Heart-y facts on daughters’ day

“Our sons may have brain, but it’s our daughters who have heart,” giggles Dr G Bakthavathsalam, chairman and managing trustee of KG Hospital & Post Graduate Medical Institute, Coimbatore, commenting on World Heart Day and Daughters’ Day falling on the same day, September 28 this year.
Which of the organs in your body is the most important one, the brain or the heart? If you think it’s brain, then you are wrong, he says.
And with 45 years of experience in the field of cardiac care, Bakthavathsalam knows how important it is to have a healthy heart.
“All the people whom you come across in your day-to-day life need not have a working brain. But definitely they will be having a beating heart,” he reasons out.
“Heart is not simply a pumping machine or an anatomy that needs a detailed study,” he elaborates on the need to possess a strong heart and how it hurts to have a weak heart.
If you lose one eye, thank god, there is another one. It is the same with the ears, kidney and even limbs. A physically-challenged, with two of his legs gone, can win an Olympic marathon. You can be alive with your brain dead. “But if your heart stops, even for a second, you are no more,” he sighs.
Heart should always be at its full energy for it to function healthy. It should be used to its full. Our heart is always alert with each of its lub-dub rhythm, closing and opening the heart valves, 72 times a minute. The very situations, which may destroy the rhythm of that beat, may be different for everyone.
“The heart can lose its rhythm any moment. A lottery ticket can make it happen, or the demise of someone close to your heart. To overcome such situations, you should have a bold heart,” he said.
Now, the question is how to have a bold heart. It’s quite easy to have a bold heart than to have a weak heart. Exercise is the best mantra. When it comes to heart, it is called cardio-vascular exercise.
“A simple walk through the Race Course cannot be called an exercise. An exercise by definition should increase your metabolic rate, which in turn will warm up your body making you sweat. An ideal exercise should increase your heart rate,” he explained.
To increase the heart rate to a target set is the most important thing in cardio-vascular exercise. It is not that a human heart should beat 72 times per minute. It is the condition when a person is resting. There is a simple formula to determine the rate of heart rate that a person should attain through exercise. It is ‘220 minus your age’, i.e. if you are 25, then your heart rate should be 195 and not merely 72.
There are many different ways to increase your heart rate. It can be walking, jumping, running, swimming… But it should be done consistently for about three quarter of an hour and at least three days a week.
“If you have done with it, be sure, you also own a bold heart,” he assured.
“It’s not necessary that you should ask your doctor’s permission to have a walk or a ride as a part of exercise. But when it comes to some special ways of exercising, that you are not used to, like trekking, skating etc, that too after the age of 35, you must seek the permission of your doctor. This is to make sure that your heart is capable of bearing what you are doing,” he suggested.
The doctor can check the functioning of your heart with an Electrocardiogarm (ECG) and echocardiography. Making you walk on a treadmill with electrodes connected from your heart to the computer, the doctor will determine the capacity of your heart.
“Don’t let your heart go out of energy. Exercise is the primary necessity, next comes the diet,” he says explaining the importance of diet in heart care.
During exercise, the energy is released. For energy to release, it should be first deposited inside us. So optimal intake of food is required for a perfect heart.
“Even though the heart rate is increased to the target needed, it may at times come across some speed-breakers. They affect the healthy functioning of heart. It can happen with both men and women, though the risk factors may be different,” he began with the risk factors.
For men, it is smoking that proves to be the prime threat. Some recent studies in Japan have proved that if the smoking score is more than 400 for a person, then he is most vulnerable to heart disease. If a person smokes 10 cigarettes a day for 40 days, then his score is 400, he detailed.
Junk food is also another risk factor. All the food that tastes good may not be good for heart. The oil content, butter or ghee and the spices that add to taste can ‘attack’ your heart. A man is more vulnerable for a heart disease if he smokes, is having high blood pressure or diabetes and if he is above the normal body weight. The optimal weight for a man is 80-85 kg, he be 5 ft or 6. The increase in weight can also cause osteoarthritis. The circumference of the belly should not increase more than 36 that it shows accumulation of fats.
“When it comes to women, the risk of heart diseases starts after the menopause. Till then, they are protected from heart attacks by a hormone called estrogens produced in them during menstruation. But 15 percent of men and also the same rate of women after menopause are under the risk of heart attack. The women should not gain weight more than 60 kg and increase belly circumference more than 32,” he said.
Now even teens suffer from heart ailments. Stress and strain would explain this new trend. Meditation, Yoga and breathing exercises can slow down the hyper activeness of brain. Anger is a temporary madness that should always be kept under control.
To create awareness is the only way to bring down the risk. As this World Heart Day talks, ‘Know your risk’. Catch them young, so that the awareness is created from kinder gardens. “Let the ones who have to build up tomorrow’s nation behold a bold heart,” he said.

