the upcoming action-thriller series ‘The Night Manager’, which also stars Aditya Roy Kapoor. He will also be seen in the film ‘Fighter’ starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone. (IANS)

about the Padma awards ceremony, the actress and her family attended the gilded ceremony which was graced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

(IANSlife)

(IANSlife)

I MADE SURE I NEVER LET GO OF ANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAME MY WAY: SONALI BENDRE

DIA MIRZA LENDS HER VOICE TO UN DOCUMENTARY ‘BIG OCEAN STATES’

Actress Dia Mirza, who was recently seen in the pandemic movie ‘Bheed’, has narrated documentary ‘Big Ocean States’. The documentary focuses on conservation of marine ecosystems and is part of series ‘Restore: Films From the Frontiers of Hope’ by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP).

The project is an attempt to amplify stories from ten places around the globe where people have made a positive impact on the environmental crisis. The series also has an episode on Ganga, featuring the stories of farmers, wildlife advocates, and government experts who are teaming up to save the holy river. Earlier, ‘Fight Club’ star Edward Norton too lent his voice to similar UN initiatives.

Talking about the documentary, Dia, who is the Goodwill Ambassador for UNEP and UN Secretary General’s Advocate for SDG, said: “It was an absolute honour to be a part of this global project and tell the story of St. Lucia, Comoros, and Vanuatu that are showing by example how marine

ecosystems can be protected for the benefit of all stakeholders and the creation of a blue economy.” Under the aegis of the ‘UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’, the first ten films, or ‘UN World Restoration Flagships’, explore the diverse ecosystems of Indonesia, Abu Dhabi, and Kazakhstan.

Talking about what appealed to her from the story, the actress further mentioned:

“Yes, the planet is in a state of decline with over a million species facing extinction, but we can learn a lot from how St Lucia, Comoros, and Vanuatu recognised climate threats well in time and did all they could to make a difference. What moved me most about this story is that the citizens took ownership of the dying mangroves and the dwindling marine life and came together to ensure that the future generation would have a sustainable, thriving environment.”

A new episode is released every Monday by the UNEP, featuring a new challenge overcome by people who want a better future for the next generation.

(IANS)

SNEAK-PEEK INTO JANHVI KAPOOR’S WORK-FITNESS BALANCE

We’ve all heard the term ‘work-life balance’, but have you heard of the term ‘work-fitness balance’? Whether a woman is a homemaker or working, it can be challenging to maintain a good lifestyle when work almost always takes priority over everything else in our lives.

Let’s learn about Janhvi Kapoor’s workfitness harmony! The gorgeous B-town diva is known for her outstanding roles in blockbuster films like Roohi, Dhadak, and Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl.

She is not only an endearing actress, but also a great inspiration for her dedication and commitment to fitness. Read on to know her fitness secrets and how with consistency half the fitness battle is won!

“It has been a long journey and a constant conscious effort to prioritise what’s important! Waking up and getting on our feet to work long hours is something that we all relate to, but through all this, staying fit makes you feel much better. Consume meals that are protein-packed and consume them more often. Take your breaks well and indulge in nutritious snacking habits -this way you will achieve half of it and the other half is with a good and functional exercise routine and a good sleep schedule,” said Janhvi, who firmly believes in - You Feel

Better When You Are Fitter!

“For me, before starting my workday, I make sure I have a protein-packed breakfast, like brown bread, oats, and my favourite Saffola FITTIFY Peanut Butter. I

love that it comes in variants ranging from Omega 3, whey protein, unsweetened, and dark chocolate to vegan options both in extra crunchy as well as super creamy forms. For lunch, I eat only home-cooked meals or consume fruits and vegetable juice if I am outdoors for shoots. I keep my dinner very light, consuming lots of boiled vegetables and soup.”

“I never miss out on my nutritional supplements on the go and during my breaks. I personally love the Saffola FITTIFY - The Perfekt Gummies that make supplements a tasty option. These super ingredients, which are high in Biotin as well as vitamins A, C, E and Zinc, are ideal supplements to get your daily dose of nutrients. It has helped me refuel my energy during hectic work schedules.”

