The Co-passenger

 

It was a lazy, foggy morning and I was running behind the time. A quick dry-fruit-Laddu breakfast and a little yoghurt was enough for me to make a hasty start. I murmured a fast track gratitude line to God, curled up my hair,  clutched it up and stepped down the staircase as I fixed my shoes on my way. A loud bye to mommy as I bang the ‘C’ shaped lock on the gate. The sound distressed my neighbouring aunty as she slided her window glass to watch me disappear. I walked briskly, crossed the road and stuffed myself inside the autorickshaw, like a smashed potato inside a bun. The rickshaw stopped at a few locations where initially a teen got down, then the senior citizen couple got down and that’s when a lady got in. The rickshaw headed towards the college that I work in as a professor. The rickshaw driver looked at me through the front mirror until I gave him a stern glare. I pulled on my mask with the threat of catching flue virus in air. Through the puddles and pits on the road, rickshaw managed to go further, sometimes avoiding them and at times bouncing back. There were signals where we stopped and I happen to realise that people especially men of all the ages were peeping and staring inside the rickshaw. I stopped my thought process and a revision of my ‘things to do’ list, and looked at the front mirror if all was well on my face. I shrugged off my observation and got back on my thinking track. Soon due to traffic we slowed down and repeatedly I found men including the traffic police looking inside the rickshaw without a blink of an eye. I became super conscious and uncomfortable about this and it started bothering me now. As all the masculine looks pooled inside our rickshaw, I managed to look at the co-passenger sitting next to me. She was a girl in teens, wearing red salwar kurta with a beige dupatta having a jari border. She had a milky fair tone and flawless skin. Her big golden jhumkas had shining stones studded and hair were bleached golden. She had worn laakh bangles with flashy mirror work. Her eyes were lined thickly with a black kajal and she pressed her lips to signify the urgency of her own. She wore a very flashy make up and her lipstick was super dark maroon with a brown outline. She looked overdone in her appearance in the daylight. Her body language was extraordinarily familiar to men and by now my 6th sense had learnt that she was none other than a sex worker. She was in hurry to catch for her schedule aligned by her for a basic livelihood. As the multidirectional incidental glares fell on her, her vibes refracted them back with a shield of ignorance and indifference. As I was solving this jigsaw of observations, she asked the driver to stop the rickshaw, while getting down hurriedly, she placed a roll of currency on his palm and walked into a direction hurriedly. Me, the driver, the autorickshaw and the strong lingering rosé fragrance of my co-passenger headed further on the road ‘not-so-busy’. Every rising day comes with a haste, a plan to accomplish and a timeline which places every single human on a common, unbiased platform. Every co-passenger has a storyline, a deadline, a timeline and a lifeline, which is unmatched. 

Magic of Baby Steps!

 

Small steps have big significance in reaching mightiest goals. When the challenges are understood at first place, broken down into chunks that are sizeably digestible, it becomes easier to take actions. Taking baby steps helps reduce anxiety and panic mode. Baby steps help us avoid overwhelming situations in stressful times. Rather worrying on the intensity of the goal, we learn to focus on the very small steps taken consistently and consciously towards the goal. Small progress every day boosts in loads of confidence in us. It improves the quality inch by inch and step by step. Micro planning and keeping up with the movement every single day is the key. Rather than heaping and wondering where to start, and banging into a day-night stand to meet the goal, it is mindful to break your work in small tasks easy to achieve on a constant basis. Mini victories are great propellers towards success. Taking baby steps also justify being gentle and nurturing to yourself. Pausing and slowing down although underrated, is something that makes a difference. Mini victories are simple, real and quickly achievable. Mini victory helps us achieve the mini goal which is a vital part of the major goal. The small habits that we inculcate with discipline and dedication help us get in a win-win state. Norman Schwarzkopf says, “the more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war”. This is the magic and joy of mini steps for whichever target we aim to accomplish in our lives.

My first love!