Didi pop in Kovai, rings in 2010

“Love… When you have love in your eyes, and when your thoughts are young, you won’t see people growing old. My audience loves me and that keeps me still young” says the didi of pop music about her young looks.
With 40 years of music career, Usha Uthup calls herself a steady and long-lasting singer. “I don’t have a god father or god mother in music industry. From the very beginning, even as a nightclub singer, it was the support and blessings from the people that helped the singer in me,” says Usha Uthup.
The elusive pop singer asserts that she never found it difficult to lure the younger generation. “Music is my life. No matter where and how, its vibes will get on with me,” she says. When it comes to her songs, they are popular for the usage of English words in-between. “It was my style which made me unique. Now, I hardly hear a song without a “come on everybody”, or some other English words. And it makes me proud to say, “Hey, this is where all it started.”
Usha Uthup always comes along with a package _ a kancheepuram saree, more than a dozen bangles, an outsized bindhi and flower adorning her hair and matching ornaments. “I never developed a strategy for my appearance on stage. I wore what was available in my home. Mine was a middle-class family and I grew up seeing my mother and sisters wearing only saree,” says a humble Usha.
She has an extra line for her customized bindhi. “I myself used to paint designs for my bindhi. I normally use letters in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi as designs. Later some shoppers approached me telling that my bindhis have a huge demand. I drew some designs for them and you know what? Now I have to buy my own designs!” laughs this joke-loving singer.
“I love laughing at myself. People should learn to laugh at themselves often. The more you laugh at yourselves, the more you can relax and make others relax,” she says making fun of her own voice. “Usually, people call me ‘sir’ over the phone and I don’t take pain to change it,” shares the music legend.
She has a story behind her noted style of holding the pallu in her hand from left side. “Girls, be cautious! Whenever you attend a function, you can see photographers flashing lights only from your left side, craving for a part of your flesh. When I attended a function in music academy, there was good media coverage. But when I saw the newspaper, the first thing I cried out was “Oops! Is that my stomach?” A hard way of learning,” blinks the singer.
“Why don’t all the people of India get together and get me a padmashree, not for my songs but for me popularizing saree all over the world,” was her response to the appreciation given to her for wearing saree always.
When asked for four lines in her voice, there comes her favourite number… “I believe in music… and I believe in love… you know that…” As far as I am concerned, English is not a foreign language. I sing in 18 languages including English. Technology has reached its peak and anything and everything is possible in mixing and recording. But I still stick onto my mantra _ hard work. I don’t go for any punching or cutting and pasting of the lines, she says, however accepting the role of technology in the field.
“I love being recognized and I enjoy signing autographs. Don’t believe artists who say they hate publicity. After all, it’s for recognition, we all work for,” was her reply when asked about how she feel being a public figure. What does music mean for you? “Music is cyclic just like life. Whatever we give, it comes back. I give energy to my audience without expecting anything. But that energy reverberates in millionfold back to me.”
She hopes not just for a better year ahead, but a smashing two zero one zero.
And here comes pop legend’s New Year wish for Expresso readers, “Let all of you find more and more peace, more and more love and of course, more and more music. Let this 2010 be a smashing and beautiful year ahead. Happy New Year!”

Emerging from behind the habit

“Celibacy is the pivot of the Catholic Church. I want the Church to shed that decorative part of it and come out with the ‘wedlock freedom’ for those priests and nuns, who would like to get married,” says the taboo-breaking Sister Jesme.
According to her, Catholic Church claims a uniqueness of its own _ being wealthy, powerful, and a lot of don’t dos inside the hierarchy. “It’s high time for things to change. The God’s people, especially nuns, are living or made to live still in the Dark Age. They should be allowed to come out and see the world. Keeping illicit happenings locked behind the walls and protecting the name of the Church is of no use,” she, who is no more a nun, called out.
But she admits there are some dedicated souls, but a very few to be precise. Let them take the Vow of Chastity and lead a perpetual profession, she says. “But, as some of my superior priests and Mothers quip, if there are people who are ready to serve Jesus but can’t just make a chastity vow, we should allow them in. Marriage should not be a barricade for rendering such services and such vows should never be taken only to violate them being under the habit. There are people like Abdul Kalam and Mother Theresa who can remain unmarried for a noble cause. But it’s not fair to expect it from all, which doesn’t means they are not dedicated,” she explains.
She is sad over the response she received from the other members under habit. “It is for them I have written the book. I know they are scared. All of them are “Sr. Bhayas (someone with fear)”. And the ones who show the courage to speak out like Sr. Abhaya would face a drastic end, somewhere in a well or a mental asylum,” she said adding that she was shocked to hear how the nuns, and now a days priests, were being drugged and silenced inside the Church.
“Many who are ready to speak out are drugged and sent to mental asylums. You won’t believe the brainwashing session going inside the convents. You will become mentally numb and won’t have that mental stigma to think. So of course there is no matter of questioning. I too was many times forced to smile and keep silent on the many things happened around. Inside the habit, whatever you suffer was for Jesus. May be because I was enough educated and always kept that power of logical thinking awake, I was able to be out from there, though a bit late,” she said with a satisfaction in her words.
She is also happy for the HC verdict legalizing homosexuality. “If someone is born like that, think what the Creator’s idea of their future is. They should definitely find a space with others. With so much of nonsense happening within the so-called sacred walls, how can the Church or other religious leaders point their fingers towards someone who is suffering for no cause of theirs?,” she asks.
“I myself am a victim of homosexuality. I was harassed by a lesbian superior. I feel that at least such a verdict would help them find others of their community rather than catching hold of someone who is not a lesbian or gay,” she added.  Though there are a remarkable number of lesbians and gays inside the Church system itself, they are against these people because they are Church people and have to be like that, an irked Sister Jesme says.
The comments from the disciples of the Church about the brave and shocking open up of her sufferings within the enclosure were not at all encouraging. “Many told me that it was all known facts. In fact, some of the priests themselves told me that my sufferings are silly as compared and let things remain the same. They told me to hush-up the happenings and protect the name of the Church,” says Jesme who is looking forward for a renovation in the Church hierarchy, which she knows is a difficult task.
She wants her to be known Sister Jesme even out of the congregation. “I will prove that a habit and a congregation membership are not the only criteria for being the bride of Jesus. I am not going to change my name,” affirms Sister Jesme with an unbroken spirit.

