My Driving Teacher

Hans...! Hans...! I will never forget him for so many reasons...

He was my second driving teacher!
When I first started on with my driving lessons with a German old man teacher, he so pissed me off with his constant scoldings and apparent  racism that I had to change him only after two classes with him. He was succeeded by Hans, the man who kept me intrigued for the next 4 months if I had been wise changing my first teacher at all...!

Hans was a different make altogether. Frustrated, sarcastic, irascible, rigid like a stone wall, cold as an ice berg, distant, aloof, unyielding, domineering, arrogant and as if all these qualities were still not enough to make a beast of a human being, I felt he hated me for not being German. He had only two good qualities. He was good at teaching driving and he could speak English like a native.

From the start, he made no secret that he did not like me and will never never never like me. To have such a teacher can be a nightmare. If I didn't love driving so much I would probably become a wreck from suffering from his behavior. Time and again, indeed at every class, I endeavored hard to reconcile him, to melt him but he never yielded. I would talk, he would snap me shut. I would smile- he would sneer. I would laugh- he would turn red with irritation. I would make a mistake- he would smile. I would admit I didn't know - he would smile satisfactorily. I would be able to do something- he would be visibly disappointed at having lost a chance to rebuke me. And my every class was like this; a battlefield of emotions!

His attitude interfered heavily with practical organisational stuff. I lived a long way away from the driving school and needed 2 hrs to travel back and forth. My work time was also inflexible and during the weeks I was alone because S used to be in Munich the whole week. That meant I could get my classes only on Saturdays. But if I learnt only once a week, I would never be able to finish it in time- we were planning to move to Munich in 4 months. How could I finish driving lessons in  just 12 classes?
I requested several times if he could pick up and drop me (as normally driving teachers do and which is clearly offered on the driving school website. ) NO! Okay, if I can't do it more than once a week, then let it be at least double class? NO! I struggled hard to find appointments. He cancelled them frequently without so much as informing me before hand. I took 4 days leave from work to be able to get more classes- 'Sorry, my schedule is full. I can't give you any appointment.' was his cold answer. S tried hard to get one day 'work from home'  to be able to avail at least one more class a week for me. Once, he had to rescheduled his flight to reach Bonn in time so I could attend my class. Guess what? Hans cancelled the class without even telling me leaving me high and dry and a loss of money that went into rescheduling the flight. Once H heard him scold me and saw me requesting him in vain for appointment and silently crying when he refused. Poor child! He started crying and said he hated Hans because he talked to me so badly. That night little H had a nightmare during sleep and he woke up crying in bed mumbling something about feeling sad and disturbed...

And yet, and yet I tried to be friendly with him and yet he rebuffed me every time.

My time was drawing nearer and nearer. I could now drive with more confidence but still needed a lot of practice. And the bigger question was not only how to pass the test in time but how to bear this beast of a man longer if I didn't pass. The only thing that kept me going was my new found love and passion: Car driving!!! Driving felt like flying, like being in tremendous control. For me the steering wheel was so sexy, I could stay at it all my life. Everything about the car and car driving was sexy to me, even the seat belt and the side mirrors and the rear view mirror and the gear and hand break. I loved the way the car would roll on the road like sliding on butter, the way it would reverse under my steering movements, the way I took the curves of the roads, or meandered through the city lanes, the way it sped like a loyal monster on high speed autobahns, even the way it would start or stop like a faithful never erring servant...
My driving class appeared too short and I was always sorry when it came to an end. I cherished every moment I spent behind the wheel. I would slide in euphoric state when the class was over and at night would dream of driving or started having trouble falling asleep at all due to driving euphoria in my head. Driving was intoxicating me the way wine does.

I had fallen in love with driving and nothing in this world, not even Hans, could kill it.

And today was the practical test!
I had requested him to let me have a final driving lesson just before the test and shockingly he agreed. He had a fair idea what and where my driving test was going to be. In the middle of the driving class  he took me to the Test office parking place and pointed out at to my examiner at a distance.
'Do you see that man? He is your examiner. He has just finished one exam and is now going in for a  short break after which he will take another exam. Now keep the car ready in ignition and wait.'
'What for?' I asked.
'We are going to follow him.'
'But won't he discover he is being followed? Both the cars are from the same driving school and he apparently knows you..'
'He won't - he will be looking at the student not at the cars coming behind him.'

I waited in position with a thrill bubbling in my head like boiling tea in a kettle. True to Hans' words, the examiner came out in five minutes, got into the brightly labeled driving school car and in two minutes the car started to move.
'Follow the car; just don't get too close. From the first traffic signal he will turn right.'

I lined up behind the car. Another black van had managed to come in between and Hans wasn't happy about it. 'Hurry up or you will the lose him. Remember, at this crossing, the green signal is of a very short duration.' He growled impatiently.

Luckily, the black van went in another direction and so I could stay behind the examiner's car appropriately.
'From the third traffic signal he will turn right.'
They did. So did we.
'He will get into the round about and go on straight.'
He did. My eyes were nearly falling out of my head. Hans had already taken me twice on the very same route today!
But he wasn't done yet. 'He is now getting into this lane from where he will turn right and we will turn left.'
'Won't we follow him anymore?' I asked dissappointedly.
'No. He has turned into a dead end from where the student has to return. We don't want to bump into them head on so now we have to lose them and go our own way.'

