LIFE


Dr Nita Mukherjee describes how FRCH is creating a cadre of women village health workers It is well known that people in rural India are just an illness away from poverty. Since medical care is not easily accessible, people have to spend on treatment and travel to the nearest Primary Health...

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Dr Nita Mukherjee describes how HOPES, Mumbai, is helping deal with hazardous medical waste Increasing health care facilities around the country leads to an obvious increase in the bio-medical waste. A 2005 report estimated that of the total 7,000 tonnes of waste generated in Mumbai, almost...

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The concrete jungles of Mumbai are home to ‘urban tribals’. An NGO called Jaag is trying to rehabilitate them, discovers Gaver Chatterjee It is hard to believe but the concrete jungles of Mumbai are home to what can be called ‘urban tribals’. When Vitthal Govind Lad, a social worker, visited...

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A paradox lies at the heart of the so-called Mediterranean diet: people in the region sit down to long, convivial meals replete with rich meat or seafood with cheese, not to forget the liberal libations of olive oil and salads plus whole grain breads -- all washed down with copious quantities of...

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Dr Nita Mukherjee explores the factors that led to a successful collective of strong NGOs in Kutch If a collective of NGOs survives almost a decade -- nay grows in its operations and influence -- even after its proximate cause of disaster relief and mitigation dissipates, it calls for serious...

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MoneyLIFE 21 December 2006
Since the bull run began in May 2003, the Sensex has gone up by 367%. The MoneyLIFE Index of lifestyle stocks has gone up by 507%. A major bull market for leisure, lifestyle and entertainment stocks has just begun   Economic liberalisation has transformed the landscape of India...

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Earlier, we talked about ‘Yoga of the Empty Fist’. This was about a fitness regimen without props, about ‘anytime-anywhere’ isometrics. These exercises involve static muscle contraction with no visible movement in the angle of the joint. As the name suggests (‘iso’ means ‘same’ and ‘metric’ is...

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Only ant-like perseverance can transform the backward and beautiful North East, says Sucheta Dalal. Here is the story of one such effort It requires great courage and tremendous determination to work in the beautiful but violence- ridden backward terrain of India’s north-eastern states. In...

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It is a real challenge for extremely busy folks to join a fitness programme. Motivators have to resort to all sorts of stratagems to get them to find time. One involves making use of the bed itself as the fitness gym. The logic: even busy people have to lie down, some place, to sleep. So why not...

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Positive thoughts and nutrients nourish and nurture Joan Collins, the great Hollywood Diva says she doesn’t give her own age (73 years) much thought. But she does get startled whenever she sees it mentioned in print: “Wait a minute,” she says to herself. “That can’t be right. It’s...

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Meet Shraddha, an NGO that fights autism with creativity and love to empower a set of differently-abled adults says Sucheta Dalal If you have noticed some beautifully finished silk bags with bangles or gajras for handles, stunningly crafted gift boxes, decorative candles or festive leaf pressed...

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Sometimes the inquiry into origins of food can prove out to be illuminating. Consider the non-cereal Rajgira: it looks like poppy seeds (khus-khus) and is often used as substitute for cereals like wheat and rice during religious fasting days in western India. Rajgira is venerated for its ritual...

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Dr Nita Mukherjee discovers how the commercial use of a traditional craft has made the girl child wanted in Kutch Four years ago, a Trustee of the Sarwa Sewa Sangh a Bhuj NGO told me that embroidery had become the main activity of many rural Kutchhi women. Its social impact is very evident....

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A fitness fanatic friend of ours slipped and badly injured his hip and wrists during the recent rains. His `huff and puff’ routine was in jeopardy. To get his daily workout, he even tried walking. But it wasn’t good enough. When a team from the University of Alberta compared a 10,000-step...

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How Gujarat Ambuja Cements rehabilitated lands mined out at Kodinar Mining inevitably leads to changes in land use and alters livelihoods and landscapes. Over the past 20 years, the sector has been regulated through a series of legislations primarily for environmental protection. According an...

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Goonj is a unique effort to collect used household stuff for the needy, reports Sucheta Dalal It is the stated objective of Goonj (echo) that makes its commitment and realism stand out. It does not dole out huge amounts of money, does not to talk about wiping out poverty, but talks of taking...

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Among the many things Moghuls brought to India is a fondness for meat roasted on spits. Of course Indians used to eat roasted meat earlier. But the Central Asians’ patronage made kababs ubiquitous on the Indian subcontinent. The culinary form reached its zenith in states such as Lucknow and...

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Nita Mukherjee writes about a unique educational experiment His visiting card simply says Yogendra: Secretary, Bodh Shiksha Samiti. He does not want to mention the surname, which often reveals a person’s caste. In the highly stratified social milieu of Rajasthan, this makes a simple but...

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The deep red juice of pomegranate seems to work against prostate cancer cells grown in lab dishes and in mice, and also in humans, according to two recent studies reported by American scientists. Pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants - chemicals that give fruits and vegetables their deep...

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Here is the story of a unique commune that converted an arid area into a green and fertile zone At a time when suicides by farmers have gradually been reduced to cold statistics reported by the media everyday, the Timbaktu Collective in Anantapur District is an astonishing story of how an arid...

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