Swathy

#DidYouKnow top 5 reasons to get pregnant before you reach 30? {Pregnancy}

Swathy · February 13, 2015 · Leave a Comment

why should you plan babies before you reach 30

Well, as I mentioned in the Blogging Goals for #2015 post, I shall be slowly branching out into baby planning and pregnancy posts with time.

So, the first issue which I have today is how much does age influence your ability to have a baby. In fact, I had already asked a lady who had a baby quite late into her 30’s which not quite uncommon these days and here is what she replied.

See, it is absolutely fine to have a baby even after 30. It is only people who say that age matters but actually it is just to make you feel insecure and plan a baby beforehand. And, are not there quite a lot of women who have babies late in their lives?

Well, as much as I agree with the lady, I do have my own reservations. So, let me first illustrate why would anyone want you to have babies as soon as possible.

Tradition

In the olden days in fact even up to our grand parents, they used to get married by the age of 20, if not earlier, and then bear the first kid within a year and follow up with numerous progeny till they could actually bear children resulting in family the size of the cricket teams. There was no concept of family planning back then. And, that is how it is done!

Activeness of the Grandparents

Even though our life expectancy has increased, our parents emotionally blackmail us to have kids asap stating we would love to have kids in the house and it has been so long since we heard a baby’s cry and play with them. And, if they need, the grand parents can substitute the parents in taking care of the kids while the parents are out working.

Parents should be in earning stages till kids settle down

Slowly, the age gaps between parents and kids is increasing. Because, we want to live our lives, settle down, enjoy before the responsibility which makes us pretty old by the time we have a baby. And, then, by the time the kid grows to 20, we are most likely to reach 50+. And, then, the kids would not have settled down by the time we are ready for retirement.

Taking a case study, I used to have a colleague who was probably 45 or near about and her son has enrolled into first year of engineering last year so now she is free to take on her life and the couple have at least 10-12 more years to their work service by which time the son would obviously settle down in a good job and hopefully have a family too. That is the ideal scenario when the parents are young enough to witness their kids marriage and manage the grand kids.

All of the people are talking about it!

This is probably the worse of all the above excuses used to make one bear kids. The society is talking.

Is not the society talking all the time? They talk when you are not scoring well enough, they talk when you did not get into engineering and went for commerce or arts, they talk when you are not getting married, they talk when you have a love marriage, they talk when the wedding did not go well, they talk when you have kids, they talk when you do not have kids, I mean seriously shut up!

And, finally, the Age of the Female

Yes, probably, this is one of the most medically supported reasons to have kids before you hit the 30 mark. The bones of the female body get weaker with age and even the gyneacs advice us to bear at least one child before we get 30. Also, the hormonal changes in the body wreak havoc otherwise. Though, I have yet to find out more of the medical evidence for it.

So, What do you say? What are the most common excuses heard to make a couple plan for a baby? Do you really believe in having a baby on pressure or would you like to take your time?

Books #2015 Vol. 1 – “Ramayana The Game of Life – Shattered Dreams” by Shubha Vilas

Swathy · February 12, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Ramayana The Game of Life - Shattered Dreams by Shubha Vilas book review

An entire month without reading a book?? Whoa, I am getting older. Did you ever hear them saying your concentration decreases as you grow older! That is what is happening to me. And, then, time seems to fly away all the time.

About the Author

Honestly, I have not heard about the author before I came across the book. Among both the great epics, I have always loved Mahabharata more than Ramayana but the premise of the book made me pick it up for review.

How does one prepare for a danger one knows nothing about? – The easiest way to forget your limitations is to shift focus from self-absorption to active-facilitation. Dasaratha had not realized his shortcomings because of his absorption in his responsibilities.

There is not much information about the author online but goodreads mentions him to be a spiritual and motivational speaker who holds both an engineering degree and law specialization.

About the Book

Okay, so let me start with the book. This is the second part in the series.

I have not read the first book but it was all about the birth and childhood of the sons of Dasaratha culminating in their marriage.

This second book takes off from the decision of Rama’s coronation to twelfth year of the exile period with a peek into Ravana’s psyche and life.

Half the night had been damned by despair and the other half buoyed by hope. Wasn’t this what life was all about?