This 'follow and chase' even though so short, was thrilling like one gets to see in typical Bollywood bank robbery movies. More than the chase, I found, Hans' detective commentary and prediction extremely incredulous and exciting. We drove for a couple more minutes then returned back to the Test Office parking place before the examiner's return, of course.

'Prepare for the test in advance. Keep your bag and coat in the boot, switch off your mobile, take out your passport and be ready.'
He went inside to get coffee for himself while I paced up and down in silence. Then he started smoking but his eagle eyes were relentlessly fixed on the road. He spotted the car even before it entered the parking.
'He is coming. He will now go for a short break.'
The car parked and the examiner emerged. A thin normal man! In comparision with Hans any normal person appears like the eighth wonder on earth.
The examiner came towards us, greeted Hans cheerfully, smiled at me kindly and politely requested us to wait for a few minutes till he came back. Hans agreed graciously. Oh Yes, he can be polite and gracious and conversational and smiles with all other people just never with me.
'Hans, you are unbelievable!' I exclaimed.
'The longer he stays on his break the shorter will be your test session.'

Finally the examiner came. He checked my passport, and other papers, a small formality of signing and stuff and then he gently ordered me to start driving, giving me instructions from behind. Hans was discreetly giving me signal hints at every step and turn like a secret conspirator. He quietly kept signaling me when I should indicate, switch on or switch off my indicator, turn left or right, increase speed or decrease or stop or go or even when I should be cautious of the red signal or a crossing or turning. It wasn't at all needed but it was very morale boosting and helpful! We turned into the very same directions and took the very same routes that Hans' had predicted and we had already driven on twice today. We got into the same dead end and we even did emergency break at exactly the same place where Hans had made me do it today. We drove a little more, then entered the Autobahn, then took the first exit out and drove back to the Test Office. The test lasted only about 20-25 minutes instead of expected 45 minutes and the examiner announced that I had passed! However, I am still not allowed to drive until I get my license and I am not supposed to get it until some necessary changes in the document has been made. The examiner kindly congratulated me and wished lots of luck and success, then took his leave from us and went away. Hans on the other hand, didn't feel any need to do the same.

Puffing heavily at his cigarette he gruffly ordered me to get out of the driving seat.
'Get out of the driver's seat. Your test is over. Now I will drive.'
I got into the passenger seat with Hans at the steering wheel. The first time so! It looked so terribly odd.
'You have my steering wheel but I have your brakes now.' I exclaimed playfully. 'Stay away from them.' He barked. He forbade me to position my seat higher or closer and so I sank into the low seat as if I were reclining on a beach chair instead of being in the car. Forget the road, I couldn't even see the bonnet of the car due to such a low, laid back seating. Sitting beside him in the ill positioned passenger seat was no pleasure. The joy of having passed the test quickly started drowning in the despair of my still not being able to drive for at least I don't know how many more days or even weeks.
We were mostly quiet the whole drive back. He brought the car to the driving school parking lot, parked the car and without saying a single word or even a look in my direction, opened his door and went out.
I stared at him in disbelief. His coldness hurt me beyond expression. He doesn't feel any need or compulsions of general politeness to congratulate me or express pleasure at having passed my test. He has no desire to say good bye to me or wish me luck for future although he knows this is our last time and we will  never see other again.
He went to the other car, got it ready for his next class, then came back again to retrieve something from this car.

I took out the small box of Gummi Bears that I had brought for him as a thank you and goodbye gift.
'Hans, I brought this for you.' Said I in a small voice. I kept the gift bag on the passenger seat. He didn't even look at me and didn't say anything. And I walked away...never to see him again!

This man, this beast of a man...he taught me to drive, he taught me to fly. He opened to me a world of new passion yet he pained me and wounded me and hurt me so much that I cannot describe. And at this moment I do not know if I should thank him for what he taught me or to hate him for how he hurt me. And then I think my pain will heal with time but the joy of driving will always remain with me and so I should thank him. We don't thank people only to let them know that we are thanking them. We thank them because we genuinely feel grateful to them and I am grateful to him for teaching me driving....

Why democracy isn't working in middle east

The West worked hard to bring democracy to middle east. Yet the result appears to be too clear to be doubtful. The middle east was probably better off with its dictators. And the reason for such a result is also not so very difficult to perceive.

The middle eastern world is a different world. It should not be judged on the same scale as the rest or the west of the world. The majority of  the middle easterners are those who, since their early childhood have been brought up only to believe what their religion tells them, or their religious teachers tell them or what their leaders tells them or what their male heads in the family tells them. In a world where everything that one has to do comes from an external source often times not very reliable, it prepares a very very conducive environment for dictatorships to germinate and grow.

People there have ultimately become seasoned at obeying others and indeed obeying unconditionally without questions and complaints (another good factor for dictatorships to be successful) They never got the opportunity to develop their ability to decide, ability to choose or the ability to use their reason and logic. They only saw what they were told to see, they only heard what they were told to hear, they only spoke what they had been told to speak, they even felt and thought what they had been told to. As such only dictatorship was bound to be successful because it told them what to do. In the absence of that external source, they crumble like walls of sand.

I may be wrong in my thinking but I celebrate the fact that I can think at all...

How Forgiveness can change your Life...!

