27 minute read
Social Distancing during COVID19
Social Distancing during COVID19 does not mean Social Isolation:
By: Ms Anju Mathur
We humans are social beings and our social connections are a fundamental aspect of healthy living. Especially for older adults, having and maintaining social connections is one of the key factors related to living well and aging well.
During COVID19 pandemic social distancing policies means that most people will have to spend much of their time at home. For the elderly people this has led to increased self -isolation. While following the government guidelines on safety, hand hygiene and social distancing, we need to be creative in the ways we connect socially and address the isolation.
My message is simple – not to confuse social distancing with social isolation. We can maintain social distancing during COVID19 and yet remain socially connected creatively.
5 Easy to follow tips to remain socially connected and active: 1. Pick up your phone and talk to your loved ones, or send them a text message or email to say that you are thinking of them; 2. Make Technology your friend - Meet your friends virtually and stay in contact – You can stay connected through Zoom and organise virtual get together and see each other and talk to each other as a group of friends; 3. Connect with your neighbours – having a cup of coffee in your own front yard/porch, drive way and waving to each other, gives a sense of comfort that we are all there for each other; 4. Become a volunteer – you can sign up with your local community organization and sign up to do welfare phone calls; 5. Teach yourself a new skill – if you are fond of cooking, learn to make a new dish and share your recipes with your friends and family; if you are fond of singing, start to learn a new song and then share your new skill with your loved ones.
And remember to stay physically active - any activity is better than none- Physical activity has a huge potential to enhance our wellbeing. Exercise and physical fitness have benefits for our emotional, physical and mental health. Exercise increases our level of endorphins, which are natural mood lifters, even a short 10 minutes of brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy and positive mood. Participation in any regular physical activity can increases our self-esteem and can reduce stress and anxiety.
Key message is that right now we need more of social connections so let’s get creative in creating social connections and remaining physically active and fight loneliness and social isolation.
About the writer: Ms Anju Mathur is a Dementia Consultant & Ageing Well Consultant Founder and President of Dementia Support Group for Indian Australians
Taking charge of your mental and physical health in this pandemic
By: Sanjana Suryawanshi
Isolation, depression mental health – all words we have heard plenty of times before and even more so after the pandemic drove us all indoors. While we may become desensitised to hearing about this, mental health is even more important especially as Australia gears up to become social once more.
The pandemic has been hard on a lot of people, isolating the elderly, putting pressure on working parents to manage home schooling and full-time work and just generally for everyone else as we have been forced to reduce our social interactions. Mental health has not only impacted individual health but also families as Australia has seen an unpresented rise in domestic violence and suicides. And as we gear up to go back to ‘normal’ life it has led to social anxiety in a lot of people as well.
While mental health in itself is an enigmatic subject that affects each individual differently there are some common symptoms and signs that we can all look out for. While this is in no way a prescription on how to deal with mental health, the following are helpful tips we can all actively use to understand how we are feeling and identify signs of mental and emotional distress early on.
Some of the common signs of mental and/ or emotional stress are:
1. Lack of focus or motivation 2. Irritability 3. Lack of interest in talking to friends and/ or family 4. Eating too much or eating too less 5. Rapid weigh gain/loss 6. Changes in sleeping patterns (sleeping considerably more than usual or finding it hard to sleep at all)
The above symptoms may sound obvious and are not by any means exhaustive, they are often easy to miss. It is easy to blame staying at home to eating excessively or not being able to sleep at night and ignore that there may be an underlying stress from work or other aspects of your life.
While not all of us may experience this stress at an extreme level a drastic and sudden change, especially a forced one is bound to affect everyone in some way. So the best way to look after your mental health is to identify these signs early on and address them before they manifest into anything serious. The easiest way to identify these signs are to stop and think why your habits have changed and is it simply a lack of discipline or if there is indeed cause for emotional / metal stress.
Below are some steps you can take to improve your mental health and to improve productivity in your day to day life:
1. Set small, long and medium term goals
Setting goals is an important way in which you can bring some discipline and structure to your day and which will go a long way in giving you a sense of control and stability. It is often easy to set a long term goal that sounds fantastic but a lack of plan can demotivate you just as easily. Try setting short term goals first and taking baby steps. An excellent example is going to the gym 3 days a week and you pre-fix those 3 days. Once you have done this for a few weeks you find yourself motivated to go more often and being more flexible with your days and time rather than losing motivation.