POST-DELHI HC VERDICT…

The largest democracy is now in tune with the ‘free world’ that have decriminalised homosexuality. Rights activist Kalki shares with expresso her joy over the verdict, concerns over ‘ignorance’ among a section of public and anger over moral policing by pseudo faces

“No more fear. We are no more criminals. The verdict has changed our lives,” cries out an ecstatic Kalki. She depicts the mood among the LGBT community, post-Delhi HC verdict.
And for the rest of the society who are not willing to toe the line, she asks: “What do they mean by cultural pollution and damage to family system? Can you nowadays skim a newspaper without a story on the rape of newborn or child molestation? Can a ‘mother’ or ’sister’ walk free without fear during the night in our country? We don’t care a hoot to these moral policing by religious leaders and pseudo faces…”
Relieved after voicing her anger, Kalki now smiles. A smile that speaks volumes on the society that fails her and the community she represent. “They are unaware of our plight. They depict us as mere sex workers. They should understand that being a gay or lesbian is more than that,” she pauses with a sigh.
“A not-so small number among the people belongs to LGBT community. It includes people from all segments. It is not fair to comment only on their sexual orientation and calling it ‘unnatural’…
“Many say that homosexuality is unnatural. Even using contraception and condoms are unnatural. But as it helps to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, it is widely accepted. Who decides on what is natural and what is unnatural? Homosexuality is a biological phenomenon. We can’t call it abnormal or unnatural only because our culture and tradition doesn’t support it,” she added.
She then went silent for a moment before speaking further. “…Think of those who can’t afford a sex-change surgery to become a transgender,” said a sympathetic Kalki. “Repealing of Section 377 which says that an individual who ‘voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal’ shall be imprisoned for life or for a term exceeding 10 years and be liable to pay a fine, will make them a benefited lot,” she said.
“… I recently came across an article which explained homosexuality among animals, which was written by Maneka Gandhi. It was beautifully explained…that many animals, apart for reproductive process, mingle mostly with the same gender. It’s not for sex but for compassion, love and friendship,” she mused. Wondering why people still think it as unnatural when nature itself has depicted it natural, she did not forget to appreciate Maneka for coming out with the article despite that she is from BJP.
A waana-do-more Kalki can’t just sit idle rejoicing over the verdict.
She knows that she has a lot more to do. “It’s sad that information about the gays and lesbians that prevails among the public is misleading. But it’s more irritating to know that even medical fraternity lacks proper knowledge about this…,” says an annoyed Kalki.
“Most of the medical professionals including psychiatrists consider the condition of being a gay or lesbian as a sort of mental illness. But I say.. a gay or lesbian can never be changed into a heterosexual through treatments or counselling,” she asserted.
She also feels a strong need for setting up counselling centres for the parents of the LGBTs. “It is often seen that, if a person is identified as a gay or lesbian, the parents will force them to get married thinking that a marriage will solve the problem. This is a strong misconception. Many of the divorces that take place today is pointing finger to this,” she said.
Kalki knows that it is easier to catch the young rather than messing up with the old generation and she has a well-planned strategy for it. “We will put forth a suggestion to include the sexual orientation in the biology textbooks,” she said.
However, Kalki is happy for the verdict though she feels that it was a little late. “It is a beautifully-written script,” she says adding “it will find place in our history books”.

Sensitising Tamil media on rights of LGBT community

While the English media went gaga over the recent reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi High Court, the response of its Tamil counterpart has remained largely muted.