I believed in the virtue of forgiveness when I had no opportunity to forgive anyone. And it requires some mettle on one's part to forgive someone who has caused you great grief and pain. In moments when your heart writhes with agony, the thought of forgiveness seems like a joke, even injustice. Yet, forgiveness is precisely for this moment. The greater the pain, the greater test of strength in forgiving and, believe me, greater your personal happiness. 

Forgiveness is not an obligation on the forgiven: it is an obligation you do to yourself. 

About three years ago, I worked in a somewhat miserable place where I ran into a new employee and we quickly became pals. We enjoyed talking to each other, I enjoyed her humor and company and I owe some of my happiest moments in that miserable place to her. I shall name her C. 

Before long, less than 1 and a half months to be exact, we ran into trouble.  Humorous, cheerful and witty as C was, she was cut throat ambitious, jealous and mean. Realizing me as a threat to her personal ambition, in less than a month she mobbed me horribly. She turned all my colleagues and the management against me, told white lies to everyone and almost made it a  question of life and death till I felt I couldn't handle it anymore. The management had already turned deaf and dumb to me. I wrote my resignation letter at mid night ( I couldn't mail it because every mail I sent to the management were immediately redirected to her and I didn't want her to be the first one to know) and then the next day went extra early to talk one last time to the management. No good. I was fired on the spot. I retorted in no less heated tones:

'No, you can't fire me. I am resigning. This is my resignation letter.' 

With the last shreds of my self respect still left intact, I hurled the resignation letter into the face of my boss, derived a miniscule satisfaction on seeing the shock on her face, I walked out to live in a wounded bleeding agonizing pain of being insulted, fired and mobbed for, what seemed like an eternity....! 

What I went through after this, is more difficult to describe. Becoming suddenly jobless was the least part of my problem. I sank into a deep chasm of depression. I couldn't get away from the memories of the last three months. These occurrences would play and replay and replay in my mind like a stuck CD. Every time I slept, even if the sleep was only half an hour long, I dreamt of C. I would get nightmares every single night of her harming me or coming to harm me. Every time I happened to pass from in front of that workplace ( it was on main road) I would drown in painful thoughts and sometime had to struggle to refrain from breaking out sobbing in public. And indeed I would often, far too often, weep when alone.  

The pain was unbearable.!

Two months after my resignation/firing, my boss emailed me asking me if I would like to work again under different circumstances.  

We met.  

She was honestly penitent, apologized, realized she had been at mistake and wanted me back. She offered me a double salary and a more elevated status as before. And she promised she would keep C away from me. I was about to join but then I got an offer from another place and joined there.

  

A new place, a new environment, a whole set of new kind of work with a whole new bunch of colleagues... My nightmares vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. I got immersed in my work which helped in forgetting C. However, every now and then, my over cautious behavior towards my colleagues, an aversion to forming closer contacts and a dread of letting myself work to my full potential for fear of making enemies like C, showed how deeply scarred I was from inside.  I was living like a virtual snail hiding in its shell scared of even a feather touch! And there were times when I would relapse in moody silence. I would be thinking about C...

It will take some time to heal. I told myself.

Fate doesn't work that way though. Does it?

Nearly a year later, who should join the same institution? Yes. None other than C!. On her first day, she just sailed into the place like a breeze of ocean air, touring all the work areas, encountered me, spread an ear to ear beaming smile on her face and exclaiming 'Hiiiii, how nice to see you!' she clasped me to her heart like we were long lost sisters! 

My troubled dreams, the replay of the old drama and the depression returned in full force. My wounds turned green again. 

Bumping into C twenty times everyday was, plainly speaking, a pain in my ass or a knife in my wound. When she and I were alone I wouldn't even look at her. In front of others I tried to appear normal but avoided her as best as I could, while she always behaved like we were two good friends. There were times when she would come and innocently ask me something and my tongue would writhe in my mouth to ask her, Do you know that you murdered me?  

My colleagues were noticing. And wondering. Only my closest colleague knew what was afoot. 

I didn't know what to do. I could talk to the management here and tell them. I could seek transfer or she could be given another work area instead of sitting right on top of me. But somehow these measures didn't make sense to me. I hated to build up negative opinion in my colleagues and the management's mind against someone who is new and hasn't had a chance to prove herself. Whatever had happened, it should be in the past. I have to move forward. I must give her another chance and see for myself if I can accept this as a challenge. And then, I must not forget that she is alone and has to feed and clothe herself. Any action against her could leave her jobless. I mustn't do anything to endanger her position. For once, at least, I have to forgive her. 

On sympathetic advise of my closest colleague, I took a counselling session with a psychologist.  

'What do you want to do regarding C?' He asked. 

'I do not want to harm her or be the cause of any harm to her. I want to be professional and mature. I want to forgive her and move forward. I want to give her another chance to be okay with me instead of believing that she is going to harm me again. But I do not want her to take my forgiveness for granted and think me a fool. I am a positive person and I always think good about everything. She, on the other hand makes me negative. I want to free myself from her negative influence.'

  

At the end of 1 hr of discussion, he appreciated my way of thinking but concluded that I was being foolish and wasting my sympathies. 

'This person is an actor. She acts all the time. She will harm you again. To protect yourself, tell all this to the management so they know the whole history. And write a daily dairy with dates and time and every word of what passes between you and her. This would help you in legal matters should she mob you again.'

 It was a truly valuable session! How merely talking can heal! I will forever be indebted to my colleague for inviting me to it. When I walked out of the room I was a new person. My heart was lighter, my vision clearer, my determination to not to be dragged in the negativity of a negative situation, firmer than ever. 