2. Set strong boundaries between work and home
Working from home is now the new way of working and will continue to do so even after the pandemic. As we get comfortable with the idea, it is easy to blur the lines between work hours and private time. I often find myself logging in at 8 pm just to check emails or staying up to finish a task that was only going to take me 10 mins to do. Not having strong boundaries will stop you from mentally switching off leading to a burnout in the long run. Rather spend Concious time with your friends and family and enjoy the downtime.
3. Actively reach out to family and friends through a mode that is comfortable for you
While this is the most obvious, it is often hard for people to reach out and express their distress. Feelings of being judged or not being understood hold many people back from reaching out. Remember that humans are social creatures and need interactions for mental and emotional wellbeing. If you are uncomfortable reaching out to friends or family, reach out to a person you are relatively comfortable around. There is no prescribed way to reach out either. Pick a method that is the most relaxing and suited to you. It could be a phone call or a text message or an email. There is no right or wrong!
4. Take up a hobby / activity that you like
While this might make you want to roll your eyes at the obviousness, it is easy to be get wrapped up in work and chores. Taking up a hobby, especially one that can be challenging or different will help you challenge yourself mentally and physically. It can also be a great way to learn new skills or a fun social activity with friends and family.
The above list is only some generic tips to enable you to actively take charge of your mental and physical health. There are of course may many more ways that can be tailored to suit each individual’s needs and comfort.
The most important thing is that you take an active interest in your own mental and physical health rather than growing complacent. It does takes initiative and effort on your part and you may need to try a few different things before you find what works for you. But remember that the benefits are many and will help you become your best version yet.
India celebrates its 75th Independence Day this year, it is a day to remember our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for the independence of a nation that we today live in, a nation which is proud of its rich heritage, history of thousands of years, a nation where the rich and prosperous Indus Valley civilization blossomed and was nurtured here. We are a nation of religious independence, where spirituality transcends the boundary of religions, where everyone is treated as equal and is under the same law and order system as mentioned in the largest written constitution in the world, the Indian constitution. Our Bollywood songs are enjoyed all over the world; the three Khans of the Bollywood industry have fans all over.
By: Eshan Sharma
The Story of Independent India
At the time of Independence, India was divided into more than 500 princely states; the interim government integrated all the states within the territory of India. Today we are a family of more than 1.2 Billion citizens and a nation with millions of youth members in this kin, making this nation the youngest. In India, as it was renamed by our colonial masters, we believe in our ancient culture, the ‘bharatiyta’ of our culture where we consider our guest as god, this world as a family, whatever we are today is because of our roots. We consider our land equivalent to heaven: ‘janani janma bhumishcha swargadhapi ganiyasi.
The Indian Independence Act, 1947:
In the year 1947, the UK Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act 1947 transferring legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly. India still retained King George VI as head of state until its transition to full republican constitution. The struggle for our Independence was a long journey; the first full-fledged war against the British was fought in the year 1857 to 1947 when we finally got independence, not just that but the struggle was much longer than that, the battle of Plassey, the battle of Buxar et cetra are notable in this regard.
How we developed during these years from 1947 to 2018 is an example for most of the nations. India just after Independence was at around 1% GDP and today our projected growth is 7.4% almost making us the third largest economy in the world in the years to come after the economies of the US and China.
The biggest gamble in the History of Democracy:
In 1952, when the first general elections were to be held under the leadership of Sukumar Sen, who was the first Chief Election
Commissioner, India played the so called ‘biggest gamble in the history of democracy’ by introducing the term ‘Universal Adult Franchise’ and we risked our very existence as a nation, because at that time, democracy survived only in the developed countries of the west but we took the chance and that turned out to be the biggest achievement of our nation as a whole, the Congress was elected to lead the nation under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, previously the nation was ruled by an interim government and the first speech Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru gave at the Parliament House, the famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, is worth remembering and I can feel that patriotic vibes as I continue writing about it.
“ Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. ”
-Tryst with Destiny speech, Jawaharlal Nehru, 15 August 1947
The Independence of India was a remarkable event in the history of this civilized world, and we are getting better. The Independence of our nation was a result of a long struggle which inspired many other countries too; we respect the sacrifices of our forefathers for this land.