 

पद्माकर रामचंद्र भावसार (01.05.1954 to 22.01.2004) 

In these 20 years, since the time he has gone into another world, I have never expressed anything related to my father on a social platform. The reason is simple it being a very sensitive corner of my heart, difficult to put in words. But today I gather The strength and wisdom from my father And I have penned down a few words regarding him. The main reason why I write this is because it’s been two decades that physically he isn't around us and a number of people have been sharing thoughts related to him, like the relatives, the teachers from Saint Philomena, the students from so many batches of the school, his fellow mates from the writers group, his friends and all the people whom I don’t even know but he has happened to touch their lives in some or the other ways. In these 20 years I have been a listener to so many of the experiences shared by people regarding how he had stood beside them when the waters were troublesome. In these 20 years I and my mother have been breathing under the shade of the legacy that he left behind. The legacy of sharing, caring, helping, guiding, and simply being there with a true heart. This legacy is a new richness today when we long for good humans. Many of the people remember him for his light humour which would surface up exactly when the time wasn’t good, diluting the pain and increasing the strength. He volunteered a lot of  painstaking efforts for the Bhavsar क्षत्रिय समाज upbringing. He was the one who established a separate महिला मंडळ in Bhavsar क्षत्रिय समाज,  cidco, Nasik. He is cherished for his empathy quotient, social quotient, creativity quotient and communication skills. He is remembered for so much of literary contributions. Some well known dramas written and directed by him are 'प्रायश्चित्त', 'चार रेषांचा त्रिकोण' and 'बेकार ' , these were played in परशुराम साईखेडकर नाट्यगृह, नाशिक. His बालनाट्य,   'गोष्ट एका शेंडीची' gained popularity in several shows played in कालिदास कलामंदिर, नाशिक. 'जानता राजा ', 'बॉबी ची गोष्ट ' and 'Son of God' written and directed by him received love in Nasik and the videos even traveled across country. Several बालनाट्य  written and directed by him were 'मुले tv वर जातात ', 'मुले चोर पकडतात ', 'चामडेपती झिंदाबाद ', 'किस्सा अपहरणाचा ', 'संदेश शांतीचा ', 'जेथे जातो तेथे' and 'detective राजू '. The कथा penned by him 'वामन ओढेकर' gained praises in 'धमाका ' दिवाळी अंक and his several write ups gained popularity in साप्ताहिक 'नगारा ' दिवाळी विशेषांक. He gained popularity through his daily column write up in गावकरी in the name of 'मनस्वी'. He was the first marathi writer to reach on internet in 1997 in the internet edition of पुणे दर्शन दिवाळी अंक, through his humorous katha 'धूमधुमाल'. He was all in one, चित्रकार,  व्यंगचित्रकार, नाटककार,  कवी and साहित्यिक. He was a super active member of सार्वजनिक वाचनालय, महाराष्ट्र साहित्य पत्रिका,  वसंत व्याख्यानमाला,  व्यक्ति विकास मंच,  संवाद: एक वाङ्मयीन चळवळ,  रोटरी क्लब and नासिक कविसंमेलन संघटना. His one of the attention seeking and heart touching poem was 'लहान माझी बाहुली ' regarding gender equity those days. One of the most impact making drama he directed was 'कारगील' for which he used LCD projector those days. Those days when there was no watsapp and internet, his write ups related to 'राष्ट्रीय एकात्मता', 'सामाजिक बांधिलकी' and 'भ्रष्टाचार आजचा शिष्टाचार ' were displayed in गणपती decorations and सार्वजनिक वाचनालय premises on hoardings. They went viral with mouth publicity and gained a lot of attention. He was teacher who would make students cry when he taught us 'कलिंगड' and would make us laugh when he taught us 'व्यक्ति आणि वल्ली '. Due to his multifaceted personality he touched the lives of thousands of students and he was also awarded the prestigious 'आदर्श शिक्षक पुरस्कार' सार्वजनिक वाचनालय नासिक. His काव्यसंग्रह 'फुलोरा ' duely autographed by his mentor वि. वा. शिरवाडकर was published at the hands of मा. दादासाहेब पोतनीस and श्री किशोर पाठक in the presence of his friends, followers, writers, and relatives.

आज ही अनेकांचे प्रेरणास्थान आणि श्रद्धास्थान असलेल्या माझ्या वडीलांना व त्यांच्या स्मृतीस शब्दरुपी आदरांजली 🙏

प्रा. डॉ. स्वाती पद्माकर भावसार, सूक्ष्मजीवशास्त्रज्ञ, H.P.T. आर्ट्स अँड R.Y.K सायन्स कॉलेज,  नासिक.

