Sept_13

RESPONSE
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How healthy is my heart? It is a question
we all need to ask ourselves—no
matter our age. As our cover feature,
“Heart of the Matter” reports, we
Indians are ‘sitting ducks’ for cardiovascular
disease, with the average age
of people susceptible to heart attacks
getting lower. For silvers, of course,
the heart has always been a vulnerable
touch point owing to age-related conditions
like hypertension, diabetes and
high cholesterol. We bring you the latest
statistics and valuable information
on symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
In addition, our experts chip in
with heart-handy columns this issue—
while Dr V S Natarajan tells us why
age changes the heart, Namita Jain
writes about the connection between
a healthy diet and a happy heart.
There’s another thing that makes a
heart happy: love. And there’s no
love as precious, or enriching, than
the unique connection that develops
between grandparent and grandchild.
We present eight such ‘Bonds’
from across the country—in words
and images that are sure to touch a
chord. Underlining the sentiment is
Dr Sudha Murty’s tribute in ‘At Large’
to her beloved grandmothers, her
inspirations.
There are more such inspirations to
be found in the pages of Harmony-
Celebrate Age each month. Like ‘Proactive’
ex-serviceman turned farmer
S Chandrasekharan Nair in Kerala
who uses his blog to campaign for the
rights of rubber farmers and expose
malpractices in the rubber trade. Or
Usha Ashok from Hyderabad, who
tells us in ‘Speak’ how teaching visually
impaired children to speak English
has given her purpose—and the
strength to deal with bereavement.
Heartwarming, wouldn’t you say?
—Arati Rajan Menon
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a feature film
about a legendary Indian Olympian,
leaves us with a glowing sense of
pride. However, simultaneously, there
is also a sense of disappointment.
How is it that in so many years our
1-billion-plus country has produced
only a few Olympic champions? Is it
because we, as youngsters, don’t get
enough exposure to active athletics?
Aren't there enough opportunities to
become potential champs? On the
contrary, I have realised, we are all
offered free participation and easy
access to ‘training’ in a gamut of
sporting activities—at all ages—every single day of our lives!
Consider a day in the life of a Mumbaikar. It’s a breakneck race! The moment
you are up, you are off to a running start. Brushing teeth, having tea,
bath, breakfast—get-set-go, hop-skip-jump; a race against time. If you are
a student, your first challenge of the day is weightlifting—your
‘1-tonne’ schoolbag. Then you are off on a race to the local bus stop or rail
station, sprinting across the road. It can be quite a hurdle, dodging speeding
vehicles and skirting street hawkers and hustlers with wares galore. It’s a
series of sporting events in quick succession—long jumps over water-filled
potholes, gaping drains and manholes; high jumps over resting stray dogs
and bulls. And if you are an office-goer armed with an umbrella, it’s showtime!
Get a grip on your rolled-up umbrella and use it as a pole to vault
over the mountain of garbage standing in your way.
Of course, if it’s monsoon, you need to be armed not just with an umbrella
but a strong pair of arms to take you streets ahead of others. Once you
reach your bus stop or train station, you have to get ready for the next
round, that of wrestling into a packed bus or train. This is our all-day
marathon of daily Olympics.
Subroto Mukherjee Via email
Yet another breathtaking issue
of Harmony-Celebrate Age in
August 2013! I enjoyed reading the
refreshing article “Best Friends Forever”.
It is so rare to see friendships
lasting for decades, particularly in
today’s world of business-minded,
arrogant and self-centred people.
Seldom do we come across selfless
and friendly people like the ones
featured in the article. May their
friendships last forever. As for me,
my best friend for the past nine
years has been Harmony-Celebrate
Age, as it has always been there for
me in my best and worst days. I also
enjoyed reading the extract from
Nehru’s book on Mahatma Gandhi
“Making of the Mahatma” (‘Bookshelf’).
It was such an endearing
account of the Father of the Nation.
Rajesh Vrajendra Gaur
Mumbai
T
hanks for writing about our
ambitious ‘Poster Hatao’ campaign
(‘Speak’, July 2013). I would
like to share a few details about our
work in Mumbai as well. We were
in Mumbai during January and
February 2012 to participate in the
BMC elections which were held on
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harmony celebrate age september 2013