India is a nation which celebrates each and every season with full enthusiasm and this is what makes us ‘Indians’. We have a rich culture and in contrast we are one of the most experienced country for the term ‘globalization’ where today almost every kid wears a blue jeans, have a hot dog in snacks, surfs the internet, posts a picture on Facebook, get an update about the US Presidential election or any test match or One day match happening between India and Australia at Adelaide Stadium, or having a McDonalds Burger. The ray of hope for this 74 years young India is its youth itself, which is undoubtedly revolutionary and it strives to get the best out of the available resources.
India is a nation which is being continuously shaped by the diversity, shared cultures and history, and many languages. It’s a land which provided refuge to thousands of refugees and we made them feel a part of our fraternity. The good thing is India and Australia are friends for many years now, even under the British regime, you may refer to the western Australian town of Australind which is a portmanteau word named after Australia and India. Mangalore city is situated in both the countries. Towns of Cervantes, Northampton and Madura were used for breeding cavalry horses for the British Indian Army during the late 19th century. So, both the countries have shared a significant share of history together and in the 21st century too, the youth of both the nations are going to be the best out of all, India always want to develop together with all the countries and we believe in sustainable development.
I read an interesting fact in this regard that after World War II happened, the Australian government under Ben Chifley supported the independence of India from the
British Empire to act as a frontier against communism. Later, under Robert Menzies, Australia supported the admission of India as a Republic to the Commonwealth Nations. So, this friendship of both the nations is meant to grow and as our young friends usually say that both the countries and its youth are going to be the best friend forever.
The Many Hats of a Woman!
This is my story, my journey from being an affluent father’s daughter to a successful woman in the corporate world.
From being born to a family of landlords who are prevalently orthodox and very affluent, a family where women don’t venture out, let alone build a career, my journey unfolded from a daughter born with a silver spoon, who knew nothing about the outside world, into a successful professional in the corporate world, continuously surpassing my male counterparts along the way.
Married as a teenager only to be ‘complimented’ that beauty and brains cannot go with each other, and that I would never be able to complete my Engineering degree, I was determined to prove everyone wrong! I took every challenge that came my way with persistence, tenacity and determination. My partner stood by me as I graduated with flying colours.
I proudly reciprocate to the popular quote “Behind every successful man there is a Woman” with “Behind every successful woman there can be a Man”. This strengthened my belief in the institution of marriage and the role of an encouraging and supportive partner.
From a fresher to a seasoned professional, I always had the passion in me to outclass, thus proving my male counterparts wrong on numerous occasions. As I landed my first technology job after graduation, I experienced gender discrimination. I realized that systems made it harder for women to succeed at work compared to their male counterparts. Unconscious gender bias in the IT companies I worked for was evident and I had to work harder than my male counterparts to prove my worth. Though there were setbacks in my career as I juggled many roles I played, that of an employee ,wife and mother, I championed the cause for women in IT and mentored women by inspiring confidence and empowering change as I grew in my career.
Today, as a woman in the world of technology, I am extremely proud of my feats in every walk of life and proudly coach my daughters to nurture their ambitions and have a passion to excel. I have made my family proud that women can still don the various hats and continue to excel. Progressing in my career, changing countries, taking on full blown responsibilities never came easy. To onlookers it may have looked like a perfectly clicked photograph, but little did they know the number of retakes I have had to take to get to this happy portrait of life.
Before I end my personal story, I would emphasize the fact that WOMEN are powerful beyond measure. We wear so many hats during the day which is quite remarkable. How do we do it so effortlessly? Have you ever thought about all the different roles you play? There are probably way too many to mention in my story. I would like to see every woman get the much-needed pat on the back in recognition for all they accomplish and all that they do so seamlessly! We are masters at multi-tasking and in my humble opinion; more organizations must encompass more women leaders. We bring the warmth to communication, the key to all success.
My Blessings, My Strength
“I am prouder of my years as a single mother than of any other part of my life.” J.K. Rowling
This is the story about the extraordinary journey of a very ordinary girl, one who chose the most difficult path to fulfil her dreams, keeping the interest of her children as her topmost priority. This is my story. I am a single parent, and this was not what I hoped to choose. Like many others at one point I believed that my fate was carved in stone and could not be changed. But that soon changed ……I knew I had to break out and break free …… I needed to focus on my children, my blessings!
I come from a very conservative middleclass small-town family. I got married when I twenty-two into a similar family and was a mother a year later. One blessing through this change into a married woman, and then a mother was that I had continued with my job, as well as with my studies. And through this journey I continued to receive great support not just from my mother, but my employer too. Both were my mainstays and biggest supports as I struggled in my personal life, finally giving me the courage to move to a bigger city, Mumbai. My kids were young, just six and two-and-a-half years old, but my dreams were big.