Janhvi likes to - Master One Task at One Time! She said: “When I work out, shoot, or go on vacation with my family, I ensure I’m all in, in that very moment. I feel it’s important to be 100 per cent present in whatever you’re doing, and to be content and happy with yourself and your life. Don’t compromise on your present for your past or future worries, just breathe and soak in whatever that moment has for you.”

(IANSlife)

REALITY SHOWS: NOTHING REAL ABOUT IT

There are all kinds of reality shows on various television channels. And there are a lot of aspirants for these programmes, too. There is ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, where people dream of hitting a jackpot, and then, there are other reality shows such as ‘Indian Idol’, which promotes young singers, besides ‘India’s Best Dancer’, which shows little of dance, least of all the dances as we know in India, and more of aerobics and acrobatics. KBC is, of course, a quiz programme where general knowledge questions are posed and the winnings increase with every right answer. There are lifelines for outside help and the programme is very popular, thanks to host Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic status and to the huge amounts in prize money.

Also popular is ‘Indian Idol’, where Indian youth show their singing talent and get breaks in the entertainment industry. The dance programme may not be as popular, but is made watchable with huge sets and now, even special effects added, the kind not possible outside a television studio. In my opinion, the best special effects so far used were for the song ‘Sara zamana...’ from the Amitabh Bachchanstarrer ‘Yaarana’. What was special about the song was its choreography, apart from its melodious tune and Bachchan’s costume, which was illuminated with tiny lights. It was not even the LED era. To add to that, when the crowds could not be controlled, the song had to be shot without the crowds. But it was a public performance song and could not be shot without an audience. So, what did the makers do? They lit the stadium with candles to make it seem like a crowded hall.

The idea has become very popular now, be it in cricket matches or other events. The only difference is that the viewers light up their mobile phones. This was all about applying minds. It was not computer generated as it is the practice today. So, what is the first criteria to qualify for one of these reality talent shows? Talent? No! Though that is what you are supposed to possess. The primary qualifying criteria is poverty. You have to come from a poor, deprived, almost starving family, fighting for survival. I mean, you can sing and there are a dozen or so who also can. But that does not make for an interesting script for the show. A participant’s poor background does help the narrative and create sympathy around him/ her. To add to the effect, the participant’s home (usually ramshackle) is visited. And shot for telecast. Some kids are also made to dress to suit the narrative and to go with the sad family background for greater effect.

The participant’s parents are invited to be a part of the show and asked to narrate the story of their poverty. Earlier, we used to say that a lot of filmmakers depict India’s poverty in their films. These were called realistic films, they

were viewed and lauded by international critics and in the festival circles! It tallied with their perception of India then.

Now, there is this case of a 13-year-old lad who possessed a good voice and was keen to participate. The boy’s father, a well-placed marketing executive, thought too that his son had what it took. For the sake of the boy, he gave up his marketing job in Delhi and took one in Mumbai just to promote his son’s talent and to be close to the action. A recording of the boy’s singing was sent to the programme makers and they too approved of his talent. So, was he selected? No. He was not poor enough to qualify. He had no sad stories to tell about his poor background. Strangely, his father was asked to leave his job. Become jobless and needy! The father did not fall for the bait.

Okay, so what happens to those poor singers who participate? Do they make millions, do they make a career once the show is finished? Does a promising career await them? None of the above in most or almost all cases. They go back as poor as they were when they entered the show, except for whatever they get paid when the programme is on and the decent meals and lifestyle while it lasts. And what is the criteria to be a judge on such a show? They have to be well-qualified cry babies. They are needed to start shedding tears as soon as a participant narrates the story of struggles and poverty! Besides the songs that these kids sing, these judges shedding tears, I suppose, serves as the entertainment quotient in such shows.

As for KBC, it has its lure. One being meeting Amitabh Bachchan face to face. Then comes the prize money. Even the biggest duffer is assured of at least Rs 10,000 with four lifelines available. But there are those who have won up to a crore.

Now, there are no poverty stories on KBC, but, for some time, the show has shifted its priority in that direction. The concentration

was mostly on rural participation and they had poverty stories to tell. Probably, the MNC sponsors wanted it to be so, though their product was too pricey for the poor of the rural areas.

