Aging gracefully

By Kanayalal Raina

A community is known by the way it treats its vulnerable sections of the society such as the Elders. Traditionally, in India, it has been a part of our culture, for society and family to take care of older persons. Senior citizens are held in high esteem and are given priority and respect in all matters.
A demographic revolution is under way throughout the world. Today world wide there are about 600-million aged persons above 60-years and over. This figure is going to double by 2025 and will reach virtually 2-billions; vast majority of them in developing countries.
Today, rapid urbanization and compulsions of modern working conditions have lead to a breakdown of the traditional joint family system resulting in the growth of nuclear families. Better medical facilities have lead to increase in longevity. Like over all population of the country, the population of the Senior Citizens (SC) is also growing at a fast rate. As on today, we the senior citizens constitute about 9% of the total population i.e. over 10-crores. In percentage terms their population is projected to rise to about 12.4% by 2026 i.e. 176.1 millions.
What exactly is the situation in our state of J&K we do not know for sure? Majority of the elders are in the rural areas where the government agencies under the Social Welfare deptt have made no effort to improve their lot although, there are several schemes available for taking care of medical and socio-economic condition under various schemes both with the GOI and the state Social Welfare deptt. Well, that is what we do expect from the Govt. agencies, for at least, those of our members who are financially week and cannot manage their daily living both within or out side their family circle.
Anyway, for those of us who have no financial constraints and are victims of several old age problems of health, loneliness, domestic unrest/mal-adjustment and look for help of any kind from some out-side agencies, being alone to manage their affairs here are some tips that can be recommended for them to make them feel an important member of the society even at this advanced age.
* Join Social Organizations and give them a helping hand to improve the existing system.
* Share your positive experience with other people.
* Since you have time, devote some time to improve surroundings of the area your live in and use your clout for benefit of the people around you in improving the govt. services like lanes, drains, water and electricity supply health care etc.
* Make your presence felt where ever you goby active participation in the social functions, seminars, and other activities.
* Those of us who are mentally alive and have taste for writing may contribute their constructive views in the news papers and magazines, may be in the shape of 'letters to the editor' on different public problems.
* If you are a professional keep your interest alive in your profession and keep yourself abreast with latest information /development in your profession and use it for benefit of the society. Do not feel shy of interacting with those who are in-charge of things now, may be they were once your juniors or subordinate.
* Do nurse feelings that as long as you live you owe something to the society you live in.
* Within your family while conversing/discussing matters with your children place yourself in their age-group and at their level to see and analyze the problem/subject under discussion (each one of us passed through that stage of life) and then decide and advice. The result would be positive.
* Do have a positive feeling of being young, healthy and energetic.
* Last but not the least, try to maintain a healthy, cheerful look and appearance. Dress in the colours you like and love. Mere colours combination of your dress can change mood and spirit. (a comment, 'you look smart and young' would make your day.
These are some suggestions which would add spice to your life and you will surely feel 'there is lot of interest in life' even now. Not only members of your own family, even people around you will certainly respect you. And that is precisely what one is looking for at this stage of life.

Taking care of your skin

By Kanayalal Raina

I have always maintained that internal health and external beauty are two sides of the same coin. The skin is called the mirror of the body and rightly so. No other organ reflects the state of internal health as faithfully as the skin. An unhealthy lifestyle, lack of sleep and exercise, stress, nutritional deficiencies all reflect on the skin, in terms of dull lifeless skin. Indeed, good health and physical fitness are imperative for radiant skin. It is also directly related to the kind of nutrition the body receives. Include a variety of natural foods, like fresh fruits, raw salads, sprouts, yogurt, fresh fruit juices, leafy green vegetables, "dalia", oats, green tea, in your diet. Avoid refined grains, like "maida." Fresh fruit juices should be diluted with water. Drink plenty of water. Foods like these remove toxins and cleanse the system, adding a glow to the skin. 