Motherhood is an attitude!

Motherhood is an epitome of love, sacrifice, and bonding. Being a mother is like holding a soul full of empathy and understanding. Other way round, being considerate and mindfully connected is also being motherly. Everyone is aware of a biological mom’s story, her pain, her evolution, adaptation, and success journey. Being a mom is about much more than giving birth. Biological or non-biological moms and mother figures are the ones who love you unconditionally irrespective of all the odds. They keep your well-being and happiness on top of their mind, pinch you when necessary, encourage you, laugh with you, and so much more. Due to the depth of involvement of non-biological mothers, the concept of 'kinship families' is spreading worldwide. Foster mothers, kinship moms, and stepmothers are setting new gold standards. So if a question arises from a child, 'can I call you mom?' It's either the child has no experience of having a mother or the biological mother hasn't really played a role enough timely for the child. The child hasn't been able to share his experience or feelings or pain with his mother whenever it was the need of the time. Although his daily requirements were fulfilled, he had to search another mother figure for sharing and expressing his feelings through various phases of his life. The sharing could be related to emotions, some kind of a pain, psychological discomfort, happiness,  curiosity,  anxiety, excitement, well finished tasks, contentment, fear, and all the daily up-downs. There is no other discomfort than burying the emotions and carrying the luggage. If father is a  mother-enough, it will go all well, otherwise, child seeks in for another mother figure. The kid or the teenager finds solace in sharing all her experiences with the mother figure who is  an aunt, a teacher, or any other well deserved mother soul. Non-biological moms are being truly responsible and are being there whenever required. They have been saviours to the biological moms for being angels to their children and setting them on the route. There is always a vice-versa moment or phases in life that calls for a bridge to avoid a fall. If biological moms are God gifted, non-biological moms are God sent. God bless all the mother souls who beautifully play their roles irrespective the genders, the age, the relation, and all the odds in their life. They might have not carried the child for 9 months but they shower their dedication and protect the child throughout their life. On this Mother’s Day let’s remember and also thank all such mother figures. 

“ Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculously my own,

         Never forget for a single minute,

   You didn’t grow under my heart, but in it”

टाच दुखीचे कारणे व उपाय

 आपली टाच का दुखते?

    बहुतेक वेळा टाचांमध्ये वेदना हे प्लांटर फॅसिआ हा जाड टिश्यू दुखल्यामुळे  होते.

    प्लांटर फॅसिआ मध्ये पायाला आधार देणाऱ्या संयोजी ऊतींची जळजळ, ज्यामुळे सूज आणि वेदना होतात. फॅसिआ टाचेच्या हाडांना पायाच्या बोटाशी जोडतो.प्लांटर फॅसियावर येणाऱ्या सुजेला प्लांटर फॅसायटीस म्हणतात.

   यात सूक्ष्म टेअर, कोलेजन तुटणे आणि जखम होणे यांचा समावेश होतो. यामुळे कधी कधी या वेदनांना जळणाऱ्या संवेदना समजले जाऊ शकते. वेदना तीव्र किंवा सुस्त असू शकतात. सामान्यतः, सकाळी पायांवर उभे राहिल्यानंतर वेदना अनुभवली जाते.

या वेदना कशामुळे होतात?

• दीर्घकाळ उभे राहून काम केल्यामुळे, 
• धावल्यामुळे,
• व्यायामाचा अतिरेक केल्यामुळे,
• शरीराचे वजन वाढल्यामुळे,
• दोन्ही पायांची लांबीत असमानता असल्या  कारणाने,
• आतल्या बाजूने वळण्याच्या प्रवृत्तीसह असलेले सपाट पायांमुळे,
• टाच स्पर झाल्यामुळे (कॅल्शियम जमा होणे)

टाचेचे दुखणे कसे कमी करावे?

कॉर्टिकोस्टिरॉईड्स आणि शस्त्रक्रिया टाळायची असल्यास, प्राथमिक स्तरावर स्वत: ची काळजी कशी घ्यावी?