To sensitise them on LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders) rights, the Sahodari Foundation, an NGO, plans to organise a workshop next month on the issue.

Talking to the author,  Sahodari founder Kalki said the workshop will be held in the first week of August in Chennai. A similar event is slated to be organised in Coimbatore to cover the southern Tamil Nadu media.

Kalki pointed out that the State government had created a separate welfare board and allotted a significant amount in the recent budget for transgenders. “Granted that the Tamil media were more open to discussing transgender issues, but why is it that they shy away from flagging issues of other sexual minorities?” she wondered.

Kalki claimed that language media has various misconceptions on LGBT rights, which led to inaccurate reporting.

For instance, the term “orinaserkai” is used commonly in Tamil media for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. But it refers only to the sexual aspect. Instead, phrases like ‘oru paal eerpu kondavarkal’, ‘than paal vizhaivu kondavarkal’ (people who are attracted to their own gender) etc can be used to give them a sense of dignity.

“We are also trying to coin new Tamil terms to properly define our community,” she disclosed.

“While the English media has supported us, the Tamil media usually focuses only on the sexual aspect, ignoring their commitment to each other,” she rued.

“The prevailing concept is about an abnormal sexual orientation, however being a gay or lesbian is something much more than that. Though the English media has supported us, Tamil media usually talks about the sexual aspect, focussing only on the intercourse between members of the same gender and ignoring their commitment to each other,” she said adding that there are many committed relationships among LGBT community which are stronger than those seen in heterosexual couples.

“Through the workshop, we hope to sensitise the Tamil press (newspapers and magazines), television channels, radio and web media. Around 35 representatives of various Tamil media would be invited. We have also decided to distribute handbills. These will contain WHO’s removal of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1992, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (1973) which clearly states that homosexuality is not an illness and also much more details to create anawareness of what the LGBT community is all about. A similar event will be soon organised in Coimbatore in order to cover the southern media of Tamil Nadu,” she said.

Prominent personalities from academics and judiciary, human rights activists, film personalities, writers, and student representatives besides parents, siblings and neighbours of the LGBT people will participate in the workshop, she informed.

Main aisa kyu hoon?

Steps, ladders and heights were the only freighting factors of his life. Being a prominent politician with a communist background and social worker he was very active and enthusiastic. But when it comes to the matter of heights, there was no need for him to take a second thought to step back. The phobia of heights hindered his study tours during his school days and later his chances to visit abroad at his young age. It took fifty years for him to overcome the fear for heights. Finally, he caught his flight to China, his dream land, with no more fear for heights, thanks to P K Saru, Coimbatore-based Transactional analyst and director of Asha Counseling and Training Centre, Coimbatore.
It is not only such phobias, but every other issue dealing with your behaviour and personality is safe in her hands. P K Saru, is having 15 years of experience in the field of Transactional Analysis as a councilor, psychotherapist and trainer.
When one realizes his need for a personal growth, change in attitude and personality, the technique of Transactional Analysis can serve him or her at this point. Transactional Analysis can be simply explained as the psychological understanding of personality and behaviour. Transactional Analysis proves different from other psychological studies by helping you to answer the question “…Why do I behave the way I do?” It is a form of psychoanalysis being used in counseling, management, and personality development.
“Apart from allowing you to access more about yourself, TA acts as a powerful psychotherapic tool for your personal growth and change,” she says.
P K Saru, who is from a conventional Muslim family was born and brought up in Calicut in Kerala. It was when she was in a state of depression after the failure of her second marriage, she came to know about Transactional Analysis. It helped her lot to overcome the situation. “I was back to the spirits of my life. I saw a new light. I wanted everyone who is in a distressed condition to know about Transactional Analysis. I started thinking of it seriously.” Finally helping out many miserable souls and throwing light into the dark sides of many lives, she is now an internationally accredited Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst.
The idea of Centre for Holistic Integrated Learning and Development (CHILD), a public charitable trust based in Coimbatore thus came out as her brain child.
“We believe that people are OK. We all can think clearly at all times and we decide how we want our lives to be,” she says on the value base of CHILD. Asha Counseling Services was the maiden programme of CHILD, which is engaged in providing counseling and training services to the public for better living.
“Asha is the manifestation of my vision to establish a sustained community of professionals using Transactional Analysis for personal, professional and social development. My passion is to make systematic and scientific counseling and psychotherapy accessible and affordable to common people. This is the driving force of my centre,” she asserts.
Dr Eric Berne, the originator of TA, considers the transaction as the result of social intercourse. In this transaction people change from one state to another and this change of state can easily be identified by the person’s changes in appearance, manners, gestures and words.
Transactional analysis is based on the concept of ego states and regards their interactions as the basis for human relationships. TA describes how people are structured psychologically. It uses what is perhaps its best known model, the ego-state (Parent-Adult-Child) model to do this. This same model helps understand how people function and express themselves in their behaviors. The goal of TA is to achieve harmony among these ego states.
A transaction consists of a stimulus and response. Transactional stimulus is the behaviour produced by one person in acknowledgement of the presence of other persons around him and Transactional Response is the response to that stimulus by another person.
“Transactional Analysis is a universal language. We believe in the philosophy that ‘all of us are good.’ All of us are innately divine. This is very much compatible with the concept of Gita,” she explained.
Transactional analysis is similar to a contract between two persons. “…We does not adopt a one-up position, but instead adopts an ‘I’m OK-you’re OK’ approach, with client and therapist equally involved in the process of change and growth,” she says.
An eclectic approach is adopted by her in counseling for those who need help with personal, interpersonal, emotional and family problems. “Every one is capable of thinking. But many don’t use the capacity of thinking due to certain circumstances. Many a times, we are the slaves of our own conditions and situations,” she says. Transactional Analysis helps a person to remove this block which hinders the thinking capability and sets free our mind. This helps a person not only to think but also to develop himself psychologically.
“There is nothing like ‘I can’t do’ in ones life. All are having equal caliber. But when one undergoes a stage of mental agony or depression, he or she will need a hand to help them out of the situation. This can be performed by a transactional analyst,” she said.
When drastic changes are taking place in the world over in every dimension, traditional values, roles and perspectives are under great stress. At this juncture, individuals, families, groups and even organizations are finding it hard to catch their anchor, goals, stability and productivity. A social transformation is possible through personal change and growth. CHILD envisages this through its various training progarmmes and courses. Apart from TA training, training in life skills, basic counseling skills are also offered by the centre.
You either make yourself miserable or you make yourself strong, the amount of the work is the same. If you have decided to take effort on making yourself strong, Saru along with her CHILD will lend you hands. Her phone no: 0422 2310520