As for the singing stars who emerge from these shows, what is their future after a few months of limelight? Unless they survive on their own grit, these shows guarantee no future. The judges who praise every singer sky high and, at times, promise playback assignments, are just following the script. Their words of praise are grossly repetitive and sound fake.

So, what are these judges doing here, for there is a voting system that determines the popularity of the contestants and the winner? These singing contestants render and are appreciated for the old-time melodies they perform on the show. In such an event, wouldn’t it be better if the anchor blabbered less and let more songs play?

As for a couple of music composers who judge these shows, they don’t seem to have it in them to tune melodies. And the show producers also invite a celebrity guest who praises every singer as if that was part of their appearance contract! No analyses or suggestions; just praise!

The music today is mostly cacophony! Maybe they can sing ad jingles because most television and radio commercials use old film melodies nowadays.

As for the dance reality shows, little said the better. They won’t even fit in a film dance number as background dancers, for no presentday hero has that pep to dance like them. These reality shows, are they for real? Well, they make real money for the channels as well as the judges who laugh all the way to the ba nk.

By Vinod Mirani

AUDIENCE LOVES WOMAN-ORIENTED STORIES: RADHIKA APTE

‘Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!’ actress Radhika Apte, who is seen playing Durga, a housewife and an undercover agent in the spy comedy ‘Mrs Undercover’, said she fell in love with her character the minute she heard the script.

Radhika said that now-a-days, womenled films are getting more eyeballs from the viewers.

She said: “I think the premise of the film was really exciting for me. We live in a country where there is a lot of patriarchy and so many women slog days and nights to keep their families happy, and yet go unnoticed so I think it did resonate with me and what I like about Durga is her innocence, her naivety, her clumsiness and even her journey of discovering herself. I think that was really good.”

Radhika, who is known for ‘Raat Akeli Hai’, ‘Monica, O My Darling’, and an American film, ‘A Call To Spy’, said womenoriented subjects are liked by the audience.

“I mean it’s high time that we have equality, the world is changing and now

everyone is fighting for equal rights, equal pay, equal job opportunities and equal recognition. Film industry is just a reflection of what is going around in society and the world is changing very slowly and yet some parts of the world aren’t and I think that’s just why we are getting some better parts,” she added.

Directed and written by debutant

director, Anushree Mehta, ‘Mrs Undercover’ features Radhika Apte in the lead role. It also stars Sumeet Vyas, Rajesh Sharma and Saheb Chatterjee.

‘Mrs Undercover’ will premiere on April 14 on ZEE5.

(IANSlife)

‘RAJKUMMAR RAO HAS A WICKED SENSE OF HUMOUR,’ SAYS DIA MIRZA

Actress Dia Mirza, who was recently seen in Anubhav Sinha’s theatrical pandemic film ‘Bheed’, has shared her experience with her co-stars.

While she lauded the film’s director for his passion and conviction in his stories, she also shared that Rajkummar Rao, who plays a cop in the film, is blessed with a wicked sense of humour.

The actress said: “’Bheed’ is my fourth project with Anubhav Sinha and this is possibly the toughest film of his career. Watching him work with so much passion and conviction on stories that must be told, has been truly inspirational. Yet amid all the intensity, all of us found ways to make each other laugh, celebrate special days, savour chaat treats and be there for each other when things got tough.”

She further mentioned:

“Rajkummar Rao for instance has a wicked sense of humour and brings great energy to the sets while

Bhumi and I bonded over many common interests. She is a very intelligent and interesting person.”

For her, working on this film is an unforgettable experience as she got to jam with many exemplary actors.

“Working with Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana and Pankaj Kapur sir was truly an

experience I will never forget. I had the most amazing time working and watching everyone at work. The craft of each of these artists is a privilege to witness up close. Pankaj ji and Ashutosh ji are institutions in their own right and Raj and Bhumi are actors I have admired right from their first films,” the actress concluded. (IANS)

bon appétit

Did you know:

Reduce PMS symptoms by eating a banana, which regulates blood sugar and produces stress-relieving relaxation

STAY FIT WHILE INDULGING INTO FOOD BLOGGING

There is no doubt that in today’s world, with creative brains and technology, you can dine in or out, or even host guests at the convenience of consumers, resulting in a market swamped with new restaurants. Hand-in-hand, there is a huge demand for people who can write genuine reviews about these restaurants, their food, and their experience.

