Women Lines

If you have a dream and you are passionate about it, nobody can stop you in achieving that .
Shobha Bhalla’s success story justifies this quote.  It sets a live example in front of all women entrepreneurs who share the burning desire.
Shobha has attained iconic status as a CEO of ‘India Se’ in Singapore . In an exclusive interview to Womenlines, Shobha talks of her life and work.
Shobha Tsering Bhalla – CEO & Editor-in-Chief, is an entrepreneur in field of Print media. India Se , magazine produced by Non Resident Indians (NRIs) for NRIs about NRIs, is her brain child and has recently celebrated 4 years of excellence in Singapore. It is a leading lifestyle magazine for NRIs in Singapore.
India Se – a name which was coined by Shobha herself. She dreamt of it when she presented a white paper to highlight the need for such a publication, catering to the ever growing Indian population in Singapore. She says that “Five years back Indians had reached a critical mass and a critical achievement level but, alas, there was no global media platform to talk about our achievements, aspirations, our culture or multitudes of cultures.” It was that time she conceived the launch of a magazine which does just that.

Shoba’s passion to pursue her dream project led her to resign from her cushy job and give to Singapore – ‘India Se’ on May 27, 2007. A naturalized Singaporean, veteran journalist and a former banker Shobha was prepared with all required skills to start a magazine. She was the pioneering Managing Editor of Lycos Asia – in charge of Internet content for 9 countries in Asia. Prior to that she worked as Regional Research Editor in the equities research division of ING Barings and earlier, as a Research Editor at OCBC Investment Research. From 1989 to 1997, she was also a senior correspondent in Singapore ’s oldest national daily ‘The Straits Times’ and more recently Editor of the Impact and Property sections of Singapore ’s 2nd largest circulating newspaper TODAY.
Shobha was Born in Sikkim, India. After graduating she began her working life as a management trainee and correspondent banking officer at the State Bank of India, India ’s largest bank and moved to Singapore with her businessman husband 25 years ago. Shobha’s aggressiveness towards achieving excellence in whatever work she does and hunger for success differentiates her from others. She says “Hard work is only key to success”. At present her main challenges are to get quality output for her magazine and source the require finances to keep it running. Just like herself she demands the same passion from her staff.

“As NRIs we are among the most educated and highest earning ethnic minorities in our countries of domicile – making the term NRI a metaphor for success everywhere”. While sharing about the objective of ‘India Se’ as a magazine Shobha comments “While India Se is a magazine dedicated to issues that are important to NRIs and Person of Indian Origin (PIOs) it is not restricted only to these groups of recent Indian immigrants. As a cultural and lifestyle magazine, it also seeks to connect, inform and entertain all people of Indian origin even those a few generations removed, who identify themselves culturally, ethnically and emotionally as Indians. But in doing so, it does not exclude non-Indians who may want to find out what makes Indians – especially overseas Indians – such a powerful and vibrant economic and cultural force globally.”Focus of India Se “she shares “is on informing and entertaining an international audience of highly educated readers. ”
Recently Shobha was a speaker at a forum in programe ‘Breaking Barriers 2011′, organised by Women’s Indian Network (WIN), which is part of Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry(SICCI)  and Narpani Ladies committee, where she addressed a large crowd of women entrepreneurs.There she shared how proud is she to be a woman and does believes in woman power. She says ”If women can raise lovely families they can perform better in work force undoubtedly. ”Shobha considers Anita Roddick, owner of ‘Body Shop’ as her idol and is inspired from the way Anita has set up the whole concept of ‘Body Shop’ chain.
India Se’s vision is to become Asia’s and eventually the world’s most well-read and influential magazine among overseas Indians. Believer of quote “This above all: to thine own self be true,And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man. – William Shakespeare.” Shobha is really Inspiration personified to all those budding entrepreneurs who have burning desire in their heart to prove something in life.

Womenlines wishes her best of luck and success in life!

Dancing is fun, as Lord Byron quotes “On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined”…dance has always been a source of unconfined joy, so why kids shouldn’t be involved in it?       