Dasaratha is sad and suffering from nightmares. He has a sense of impending doom but is unable to figure out the reason. Due to his unstable mental state, he decides it to be the correct time to coronate Rama as the new king and take off time to spend his last years in spiritual contemplation.

Before proceeding, I would like to add that I have just reached pg. 120 and the story has just reached the scene of Kaikeyi asking her boons from Dasartha for Bharata’s coronation and Rama’s exile. In between, there was a bit of introduction of Ravana’s character and how his sins were one of the catalyst in maligning Kaikeyi’s mind.

Ramayana has been retold many times and we are all aware with it. What makes everything different is the interpretation of different authors.

Decision-making is akin to breathing. Just as in breathing there is careful balance between inhalation and exhalation, decision-making must be a careful balance between personal benefits (taking in or inhalation) and communal harmony (giving out or exhalation).

My Verdict

The author has tried to simplify some of the obscure events in the epic and justifies the philosophical importance behind each event in the footnotes on each page.

Some of the points made by the author are extremely prudent and force you to rethink. And, this is something which I found very interesting:

The word mantra is a combination of two words – man meaning mind and tra (from trayate) meaning control. Mantra literally means that which controls the mind. Mantras are subtle sound waves that soothe the subtle mind.

I had been researching on the same topic – how chanting mantras affect our mind and body so this piece of information was extremely useful.

From the point of editing and grammar, I found the book to be very mature except for a few phrases which were a lot cheesier than I would expect in a philosophical manuscript. For example,

Praise is the temperature at which any human melts. It is the garment that warms a cold body. It is a password to log into the software of any heart.

Death is a universal virus installed in every individual, programmed to terminate and dissolve the machine itself.

I know that the aim of this book is to align it to today’s life but the technical terms in it look really weird and I felt that they break the flow of the book. But, then, that is my opinion. Otherwise, yes, it is a good read. Do try it out!

So, what do you say? Do you prefer Ramayana or Mahabharata? Have you read any of Shubha Vilas’s book? How did you like it?

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

#HappyHairChallenge with Garnier Update I {Hair Care}

Swathy · February 11, 2015 · 2 Comments

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Shampoo Conditioner Product Review

As I mentioned sometime back, I had started with the #HappyHairChallenge and I had asked you to guess the products! So, yes, you are right. It is Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition and let us see how is my hair doing after 15 days of using the products!

My Biggest Hair Problem

As I mentioned, I had been searching for my HG shampoo after a stint with Organic Surge. For now, let us see how it is doing.

I did not use any other products except for hair oils and shampoo and conditioner duo, not even the leave-in or any other after-wash treatment.

Split Ends

See, the sad truth about splits is that nothing can repair it. So, do not believe any claims on this ground. No, I need a hair cut.

Itchy Scalp

I do not have hair fall issue or hair breakage problem but what I do have itchy scalp. My scalp starts itching badly after two days of wash. So, I need to take care of my scalp better. And, the shampoo has not made any change to it.

Dry Hair, Undernourished Hair, Rough Hair, Dull Hair?

Hair looks bouncy and healthy for almost a day and half after a wash but gradually becomes drier after that. And, it does not give a lot of shine to the hair. The hair does look healthy after the wash.

Soft Hair

Hair has, no doubt, become softer for any number of days after the wash!

Frizziness

And, the finale! Yes, it helps with the frizz.

Also, I have to add that the weather has become warmer and less drier so it is also having a good effect on the hair.

Summary

There is not much a shampoo and conditioner duo can do for the hair so I can safely say that it is doing all that it claims – making the hair soft and shiner as in healthier. Since my hair is not really weak, I can not talk about it improving the strength and, anyways, only new hair can be stronger not the existing ones!

Also, can not really comment on the split ends part because there were already a pretty lot of splits in my hair which I did not get rid of. One thing I would like to add here is that the ends of my hair before using these products were looking straw-like which has, since then, improved. Final review coming in the end of this month.

So, that is my hair condition right now. Let us see how much the product helps to improve it! Have you used the Garnier Triple Nutrition? Did it improve your hair? Did you like the range? Or, do you love some other shampoo?