When bells herald a new dawn…

“…Jingle bells, jingle bells jingle all the way…” As Christmas papa arrives at our door steps with lots of gifts in his hands, giving everone a wake up call on a chilly December dawn, it is a huge pleasure to wake from our sleep hearing the beats of drums and to sing along with the Christmas group in front of our door. This is a keenly awaited part of Christmas, not only by kids but also the elders. A Christmas carol headed by Santa Claus heralds the message of the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem, from house to house during the month of December.

Christmas carols are sung throughout the silent nights of December and reach a crescendo by Christmas Eve. Their history can be traced back to the blessed night when shepherds from the rolling field heard the angels proclaiming the astounding news, “To you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, who is the messiah, the Lord!”

The news of the holy birth along with the angelic anthem, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on Earth, peace among those whom God favours” is reiterated through out the world nowadays through Christmas carols.

Carols are basically the joyful religious songs celebrating the birth of Christ. Apart from the most popular English carols namely ‘Jingle Bells’, and ‘Silent Night’, there are many other famous carols in most vernacular languages. Usually the particular church choir decides which of the numerous compositions should be sung.

The preparations for carols start even before the month of December with rehearsals of new songs, dressing of Santa Claus and wrapping gifts for children, which will reach them, when Santa visits their houses. The carols are organised by churches and the areas to be covered each day is listed out by the carol team. The carol team then visit all the houses without discriminating on the basis of religion or caste. They congregate at the church, and then move from one house to another while singing, dancing and enjoying. Starting out early in the night, they go on till the sun rises to rescue everyone from the icy mornings.

“We started our carol preparations from November itself. Apart from the traditional carol songs, new Tamil songs are also used recently. Many carol teams are also there and these teams visit houses and try to spread the festive mood. These singing and dancing will continue up to the Christmas Eve,” says Fr Aloysaus Xavier, of St Michels church, Coimbatore.

“Every year we try to bring some changes in tunes and lines. One thing we ensure is that at least five songs are those which are newly composed. We keep a competitive spirit also in this regard as there are many teams. For us Christmas means Carols”, says Blessy, a carol team member.

“Carols fill the air with Christmas mood. Our first preparation for Christmas is getting ready for carols. We prepare for some exclusive songs every year,” says Ida, also a team member.

At first carols were performed by small groups in villages and was not a part of churches. It was St Francis of Assissi who introduced carols as a traditional Christmas service. It started becoming popular by the mid 14th century.

Christmas carols are welcomed by each house with cheers and smiles. A Christmas tree decorated in front of the houses is the favourite place for the Santa Claus to hide his gifts for children. The Christmas tree is decorated with stars, miniature Santas, models of gifts and musical instruments and bells. During olden days, the deodar trees with many wide spread branches were felled down to make a Christmas tree. Balloons, bells, gifts, white cotton to give the appearance of snow etc are also hung on the tree. It is mainly the duty of elders to arrange the tree while the rest of the decorations is done by children.

