Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Paati's kai vaidhyam

Hi all,
This post is for Parents.. All new mothers would like to share their experiences. So do I .
Few months back, my sister in law came to my home and she stayed with us for ten days.
She and I have 11 month old babies. Both Boy babies. Her baby got fever accompanied very well with the very common problem- Cold. All he had was running nose..
She was telling her mom that no other medicine especially English medicines, should not be given to the babies without prior doctor's consultation, which was 100% acceptable.She was very stubborn in her decision as well.
She gave Calpol syrup whenever he got fever. But the fever did  not go..Two days later, when I was at work, my father in law called up and told me that Siddhu ( my sister in law's baby) has got high fever...

Needless to mention, I and Arun rushed to the clinic(only Arun and I were available at home), where I take Sanchu. But Siddhu was clever enough, that he could know that the nurse was bringing Medomol in a very small measuring cup. He cried very loudly. But we had to make him cry for that syrup. Then the nurse told me to give sponge bath. Again, this another painful( to me and to Siddhu) thing was giving sponge bath. But that lessened the fever. As a mother, I could feel the pain the baby was enduring....

We waited for more than an hour to consult the doctor(which was like a pain in the butt), we came back to home. Everything went fine.
The antibiotic medicines reduced the fever and we were giving medicine that was prescribed for cold.
At this era, we get all kinds of English medicines. What would have our fore fathers done,when English medicines were not there?
This kindled an idea of posting something I know about Paatti Vaidhyam.
We have plenty of grocery items which is available in our kitchen which are being used as medicines. Well for many items, I don't know the English equivalents. I apologize.You need to Google a lot....

Here are a few:
Sukku[Dry ginger] - This increases appetite/helps in digestion.Hindi equivalent name- Sunti.
Sitharathai [Indian ginger or Snap Ginger, blue ginger]- good medicine for cold..
Thulasi[holy basil]-Medicine for cold.
Milagu [Pepper], Jeeragam[cumin seeds]- for digestion/increase appetite.
Thippili- For cold.There are two kinds in this, arisi thippili[ long pepper]. kanda thippili[Root of long pepper plant]
Vethalai [Betel Leaves]- Clears various stomach problems and for cold.
Krambu [cloves]- For toothaches.
Vendhayam[Fenugreek seeds]- this helps as a coolant.. I mean it helps you relieve from body heat.. this can be taken everyday in the morning along with water. But this is suggested for adults.. not for kids or babies
Jaadhikkai[nutmeg]- helps to get a good sleep for babies
Maasikaai- It is commonly believed that with this kaai, babies can talk earlier.
Vasambu- It is otherwise called as Pillaivalarppan- This helps in curing stomach aches, cures loose motion problem. Cures almost all stomach problems.

You know what, these are the things which were used to prepare legiyam for mothers after delivery.

Alright now, the highlight of the blog is Kaivaithyam.

For Cold:
1. * Take a camphor, powder that and add in a preheated coconut oil and make sure you can touch with your hands. This can be applied on the baby's chest, back and also on the sides.

2. * The ever best medicine is Neem oil, pre heat this and put one piece of garlic( a foul smoke comes, please bear with that) till it boils in the oil. Apply this oil, twice a day. Remember, too much of Neem Oil adds to the heat in the body. Important point here is the quality of the neem oil.

3. * Sitharathai - Gently rub the sitharathai to make a paste and mix it in luke warm water and give it to the
baby. If needed, sugar can be added.

4. * Steam Treatment- This is one such good remedy for cold. We gave it 3 or 4 times a day for Sanchu.
Make sure the baby doesn't touch the Steamer. Because, Sanchu did touch and cried.

5. Milagu Rasam- This is one common practice in Tamil Nadu to prepare a rasam only with Pepper

6. Soup- Any veg/non veg soup with more Pepper powder on that...For children who can take soups.. not for young ones....

7. * If you have cough along with cold, this one is the best remedy, heat a spoon of Ghee  with 4 or 5 pepper. When the pepper splutters, take it from the stove and allow it to cool. You can either take the Ghee or the pepper. For Babies, ghee can be given.

8. * There is a plant called "Omavalli". you can boil water with Indian borage leaves, betel leaves, Holy basil leaves and carom. Allow it to cool and have it with 2 or 3 drops of honey. This is can be given to babies above 6 months.

9. Turmeric powder with milk. I know you would say yuck when i tell you this. But trust me, this works. If you have dry cough, you can take this thrice/twice a day. Little turmeric powder with milk is enough to say goodbye to Cough.

10. * Tulasi can be boiled either in water/milk. But this needs to be taken warm.

11. Boil  small pieces of Ginger with water and make sure it reduces to half of it and add sugar to it and take it. Or Ginger tea is a good medicine..

12. Some say, fennel(perunjeeragam or sombu) is also a good medicine. I haven't tried that. It is similar to the preparation of Ginger. Boil a spoon of fennel in water and let it reduce to half. Add sugar/jaggery and take it.