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic. It can be used as a form of expression or also presented in a spiritual setting. Whatever way you want to define dance, but nobody can ignore this fact everybody enjoys dancing. For kids dance can be a good activity to keep them busy and active too. In fact, I consider dancing with my baby as a good bonding time. The expression of joy which comes on my kid’s face cannot be expressed in words. I really love dancing with him. There are numerous benefits of dancing which makes it a must activity for every kid.
Dance fills kid with joy, dance helps in distressing, dance helps in coming across one’s inhibition, dance also is a good way to exercise and can keep your kid very active. Ooh lala …..Try always to make your kid do lip-sync while dancing, his memory skills will definitely improve and when they know the meaning of the song it will help them dance better. That can actually relate to it.
Researches also prove that dance can play a role of magician in improving learning difficulties in some kids.
This investigation carried by National Institute of Health was on effects of dance therapy on motor performance. This investigation studied effects of dance therapy on motor performance of children who have been learning disabilities. An experimental group of five subjects who received dance therapy was compared with a control group of five subjects who received their usual sensory integrative therapy. Pretests and posttests of motor performance were given before and after a four-week treatment period to assess changes. Results indicate improved motor performance for both the experimental and control groups, with slightly greater gains made by the experimental group. Results of the study indicate that dance therapy could serve as a form of vestibular stimulation comparable to the usual play activities in a sensory integrative therapy program. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7454796


There are many other benefits which dance hobby can help us achieve. When the movements are repeated in dance then it helps kids to improve muscle tone, helps gain more balance, and also improves overall cardiovascular health correct. Children who are overweight can lose weight while dancing regularly as dance is also considered as an aerobic exercise. Besides health there are many social benefits like dance activity can really help kids to improve their communication skills and also help build team spirit in kids. It also helps kids to overcome their shyness. Dance activity relaxes kids and then they feel so comfortable in their skin. Thus, this helps develop their self esteem and build their confidence.

Dancing is really a gem of all activities with multiple benefits for  kids and thus  is a must activity for every parent. This activity can leave you with so many Kodak moments  which you want to keep forever in your life. Let’s dance Baby!

Womenlines  is proud to bring Holistic Healing and Therapies under Health Section.Ms Pratima Nagraj, who is a C.Ht(Clinical Hypnotherapist),Holistic Healer in Singapore, will be sharing about various therapies through which Major diseases can be cured.

Most of us these days are familiar with the term “Holistic” due to the growing popularity and need for holistic health. “Holistic” means the three aspects of the self – mind, body and spirit. It comes from the word “Whole” which means Complete. It’s a way of taking an all round approach to treat diseases or imbalances and choosing to lead a more balanced lifestyle. Holistic healing (or more popularly referred to as alternative medicine, Complementary medicine or Integrative medicine) is not an ‘alternative’ to medical care. These therapies are presented as options to conventional medical treatments. Seeking help from a medical professional should never be ignored. But what we fail to understand is that physical illnesses are the symptoms of a greater imbalance which may have a root cause in our thoughts & emotions. Some of the holistic therapies and treatments available are: • Aromatherapy • Hypnotherapy • Regression Therapies like Past Life Regression • Energy-healing methods such as Reiki, Pranic Healing • Acupuncture • Yoga • Meditation • Crystal Therapy • Affirmative healing • Chinese medicine and lots more!

One major belief common to all the above holistic therapies is that “WE” are ultimately responsible for our own health and issues and not our environment, friends, relatives, bosses, co-workers, circumstances and whatever it is that we choose to blame, in order to escape from owning responsibility. It is only when we take personal responsibility that we can truly begin to get healed. The first step begins here, even before you visit a holistic practitioner! Our childhood beliefs, cultural values and attitudes affect our mental and physical health and they are considered in the above techniques while finding the cure. As a holistic healer our role is to recognize that the discomforts or pains are just symptoms at the surface level whereas the imbalance may be due to the mental, emotional or spiritual needs not being met. No aspect is overlooked in this treatment. A complete evaluation is made and appropriate techniques are suggested to the client. Every person is unique; so no one treatment, medication or technique will be used. There is no one standard or one-size-fits-all approach. Each treatment is individualized.

It can be worthwhile in guiding your own self-appraisal by asking questions like “How can I strengthen my body to have a robust physical health?”, “Are my emotional relationships allowing me to grow in a healthy way” or “How are my activities helping in developing my inner spiritual self?” Choosing your holistic practitioner is like choosing your medical professional. You have to find a good fit! So make your choice today and bring in those positive changes in your life! –Pratima Nagaraj

To know more about Pratima visit – www.reviveholistic.com