Women Intimate Health

“Women’s intimate health, should the issues remain hushed or is it time we spoke out?”

Intimate Issues of Women

Let me list out some of the keywords that will relate to 'Women's Intimate health ' for e.g. Mensuration , Pill, Abortion, Contraceptives, Sanitary pads, Sex , Pregnancy and Gynecologist. How do you like reading all of them in a single stream ?? Are you comfortable choosing any of them for a dinner discussion with your wife , daughter or girl friend  along with the family ?? If i say it is time we spoke out would we be able to openly debate and discuss inviting equal participation from females ? How can this be perceived ?   What message will we send out to the masses at large ?? 




I am not comfortable discussing  these issues of women in the same way as  i shy from talking about Men infertility, Premature Ejaculation , AIDS or STD's. Why an open debate only about women why not also men?? Does it mean that  i cannot empathize with women's issues ??I agree that statistics show women's health as compared to men, in a state of more plight in the country owing to the lack of awareness. The lack of awareness concerns women more rather than men but the core issue remains the same - The issue is considered taboo be it for men or women. So what can be done and is there a feasible way out ?? Here is my view point !!

Between a man and a woman there exists an invisible veil of modesty , respect and feminism. You breach it only when you choose her as a life partner and she gives herself to you with consent. Apart from being a husband and wife no other relationship allows a man to get into the intimate and personal zone of a woman. Is breaching that gap in public domain a good step ?? Will  women feel comfortable ?? Are we not suggesting with our debate that things so personal to her are just to common to be made public ?? In my understanding this will be considered demeaning for the women folk or  will take away the quotient of coyness from the word 'Woman'.

Woman more often than not are perceived as 'objects' and their involvement in such discussions can cast wrong impressions. Women who are too bold ,aggressive and extrovert are labeled as 'easily available' . The above traits i mentioned are usually judged by external looks and behaviour, what if one indulges in issues whose meaning is not so hidden ??Knowing the fabric of the Indian society ,the masses in general would not appreciate such a move.

So far i listed out that the topic of intimate health, either or women or men is not a tea time discussion. Moreover women can get a wrong tag and their image can be misconstrued. Then how do we spread the word ?? How do we share information ?? How to we improve the health standards of women ?? How we make sure that every woman has access to healthcare and as an individual has her dignity intact ??

Every idea , every concept needs to be sold and for which it needs to be marketed well. Acceptance of an avant-garde step comes slow and most of the time doesn't even.  Let me use Mobile technology to help our case because the most accessible means for a majority of population is a Mobile handset . Healthcare companies in collaboration with IT firms can develop a widget that contains all the information about a women's health and a guide to avail healthcare . Let this be a free download on all the smart phones. The basic phones don't have internet facility still sms's can be pushed in. The service providers can share the data about the women users with the Authorized Government bodies and Self help groups and sms's can be send to start a communication. Service providers like Airtel , Vodafone, Tata can take up this initiative as a part of their Corporate social responsibility . A discussion  can be started with the public through group chats, messages and meetings. Once there is a momentum in the masses anything can be made acceptable. There is a need to first build a consensus on important issues rather than making them only juicy and spicy. 

If there is a will there is always a way. I am open to debate how can we spread awareness among women, how can we help there cause but what i am not supportive of, is a open debate in the full glare without even building a consensus !!


This post is a part of the weekend blogging contest at BlogAdda.com in association with 18again.com

Read more »

Mahabharata with Surf Excel

The armies of Kaurva and Pandava stood facing each other in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The armies consisted of thousands of Elephants, Horses, soldiers, various kings and greats like Bhisma, Dronocharya , Kripa , Yudisthra , Arjuna and Krishna, all set for a historic and an epic battle. The attackers were equipped with bow and arrow, axes, swords, maces and lances. The mood was sombre, tension gripped the air and each of them smelled blood of the enemy, that was just hundreds of metres ahead. The commander of Kaurva’s army was Bhisma and Pandavas were lead by Yudhistra. The start of the battle was going to be announced in few minutes and each flank was discussing their strategy.