13. Milagu Jeera Sadham- take a spoon of Pepper and cumin seeds each, powder and mix with enough salt. Have this with hot boiled rice with an papad. I like this combination...
.
14.Here we go, dry ginger powder with Pepper, Cumin Seeds, Betal Leaves,Holy Basil, carom, thippilis- everything fried and boiled. The water needs to be reduced to half of the content you initially added. Then you can add honey with that to take it.

15. * Well, juices of Holy Basil leaves, betel leaves, Country/Indian Borage leaves boiled with spluttered carom will cure the cold soon.

16. Melt a big spoon of ghee in a ladle and put 20-30 pepper and allow it to splutter. 

Now other common medicines from the Kitchen.. LOL...

1. * Vilakennai- Castor oil is very good medicine for babies of 6 months and above. Before that, it is not advised to give orally. Apply 2 or 3 drops of this oil on a betel leaf and heat the leaf. Apply this leaf on baby's abdomen.If the baby has motion problem, this can be tried.

2. * If the baby doesn't pass motion everyday, we can apply castor oil on the Lower abdomen and it is a practice in Tamil Nadu, castor oil is applied on the crown of the head as well. Not passing motion once a day or twice/thrice  a week leads to weakening of large intestine.

3. For babies above 6 months, clean your hands and apply 1 or 2 drops of castor oil and gently mix it with a 1 or 2 drops of milk. Upon giving this to the baby, the baby will pass motion within an hour or two...

4. Prune juice is one of the best medicines for constipation in infants. Allow 4 or 5 dried dark brown grapes  in half a glass of water over night. Smash the soaked grapes and boil this till it reduces to one-third of what you had before boiling. Give 5 to 10 ml everyday till the baby passes motion frequently and without trouble.

5. Early morning sun rays are good for the baby, not later..The sunlight helps in developing vitamin D which is necessary for skin growth in infants..

Some hygienic practices for the new mothers and would be mothers...
1. Do not kiss the new born babies on the cheeks. This would cause infection.
2. Wash your hands before touching the baby's mouth/eyes/ears.
3. Use of wet wipes/wet napkins for cleaning the motion.
4. Do not use Dettol or other disinfectants for clothes. This might cause rashes on the skin.
5. Allow the clothes to get dried under the sunlight do not keep it inside the house.
6. Change the dresses often. This way you can put all the dresses you get. Otherwise you will regret for not using them after a few days.
7. Use clean clothes to wipe the baby's mouth off.
8. For babies above 6 months, you can give warm water to drink.


These are a few things I liked to share with New Mothers and please add medications you know/used for your children.

Thank you!
Radha Arun

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

My pencil Sketches..

Hi all,

I have just thought about the idea of bringing all my pencil sketches together on one page and I think my blog is the only place which will satisfy me..

I do pencil Sketches, but my first attempt was Mother Teresa..God only knows why he made me draw her.. but it turned out well.. but not to my satisfaction level..



Then my next attempt was drawing a glass...it was an Okay kinda drawing...


The third one was an utter failure and threw that one to the trash. It was Keira Knightley..
I had no one on my way of this journey and I had to fight my boredom.. Drawing was the thing that quenched my thirst of learning new things....

Fourth one was this.. MG.. This time I used Charcoal Pencil. I was in the search of Kneaded Eraser.



Then it went on.. on and on...
Again another one...
Needless to mention, this is Angelina Jolie, Poor Lady.. what to do..


Then I came up with this... I don't know who she is...



The last but not least, this one I started it in Feb 2009 and finished it in August 2009 as I was busy with my new born kid.


As I drew this on a chart, it was small enough to scan..
A few more pics I drew


Need to work on shading!!!

 My one and only, lovely darling Son Sanchit!


This, I drew when I was learning to draw eyes. this one looks easy but was very difficult for me!



This one was my perfect drawing! I was frustrated once for something and I drew this to control myself.
Poor me, didn't select the correct paper though, I drew this on the backside of a calendar sheet!






Updated April 2013:

These are a few sketches I did last year and didnt get time to upload them all!
It is the time to upload it.





This last one is a bride keeping her hand on her hip! Just not to confuse you! ;) 
After a long gap, I did get time and drew this one. Felt accomplished.

After these, I drew more and more. I will update a few here. Because I didn't take pictures of all the drawings.

The above one is Robert Downey Jr. Found a YouTube video of the same drawing done by some pro. I tried the same this is what I got!!!???



The ones above and below are the new attempts on the old ones. though the shading has improved, the picture was totally incomplete and didn't have the patience like before. 


My liking to Owls has increased! Unfortunately I am too busy to have an Owl at home!


Robert Downey Jr 

 Benedict Cumberbatch

First attempt on 3D. BULB! 

Some wierd sketches I tried to copy from the Internet! 


This one is a gift to my sister and yet to be finished! 


In between, I tried drawing a sketch of my sons. this is the outcome! 



In between, I tried my hands on water color sketching got these!













Adding a few more recent drawings/sketches/paintings...