That night as I walked back home I felt I had wings.

There is very little to the story now but very substantial. About two months later, C started doing the same kind of things again: talking ill about me to other colleagues to defame me, build up negative atmosphere for me and misguide people. She didn't succeed. My colleagues confronted her and told her seriously, she couldn't do things like this here. My management is fully informed. They are very professional and they appreciate my professionalism.

Since sometime now, all negative feelings in my heart, the fear, the apprehension, the pain that was associated with C is gone. Gone for ever. Never to come back again. I have forgiven her fully and wholeheartedly and it doesn't matter to me if she knows it or not. I realize C was an unpaid debt from my past life. She was my bad karma from my past life. I had to settle this debt right here and right now. The moment I settled it, I have been as light as a white, fluffy, summer cloud that sails on the oceans of air. I realize how everything that was related to C was dragging me down like a million ton weight tied to my feet. It was making me a person I basically am not. By forgiving her unconditionally I cut the rope that tied me to the weight and now I am free. My heart is free. My mind is free. My soul is free. And I realize how by forgiving her I have done such a great favor to myself. 

Test it. Forgiveness is healing in itself.  

Today I learnt she is in her first month of pregnancy. I wish her all the best.  

Healing benefits of water

While most of us like to rush to a doctor for every big or little problem there are some simple complaints which can be treated at home with just plain water.

Few things to be kept in mind are:
Any special water is not needed. Simple tap water is  all you need.
It can be heated whichever way you want and can be taken directly from hot water supply that come from the kitchen tap. However adding some cold water to the heated water mysteriously does not benefit in healing so never add cold water to the hot water for drinking for healing purpose.
Hot water doesn't do any damage if always drunk or drunk over a long period of time. In fact it helps quick digestion and metabolism of food.
It can safely be given to babies and children as well so long as you know the temperature will go down well with them.
It is especially beneficial to old people who have a tendency to easily catch cold, cough, body pains due to cold etc due to aging down.

So next time if you are hit with any of the mentioned problems you can give your tap water a try and see how magical it is. If you know of any more of such benefits please mention in comments.

1. Sour Throat/ over strained throat/ Voice distortion due to cold or coughing 
Drink plain hot water just as you would drink hot tea. Works best when drunk first thing in the morning after rising up and last thing before going to bed.

2. Weight reduction
This is decidedly for those who want to shed just 2-5 extra kilos off their body.
Sip slowly really hot water immediately after all your meals. It helps in burning fat content of your food without your exercising.
Drink 1 glass of hot water just before a meal as well for an even better result.

3. Stomach upset due to indigestion/ over eating/ mild food poisoning/ stale eating
Drink hot water as frequently as you can. Its really soothing for upset stomach. You can also drink it during diarrhea  for speeding up the stomach's settling down and soothing its irritated lining.

4. Eye sight that's just about started to weaken

Fill your mouth to the full with water, then sprinkle your each eye with fresh cool water 50 times literally counting from 1-50 so that your each eye gets 50 splashes of water in one sitting. Then you can empty your mouth. When you get comfortable enough with 50 splashes you can increase it to 100. This therapy actually reduces eye sight weakening.

It is also very beneficial to those people who do a lot of reading, computer work or field job in harsh sunlight.

5. Prevent attack of seasonal cold
Drink hot water morning and night (as long as you feel weather is really cold outside)

6. Headache due to cold sharp winds/ drafts/ hot winds
Drink hot water

7. Stomach ulcer
Sip slowly chilled water as frequently as you can.

8. Heat Stroke
Drink plain water (neither hot nor cold) as frequently as you can.

9. Headache due to gas in stomach, or atmospheric heat/ sun heat
Drink plenty of plain water ( neither hot nor cold)

10. Stomach ache due to cold attack/ seasonal cold
Drink hot water several times.

11. Limb pain due to over straining, excess walking or exercise
Shower the affected limb in running hot water and keep increasing water's heat gradually. Do this for at least 20 minutes. Then wipe dry and cover with warm clothes.

12. Stomach bloating ( temporary relief)
Apply hot water bottle on the stomach. You will amazingly look 1-2 inches flatter.

13. Simple eye strain/ eye itching/ mild eye infection
Wash your eyes several times with cool fresh water.

14. Mild Constipation

Drink 1-2 glass of warm or hot water first thing in the morning. It helps in bowel movement.

15. Maintaining odor free breath 
Rinse your mouth with hot water after each eating.

Some proven Indian home remedies for some common ailments

My father had an immense belief in natural home remedies. He had collected a great store of information and details on this subject and kept testing them whenever he could and found almost all of them to be hugely successful without any side effects or even additional costs. He himself never shied from adapting many of the remedies and largely due to this he was always in excellent health and body strength with not even a cold or cough approaching him ever. Consequently our whole family including a lot of his friends and neighbors as well as plenty of colleagues preferred to consult him first before visiting a doctor. As to us, we rarely needed a a doctor.

I have compiled some of his commonly used remedies here. Most of these have been personally tested by myself and I have found them to be excellent in getting rid of ailments; they are completely natural, without harmful artificial substances and also easily available. Most importantly they also do not have any side effects.
However if you want to try some of them make sure that you are not allergic to them and that firstly try only in a small quantity.

