Andre Maurois, French novelist, and essayist wrote, “A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short”
Do you agree with it! Well, ideally every couple should be talking to each other rather than talking to each other. But life is not that ideal my friends and every couple goes through up and downs of relationships where at times it’s challenging to come over few issues. I really find it interesting to observe how various couples interact with each other and how well they know about each other. When as a couple we are talking to each other then we are giving undivided attention to our partner. Reason for a proper communication is to remain connected to each other. When we communicate as a couple we have our feelings and thoughts heard and respected. Whenever any problem or issues arise then we can sort out through positive communication. In fact to reach out to solutions also we have to communicate properly so that we can reach an understanding of one another.
There are few topics which are common among couples to always discuss like- weather, kids, jobs, money, health issues, friends etc. But the effort should be made that always we are not talking about same issues every day. Life will become monotonous, isn’t it?
1.Couples can plan their future trips and vacations.
2.Share about some new thing you discovered throughout the day
3.Take out time to share your childhood memories.
4.Share about things you would like to experience in life.
5.Have an interesting discussion ‘If you could? Do you believe…..
Whatever topic you are taking up think out of the box how to add spice to your relationship and how to make communication fun between you and your partner!
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
Womenlines brings health section for benefit of its readers. Every month one disease will be taken in consideration and Ms Ketki Vinayachandra, a trained naturopath in Singapore, Herbalist, Nutritionist and Iridologist will be sharing her opinion about the disease.Trained in Sydney, Australia and is registered with the Australian Body NHAA – National Herbalist Association of Australia – the only association that registers herbalists in Australia. 
THYROID
The thyroid is a small gland resting in the middle of the lower neck. Its primary function is to control the body’s metabolism; the thyroid does this by producing T4 and T3 hormones, which tell the body’s cells how much energy to use. A properly functioning thyroid will maintain the right amount of hormones needed to keep the body’s metabolism functioning at a satisfactory rate. As the hormones are used, the thyroid creates replacements. The quantity of thyroid hormones in the bloodstream is monitored and controlled by the pituitary gland, located in the center of the skull below the brain. When the pituitary gland senses either a lack or a high level of thyroid hormones, it will adjust its own thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and send it to the thyroid to tell it what to do.
Q.How to control thyroid related diseases following naturopathy ways?
Ketki:Thyroid is like a chief operating officer of our endocrine system and it controls lots of important hormones like the thyroid hormones – which in turn control lots of our body functions including metabolic rate and even hormones that affect our female reproductive system.
The thyroid gland is also highly sensitive to many factors, especially stress, be it physical , emotional or mental as well as environmental toxicities. I have repeatedly seen with my female thyroid patients that usually some huge stress has occurred at the time their thyroid function malfunctioned, which then gives to weight gain, fatigue, difficulty in losing weight, cholesterol and many other complications.
Naturopaths would look at the holistic picture, understand the causes, and then would start addressing the thyroid conditions via diet, supplements, herbs and stress management. Women are particularly susceptible to stressful emotions and this needs to be handled. Taking synthetic thyroid hormones like thyroxine only address the symptoms short term but it does not address the underlying cause. Its difficult to detail what therapies are used, as each individual is different, an experienced naturopath would address case by case basis, and good results are achievable.
For details about Ms Ketki visit-
http://www.alternative-naturalmedicine.com/about_us.html
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001174265880
Necessity is the mother of invention and it holds true for our entrepreneur of the month, Renuka Arora Bhagat, who co-established our ONLY Hindi radio station Masti 96.3 FM in Singapore!