Initially, it was a tough challenge, but I managed for it is only through one’s courage, patience, and perseverance that one finds the strength to cope. No matter what went on in my personal life, I always knew I wanted the best for my children. I was prepared to make any sacrifice for their sakes, and I did not want them to be negatively affected by my personal situation. My mother who continued to be my biggest support always came to my rescue. I continued my journey, this time as a single mum, my children and I started a new life in a small unit in Mumbai. Things were nowhere near rosy, but I had my children, and they had me. I had a good job and God watched over us. for an Australian PR, while progressing well for me, could not go ahead for my children as I did not have the formal custody documents. This initiated a painstaking exchange of letters, legal documents, emails, and phone calls. It took over a year to convince the Australian Consulate to consider my case as a special one-off case. They did. In 2017, my children and I received our permanent visas. We moved to Australia. But with this came other challenges. Though I wanted this, I was not very sure about leaving my comfort zone and venturing outside India to explore my options. But I was determined to build a better life for myself with my children. That motivation was crucial as it meant leaving a secure job and a promotion. Once the visas came through, I knew I had to leave my extended family, my friends and my dear ones. The resolve was there, and another journey had begun.
This time I landed in a different country with just my bags, with neither friends nor relatives for any support. My only support was my faith, my mother and my extremely compassionate bosses in India. This time again, with a clear focus, and strong perseverance, I was unstoppable. This beautiful country welcomed me with open arms and within the first two months I had the offer of a good job. Subsequently, my kids started their schooling, and emboldened, I filed for a formal divorce. Slowly yet surely, things started settling down in a country that had once felt strange.
My journey has not been easy: at every step, I was told that I was taking bold and unusual decisions. Many friends and many family members did not approve of my choices, but I kept getting to the goals I had set. I took one day at a time and promised myself that I would strive to improve my situation every day. My children were at the core of every decision I made. They are my blessings and my reason to live. More than that, they define me and have made me the strong and determined woman that I am.
Most of us have been fortunate to be born in a free country. However, regardless of our generation or physical location, we celebrate our Independence with gratitude.
Some may hang a flag, search for good quotes/pictures to post (been there done that), cook (the situation since morning at our individual headquarters) or just reminisce. But whatever we do our emotions of patriotism bring us together today.
Wait! Wait! While we have, you all here…
Together, lets pray for our Motherland to:
have the STRENGTH to overcome hardship maintain its PEACE and, always GROW above all.
Happy Independence Day from one proud Indian to another.
Jai Hind!
To make it more fun we did a High Tea with tri colour theme too..
We wanted to keep it as simple as we could, but our taste buds never let us get away with simple flavors. So here it is :
Tricolour kheer- made with khush flavor (green) and saffron flavor ( orange)
Sandwiches , muffins,Pistachio, orange and vanilla macaroons, Masala Tea, Saffron Coffee Shot( it’s an Arabic flavor)
Our Amazing followers were given the challenge to post their photos: Sharing some of their photos too Thank You Cheryl and Deepti, Seema for accepting this..
We hope these meals brighten up your day too!
We are Rassasyfied... Until next time ...
WatdoyouMeal Team
KEEP HIM HOOKED
By: Abbey Singh
Surely marriages are made in heaven but you have to put some extra effort here on earth to keep it going.
Yes, he loves you the way you are, but he also wants you to like how you look and feel. But he might not know how to suggest you get a new haircut, join a gym or take a day off from the kids. Instead, he “doesn’t say anything until it builds up to the point of coming off. Show him you value his opinion by asking him about your look or health habits eg: When he see chipped nail polish, he can tell that you live a busy lifestyle and don’t have a lot of time to relax (or worse, don’t care much about your appearance) If you see that your polish is chipped, take three minutes out of your day to remove the rest. Clean, naked nails are better than the alternative.
There is a saying “happy wife equals a happy life” and it is not completely wrong. A woman who is stressed out and overworked can be irritable and preoccupied, making it impossible for her to take care of her own and her home. With all the things a woman has to juggle in life, it is important that she takes a day to herself once in a while to go to the spa and get a much-needed massage, or even just go to the salon and get a facial. When you are relaxed and stress-free, you will have control on your life and you will be able to impress your husband. Maintain basic hygiene, comb your hair, smell nice and wear fitted clothes. Dressing well will always have a positive impact. Wear a dress that your husband likes, and brush up your appearance. Wearing clothes that compliment your figure not only make you attractive but also boost your selfconfidence.