If you have any questions you can mail me or post your query in comments.

Waist / lower back pain and knee pain

1. Boil 6 gm methi ( Fenugreek) seeds with 20 gm. gur (Jaggery ) in a little water. Then drink this water either warm or cold.

2. Swallow methi ( Fenugreek ) seeds powder with water in morning for relieving knee pain.

3.  Mix dry aamla ( Indian Goose berry ) powder with double its amount of gur ( jaggery). make    small pea size pills; eat 3 pills daily for knee pains.

4.  Heat 1 spoon mustard oil in a spoon. Put ajwain ( Carom ) seeds and garlic and let it burn black . Massage with this warm oil is good for relieving body ache.

Sour Throat

1. Chew 20-15 pearls black pepper then drink warm water. Do this 4-5 a day.

2. Chew 4-5 black pepper with a little sugar or mishri at night before going to bed. 

3. Mix coarsely 1 tsp ground black pepper with 1 tsp mishri or sugar and 1 tsp desi ghee (clarified butter). make a paste and eat this, preferably at night just before going to sleep and do not drink water after this. This will regain your sweet voice and get rid of sour throat.

Eczema or other skin ailments / itching skin

1. Boil 250 gms mustard oil in an iron wok. Put 50 gms soft, tender neem leaves ( only baby leaves)  in the boilng oil. As soon as the leaves turn black, take off the wok, cool the oil, strain and store in a container. Apply this oil on affected area 3-4 times a day.

2. Eating 10 crushed black pepper mixed with 10 gm cow ghee ( clarified butter ) cures all skin ailments and itches.

3. Drink 1 glass water after chewing a little black pepper. This helps in curing many skin ailments.

High blood pressure

1. Eat plenty of water melons, litchis and carrots.

2. Eat 2 gms Sarpgandha powder twice a day with water.

3. Eating stale (wheat flour) chappatis soaked in milk in the morning stabilises high bp.

4. Eat mixture of 1 gm dry coriander, 1 gm sarpgandha powder and 2 gm ground mishri with water.

5. Consuming plenty of honey and lemons ( not together) is an excellent remedies for lowering bp
6. Eat / swallow 2 cloves of garlic every morning before breakfast in fact ideally even before brushing your teeth to keep your blood pressure normal throughout life.

Low blood pressure

1. Soak 32 kishmish ( raisins, whether green or black ) in 150 gm water for 12 hrs. Then refrigerate. You can keep increasing the water as it dries out. Chew just one kishmish out of this every morning.

2. Drink carrot juice with honey.

3. Eat carrot murraba ( sweet jam pickle of carrot)

4. Hing ( Asafoetida )is good for raising bp.

Diabetes

1. Grind dry Amla flesh ( Indian goose berry) and dry jamun ( Indian black plum ) stones in equal measure. Swallow 7 gm of this powder with fresh cool water every morning half an hour before breakfast.

2. Eat 10 green tender leaves of jamun with water in early morning for 10 days. Excess sugar will cease.

3.  Eat 10 gms leaves of bel tree ( wood apple) for 1 month.

4. Mix amla juice, jamun leaf juice and bel leaf juice in equal quantity. drink 1 spoon of this juice morning and evening.

5. Grind green tender jamun leaves and eat the paste in morning for 21 days. It will cure sugar in urine.

6. Consuming Aamla juice mixed with honey helps in diabetes.

7. Grind 5 fresh bel patra or wood apple leaves and 10 black pepper together. Mix with a little water. Drinking this water stops diabetes.

8. Grind 4 green and fresh jamun leaves in 60 gm water. Strain. Drink this water for 10 days. Then after 2 months drink for another 10 days. Good for stopping diabetes.

9. Put ripe jamun 60 gms in 300 gms boiling water then quickly switch off the flame and cover the dish.After half an hour, crush the paste and strain. Divide the whole paste in 3 portions and eat 1,1 portion 3 times a day. Cures urine glucose

10. Dry grind dried jamun stones and make its powder. Eat 2 spoons of this powder with water for 21 days.

11. Coarsely grind methi ( fenugreek ) seeds and soak in water overnight. swallow it in the morning. doing this for 2 months stops diabetes.

13.  Simply swallowing a tbs of raw methi seeds also helps curbing Diabetes as well as weight loss.

14. Soak about 10 cinnamon pieces in a bowl of water overnight. Drink this water in the morning half an hour before breakfast.

15.  Drinking juice of broad beans also cures diabetes.

Kidney Stone

1. Wet grind 30 gms papaya tree root in a little water. Drinking this water morning and evening.will cure stone in 1 week.

2. Drink apple juice.

3. Stuff 2 tola carrot seeds and beetroot seeds in a hollowed radish and dry roast the radish. then take out the seeds. eat 6 masha with water morning evening. stone will pass.

4. Stuff 23 gms carrots seeds and 23 gms turnip seeds in a hollowed radish. Then dry roast this radish preferably in ashes. Eat 6 gms seeds morning and evening for 6 months with water.

Good Health and Strength

1. Crush green aamla pulp. Mix equal amount of sugar or mishri and store in a glass jar. After 7 days eat one spoon of this paste morning and evening with water or milk.

2. Mix aamla powder in aamla juice and mix it well. After some time when it is soaked thoroughly, mix equal mishri and eat 1 spoon of this with water or milk.