1. आरामदायक फुटवेअर घालणे,
2. मधूनमधून विश्रांती घेणे,
3. टाचेवर बर्फ लावणे,
4. वजन कमी करणे,
5. फूट-रोटेशन आणि  तळपायाचे स्ट्रेचिंग चे व्यायाम करणे.

क्लॉस्ट्रोफोबिया म्हणजे नक्की काय?

 मित्रांनो, 

मी जेंव्हा शाळेत होते तेंव्हा उन्हाळ्याच्या सुट्टीत माझ्या मामाच्या गावी, नाशिक जिल्ह्यातील नांदगावला जात असे. माझ्या सर्व बहीण भावांसोबत लहानपणी मी एका शुक्रवारी देवी मंदिरात गेले होते. मी मुख्य दरवाजातून मंदिरात प्रवेश केला मंदिर भाविकांनी खचाखच भरलेले होते. गर्दीने मला आपसूकच आत ढकलले, मी हळूहळू मुख्य गाभार्‍यात पोहोचले, आणि जेव्हा आम्ही आत होतो तेव्हा माझा जीव गुदमरला. ती एक अस्वस्थ आणि तीव्र भावना होती, कधी एकदा मी इथून बाहेर पडते आणि मोकळ्या हवेत श्वास घेते असे मला झाले होते. मोकळ्या हवेत बाहेर आले तेव्हा जीव भांड्यात पडला. या घटनेची कितीतरी वेळा पुनरावृत्ती झाली, कधी मंदिरात, कधी सार्वजनिक बसमध्ये, कधी ऑटोरिक्षात, कधी गजबजलेल्या ठिकाणी, मॉलमध्ये, विमानात, या सर्व ठिकाणी गर्दी हा कॉमन फॅक्टर होता, कारण गर्दीत कार्बन डाय ऑक्साइडचे प्रमाण जास्त असते. त्यात भर देणारा घटक म्हणजे तापमान, जसे की हिवाळा असो किंवा मुसळधार पाऊस, जीव गुदमरणे ही समस्या तेवढी नव्हती पण उन्हाळा असेल आणि गर्दीचे ठिकाण असेल तर अनेकदा मला श्वासोच्छवासाचा त्रास होतो. अशा अनेक घटनांमुळे मला समजले की मी *क्लॉस्ट्रोफोबिक* आहे. क्लॉस्ट्रोफोबिया ही एक मर्यादित जागा किंवा गर्दीच्या ठिकाणी वाटणारी भीती किंवा अस्वस्थ  करणारी स्थिती आहे. घाम येणे, श्वास घेण्यास त्रास होणे, धाप लागणे, जास्त गरम होणे, घाबरणे, थरथर कापणे आणि नंतरच्या स्थितीत बेशुद्ध होण्याची शक्यता असते.

क्लॉस्ट्रोफोबिया संबंधित लक्षणे नियंत्रित करण्याचे काही मार्ग आहेत,

1. दीर्घ श्वास  घेणे  आणि भस्त्रिका प्राणायाम.

2. कापडात गुंडाळलेल्या कापूर क्रिस्टल्सचा वास घेणे.

3. स्कार्फ, ओव्हरकोट, मोजे, शूज इत्यादींसारखे जास्तीचे कपडे वापरणे टाळा.

4. तुमच्या पायांना मोकळा श्वास घेऊ द्या, मोजे काढा.

5. अशा घटने दरम्यान तुम्हाला अधिक स्वारस्य असलेल्या एखाद्या गोष्टीकडे लक्ष वळवणे.

6. विशेषत: तापलेल्या हवामानात शरीराला फारसे फिट नसलेले पातळ, सुती आतील कपडे घालणे.

7. क्लॉस्ट्रोफोबिया नियंत्रणापलीकडे जाऊन दैनंदिन कामात अडथळा ठरत असेल, तर वैद्यकीय सल्ला घेणे.