WINDOWS 10 – LIVELY WALLPAPER - TUTORIAL
By: Sarang Vengurlekar
Everyone has their own likings when it comes to being able to customise their daily equipment. With a Windows 10 Operating System, you have the ability to customise mostly everything throughout your pc with a single download and it being a free and simple process. One of the most popular uses include the ability to use live wallpapers instead of the normal boring wallpapers we are forced to use, and the other being the customisation of the taskbar (found at the bottom of your windows pc/laptop). Yes, these applications don’t affect your daily use of the machine, but it can create a style to your machine causing you to have a unique one, while others have basic one. Please keep in mind this does not work for Apple/Mac computers.
Lively Wallpaper:
‘Lively Wallpaper’ is a widely used and popular application among many which allows your wallpaper to essentially be live, in theory you can have a gif as your wallpaper. It comes with multiple pre-downloaded wallpapers or you can use a gif to show the animation on repeat. Below is a step-by-step process on how to download and upload your own wallpaper. (Includes pictures).
Step 1:
and press on the first link that comes up (should end with rockdanister.github.io).
Step 2:
When the website loads, scroll all the way down up until the section where it says ‘Download’.
Step 3:
There are two ways into downloading the application, in this step-by-step, we will use the ‘get it from Microsoft’, press the button you will be redirected to an official windows website.
Step 4:
Press the ‘Get’ Button, and a small widget will appear at the top asking whether you want to open another application for you to be able to download ‘Lively Wallpaper’.
Step 6:
After you press ‘Get’, it will change ‘Get’ into ‘Install’, press the ‘Install’ button and it will start to download. After it downloads, it will change the ‘Install’ button into ‘Launch’.
Step 7:
Either press the ‘Launch’ button or press the
Step 5:
A Microsoft store application will open where you will see the exact same page, and again press ‘Get’
windows key on your laptop/pc to bring up a small panel in the bottom left, then search up lively wallpaper, and press the application under ‘Best Match’. This will open the ‘Lively Wallpaper’ application.
Step 8:
You can now either use and customise the stock wallpapers or you can add your own one. Before you add a new wallpaper, you need to make sure your wallpaper is a gif and is downloaded. To find a wallpaper which is a gif is quite simple. Open your browser (chrome, microsoft edge etc.), and search up anything that you want as your wallpaper, and then go into ‘Images’. Now to make sure that your wallpaper is a gif, you need to press the ‘Tools’ button which will open a small drop-down box which will show 5 buttons, press the 3rd button (‘Type’ button) which will open another drop-down box, showing 4 options where the last option is ‘Gif’, press ‘Gif’ to ensure your wallpaper is a gif. Below is an example, you do not need to use the exact same wallpaper.
Step 11:
Once you insert your image (or add a youtube video) a window will appear which will allow you to change the title, description, author and website (which is where your youtube video’s URL will be entered if you add a youtube video that is). You don’t need to change anything but if you want you can. After you are okay with the description, title and so on, you can press the ‘OK’ button which will apply the wallpaper/gif/ youtube video over your existing wallpaper.
You are now done! Do not worry if the application does not open when you start your machine, all you have to do is open the ‘Lively Wallpaper’ application and it will automatically do it for you! Enjoy a soothing and animated wallpaper!
If you found this article handy and informative, please provide your feedback to sarang@ vengurlekar.com
Step 9:
After you press the ‘Gif’ button, it will refresh and will show ‘Gif’ at the bottom left of every image. Select an image (make sure it is the same resolution as your monitor, otherwise it will come out looking pixelated) and right click anywhere on the picture when it shows up as bigger image on the right-hand side. It will show another drop-down box, find where it says, ‘Save image as…’ and left click on it, and a small window will open asking you where to save the image. (Remember where you stored the image as you will need it afterwards).
Step 10:
Open the ‘Lively Wallpaper’ application and press the ‘+’ icon at the top left of the application. It will redirect you to a page where it shows you how to add your image, (you will see the ‘Enter URL’ button, this button allows you to use a youtube video as your wallpaper, you can use this instead of using a gif wallpaper). Either drop and drag the image in the library (the first page you see when you open the application) or you can press the ‘Browse’ button and search for your image/wallpaper.