Renuka is a Delhiite and she’s always loved music. When she moved to Singapore she really missed her radio channels back home. She took a step and started exploring the media world around. That’s when Renuka was introduced to Rafiqul Haque, who after successfully running 8 radio stations back in Bangladesh, was pursuing his interest in expanding his radio business in Spore. Together, they worked towards the establishment of Masti 96.3 FM, on AIR from 28 Nov 2009. Masti 96.3FM, the ONLY Bollywood radio station in Spore, broadcasts Hindi programmes LIVE daily from 5 pm to 8 pm. A variety of programmes catering to all age and interest groups, regular updates on weather in Singapore and the main cities of India, traffic, business, sports, all within the blanket of not only the latest Bollywood music but also the golden music from yesteryears! Radio Masti 96.3FM has LIVE streaming (www.xfm963.sg) too. It is available for iPhone and selected HTC phones too, under the umbrella of the MeRadio app.
Like most other entrepreneurial ventures, Radio Masti also faced the initial challenges of establishing themselves and creating a “brand”. However, with focus, hard work and dedication of the team, things have certainly started working positively for them. Today, advertisers are happy to endorse for using Radio Masti as the medium to reach out to a large number of target audience out there. MediaCorp estimates Radio Masti’s listeners’ base to be approx 1.4mil, which includes not only the expat Indians but also a percentage of Sri-Lankans, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Malays, and local Singaporeans – all with a common passion for Bollywood music.
The partners, Renuka and Rafiqul complement each other in many ways – be it managerial, technical, production, sales, strategy and much more! Of course, the team consisting of RJ Mehak, production lead, Dewan Hasan along with others – continue to be strong pillars in their own areas as well!
Hats off to Renuka’s multi-faceted, entrepreneurship and hands-on managerial skills. Mind you, she is a high profile corporate lady, really proud of her current global position at a large MNC where she manages multi-million projects. A Business management degree from Delhi and an SAP certification to her credit, Renuka loves the voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the king of Sufi!
Renuka loves challenges and aims to come out of them successfully with her sheer dedication, focus, and determination to succeed…Masti is her foray into the media world and not only does she work hard towards managing the station but also towards establishing herself as an RJ! Her weekend program Hafta Wasool is quite popular with the listeners too!
While answering the question of requirements to be a good RJ, Renuka answered: “Voice is no more the triumph card for winning listeners on the radio”. The job of a radio jockey involves much more today. Ready wit, smiling voice, extempore ability, humor, knowledge, and, of all things, a genuine effort to closely associate yourself with the listeners – all this put together with help play the perfect tune for radio jockeying. “Your personality must be portrayed through radio”.
Being the only Hindi radio station in Spore, there’s a lot of personal touch and openness to interaction with the audience in each program. RJs become a part of many listeners’ lives and there is an unspoken emotional bond that binds audience with the RJs.
Her corporate life satiates her intellectual competence and her media life helps in building social capital as she loves music. Being an HR professional, Renuka loves to interact with people too!
The sky is the limit when you are determined, committed and have the support of your family! Who says it’s difficult to pursue your passion for your profession? Here is Renuka, who is successfully pursuing both – besides of course the personal commitments and challenges all women have! After all, she is a true face of an Indian woman, a successful multi-tasker! Cheers for Indian superwomen!
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
I always felt that it is so boring always to be strict with your kids and act like a policeman to them. Always we are asking to them they have you brushed their teeth properly, have finished their homework when you will get up, etc. Kids will be so bored always seeing mummy placing an order for something or the other. I can understand that how important it is to raise kids in a certain disciplined way but we should not forget the importance of fun elements in life. Here are some ways in which you can spend some fun moments with your kids-
1. Play indoor picnic with your kids. You can properly plan your menu with your kid’s help and then have fun the way you have in an outdoor picnic.
2, Share your childhood stories with your kid. I just love doing this. Share the way you were scolded by your parents, how you spent your holidays, and how you played with your friends, there are so many things to share, you know better, right?:)
3. Wrestle with your kids, have pillow fights, do lots of cuddling and jump together.
4. Play board games and card games, for example, hearts and let them win at times.
5. Sing songs together and sing loudly.
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
It sounds strange that why I am announcing to the whole world that I am a Vegetarian and Non-Alcoholic person! I am choosing not to drink option!