But now a days, even the Christmas tree is available in ready-made form. The only thing to do is choose a fine-looking tree from the shopping mall. Sometimes, just an undecorated tree is purchased while other decorations and accessories are bought separately, thus giving an opportunity for kids to decorate the tree at their home. If you don’t find the time for decoration too, don’t worry, you should go in for the decorated type.

Regardless of the reason to celebrate the season, people enjoy the spirit behind the celebration of Christmas with cakes and candles, carols and Santa Claus, Christmas trees and cribs, Christmas foods and feasts.

Christmas continues to be the most universally celebrated holiday around the globe, transcending languages, cultures, and even religious beliefs. With only a day to go for celebrating the birthday of that humble carpenter’s son, people are ready with their Christmas vigils and preparations for the night mass. Let the candles that light up the altar on today’s night bring peace to the world. Wishing all a Merry Christmas…

A yummy yummy Xmas

This is the month of snow and songs, celebrations and decorations and of course the month of candles and cakes. Surely one of the first things that comes to mind when anyone thinks about Christmas delicacies must obviously be the ever popular Christmas cakes. A Christmas cake lends the spirit of joy and celebration not only to those who consume it but also to the bakers who bake it.

Christmas cake is an English tradition that has its origins in the humble plum porridge. People ate the porridge on Christmas Eve to line their stomachs after a day of fasting. Soon dried fruit, spices and honey were added to the porridge mixture, and eventually it turned into the Christmas pudding, which is now as familiar as Christmas cakes.

In the 16th century, oatmeal was removed from the original recipe, and butter, wheat flour and eggs were added. These ingredients helped hold the mixture together and what emerged as a result was boiled plum cake. They made the cake using seasonal dried fruit and spices. The spices represented the exotic eastern spices brought by the Three Wise Men. And thus the ‘Christmas cake’ has undergone a lot of tinkering as far as the recipe is concerned.

The Christmas cakes are made in advance and is a month-long process. The cake mixing ceremony, a big event in many hotels now days often takes place in November. Tonnes of dry fruits are chopped and soaked in liquor in an airtight stainless steel container.

The cake mixing ceremony highlights the spirit of Christmas besides bringing to the fore the ability and unity of the bakers. Most of the hotels will have their own guests, and sometimes even celebrities in their kitchen to mix the cake. The ceremony often brings out the message from the hoteliers that “we are ready for the seasonal celebration.”

The dry fruits are often purchased two months back. “We use about 22 varieties of dry fruits and five varieties of nuts in making the Christmas plum cake. It is soaked in whisky, brandy, rum or wine. Then we preserve it for a month,” says an executive chef at a star hotel here in Coimbatore. The soaking of fruits in the alcohol is to lend it an aroma and also ends up adding richness to the cake.

The dry fruits soaked in liquor are usually preserved for a month or more, but not exceeding 45 days as the fruits get squashed and lose their nature. The dry fruits used normally include red current, dried ginger chips, dried apple, processed pineapple and many more in the list. In between, in a ten-day interval, the whole mixture will be moved upside down because it is important for the alcohol to get into the fruit and soften them, thus making the cake moist.

A perfect Christmas cake is one which is moist, never crumbles, and must be cut with a bread knife, not with a butter knife. This depends mostly on the fruit-mixing process. But the method of baking also will have an impact on the same.

If the fruit-mix, preserved over a month, is baked for 40 to 45 minutes, a delicious Christmas cake results, on the other hand if it is steamed for about eight hours, you get a yummy Christmas pudding. Though both the cake and pudding uses the same fruit-mix soaked in liquor, the output is entirely different. Christmas cake uses 3 to 4 kg of dry fruit for 1 kg of flour while Christmas pudding uses about 11 kg of dry fruits.

“Christmas pudding is richer in taste as its nutritive value remains the same since it is steamed. It is good for all, especially ladies and kids because they need more energy,” a chef explains.

The celebration does not end up with just the cake mixing and cake baking. The third part of the celebration i.e. the cake tasting ceremony is usually held two weeks before Christmas.

Most often, a special counter will be opened in the hotel or cake shop. Apart from the traditional plum cake and pudding there will be other varieties of cake too. “We have introduced 6 to 8 new varieties of cake this year. We always try to give the best to Coimbatoreans,” says S Ashok Kumar, executive chef, The Residency, Coimbatore.

Though many hotels in Coimbatore dropped the cake mixing ceremony as a mark of homage to the Mumbai terror martyrs, they have arranged some small functions including cake tasting ceremonies so that their regular guests and customers won’t feel too depressed.

So, if you don’t have time and patience to go for a homemade cake, but have a yummy want for one, just move out and get a delicious Christmas plum cake or pudding at your nearest cake store. Here is wishing you all a yummy Christmas!

 

 

 

 

Post thy heart, this Xmas

 

“Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,” – this was how a traditional Christmas greeting read. But now, the modern trends of the 21st century have given a new look to Christmas cards with change in styles and messages. The evolution of cards has now replaced the traditional ones, once in parchments and later in papers, with the present status of E-cards.