As a result, several food bloggers who have made a reputation for themselves and have a large number of followers on social media are invited numerous times per week or sometimes multiple times per day.

But have you ever considered what overeating or an unhealthy diet plan can lead to?

Speaking on how to remain healthy while food blogging or vlogging, Neetika Ligga, a food content creator at Moj, says: “As a food enthusiast, I revel in the art of cooking and restaurant reviewing almost every week. However, indulging in outside food regularly can take a toll on one’s health. While I don’t follow any diet trend, I prioritize portion control both when cooking and reviewing restaurants.

“Typically, when I review a restaurant or food vendor, or cook, I am in the company of friends and family, which means I am not solely responsible for consuming all the food. In the rare instance that I am alone, I

request smaller portions from the restaurant or food vendor to prevent waste and overindulgence.

“Additionally, I make sure to incorporate high-intensity workouts or at least go for a walk to maintain an active lifestyle. Finding the right balance is crucial for enjoying our favourite foods and indulgences while still practicing portion control and savouring every bite without any guilt. “

Mehezabin Dordi, Clinical Psychologist at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, recommends some additional guidelines for staying healthy when making food content on social media:

Plan your own meals in advance: Planning your meals in advance can help you make healthier choices and avoid the temptation to snack on unhealthy foods while creating content.

Being mindful of your consumption: being aware of your food and being mindful is a very important component of wellness.

Try to Incorporate healthy ingredients: When creating recipes, try to incorporate healthy ingredients to have more balance in the food you eat.

Practice portion control: Be mindful of portion sizes when creating and serving

food content. Even the best food eaten in excess can be harmful. Avoid overeating or indulging in excess amounts of sugary or processed foods.

Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated and keep your energy levels up.

Take breaks: It’s important to take regular breaks while creating content to avoid burnout and reduce stress. Use your breaks to stretch, meditate, or take a walk.

Get moving: Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine, even if it’s just a short walk or stretching session. This can help reduce stress and boost your energy levels.

Take breaks: Sitting in front of a computer or camera for long periods of time can be detrimental to your health. Make sure to take regular breaks to stretch, move around, and rest your eyes.

Practice self-care: Take care of yourself both mentally and physically by practicing self-care activities such as yoga, meditation, or taking a relaxing bath.

Ultimately, maintaining health while posting food-related material on social media requires finding balance and practising self-care.

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

HISTORY OF BHUJIA: THE JOURNEY

OF NOSTALGIC

SNACKING

The modest bhujia has long been a ridiculously well-liked food option in India

The delicious bhujia has been a constant in our eating habits and daily routines, whether it is for breakfast in the morning when combined with tea or any other beverage, for a quick break from work in the afternoon, or for nighttime snacks.

That bhujia is frequently used as a crucial garnishing for foods and preparations in our everyday eating customs and culture.

Invented under the patronage of the Bikaneri royalty.

However, few people are aware that the humble bhujia did not actually have low beginnings. Instead, it is thought to have royal origins according to the majority of accounts, including popular history.

According to legend, in 1877, Maharaja Dungar Singh of the then-princely state of Bikaner was the one who first had this delicious savoury made for his guests. The Maharaja and his guests were served the snack, and to everyone’s pleasure, they couldn’t help but keep asking for more and more of the item they had just tried for the first time in their lives. The besan or gramflour-based snack, which was light or golden yellow in colour and spiced with a variety of herbs and seasonings, had never before delighted the royal palates of Bikaner and Rajasthan.

Became a mass product in course of time.

But that was only the start. The freshly created savoury, which was crispy, crunchy, and utterly irresistible, quickly made its way from the royal kitchen and nobility’s homes to the homes of commoners and families, becoming a culinary craze in Bikaner and elsewhere. The raging popularity of this savoury quickly attracted small businesses, food adventurers, and entrepreneurseven before the word “entrepreneur” became fashionable in India - who turned this obsession into formal business outlets.