नियमित जीवनात खालील गोष्टींचा सराव करता येतो.

a) खोलीच्या आत - दरवाज्या जवळ थांबणे, पंखा किंवा एसीच्या  जवळ उभे रहा.

b) वाहनाच्या आत - जेव्हा वाहतूक जास्त असेल तेव्हा प्रवास करणे टाळा, दुपारच्या वेळी तापमान जास्त असेल तेव्हा, खिडकीजवळ बसणे किंवा एसी जवळ बसणे. 

c) इमारतीच्या आत - लिफ्टपेक्षा पायऱ्या चढणे पसंत करा.

d) पार्टीत - गर्दीच्या खोलीत दाराजवळ उभे राहणे, खोली मोठी असली तरीही.

e) शारीरिकदृष्ट्या नेहमी निर्गमन बिंदूजवळ असणे.

f) जड/अति जेवण टाळणे आणि हायड्रेटेड राहणे- भरपूर पाणी पीत राहणे.

आणि सर्वात महत्त्वाचे मनाला स्थिर आणि प्रसन्न ठेवणे.😇

Mean could be Mean: “Not every mean is golden”

December 23, went as expected, slow and heavy. January was a turmoil to begin with year 2024. Feb and March were more of acclimatisation and adaptation. January was about making me realise that you have to deal with fools, there is no turning back, you have to give a deaf ear to immature words and a blind eye to illogical behaviour. Not every time you should choose the midway or the mean because you have to decide on either one of it. Ignore it or accept it but there is nothing like fake it to agree. At this point of the mid of life, you have to realise and be happy that you have been growing up, not only physically, but also mentally, you have been shedding off your negative points from your personality and have been working on coping up with your own dark side. If age is just a number, mind well you shouldn’t age only with the numbers. Growing up is a value-added wholistic process, it is evolving with modification and development whereas taking a midway is escaping the situation and stagnating the growth.

       In this academic year, blended learning and teaching is always a suggestive way in education system but face-to-face teaching and learning has not only an effective approach but also with a personal touch. Blended learning and teaching is a midway leading nowhere, specially in the field of science. Post realisation, I concluded that not a single session I would go online, I may conduct extra discussions, but that would always happen off-line, where I will be able to read the faces, understand the body language, answer the queries right there, and ensure that the topic is uncovered. Similarly at work, I began to out-rule the midway practice of sending messages on text or watsapp and started preferring a face to face meet preferably or a phone call possibly. This avoided miscommunication, misunderstanding and contributed to utmost clarity in the communication process.

     Just when towards the end February I got pickpocketed, lost my phone with every other content and detail, I got disconnected from the virtual world. That’s when I realised that my eyes, brain and mind were relaxed, and not under any kind of a stress. It was total absence of a gadget and hence there was no midway to knowledge or communication. I attained calmness by directly interacting with the authentic sources. Without panicking slightest, I regained my important official contacts, files, data, and emails successfully in the due course of time. And definitely this ‘no gadget’ phase helped me understand the significance of existing into the real world. The riches I found were all treasured offline. 

       This time I put my birthday alert off from all the social platforms and only those who truly remembered my birthday connected to me. There was no midway, either there was wishing or there was no wishing but due to this, I could collect all the close contacts that I had lost. But the bizarre thing happened was my mother forgot my birthday and in fact, she went out of station and out of city without even wishing me. Later when she recollected She wished me for my birthday, but did not give an explanation because we both knew the date was forgotten. So I like the clarity of the thought when one is not vibing in a midway state and I like the way very transparently it was communicated that a date or day can be forgotten with other priority thoughts on the mind (with birthdays being so overrated these days) and this was totally okay over the soothing fantasy greyscale explanation. 

    Many a times, although not always, taking a mean or a midway is a display of lack of clarity and indecisiveness. It’s a way of satisfying everyone around (which is impossible to do) and a lack of potential as a decision maker. This definitely leads to devaluation and degradation of the quality quotient. 

We don’t have to decide the status of our mind and thoughts presuming the reaction of another person. Right in our thought process, we don’t have to take a mean for anything and everything irrationally. Taking mean has nothing to do with being just or avoiding disparity, it’s good as a statistical tool for scientific numbers but not applicable  to human/social behaviour. So if you are choosing a midway or a mean you are not being a lord of justice because every mean is not golden, think before you consider one. Taking mean is like choosing to live in greyscale, you cannot always swim or keep any task hanging between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ tagging it as a golden mean. All that I mean is choosing mean could lead to being mean at times to self and many times to someone else.