3. Soak ripe aamla in lime water for a few hours. Take out and cook in sugar syrup. Eat this frequently.

4. Mix together half tsp aamla powder, half tsp honey and half tsp sesame oil. Eating 3 gms of this mixture for 1 month transforms the whole body.

5. Wash big ripe amla in lime water then cook in sugar syrup and store.Eat 2-4 aamla everyday for good health.

Brain Strengthening

1. Soak 10 almonds overnight In the morning, blanch them and mix with 1 gm mishri and butter. Eat this paste for 1-2 months.

2. Eat 4 almonds, mishri and saunf ( Fennel seeds) in equal quantity with hot milk at night. It increases eye sight and memory.

3. Mix together 100 gm almonds, 100 gms saunf ( Fennel )and 100 gms kuja mishri and make a powder. Eat 10 gm of this powder at night with milk and don't drink water after this. Excellent for memory strength, headache and eyes.

Improving eye sight

1. Swallow 1 tsp shatawar powder ( asparagus) with hot milk in morning. In 2 months eye sight will improve.

2. Mix together 4 almonds, mishri and saunf ( Fennel) in equal quantity. eat this with hot milk at night. It increases eye sight and memory.

3. Soak dry aamla overnight, then wash eyes in the morning with this water.

4. Wash eyes with trifala powder soaked overnight.It can also be eaten with a little desi ghee early morning.

5. Eat aamla powder with water, ghee or honey at night.

6. Drink 1 ounce fresh aamla juice with honey in the morning and wash eyes with trifala or amla powder water This can even stop cataract.

7. Swallow 5 fresh til ( Sesame )flowers in the month of April. The eyes will not pain for the whole year.

8. Mix onion and ginger juice and put 2 drops in the eyes to cure night blindness

9. Fill a glass container with lemon juice and put one turmeric root in this for 40 days. Apply this turmeric mixed with rose water at night in eyes.

Weight Reduction
1. Drink hot water after every meal. The water should be as hot as tea and must be sipped slowly.
2. Warm a glass of water. Add 1 spoon of honey and half a lemon's juice into it. Then drink it early in the morning everyday. Lemon juice must be freshly extracted.
3. Drink warm water with just1-2 tbsp of lemon juice early morning before breakfast and before going to sleep at night.

For regaining lost strength

Cook 250 gms onion juice in half kg honey. Eat 1 spoon morning and evening.

Heart strengthening and general body strength

1. Soak 24 gms kishmish and 1 ratti kesar in 150 gms water in an earthen pot and cover the pot with fine muslin cloth and keep it overnight in open space in dew. In the morning eat the kishmish and drink the water. Do this just for 8 days to strengthen your heart.

2. Dry grind mung dal. Roast it in gheè or clarified butter and add mishri. It is a good tonic for heart.

General body strength

cook 1 kg grated carrot and 1 kg grated pumpkin in 4 litres of milk. Then roast it in 250 gms ghee or clarified butter. Add 10 eggs and half kg sugar. Eat this for 1 month.

Calcium Deficiency

Mix aamla juice 11 Gms, lime water 11 Gms and honey 11 Gms  and drink it frequently.

Anemia

1. Eating mango pulp mixed with yogurt and sugar increases blood.
2. Soak 5 raisins either green or black in water overnight. Then eat these in the morning with milk or without anything.
3. Make a health soup by cooking together bits of carrot, radish, spinach, beetroot, onion, ginger and garlic. It can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days safely. eat one bowl morning and evening.
4. Eat 1 tbs honey morning and evening.
5. Drink orange, carrot, apple, grapes mix juice.(best if home extracted and not the market' ready made ones)

6. Eat wheat grass powder or juice.
7.  Eat fresh salad with plenty of carrot, radish, grated beetroot and salad leaves with lemons.
8. Soak 2 ( only 2 ) leaves of saffron in milk overnight. Next morning boil it in 200 Gms or a glass of milk and drink it everyday.

Bed wetting Children 
Give them dry dates to eat at night for some days.

Stopping watery lose motions

Swallow a small piece of camphor or capoor with water.

Protection against common seasonal cold/ remedy for cold
1. Drink hot water immediately on arising in the morning and just before going to bed. Can also be had before going out in extremely cold weather during anytime in the day or night.
2. Rub a nutmeg on a stone surface using a little water to obtain nutmeg paste. Very little is necessary. Lick just a drop or 2-3 and drink water or milk after it. It prevents cold. It is especially useful for infants and babies.
3. Eat a spoon of honey with a glass of milk every morning to prevent catching cold. Mysteriously eating an independent spoon of honey with milk and honey spread toasts are two different things.

Dry coughing
Chew 2-3 whole cloves without swallowing them and let them remain in your mouth for 2-5 hrs as their juice mingles with saliva and sooths the irritated throat. This is especially useful if one cannot sleep due to atrocious coughing.

Stammering

Mix almond, butter and mishri and make a paste. Give a spoonful to the child to eat every day.

Cough

Burn garlic in a little mustard oil and then massage chest with this oil.

Migraine

Lick tulsi or Basil powder/paste with honey in morning and evening.

For strengthening liver

Peal raw papaya, cube it in small pieces and soak in vinegar for 8-10 days. Eat 2-3 cubes after every meal to strengthen liver.

Excess Urine

1. Take black till 45 Gms, Ajwain 20 Gms and gur 60 Gms. wet grind these and mix together. Eat 60 Gms with water in morning. This will cure too much urine even in old age.