“Oh you don’t take alcohol, you don’t eat meat…aye how you survive in this world la!” ….these reactions have become part of my life now, particularly while I am staying in Singapore-the world’s most happening place known for its seafood and nightlife. I am so happy that people around me have started accepting that it is possible to survive in this world without eating meat and without taking a drop of alcohol. I don’t want to sound like a preacher who talks about the harms which we do to our body while practising those habits. I just want to share with all my readers that it’s fantastic to be a vegetarian and non-alcoholic person. I really mean it, it feels great and I feel so nice about it.
After being questioned every time I thought of knowing why the prevalence of intake of alcohol is rising among females. I asked my Google uncle and he reported that-
Alcohol is a depressant drug-not a stimulant as many people think. Alcohol slows down activity in the central nervous system, which means it slows down the messages going between the brain and the body.
In small quantities, depressants such as alcohol cause people to become relaxed and lower their inhibitions. They feel more confident and often act in a more extroverted manner. It is the latest thing in town – to chill out after work in the pub. Many young women in have picked up on this new way to socialize. Kept in control, the occasional alcoholic drink will not hurt. But, the unfortunate thing is that alcohol is addictive and, many young women indulge in frequent bouts of binge drinking to keep up with their peers, just to fit in with the crowd or drown away their fears and sorrows.
In nutshell, women drink to show that they are part of the crowd and also to forget their sorrows. As when they intake alcohol they feel relaxed and confident. I question that why we don’t emphasize in searching other options to enhance our confidence and feel relaxed. I don’t have to elaborate on the harm to our health done after intake of alcohol. I suggest that it’s a beautiful life given to us by God and why we spoil it by intake of alcohol. I consider the soul as a temple and if I intake something which makes me forget who am I, I am certainly not interested in the intake. We should strive for that confidence and happiness with all our sorrows and bad experiences without the intake of a single drop of alcohol.
To drink or not to drink, the choice is yours….but why not we make such choice which helps us improving upon us for we love our family, or not?
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
I will love to share the link of an article http://www.udaangroup.com/effective-networking-for-entrepreneurs.html… .. written by my friend Smitha Chandrashekharan.
This article made me think that how important is networking for women in Singapore!
Any woman who is into business is always looking for more contacts, networking platforms, forums where she can enhance her business contacts and also expand her business. In order to expand their business, they have to meet the right segment of people and also create awareness about their business products. Udaan, Indian Women Entrepreneurs Club in Singapore, is a platform for all business women to meet like-minded people and to create visibility for their business.
A home business does have a positive element that women can manage their time well between family and business. But at times its quite challenging to keep themselves motivated and enthusiastic about their business as there are so many other commitments they have to carry on. In the regular routine, while taking care of the family it’s challenging for women to do their business sincerely. They need to meet people who are in the same field and the same type of business so that they can benefit from each other’s experience. What my experience teaches me that when we meet new people we learn a lot from each other insight. Its all about sharing and discussing yourself.
When I meet new people, through sharing, I got many innovative ideas, opportunities and also I came across the concept of leveraging with different groups. Udaan is such an avenue where women can share about their challenges and look for solutions. In order to provide more support to its members, Udaan is also having Advisory committee, which will be having experienced entrepreneurs to guide and support them. They can get benefits of getting listed in the directory, their products can be displayed in the product album section for the members, they can get benefits of public outreach while Udaan is organizing various events throughout the year. When entrepreneurs become Udaan member they can get referral benefits from other members of the club. Its all about getting together at one place and mutually benefiting each other. That is called strength of working together. WIN-WIN.
God helps those who help themselves. Its all about starting thinking about business with a new concept and having the bigger vision in life. Entrepreneurs only grow when they are having both inward and outward growth. Udaan promises entrepreneurs that they will be benefited in both ways. Join Udaan’s flight to success and prosperity……welcome to https://www.facebook.com/UdaanEntrepreneurClub/
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
Kids are more inclined toward religion and spirituality in today’s times!