Arjuna’s chariot was being driven by Lord Krishna himself and here what we see…. Arjuna struck by utter grief and self-doubt, gets down from his chariot and abandons his arms. He realized that he would have to fight and probably kill his uncle, granduncle, cousin brothers, kith and other kin to win this war. He feels extremely sick and weak, only with the  prospect of this barbaric act. Arjuna looks nowhere close to the great warrior the world knew. In this state of confusion and hopelessness he turns to Krishna.

‘Oh lord!! I have no desire to fight this battle if this implies killing of my teacher, friends and kin. I need no kingdom, no riches for such a victory and even if I win, I lose it all’

‘Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani’

‘Parth !! You have a right to perform your act, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be associated to not doing your duty.’

‘There is an ongoing war within ourselves between the good and the evil and for us to emerge victorious every human being has to wage a war.’

‘Soak no more…..Soak no more in grief, Arjuna and it is a call of action to do your duties in the most selfless manner.

Krishna and Arjun in the battlefield of Kurukshethra

Bhisma blows ‘Shankha’ and the war is started. The armies start running towards each other and instantly rains start pouring down heavily. Everyone leaves the battlefield and runs for a shelter and there is chaos everywhere.

The heavy dresses with ornaments and arms are too heavy for the school kids to carry in the rains.We call off the final rehearsal and rush to help the kids find their way back to the dressing room.  Sixth grade students had chosen to enact the skit “ Mahabharata” for the annual skit competition and I am helping them as an event manager. Event management for a school fest is pretty complex as it not only involves logistics, behind the scene activity but we have to also ensure that the kids participate with enthusiasm and successfully deliver. The kids these days, are a talented bunch and work very strenuously to win in contests and competitions. The rehearsal went quite well and we as a team have bonded well, our preparations quite satisfactory and possibly putting us a strong contender for the first prize.

Holy God!!  I just realize that the rains have ruined all my aspirations and dashed our hopes for a prize.  The final event is tomorrow and we just have few hours left for the day to end. Relentless rains have dirtied all the costumes in mud and dirt and the kids are too unwary of the fact that I don’t have a second set of dresses for them. Where in the world do I go and manage a fresh set? How do I clean them at such a short notice?? My event team had faced so much difficulty altering dresses and coming up with a perfect fit for each kid, and now I stand on the brink of a disaster. I have to deliver at any cost and as Krishna says in the play “It is call of action and I have to act and fulfill my duty, soak no more in grief but act"

We pack all the dresses and rush to our workshop to act quickly. Here comes our savior in the form of ‘New Surf Excel Matic’. I am told by my colleague that Surf Excel Matic has the power of “Vibrating Molecules” to penetrate deeply embedded stains and remove them effectively, so no soaking before washing. It is 5 PM by my watch and I have to wash 120 set of dresses, dry them, iron them and reach the school by 7 AM next morning. I am a bit relieved that we don’t need to soak anymore and straight away put the clothes in the industrial washing machine. Here we go!! The results are fabulous and not even a stain left and I am amazed to the core.

Surf Excel IndiBlogger Blogging Contest

The announcement follows ‘Team Mahabharata please commence your act’.

My kids start parading to the ground one by one in the most fresh, bright and polished costumes. The crowd erupts in joy and claps for a while to appreciate the massive buildup for the skit. We do a fine act and emerge as runner up in the competition and also bag the prize for the best costume and design.

‘Thanks Surf Excel!!’  I smile softly and run to join the kids in the celebrations!!

This post is for the Indiblogger contest " Soak No More" powered by Surf Excel.

Read more »

Love if you can, marry if you must

If you are reading this post to find out what choice to make when thinking of something like marriage, i will say have you gone nuts ?? It's your life and why would i suggest you between love or arranged marriage. I agree that i am an obnoxious guy and derive pleasure in laughing at people when they make wrong choices. Take what ever route you wish to, married life is a circus and  there are only two people on stage and the rest of the world is always an audience. Damned if you marry and damn it if you don't. The method to madness is for you to decide.