2. Eat anaar ka chhilka ( pomegranate peel )crushed with 4 gm water twice a day. Caution: don't eat rice.

3. Crush black till (sesame )200 gms. Cook in gur ( jaggery )250 gms. Make into small balls. One ball for children and 2 for adults.

4. Cook 25 gm chopped onion pieces in one kg water. Drink this water 3 times a day. It helps in curing painful urination, frequent urination and full flow.

Pregnancy

1. Grate green aamla and keep it in a glass container. Sprinkle some rose petals and then pour honey till all the aamla is covered. Keep the container in sun for 8-10 days. Eat 1 spoon with milk. It is very good to eat during pregnancy for a healthy baby.

Good general health

Grind fresh green aamla and mix with fresh green aamla juice then let it dry. Eat this stuff 1 sppon twice a day with milk.

Body Strength
Soak 5-10 munakka or sultanas in milk or water overnight. In the morning boil it in a glass of milk. Add a spoon clarified butter or ghee and drink it everyday morning.

Hair Fall

1. Massage scalp with lemon juice.

2. Soak 200 Gms aamla powder in a little water for 2 hrs. Mix 1 whole lemon juice in this and wash hair with this water.(for long hair you will need double the amount)

3. Mix trifala powder with crushed gur and make berry size pills and store in a glass container. Eat one pill early morning before brushing teeth. It helps in blackening hair.

4. Take equal quantity of aamla juice and till ( sesame)oil and cook on heat. When all the water in this mixture is burnt, turn off heat and cool and store in a glass jar. Apply this on hair for strengthening hair roots and hair blackening.

5. Apply aamla juice mixed with lemon juice on scalp.

6. Crush unripe aamla and apply directly on scalp for stopping hair fall.

Witch Bitch......That's her.

I don't particularly like to bitch about anyone but some people in my world throw me exceptions. The latest one to do so is J.

She is exactly the person for whom ' Bitch' word has been coined. She is one hellish person to be around with, every bit the stuff the imaginary vamps in fictional films are made of - attire, make up, expression, activity, behavior all inclusive. The more you see her, the less you like her. How can she be so horrible is but a small question; the bigger one is how could H have fallen in love with her and married her ? Can really anyone be so blind as to mistake a witch for a fairy princess? I doubt...!

Her crimes are endless. Any attempt to elaborate or even simply enlist them would not only be endless but futile too but more than that it would be most boring document ever to read as it can only contain all negative adjectives one can dare imagine. An extravagant shopoholic, concieted bragart,  over dominant and utterly vain...these are the keywords to describe her. Her every little activity or conversation is a well calculated move generated solely for the purpose of showing off. She is as great a show off as I don't know what. It is her most passionate hobby; she litrally lives and breathes to do so. I tell you, you can't spend more than 10 minutes in her company without feeling nauseated and wondering which planet she has dropped from..

I hate the very expressions on her face. They are always so entirely devoid of any softness. The way she flashes her eye with a hard steely glitter, or smiles with that thin line like mouth which since ages and ages has been declared a sure sign of ruthlessness. But still the tone of her voice can be even more hateful and disgusting than her entire face; it reeks to death of artificial notes, arrogance, premeditated calculation, arrogance, vanity and dirty show off.

All this would hardly have mattered to me but for the fact that I feel deeply sad for her first and worst victims of her bad behavior namely G, her little toddler daughter and H, her husband.
 H is a picture of silent suffering and untold misery. In all respects he is a perfect gentleman a kind, generous, polite, helpful, friendly and hard working man, but as much trampled under her feet as a dandelion under an elephant's foot, he now looks resigned to his fate; he has not a shred of personal respect, social prestige natural freedom or personal happiness left for all of these have been butchered down by J by her publicly flung insults, scoldings, open disregards, and just about anything you can imagine except just flinging her shoes on him. Nothing to wonder that he finds solace in deliberately immersing himself in office work, comes late at nights, works even on weekends and avoids pleasure outings.
I would willingly go to state prison for murdering her than facing this hell every moment of my life. In any case, even to think about all this makes me feel murderous. I wonder what stuff H is made of.....

Her little baby has an even greater tragic tale to tell. Abused continually, scolded harshly and neglected criminally, poor G is the saddest baby one can see on this earth. She rarely smiles, and  has acquired the abnormal habit of sitting or standing in one posture for more than an hour without moving, fidgeting, smiling, talking, playing or even wanting to do any of these actions; it is just unearthly to watch her sitting or standing just like a stone statue.
At just 1.5 years of tender age, she broke her arm just because she had been negligently placed on an adult chair at a very dangerous spot. More than twice she has toured the emergency room (and rather mysteriously keeps falling ill ) but again as soon as she was back and but naturally needed lots of time, care and attention to recover, this monster of a mom instead chose to leave her in H's care by hook or crook and went to attend women's party....! Her partying didn't stop even when the poor tiny child was in plasters for a whole month.