In due course, bhujia came

to be one of the most constant and staple offerings of countless street food vendors, snack stall owners, and food and snack business operators who started to serve bhujia to their customers not only as an independent offering but also by combining it with other food items and titbits to satisfy the need and demand of the ever-increasing patrons of this snack. Bhujia became a constant presence everywhere, whether it was on pushcarts, bicycle carts, onhead vendors, or established stores and stalls.

Family businesses took the lead, later joined by multinationals.

By the turn of the century, a significant number of small, localised players had appeared in Bikaner and even further afield in Rajasthan as a part of the so-called cottage industry, advancing bhujia as a core product as a part of their larger basket of offerings.

Around the middle of the 20th century, a few famous family-owned ethnic food companies were established, using bhujia and its variations as their main product to capitalise on the snack’s enduring and unwavering popularity. These family-owned companies and their numerous offshoots have developed into prominent ethnic food brands with a presence both domestically and abroad.

In an effort to join the trend, several multinational corporations have developed their own versions of bhujia and related

the past few decades in an effort to catch up with the family-owned Indian ethnic food and savoury businesses.

Modern packaging has increased shelf life while reinforcing their identity.

Unlike the open and loose forms of bhujias that were previously distributed, the introduction of contemporary and designer packaging has increased their shelf life while also giving bhujias their own unique identity. Different types and variations of bhujia have developed over time based on the primary ingredients used to make them.

Because of the need to preserve the purity and freshness of the product, packaging has become an essential component of the entire process as production of this savoury has progressively scaled up as part of the expanding savoury snack companies due to their continuously rising popularity.

For the packaging of these bhujias, the use of contemporary packaging materials like laminated low-density polyethylene and polypropylene pouches has been especially noteworthy. It is not surprising that ethnic bhujia now accounts for over 15 per cent of the Indian savoury industry. At the same time, branded and locally produced bhujias coexist with their branded equivalents in tier II and III markets.

Therefore, the humble bhujia has gone a long way since then. The government’s decision to give it the Geographical Indication label in 2020 attests to both its enduring fame and the distinctiveness and exclusivity in terms of appeal and reputation that this modest savoury from the Bikaner region has established for itself. It should come as no surprise that bhujia and its variations, including more recent spinoffs like aloo bhujia, paneer bhujia, and maggibhujia, will continue to dominate snack lovers’ hearts and minds both in India and around the world.

By Manish Aggarwal

Natures desserts - Fruits

BY DEEVYA GUPTA

Fruits are a beautiful creation of nature we all enjoy that are highly nutritious, containing many vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, folate, calcium, potassium and fibre just to name a few. Is there a limit on how much we should have?

The current guidelines:

The current Australian Dietary Guidelines suggest an average daily intake of approximately two servings a day for adults. This includes various types of fruits such as:

• Fresh

• Dried

• Frozen

• Canned

• Juice

The most common types consumed being fresh or dried fruits.

What is a serving of fruit?

One serving of fruit is the equivalent of:

• 1 medium sized fruit (e.g. apple, pear, banana, orange)

• 2 small sized fruits (e.g. kiwis, nectarines, peaches, apricots, plums)

• 1 cup cut up fresh or frozen fruits

Occasionally:

• 30g dried fruit (e.g. 1.5 tablespoons sultana, 4 dried apricots)

• 125ml fruit juice

Are there certain fruits I should not have?

Not specifically. It is suggested to have the whole fruit instead of opting for juice as the fruit itself will contain more fibre which is beneficial for our gut and bowel health. This will also help to keep you full for longer,

as compared to juice which has minimal fibre and more sugar. Also think about how many fruits it takes to make 1 glass of juice –certainly more than 2 fruits!

At times people may be medically advised to reduce their overall intake of certain fruits if they have interactions with medications. Other than this it is not usually suggested to avoid certain fruits.

Some fruits are higher in fibre therefore keep you full for longer such as apples, other fruits such as watermelon may be easily eaten without making you feel full. If you feel less full, you are more likely to eat more.

Fruit juice for children- is it recommended?

Fruit juice is not recommended for regular intake with children. Especially for under the age of 2 years. This is because in addition to the slightly higher sugar levels present and the lower nutritional value compared to eating the whole fruit itself, juice may cause tooth decay.