If you are of  marriageable age, ask your circle of friends or your ill wishers, they all will make suggestions depending on their perspective and real or pseudo experiences. The set of people will be divided between single and married, gay and lesbians , married in love and married by arrangement. With this diverse bunch of jokers by your side do you expect a solution so overarching that you will make a decision?? It's not like choosing between Maths and Biology after higher secondary. It's between LOVE Marriage and ARRANGED Marriage !! So here is my take on these two routes that  people supposedly take, with a dream of a blissful life ahead .

Love Marriage - To marry in love you have to be first worthy of being loved by a person of your special attention and love interest. Now seeing the skewed ratio of " lovable females" in our schools , colleges and workplace the fight becomes even more tougher. You can pass any goddamn test in the country and get yourself selected but in this test you more than often remain the 'most eligible one'. Mind you !! This tag rarely gets converted to ' You are the only one'. Neither maths nor any statistics favour any ordinary guy in love . It is sad but true, gals always fall in love with the wrong guy and the rest of the miserable guys are too good to be chosen. These losers are fit to be a friend , best pal , man of the crisis , rakhi brothers and /or any tag that makes them useful and helpful.Your friends consider you an idiot and know you are an useless pig still you hold some repute in their eyes if you have a gal in love with you. I am not here to explain how love happens and all ,but to assume that some one has got lucky and now we are moving on the next stage of this hunky dory affair.

Now its couple of years and you have been successfully in love and you both decide to marry.

What next ??

Marrying someone you have chosen by yourself has its own merits and demerits. You can know about each others likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses  but of course not, things like how badly one snores, how infrequently you bathe and what a mess you keep your room in. After all an affair is only successful till the point you keep the other person impressed . The moment you allow your partner to get disillusioned,you allow him or her to drift for more greener pastures. Interestingly in a love marriage the expectation that everything will be 'rosy and chocolaty' takes longer to go !!

Love marriages still don't find wider acceptance in our Indian society because of many outstanding reasons. They could range from unrelenting parents , opposing relatives, jealous lovers or moral policing of  'Khap Panchayats' . Marry in love only if you have no enemies left  or else keep the flame burning in your hearts for life !!

The choice between love marriage and arranged marriage

Arranged Marriage - Carrying forward the story of the good guys and good gals and their arrangement to get married . This herd of 'untalented' crowd believes in  the institution of Arranged Marriage (AM)" . It's my personal thought that many use this alibi because they are 'good for nothing' people and think its their parents responsibility to get them married even if they have crooked nose, sagging waistlines and featureless faces. The basic premise that everyone will get married someday is filled with more of pessimism rather than a prophecy. I am not discounting the really good matches that emerge out of this standard practice but more or less AM comes with an asterisk ***.

***Conditions Apply  - Please expect surprises , shocks and  imperfections that you never ever agreed to or had to live up with. This is arranged marriage bro !! If  you are feeling suffocated after this irreversible act speak to your parents and learn from them 'Make it work' model.

It's like a Pandora's box and you really don't know what's coming next. The list of surprises can range from anything like a long and intolerable family of your spouse, interfering family members, archaic and intellectually challenging customs, never ending responsibilities and what not.  If i would be asked, an arranged marriage is for those who have lots have patience to hear and bear, maturity to forget and forgive  , understanding to love and be loved. 

Consider me a loser who could not get marry in love or the one among the few whose match was fixed by their parents i have been happily married and it was an arranged marriage.My last 2 cents –Marriage has benefits like improved social life, stable personal life, better earnings, and higher levels of physical & psychological health but only if it turns out to be a good decision. Look at it with lots of optimism and even be prepared for the worst. Love or arranged is just a stepping stone to the 'glorious days' ahead!!

Before i wind up few famous quotes that i found interesting-

“By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.” - Socrates

“Marriage is the perfection of what love aimed at, ignorant of what it sought.”-  Emerson

“All tragedies are finished by a death, all comedies by a marriage.”- Lord Byron

This post is for the the contest " love marriage or arranged marriage" on Indiblogger.

Check this out - www.facebook.com/LoveYaArrange.

Read more »