The Power of Voice to Clean India

The well known dhaba market stands behind a now defunct cinema in this upscale South Delhi area. The market is well known for its eateries. It is supposed to be a posh area in the vicinity of a premier hospital, a flourishing club, well known travel consultants, banks and the like.  Outlets of national, leading coffee chains see brisk business here throughout the day. It hosts the young and the well heeled, the educated and the supposedly discriminative segment that is aware of the civic responsibilities. They all come from clean, hygienic homes one believes.

But as to the hygiene and cleanliness of this bustling dhaba market they don’t seem to give any importance. The regulars come to eat tandoori chicken and kababs and tikkas – the speciality items of this eatery filled market. The SUVs and the luxury cars spill out of the parking lot like the entrails of a chicken. The drivers honk and curse each other but cannot see the sense in parking nd taking their cars in and out in an orderly fashion.

The evening crowd and smell can entice – or scare anyone. It reflects the emerging economic upliftment of 21^st century India.

But when we go there for the morning walk, the veil is lifted and we see the stark reality. The poor florist in a pained voice relates to us the daily agony of cleaning the area awash with bones strewn all over by the educated, young crowd. Inspite of dustbins being placed all over. Even the hygiene of the eateries leaves much to be desired. The way the chicken is cleaned during the daytime, s it is got ready for the tandoor; the onions that are sliced by the hundreds but without being washed, the dirty water that goes in the making of the chutney, the dirty chopping boards; the atta kneaded with dirty hands... it is not a surprise that ecoli and food poisoning is a permanent feature of those who partake of this feast every evening.

This is what we need to raise our voice against. I am sure there are food inspectors and hygiene inspectors that are supposed to keep a check on the quality of food and cleanliness in eateries. But where are they? Have they done any inspection? Can we see the inspection reports – why can’t they be put on the net? On what basis do these eateries get a license?

So it is great that Strepsils has started the #AbMontuBolega  campaign. Get to know more about it at the Strepsils site. http://www.abmontubolega.com/ Or go to the Strepsils site on Facebook or Twitter. 

Yes, as the campaign says, let us raise our voices. Let us not be silent spectators. Let’s exercise the power of our voice, our blogs, our community. Then only can India change. Then only India will be a cleaner country. Yes, Have Strepsils and Speak Up.

A Healthy Child Makes A Happy Home

Health and happiness are synonymous – not absolutely but quite!!

My sister’s son was perpetually sick because of bad eating habits. He would gorge on burgers, pastas, pizzas fries and chips. Never eat vegetables and fruit – that seemed to be the motto. Colas were a must with every meal – almost like a bribe to make them eat. 

The result was constipation, low immunity, proneness to cold, cough and the inevitable viral attack with the slightest change of weather. The parents – both working - didn’t have time to sit, bond, entertain or educate their son, and inspite of my pleading with my sister, she would do nothing to change the habits. Just to assuage her guilt at not being around with her son, she would dole out the largest portions of pizzas to him – making the fast food companies richer, and her own child poorer in health.

The frequent falling ill led to her having to take leave from her office, and regular visits to the doctors. Inspite of the family being well off, it was not a Happy Home – mainly because it didn’t have a Healthy Child.

And then the transformation.

Our aunt came down heavily on my sister, and insisted that even though she could not change the habits of the kid, she should insist on giving him his daily dose of Chyawanprash. From her personal experience our aunt knew how Chyawanprash from Dabur increases immunity and makes children less prone to falling sick.

So now the sister of mine started giving one spoon of Chyawanprash to her son with his morning glass of milk. And slowly over a period of time, we could see him falling ill less frequently. Yes he seemed to be getting stronger. No cough, cold sore throat, viral attacks. And the mood in the house underwent a parallel change. A Healthy child is a happier child, less whining, less complaining, less crying. And where you have a happy child what else does a mother need? That indeed is a happy home.

Now the child also saw the correlation between diet and health and slowly he got weaned away from the junk food he was addicted to. From a daily dose, now he is happy with a once a week or once in ten days kind of indulgence at a fast food joint or home delivery. Certainly he is more active, more energetic and more lively.

Thanks to my aunt. Truly if you educate a woman (in this case my sister) you educate the entire family. The future generation too has imbibed the values of healthy nutrition – hopefully!!

Thanks to the daily spoon of Chyawanprash. In such a healthy atmosphere of love and friendship, physical, mental and emotional diseases rarely enter the house. So yes, we should give a little thought and care to the immunity of our young ones – the returns are incalculable. 

How can you measure Health after all? Or Happiness in a family?