We all know that daily exercise is necessary for fitness, a slim and supple figure, good posture and grace. It also adds a healthy glow to the skin by improving blood circulation to the skin surface. Every tissue of the body needs oxygen, so begin your exercises by doing deep breathing in front of an open window. You should check with your doctor before beginning a regular exercise routine. Walking is good physical activity, as it exercises all the muscle groups. Adequate sleep is also essential. Sleep is a way of restoring energy to the body and is nature's best cure. It is a beauty treatment in itself. Habitual lack of sleep not only makes you lethargic and robs you of vitality, but also reflects on the skin, in terms of lack of vitality and radiance.
External care also helps to keep the skin in good condition. So, here are some tips that will help to put the glow back on the skin. You need not look far. Right there, on your kitchen shelf, are ingredients that can easily be used to add radiance to the skin.
Tone the skin daily with rose water. Toning stimulates blood circulation to the skin surface and adds a glow. Keep rose water in a bowl in the fridge and soak cotton wool pads in it. Use them to wipe the skin. Then, stroke the skin with them. On the cheeks, use outward and upward movements, ending each stroke at the temples and applying gentle pressure. On the forehead, start from the centre and go outwards on each side, again ending at the temples. For the chin, use circular movements. Then, pat the skin briskly with the rosewater-soaked cotton wool pads.
Exfoliate the skin once or twice a week. It can work wonders, helping to remove dead skin cells and brightening the skin. It also improves skin texture and produces an even colour tone. Exfoliation, which is done with scrubs, is a powerful cleansing procedure too, leaving the skin renewed, refreshed and glowing. For a scrub, mix ground almonds (badaam) with yogurt. Dried and powdered lemon and orange peels can also be added. Dry and powdered mint (pudina) leaves also help to add a glow. Apply it on the face and leave on for a few minutes. Then, rub gently, with small circular movements, washing off with water. A facial scrub can also be made with walnut powder. Add honey and lemon juice.
Mix honey and lemon juice in equal quantities and apply daily on the face. Wash it off after 20 minutes. It leaves the skin very soft and glowing. Egg white can also be added to this mixture.
Use a face mask twice a week. Mix half a cup of ripe papaya pulp with 2 teaspoons each choker and ground almonds, and one teaspoon each honey and curd. It should be a thick paste that does not drip. Apply it on the face, avoiding the lips and area around eyes. Wash it off after 20 to 30 minutes.
Dried and powdered curry leaves (kari patta) can also be added to face packs, as it is said to add a glow to the skin. It can be mixed with Fullers Earth (multani mitti) and rose water into a paste. Apply on the face and wash it off when it is dry. Multani mitti also clarifies the skin and is particularly useful for oily skin.
The pollutants and grime in urban air also make the skin very dull. That is why night time cleansing is of utmost importance. Cleanse the skin daily at night, according to skin type and rinse well with plenty of plain water. Wipe off creams with moist cotton wool before going to sleep. The repair and renewal of skin cells takes place when we sleep. So, leave the pores unclogged and free to "breathe" during the night. If the skin is very dry, apply a light moisturizing lotion at night.
All said and done, I wish to reiterate what I said right in the beginning….. a beautiful skin has a radiance and vitality that come from sheer good health and physical fitness.

The Smart Clothes to wear

By Kanayalal Raina

Engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibres that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles. The nanofibres can convert energy from mechanical stresses into electricity, and could one day be used to create clothing that can power small electronics, says a new study, conducted by University of California, (USA) researchers. This technology could eventually lead to wearable 'smart clothes' that can power hand-held electronics through ordinary body movements. Some forms of smart clothing have been created, but none have really been mass-produced so far but smart clothes are expected to perform a number of functions suited to the wearer with few to summarize below as:

* To monitor health care by taking biochemical medical observations, measure heart rate, breathing and body temperature

* To improve occupational safety

* To power portable electronic devices

* Will be able to adjust to moods and manage stress..

Comfortable smart clothes that monitor the wearer's heart, breathing and body temperature promise to revolutionize healthcare by reducing hospital visits and allowing patients to lead more active lives.

Quest for social civilization and environmental need might have motivated early human to invent and wear clothes but at present there are few inanimate objects so intimately connected with humans and our daily lives in the way that clothing is. It is no exaggeration to say that clothes are the closest inanimate objects to human body other than what we take inside the body while eating, drinking and breathing. It is well accepted that we are what we eat, drink and breathe. Our brain and chemical & physical systems of body respond according to these activities. But, times are gone when clothes were only considered to either cover up the body or to look smart with colourful, weather friendly, cost effective and durable clothes. Innovative technologies and human dependence on these (innovations) have led to develop smart clothes which will not only serve the basic purposes of covering the body and to look smart but also help their wearers with other many requirements like to change moods, control emotions, provide health care & safety and control stress etc. Smart clothing is of great interest to everyone and futurists think that one day, everyone will wear smart clothing, because it will be so useful. Hence, it would be quite convenient if we could increase the functionality of clothes to make them smart clothes so that clothing will turn from care taker to care giver to its wearer.

So-called "smart clothing" is a futuristic form of clothing that functions as an active device with the presence of embedded electronics. These clothes are made up of textile woven with various wireless sensors. Comfortable smart clothes that monitor the wearer's heart, breathing and body temperature promise to revolutionize healthcare by reducing hospital visits and allowing patients to lead more active lives. The sensors will track various biological markers like breathing, heart rate, temperature and galvanic skin response. It then sends the info to a database- wirelessly via a smart phone- to analyze the results and determine a person's emotional state. Once the emotion has been determined, the database will react according to the user's preferences, and then attempt to help their mood.

The new technical smart clothes could cope with the stress and tension of the person who is wearing it. The newly designed clothes can know the emotions of a person. These prototype clothes monitor physiological majors like the temperature and heart beat rate of a person. The exclusive clothes can also be connected to databases which will analyze the data to examine the emotional state of a person. Moreover, the clothes are having several other features as well. It has a speaker and display in it. A person can play a media any time he wants to relax. He can view images and words through the display as well. There has been a huge achievement for the scientists to show the human emotions through an artificial cloth.

An artistic project called Wearable Absence uses garments to recreate memories based on the physical experiences of the wearer. The project involves two teams of researchers, led by Prof. Barbara Layne of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and Prof. Janis Jefferies of the University of London. As part of the project, garments are embedded with a wearable device that uses biofeedback to send information to a mobile application. The prototype garments incorporate wireless technologies and bio-sensing devices to activate a database of digital memories previously created by the person to be remembered.

Research scientists seek to develop smart clothing that possesses many of the useful properties of computers - the ability to store and manipulate data; display images, text, and video; connect to the Internet; offer input devices; and so on. Other possible features of smart clothing include the ability to detect chemicals in the air, quickly harden on contact with a speeding bullet, change color or opacity, generate power from the wearer's movement, record the wearer's speech and activity, and even project an image of the scene behind the wearer, creating a crude form of camouflage-based invisibility.