 Christmas cards were the most important part of Christmas celebrations, the way to send all the love and peace of Christmas season to our dear ones. Gone are the days when we used to save all our pocket money for the whole year, only to spend it on Christmas cards. With the upcoming of Internet and message services in cell phones, things are no longer the old.

 Christmas cards have now given way to E-cards and Christmas SMS. The process of buying the Christmas cards, getting stamps and posting it to near ones have all turned a tiresome job for the present day generation. They find it easy to surf through the websites and find a suitable E-card for their friends or relatives, that too only on the day just before Christmas.

 Long back, Christmas cards were made in dried leaves and parchments. Later paper greeting came in and by the 20th century, cards with envelopes became trendy. The designs used were simple like picture of Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus in the crib, or the three kings’ visit to see the trio, the star of Bethlehem or Christmas star.

 New designs were introduced, and slowly Christmas cards became the part and parcel of Christmas celebrations. The production of Christmas cards was, throughout the 20th century, a profitable business for many, with the design of cards continually evolving with changing tastes and printing techniques.

 The purchase of greeting cards was a month-long job. Selecting Christmas cards was a shopping favourite among many. The members of the family would sit down together, pen down the list of relatives for whom the cards should be sent. Friends used to go in groups to the shops to buy the Christmas greetings. When it comes to youth, the wording inside the cards was given the priority, whether some poems or biblical versus.

 “During our time, Christmas was celebrated by all religions and sections of society. Christmas greetings were the most loved thing among us. We didn’t have a Valentine’s Day or Friendship Day to celebrate. All we had was Christmas and New Year. So it was a time to exchange cards and gifts, not only among friends but also among lovers,” says Ranjini, a 40-year-old housewife.

 “The Christmas seasonal sale is on. But we don’t experience a rush like yesteryears. May be the effect of global meltdown or spread of E-cards, there is no much wanted for the Xmas greetings this year,” Govindraj, manager, Archies Collections, Coimbatore said.

 Many shops in Coimbatore experience a similar sales-down. Apart from inflation many reasons the booming of E-cards as a major reason for this dullness in card sales.

 E-cards are available in ‘n’ number. There are even special websites exclusively for Christmas greetings. They also offer plenty of variety among them. The most interesting thing with E-cards is its option to customize the cards. You can leave your customized message on it. Even photos of you or your friends can be uploaded and can be sent as greeting card.

 “I find it quite easy with E-cards. Moreover, it’s a good thing that we can customize our cards and send our personal messages in cards. Its very creative too,” Ancy, a medical transcriptionist said. Most of them fine it economic also.

 Even in E-cards there are a wide variety including animated Christmas carol cards. You can select a carol song and send it along with your E-card. The infant Jesus giggling or chuckling inside the crib or Mary and Joseph watching their child. There are several animated cards narrating the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

   “From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another.

Let the warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other through this SMS,” no wonder, this is also a new way of sending Christmas greeting, not via post or web, but through mobile phone! This is another trend that have come forward to replace the tradition of paper greeting cards are Christmas SMS. With a month to go for Christmas, people starts sending advance Christmas SMS.

 “Who cares to go behind all these stuffs in shops when you have a mobile phone and lots of forwarded messages, exclusively Xmas greetings, in your inbox. Also, as sky is the limit for creativity, we can use our personalized picture messages and multimedia messages to send the greetings” Sasha, a second year visual communication student from Bishop Appasamy College, Coimbatore said.

 Rather than individuals, corporate firms and companies are still sticking on to Christmas cards to wish their customers and well-wishers a Merry Christmas. Though there are many modern ways to convey Christmas greeting, some people still find it interesting to send Christmas cards. “The Christmas cards should be sent with more love and intimacy. E-cards or mobile SMS can never replace the importance of Christmas cards. It is a joyful and nostalgic feeling when you receive a Christmas card addressed to you. This becomes more special when a postman come in search of you and give it,” Thomas, a retired headmaster said. Anyone, who has at least once, received such a Christmas card from your loved ones, will undoubtedly agree with him.

 As an old Christmas greeting says, a silent night, a star above, a blessed gift of hope and love. A blessed Christmas to you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curves, not so appealing….

When 11-year-old Deepthi’s parents found something extra-ordinary in her body shape, they only knew that she was having some problems with her spine. But it is only when they brought her to Coimbatore Ganga Hospital all the way from Visakapattanam, their hometown, they realized that their daughter was suffering from scoliosis, a disease which would have worsened and disfigured her if went unnoticed.

 Deepthi was suffering from scoliosis with a 110 degree curve on her spinal cord. After a surgery performed by a team of orthopaedic surgeons under Dr S Rajasekaran, director of Orthopaedic Department, Ganga Hospital, her spine was made straight and the smile was brought back on her face, thanks to the modern technologies in the field of spinal surgery.

 Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine that makes the spine look more like an ‘S’ or ‘C’ than a straight one. It is mostly diagnosed during childhood or adolescence. But in some cases, it may be diagnosed during adulthood also.

 The normal spine is curved in the front to back direction with a forward curvature at the neck and the lower back, a backward curvature at the chest and the level of the pelvis. The spine does not have any normal sideways bend. But in the case of scoliosis it will have a sideways bending.

 According to Dr S Rajasekaran, scoliosis can occur due to different reasons. “In a congenital type of scoliosis, abnormalities in formation of spinal vertebrae during the fetal stage cause spinal deformity as the child grow. Uneven growth of the vertebrae causes the spine to bend towards one side,” he said.

 In some other cases, the children will have nerve or muscle diseases that cause spinal deformities, for example polio or cerebral palsy. Here the abnormal curvature is caused by the uneven muscle pull on the spine.

 The deformity is usually noticed due to the cosmetic disfigurement in the child. “Uneven shoulders or waistline, a prominent chest wall on one side, leaning slightly to one side or a hump on one side of the back are the most common findings in a child with scoliosis. Scoliosis, as it creates a disfigurement can create many psychological problems in the child. The child can gradually turn an introvert as he or she faces difficulty in facing the society,” he said.

  Since there won’t be any pain in scoliosis, unless the curvature is so large causing some neurological abnormality, it is again hard to detect scoliosis at its early stage.

  “If the spinal curvature happens in the thorax, called as truncal decompensation, the whole trunk of the person will bend to one side. In sequestrated hemi vertebrae condition, which is one of the worst variety of scoliosis, the multiple hemi vertebrae is formed and it grows into the spinal canal and hits spinal cord leading to nerve weakness. In the case where the curvature occurs in the chest region, the volume of the region would reduce and expansion of lungs would become difficult. The person will ultimately become unable to breath. Since it can lead to secondary cardio respiratory failure, the surgery also becomes complicated,” he noted.

 The children with tuberculosis are more prone to scoliosis since the disease can melt the vertebrae and cause a curve, generally coming under developmental scoliosis. “Children with spinal tuberculosis can never be completely discharged even after cure of the disease. He or she should be kept under observance until their growth period is over,” Rajasekaran explained on spinal tuberculosis.

  The scoliosis can have progressively worsening curves which is to be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. The diagnosis is very easily confirmed by just clinical examination but investigations are necessary to evaluate the severity of the curve and decide on the best treatment. On the assessment, the doctor will decide whether to treat it with bracing or surgery depending on age, severity of curve and degree of breathing difficulties.

 Mild to moderate curves, between 20 degree and 45 degree which do not appear to be progressing very quickly can be treated using a brace. A brace will be developed depending on a particular curve. The patient will need to wear the brace almost all the time until the end of growth. This will be followed by specific exercises and will require close monitoring by a surgeon.

 On the other hand, surgery becomes important in children with large curves rapidly progressing curves or when bracing fails to prevent curve progression.

 It is easy to bend a plant than to bend a tree. This is what Dr Rajasekaran tells about the difference in spinal surgery between a child and an adult. In children, the spine will be more flexible. So if operated earlier in childhood itself, the success rate of surgery will be more.

 But people are often not ready to undergo spinal surgery, especially during the younger age. There is a huge fear among the public for spine surgeries. So they try to overcome the crises for time being doing some exercises or waiting for the child to grow old. But this worsens the condition.

 Awareness should be created among the public about the modern technologies and increase in the success rate of spine surgeries these days. Not only the public, but also many general physicians are unaware of the condition. Many have postponed the surgery till it become acute only because their family doctors asked them to wait.

 Now, the spine surgery can be aided by computer navigation technology. Usually for the surgery in scoliosis, the deformed vertebra is removed and screws are fitted in to the spine to correct the gaps between other vertebrae. The risk lies here. When the screw is implanted, if it goes 20 degree out, it will pierce aorta, the largest trunk artery, and if gone 20 degree in, it will hit spinal cord. This may lead to a completely paralyzed stage or even death.

 The use of computer navigated technology comes to help at this point. Through this technology, a three dimensional picture will appear on the screen when the surgery is carried on. This system is scientifically proven to improve accuracy rates of screw placement and allows placement of screws in challenging situations in scoliosis.

 Ganga Hospital is the first of its country to use computer navigation technology in spine surgery. “We have been regularly using computer navigation in various spine surgeries and have particularly found it to be extremely useful in deformity surgeries,” Dr Rajasekharan remarked.

 Scoliosis can’t be prevented, but can be diagnosed and cured. The dressing patterns often prevent the disease to be detected at an early stage. But people should come forward once the deformity is seen rather than waiting for the condition to get acute. Early the best must be the attitude among the people towards treating scoliosis, he pleaded. 

 

  Published in Expresso, The New Indian Express, on 10.12.2008