I have Diabetes, am I still able to have fruit?

Most definitely yes. The two fruits per day suggestion is also applicable to those who are living with diabetes also. Just remember to have high fibre fruits wherever possible and not to over-eat at one time.

Is there a specific time to eat fruit?

Generally, fruit is best had in between meals, to help bridge any hunger gaps throughout the day.

It is also recommended to spread your two daily serves out so that your body can digest the fruits one at a time. A good indicator of when to eat fruit is when you start feeling hungry.

Try to spread the fruit intake out during the day or afternoon as most likely you may not be as active in the evenings after dinner.

Enjoy a variety of whole fruits with the family as a nutritious snack!

Please note this advice is of a general nature. If you have any concerns or queries you should get tailored advice from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and always consult with your General Practitioner before making any changes.

Variation:

Mast Mast Machi

Trevally cooked in a mild and flavoursome mustard sauce

Ingredients:

1 med size Trevally fish in cutlets

Marinate:

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp salt

Spice:

1 tbsp mustard seeds

3 tbsp oil or mustard oil

1 inch ginger chopped

5 cloves garlic chopped

2-3 green chillies chopped

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp panch phoran (spice blend)

1 onion finely chopped

3/4 tsp turmeric

1 cup coconut milk

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate the trevally cutlets with salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil or mustard oil in a non stick pan.

3. Stir in the mustard seeds, when it crackles add the chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies and fry lightly.

4. Add vinegar and remove from the heat. Allow to cool a little. Transfer this mixture into a mixer jar and grind to a fine paste.

5. Heat the remaining mustard oil in another non stick pan.

6. Add the panch phoran and chopped onions to the oil and fry until translucent.

7. Stir in the ground paste and mix. Pour in about ½ cup of water, salt and turmeric powder and mix well.

8. Pour in the coconut milk and stir well to mix. Bring to boil and allow to simmer for a few mins until gravy thickens slightly.

9. Meanwhile fry the travelly cutlets until golden in colour. Drain on paper.

Serves 2-4

Serve: Garnish:

10. Serve on a platter along with the hot gravy and garnish with coriander.

recipe

BY MANJIT SETHI

from the private collection

Serve hot with Basmati Rice or Roti

Fresh Coriander Leaves

In step 9 gently add the fish pieces and stir slowly to mix. Cover the pan and cook until the fish is tender.

Mesha (Aries)

Not a favourable month, for your financial prospects, There is a distinct possibility of your relations with your superiors deteriorating to such an extent that you might have to suffer a loss on this account. You must, therefore, guard against such a possibility and take steps well in advance to prevent such an eventuality.

Best days: 3, 12, 30

Lucky Colour: Red, Orange, Cream

Simha (Leo)

A gainful month, in so far as your financial prospects are concerned. Many of you can look forward to reaping a rich harvest of sudden gains. Speculation would also benefit quite a few among you. There is also a good chance of a favour being done to done to you by some old gentleman which could easily turn out to be a financial boon.

Best days: 5,3

Lucky Colour: White & Orange

Dhanu (Sagittarius)

There are indications that speculation would result in serious losses for some of you. Therefore, you should stay away from gambling of any sort. Relations with your superiors or employees are also likely to come under a cloud, to the extent that serious loss would become almost certain. But this you can prevent by some concentrated action and advance planning.

Best days: 9, 18

Lucky Colour: Red, Blue

Vrishabh (Taurus)

A very helpful, month in so far as your financial prospects are concerned. Many of you would reap a rich harvest of sudden gains, that are likely to come your way. Others would gain from speculative activity, making handsome profits.Most of you would be able to derive quick, useful results from your efforts.

Best days: 9, 18, 27

Lucky Colour: Green, Blue

Kanya (Virgo)

A fruitful month in so far as your professional prospects are concerned. Nothing particularly favourable about your financial prospects this month, There are clear indications that speculation would result in serious losses for some of you. The lesson is evident, that you should stay away from gambling of all varieties.

