Snowman

He stands
And stays
But doesn't
Walk

He tries
To move
But doesn't
Talk

He does
The things
That no one
Would

He likes
The things
That no one
Could

And
Finally,
At night
He melts
Away...

When
Kids
Wake up,
He's gone
By day !!




Relief

The only relief
A very refreshing spring
In a hot desert

(Theme: Haiku)

The above Poems written by Rupashri Chatterjee (Age 9)

Snowman Image © DragoArt dot Com

Thunderstorm

“BOOM! BOOM!” said Thunder.

 It wasn’t all right.

The thunderstorm had struck with all its might.

All the little children were crying out of fright.

Gobsmacked adults were saying, “What a sight!”

Some people wonder about the thundercloud’s height.

Lightning looked ever so bright and some infants were ever so scared,

That some toys were held never so tight !!!
___________________

The above poem written by Rupashri Chatterjee, Age 9

Stop Racism

We don’t mind what country you are from

America, India, Australia

What colour is your skin

What religion you are

Christianity, Islam, Hinduism

We don’t mind what language you speak

What place you were born

England, Romania, Nigeria

What accent you have

But one thing we’ll not tolerate

Whether in or outside school

Whether verbal or physical

And that is

Racism
___________________

The above poem written by Rajarshi Chatterjee, Age 13

Achievement has no colour. ― Abraham Lincoln

Thunderstorm image sourced from Ann's wordplay

Stop Racism image sourced from Religion News Service

Hair Care

This article is in line with my diurnal practice of keeping my hair oil-free

Dandruff: Why you should NOT apply hair oil
http://healthmeup.com/news-healthy-living/dandruff-why-you-should-not-apply-hair-oil/26334

Over 2 decades ago when I was in my teens, a lady had advised me not to put oil on my hair as the hair soaks up the body's natural oils and that is enough for it to remain oily.

Hence, you'll notice that even if you don't apply hair oil for a week or two, your hair will naturally turn greasy, oily and sticky, compelling you to shampoo it ASAP so that it starts looking glossy.

I use Head & Shoulders Hair Endurance anti-dandruff shampoo which has Hydra Zinc technology, an innovative dandruff defying ingredient, clinically proven to fight dandruff and reduce stress on the scalp thus reducing the threat of hair loss due to breakage, and protecting it from further damage.

I shampoo my hair once or twice a week and also make sure that after shampooing I use a clean comb.

So whenever my hair goes for a wash, my comb goes too :-)

After washing, you should let your hair dry naturally instead of using hot blowers / dryers that may damage the texture of your hair and cause split-ends and you should also minimise the use of hair products like styling gels, sprays, mousses, etc. The more naturally you let your hair grow, giving it ample breathing space, rather than clogging up the pores, the more healthy it will be.

If want to have a nice, relaxing head massage for an hour or two, make sure you shampoo after the oil massage, don't let the oil remain in your hair.

Also, it is imperative to have a clean pillow cover, so please make sure that you keep changing your pillow covers as often as you can, so as to give your head a good, clean resting place :-)

That's all I had to share for now. Hope you find these tips useful to care for your hair :-)

Have a lovely Christmas.

Best Wishes,
: APARNA :


Image Sourced from Rozana Job dot Com

With Me

Yesterday
You were
With me

Today
You are
Not with me

My daughter
I miss you
When I jog

Wish you were
Always with me

(dedicated to my daughter, my jogging partner; she accompanies me on the weekends, on the weekdays she is in school, so I miss her)

Copyright © Aparna Chatterjee 2013

Miracle

I woke up
With a
Miracle
One day

Seeing
Spanish
Weather
In the UK
;-)

The clouds
And rain had
All fleeted
Away

Leaving me
With plenty
Of sunshine
To soak in
Every day :-)

(Hope this does not remain mere wishful thinking and becomes a reality so that I don't have to go to Spain in search of some better weather because Winter is knocking and I feel like flying away again to Spain. I've been there twice this year and want to go there every year to get some respite from the harsh British weather.)






Tired

Tired souls
Trying to
Make it
Work

Returning
Home
Going
Back to
Work

(pertaining to the daily commuting that millions of people do for earning a living)





Struggling

He's
Struggling

I'm
Struggling

She's
Struggling

We all are
Struggling
To make
Struggles
End

Though
We don't
Know
If while
Living
They'll
Ever
End

As
Life is
All about
Struggling
Till Death
Puts an End

(Theme: Struggles)





Slow

You slow down
Life slows you down

And then you wonder
Why were you running
So fast

To eventually get
Slowed down..??

(Theme: Pace)





Stopped

In those
Houses,
Time has
Stopped.

Only the
Heartbeats
Are waiting
To see
When
They'll be
Stopped...

By Death.

(pertaining to old age homes)





NHS

If you drink,
If you smoke
It will make the
NHS choke,
And if NHS chokes
You'll surely choke!


NHS - National Health Service of UK which is already pressurized and plagued by many health issues and hence, its quality of care has also gone down over the past years. GPs and Nurses are having to cope with a lot of diurnal pressure. Lots of cases come to NHS relating to cancers and other severe diseases caused by chronic smoking and drinking. If people give up alcohol and cigs, it will not only benefit them, it will ease the amount of pressure on NHS. Our health is in our hands if we take care of it, rather than spoiling it by our everyday bad habits of nicotine and tobacco, binge drinking, etc. What's the use of spending so much on drinks and cigs and then spending a lot more time, money and effort in getting the right treatment for our maladies which could have been prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle..??






Want

What I want
From you,
You'll not
Give it to
Me

What you
Want from
Me, I'll not
Give it to
You

So let's not
Want anything
From each other
As there's no
Giving from
Me and you






Recall

I always
Wondered
Why they
Never
Talked
About
Their
Childhood

They
Didn't have
Much to talk about

Who wants to
Recall -
A painful
Childhood?





It's Time

It's time
To stop
Talking
To
Everyone

Why?

'Cause
I need to
Save some
Energy
For
Talking
To the
Only
Invisible
One,
The
Invincible
One,
That
Silent
One
Who
Doesn't
Talk much
But makes
Us do
All the
Talking

Pray,
Who is it?

DEATH



All Poems - Copyright © Aparna Chatterjee 2013

Did I Do It?

Did I do it?

Yes, I did it.

So why didn't it
Register in my
Mind that I've
Done it?

Why did I again
Have to go and
Redo it?

I never did have
Such a muddled-up
Mind.

This hotchpotch
Surely, Dementia
Must have done it.


(This poem is very close to my heart as it has come to my mind after having read 2 superb books in the recent past. I recommend these books to anyone who would like to know more about Dementia and how uphill the struggle is for those afflicted with this debilitating condition and how hard their carers work to retain some normality in their fragile, fragmenting lives. Before reading these books, I used to think that Dementia always strikes old people which is true in most cases but I ended up reading some case studies of people in their early Forties.)

The Books are

1) Dementia Essentials - How to Guide a Loved One through Alzheimer's or Dementia and provide the Best Care - written by Jan Hall, published by Vermilion

2) And Still The Music Plays - Stories of People with Dementia - written by Graham Stokes, published by HPL

I bought both these books from Amazon - UK. These are also available on Amazon dot Com

_____________________________

Copyright © Aparna Chatterjee 2013

uplifting quotations

Frozen Shoulder

Frozen Shoulder - What is it ?

Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatments and Self-Care

Treating Frozen Shoulder

Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention

Shoulder Pain

Frozen Shoulder - Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder

Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment - NHS

First Image sourced from Cascade Massage Therapy

Second Image sourced from Allegheny Chesapeake Physical Therapy