Its ironic but this is a fact and I must say is a pleasant fact. In today’s times many kids enjoy following rituals , performing religious acts and thus believe in presence of supreme power. Thanks to all grandpas and grandmas who guide kids and teach them the importance of religion in one’s life. Some parents are also quite religious nowadays and make sure that their kid is well aware of their religious and cultural values.Then there are various serials on television channels which showcase our culture in various forms. Festivals are celebrated in a gala way and whole family is shown celebrating festivals together and seeking blessings of their elder lies.
I am not offended at times when my kid watches those episodes of serials and asks me various questions. In present time when I am staying away from India , I consider it good for him at least he is aware of our colourful culture. Festivities, celebrations, and other various cultural events are not only the mode of activities but also brings bonding between various groups of societies, it teaches us the concept of eating and laughing together which has slowly started decreasing from our life. Without social bonding a man will be a robot, living for himself only and thus will be like an animal. Its very important to bond with others and it helps us to be more humane in life. Besides that its very important to pray in life as it helps to relate to supreme power around you and you feel calmer.
Life is full of stress, not only for adults but for kids too.They have to involve themselves in studies, sports, curricular activities classes and thus become victim of this competitive world. Therefore kids should be knowing how to handle stress in life and how to release their negative energy. Religious activities not only relaxes you but also helps you in better understanding of yourself.Teach your kid about the power of belief in God. The best gift what I consider I can give to my kid is the better understanding of himself and if possible he can learn to develop inner strength to handle stress in today’s times.
So don’t hesitate to talk about spiritual values and power of prayers to your kid….After all you are gifting him a mode of seeking happiness in life which any parent will love to do!
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
I proudly want to share about my group UDAAN with my blog readers, which I have started jointly with my friend Kamini Chaliki’s efforts in Singapore http://www.udaangroup.com/
UDAAN is a platform for Indian women in Singapore who are into some business or profession and are looking for networking for mutual benefits. We want to gather all Indian Women in Singapore under single roof to give them benefit of alternative channel of selling their products, besides this UDAAN members will also be getting benefit from UDAAN’S effort of networking and negotiating with other event organizers in Singapore on their behalf for cost effective business agreements.
I strongly believe in women power and if we get together to work together and jointly put our efforts and hard work in achieving bigger vision nothing will seem impossible. We want to benefit UDAAN members by giving them a mentoring platform by inviting successful women entrpreneurs for their guidance and support to our members. This will definitely help in inward and outward growth of our members. When I started my business in Indian Hand embroidered ladies clothes in Singapore(www.ncstyles.com) I was looking for such platform where I can get benefit of networking and I can share about my product. I was not able to participate in hotel fairs as it was very costly. So I dreamed of such platform which can help me in reaching to right audience in Singapore in cost effective way.
Infact I want all talented women to be part of our group and we can give them our helping hand to nurture them and motivate them to move ahead in their life from one level to next level. Nobody’s talent should go waste. Try to always nurture your talent and always have dreams for yourself too besides dreams for your family.This is the message of UDAAN-Together we will do it so just aboard our flight towards success and abundance.
Charu Mehrtra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
What do you expect from your kid? Somebody asked this question to me!
It was not easy for me to answer. I took a minute and sincerely from my heart I wanted him to learn how to be happy in this stressful world. Believe me, it hurts me the most when I am not able to locate childhood innocence and happiness on kids faces nowadays. When I look around I find kids sad faces, who are pressurized to excel in studies, arts, music and other activities to get ahead in the rat race. As a parent I really want my kid to excel in studies, but I don’t want to run after him 24 hrs for his studies. I want to make him responsible enough to decide himself how much effort he is going to put for his studies. My efforts will be to make his subjects basic clear to him, after that he should be given a chance to choose which road to follow. He should be well versed with moral education and he should be always striving for excellence in what ever field he goes.
In terms of expectations, I don’t put myself in the category of dreaming him to be Einstein, or some famous Astronaut or any other crazy dream which many parents have. I want him to be humane first and then he should be having some passion to follow. I don’t want to kill his childhood under various courses to go for. He should be enjoying his activities with his friends, running around trees catching each other madly, or fighting with each other for some silly things, these are some precious childhood activities which no child should be robbed of.