Best days: 3, 12

Lucky Colour: Orange, Green

Makara (Capricorn)

There are practically no encouraging signs for your financial prospects this month. Most of you could well find yourselves working quite hard and struggling to realize your pending targets, and not getting anywhere because of a set of adverse circumstances. To top it all, the climate would not be at all encouraging for the expansion of operations or for the launching of new ventures.

Best days: 1, 3, 4

Lucky Colour: White, Green, Blue

By D. Narayan (Tantracharya)

Mithuna (Gemini)

There are very few favourable signs for career advancement in the combination of stars facing you during the ensuring month. You would tend to work quite hard, and yet the realization of your objectives would elude you. There is also the distinct possibility of serious differences with your superiors.

Karkat (Cancer)

A gainful month, in so far as your financial prospects are concerned. Many of you can look forward to reaping a rich harvest of sudden gains. Speculation would also benefit quite a few among you. There is also a good chance of a favour being done to done to you by some old gentleman which could easily turn out to be a financial boon.

Best days: 2, 7, 9

Lucky Colour: Red, White, Yellow

Tula (Libra)

This month your financial prospects dose not seems to be very good. There is a distinct possibility of your relations with your superiors taking a nosedive. So much so that serious losses would become very probable. This, you must prevent by some foresight and advance action. Speculation would also almost certainly result in serious losses to some of you,

Best days: 9, 18

Lucky Colour: Red, Blue

Kumbha (Aquarius)

You could well find yourself working very hard and struggling to make existing operations achieve anticipated results. There is every chance that most of you would not have resounding success in this somewhat primary objective. Further, the climate would be expansion or for launching new ventures.

Best days: 9, 18

Lucky Colour: Red, Blue

Vrishchik (Scorpio)

The turn of events would not favour your financial advancement this month. There are also indications that any dispute or litigation that you might be involved in would almost certainly be decided against you, resulting in losses of a substantial nature. You must strive, therefore, to see that the decision in any such matter is postponed to a later and more favourable period.

Best days: 1, 3, 4

Lucky Colour: Red, Orange

Meen (Pisces)

There would be a lot of hard work, but the rewards would be nowhere near the effort put in. Similarly, travel is also indicated, but this again would fail to fulfil expectations to any worthwhile extent. It would be better to rely mainly on your own skill and efforts. A month during which you would have to make a good deal of effort to keep going.

Best days: 5, 3, 6

Lucky Colour: White, Green

Best days: 2, 7, 9

Lucky Colour: Red, Yellow, White

Punjabi Tip # 01

If it isn't a Patiala peg, it isn't a drink!

Punjabi Tip # 02: When we say Cloney, we don't mean George Clooney. It might mean Defence Cloney!

Punjabi Tip # 03:

A Punjabi wedding without alcohol will always have a drinks-car parked outside!

Punjabi Tip # 04:

If you're Punjabi, you definitely know at least one Sweety, Sunny, Tony, Jassi or Honey!

Punjabi Tip # 05:

No party is ...complete, till people start dancing & singing to 'saadi rail gaadi aae'!

Punjabi Tip # 06:

Butter Chicken, Butter Naan and Butter Milk - Three course meal for a Punjabi!

Punjabi Tip # 07:

Tandoori Chicken, the National Bird of Punjab!

Punjabi Tip # 08:

'Oye, Koyi nahi yaar' is our reply to 'Shit Happens'!

Punjabi Tip # 09:

If we use MC / BC more than 5 times in one sentence with you, we probably love you!

Punjabi Tip # 10:

The only people who proudly call themselves 'Amplifiers' and their girlfriends 'Woofers'

Punjabi Tip # 11:

5 things Punjabi would have - Bullet (bike), Jutti, Ray Bans, Jeep and Woofers

Punjabi Tip # 12:

It doesn't matter if you are from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu or Bangalore; we think you're a 'Madarasi'

Punjabi Tip # 13:

You know you're Punjabi when your nickname at home is 'Ullu de Patthe' or 'Khote de Puttar'

Punjabi Tip # 14: Canada & UK - Part of Punjab.

Punjabi Tip # 15:

P is for 'Panj Mint' and no matter how near or far a Punjabi is from you, he always says he'll reach in 'Panj Mint'! (5minutes)