Poor G ! Although her home is full of all toys and J has arranged her home furniture with the effect of showing off all the baby utility things she is in possession of, (and if you as much as cast a glance in any one of them's direction she will concietedly tell you which country she bought it from and how much bucks she paid for it.) most of the time G is too afraid to cry and she never smiles because she never feels happy from inside..... I had the bad luck of witnessing her second birth day party and believe me, it was a tragic spectacle.
To begin with, She scheduled the party not on the actual date but at some later convenient date so that everyone got to see her stuff without having a chance to excuse himself out. Despite invitations she made several calls alongside just to ascertain that everyone was really coming.
As per her vampish nature, she had organised a huge party. She sent out bogus 'Royal' invitations for a Royal party for a Princess that was G and called herself a Queen. She demanded that all children coming to the party be dressed up as princes or knights (which nobody did.) Without the slightest need for both, she rented a community hall and employed a photographer for the event, and had the nit whit to dress in a black shoulder less ball gown ( with a barrel shaped figure to support it )coupled with thickly black kohled eyes, tomato red lipstick and black jewelery, she looked a perfect witch just minus her broom. A character straight out of Harry Potter films......!

She had accordingly dressed G in a giant pink robe but far from looking like a b'day kid or even a special kid poor G looked  as miserable as Cinderella does in picture story books when she is ordered to scrub floors instead of going to the royal party. She just kept standing there mute and dumb, motionless and expressionless beside the huge b'day cakes which were meant for her. The sight and sound of so many other children playing gleefully in every corner of the hall and the so many interesting things like balloons and other decorations which only the children know are so damn interesting  did nothing to tempt her to even want to move and reach out to them.
It was a horrible sight to see such a small innocent little child so fixed to the ground in terror and so unhappy amidst such revelry going on all around her.
After the cake cutting, she invited all the couples for incredibly stupid adult games one after the other instead of something for the kids considering it was after all a kid's b'day party. She continued to conduct them while little G kept standing or later sitting in some obscure corner totally forgotten. The party really had begun to look like an adults party.....

 A question often irks me; Is H so humble, meek and timid because of J's behavior or is J so cruel and wicked towards H because of  his ineffectual, super gentleness. A woman can never respect her man if he is timid or doesn't assert himself but what can a man do if her woman is or decides to be a witch? With H always harried and well under her hooves, I wonder what their bedroom scenes must be like, that is, if they still have any....It remains a favorite chat topic between me and S to speculate what and how they manage the inevitables of married life, the most favorite one being,' Open the button.' 'Yes madam. Say thank you. Thank you madam.   .

I swear, I do not want to see her face again although it being a small place we still keep bumping into each other rather frequently but whenever we do so, I make sure I do not give her any opportunity to brag and show. I keep minimum conversation and that too when it is absolutely unavoidable. On another occasion I saw G again in company of both her parents and as usual she was sitting alone and motionless like a statue and when I took her in my arms she became so happy and animated with real happiness that I wanted to keep her with me forever. Whenever I think of G, I clap H tightly in my arms and think how unfortunate a child can be if he is not happy and how even more unfortunate those parents are who can't give love and happiness to their children.

UPDATE

December 2010

.................

In November, little G was admitted in my class. I didn't give J any extra importance but handled her just like any other parent but gave lots and lots of love and care to G. Little G became so happy and quickly settled in the school and even made friends with the other children.

 I couldn't help feeling shocked that G had just last night returned from India after her Deewali vacation and was brought to her first day at school early in the morning which must have been so taxing for her.

 I asked general questions about her feeds and J told me that she drinks milk every 2 hrs ! Come on. Even a small infant ideally drinks milk every 3 hours and G is a 2 and half year old kid! Doesn't J know that drinking milk so often can hamper with her solid intake and mess up iron and vitamin levels? She told me she is a very fussy eater and doesn't eat at all. We all observed within 2-3 days that she in fact ate well and full. Maybe, J just never tried hard enough and filled her up on just milk...! Then I asked her to give me her milk bottle as G might have rejected any other bottle from the school. You will never believe this; Her bottle was so so so dirty. Oh my God! I myself would never have thought such black slimy greasy dirt could be found on a small child's milk bottle unless I had seen it myself and also the fact that G was actually drinking out of it...! The nipple and the bottle rim was lined with slimy grease like dirt and I know that baby bottles are washed after every use so they can collect this amount of dirt only when they have not been washed at least for a month...! 

Maybe J was so eaten up with resentment because I didn't give her any importance and treated her coldly almost like a stranger that she decided on quitting the school. She gave the excuse that the school was proving to be too far off from her house especially in current snowy weather. 

So now, G goes to another school where I am sure J gets to show herself off the way she wanted.

Emotional Solitude...!!!

I feel terribly misunderstood and emotionally isolated. Nobody understands me for the individual that I am. I hate to be treated or even considered as the mere vegetable type who simply live and eat and sleep. I am different. I feel happy when I am learning something or researching, or following my interests with fiery passion. I am an artist who loves to create and takes singular pride in his creation. I like doing every big or little job with perfection no matter if it costs me no sleep and rest and plenty of strain. Nothing but the perfect and the best from me satisfies me; and anything which prevents me from giving my whole self, time, energy and all to my piece of art irritates me. 

It is surprising how I find each and every work in commonplace life as a canvas where I can make my own creation.  whether it is a new dish, or dressing up my baby, or writing in my blog or teaching the nursery class, taking pictures or studying an individual or finding my way according to a map... they all are like a piece of art to me. Ideally, I wish, I could follow my artistic and scholarly pursuits without any interruption and disturbance but active family life hinders all of it...and then I feel like someone who is getting parched with thirst with the glass of water just within his reach yet he cannot drink it because his hands are tied..!