As a parent, we should be striving to hear our kids laugh often, see them jumping, dancing, singing all the way on the journey towards various destinations in life. I am not getting philosophical but sincerely these joys are valuable joys in life which we are forgetting in search of material things. These moments of joys are really precious and should multiply each coming day
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!
Womenlines wants to share this article on parenting by Pooja Kawatra Gupta with its readers. Pooja is a mother who is enjoying her motherhood period by sharing her experiences with a group(she has formed on orkut) of other mothers(1000 mothers approx) on orkut. Here goes the story-
The day Aayan was born we knew that we both have come a long way from just being good friend, as a lover, as a husband & wife and now as a parent .He has given the new meaning to our life.. we realize that as a first time parent there were lot of things which we will be learning everyday .
Just reminded me that ” Kids are teachers and we are student”
Every new day comes as a beautiful moment to cherish for the life long. The day when you saw your baby in scan reports, when baby took the shape, his tiny little hands & feet, his heartbeat and every time your heart beat you think for a moment is it my heartbeat or my baby..Then you just smile back and say he is my heartbeat .That’s one in a lifetime when you have two heartbeat ..
When you hold your baby for the first time and keep remembering many of his first few and the day he says Papa & Mumma..You are at top of this world ..!! Aren’t we waited for this long to hear these beautiful words .
We know that with every new generation parents wants to give best to their baby .Trust me it not only babies have change over a period of time , parenting has gone under huge change. In today’s world it’s not just mother who is taking are of babies at home.. Fathers are equally involved in all the activities..right from the doctors visit at Gynaecologist to vaccination for Baby, which definitely gives mothers sometime for themselves.
Though with raising your baby, parents hardly get anytime for themselves but believe me raising your baby together not only give your baby but yourselves a lifelong security and comfort that both yes we were always there with our kids in each and every step he took in his growing years.
I still remember the time when I was expecting as been a working mother & staying far away from our parents, a first time parents we had enough of queries in our mind.. Why my baby is crying, is he hungry , not well, is there anything which I am unable to understand and so on..
So, my this first hand experience with raising my little son Aayan gave me the inspiration to start a platform where not only we all mums come together to help and resolve each other queries but to become friends for a lifetime. This is when I started a community : Mums & Babies ,we are close to 1,000 mums.. today with love & support of all wonderful mums, who have come long way to share their valuable experience, the best of the tips.. Our little wonders have got friends as well..
http://www.orkut.com/Main#Community?cmm=50694960
If you are a new Mom then join her community to share the warmth and happiness of one big family……
Nidhi Mehta is the founder of BollyBeatz in Singapore and is a Professional Dancer/Performer/Teacher & Choreographer with over 10 years experience in the dance industry. Nidhi Mehta is an irresistibly energetic fitness personality and choreographer who has pioneered the introduction of BollyArobix dance to the forefront of fitness with her series of unique and intense workout’s. She has also successfully created dance routines for music videos, cultural festivals, corporate workshops, and concerts utilizing her knowledge of Bollywood, Indian classical dance, salsa, hip-hop, and other dance forms.
1. Please share about Bollybeatz?
Nidhi: BollyBeatz is a Bollywood Dance Instruction school. I started it in 2002 in Bay Area, California, USA. There I ran operations in the name of Stepz! The dance was always a passion since school days. But as most of us, I completed my MBA and got a job with McKinsey and started working in a corporate. It’s only after I got married, I quit my job and then Dance happened to me. It was not planned or even a remote thought in my mind. It was all by chance and accident! I guess some things are just meant to be!
2. Please share your various performances and performances by your students. How many years you have spent in Singapore and how you feel about it? What are the main challenges you faced while opening your school?
Nidhi: I started the dance school in the USA, sold it in 2005 and moved to India. I started BollyBeatz in Chennai, India and it did very well till I moved to Singapore in November 2007. Since then I have been here. I don’t know where my next stop is – but I am looking forward to it! I love Singapore – the people are very health conscious and fitness freaks. They enjoy my style of teaching and are quite dedicated. We have performed at the Ms. India-America Pageant in the USA, at Stanford University, various competitive shows show for non-profits.. in Singapore we have been a part of the Dans Festival at Esplanade.
I have been fortunate that things worked out quite smoothly when I started my company. There have been hiccups like coming across some people you have trusted to be your instructor and who have copied your routines and tried to use it as their own. They put a bad taste in your mouth – but I personally feel – there are enough good people out there.
3. Do you think you can dance for the sake of movement without any meaning or emotion in it?
Nidhi: Yes – dance is about music and rhythm. You don’t have to understand the language of the music or its meaning to enjoy and dance to it.
4. How would your life be if you weren’t a dancer?
Nidhi: I would be in a corporate – probably a management consultant or in marketing.
5. If you had to choose one kind of dance, what would it be?
Nidhi: Bollywood coz it blends various forms of dance styles into it. What I do and teach is a fusion is a Latin Dance, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Belly dance!
6. What did you sacrifice to get where you are today? What do you think got you this far?(source of motivation)
Nidhi: I didn’t sacrifice anything for what I have achieved. Yes, maybe my fulltime job in McKinsey, but I am happy about it! I am happy that I quit my job and recognized this opportunity that came my way and grabbed it. I also feel it was destined for me to do what I am doing today. I believe a lot of Karma, Destiny, and Luck!
My work has helped me create the perfect work-personal life balance. I do all my admin work from home so I am around when kids need me.
What has got me so far is my perseverance, my husband’s support, and my survival skills – coz I have moved 3 countries in 10 years and replicated the same model with success, franchised it and moved on! I don’t get afraid of change. I embrace it as a new opportunity for me to grow!
7. How do you feel teaching dancing to students? Do you want to share something about your students or any other incidence related to Bollybeatz?
Nidhi: I love teaching dance. It’s a very satisfying experience to see people who have very low confidence in their dancing skills come to me to learn and then I see them open up, absorb and their stamina increases, steps and flexibility improve and they become great movers & shakers.
Someone in the USA had wanted to join my classes and had been on the waitlist for 4 months. Suddenly, one day a spot opened up and I called her to see if she wanted to join and she did! Later when we became good friends she wrote me a note saying that she had got laid off from her job after 10 years of working in that company. That’s the day I called her to join the class and she contemplated if she should join or not coz it was an expense she could avoid at this point. But she nevertheless said yes and signed up for the class and she said to me that it was the best decision she took. It helped her to stay out of depression and from being sad. It helped her find a new circle of friends whom she could connect with and dance made her happy!
8. How do you dance: with your mind, with your soul, with your body or with your heart?
Nidhi:I dance with my heart, body, and soul. There are times I have danced with a muscle pull and once the music comes I get so carried away that I forget the pain and dance and of course after class I am dying in pain! I have never missed a class. Even with 100 fever I have taken a painkiller and done my class coz it’s a commitment!
9. What are your future plans and vision for Bollybeatz?
Nidhi: I plan to start various other forms of dance fitness modules under BollyBeatz and concentrate strongly on the dance fitness element that we provide. We plan to start partnerships and open franchises in various other cities to empower others who love to dance and enjoy teaching take this opportunity to do and create something big with their passion.
10. Message for Womenlines readers and other women.
We are blessed that we are women. We have the capability fo multitasking. Some of us do have the luxury of staying home and pursuing our passion and make a career out of it. If that’s an option that you have been given and you are just staying at home. Take a look inside. Look at what you see yourself doing and try and start somewhere. Believe in yourself! I have recently launched a website www.supermompreneurs.com read some of the profiles – they are truly motivating and awe-inspiring!
Visit http://www.bollybeatz.com to know more about Nidhi and Bollybeatz!
Charu Mehrotra
Promoting Excellence in Women!