Tuesday, 16 February 2016

[www.keralites.net] THE SAREE IS LIKE A THERMOSTAT

 

The Sari Is Like A Thermos!!..................................CB.


Need the warmth of a sweater in winter and the breeziness of a skirt in summer? A new study finds that the traditional sari is the perfect all-weather clothing – and that everything depends on how you drape it.


For many Indian women today, the sari is more an outfit for rare, dressy occasions than utilitarian daily wear. Better the pre-stitched convenience of trousers or salwar kameezes than the fumbling that comes with six-yards of freeform fabric. Yet, a new study by a Riyadh-based researcher of Indian origin turns the idea on its head, showing that the Indian sari scores over western wear on at least one aspect of convenience – insulation. Much like a thermos flask, the sari has the ability to keep its wearer warm or cool, depending on the weather around her. It's all in the pallu, the study shows. Depending on whether you pleat the pallu or drape it across your shoulders, you can alternate between the warmth of a sweater and trousers or the breeziness of a summer skirt and blouse. 
The sari, scientifically yours.The sari, scientifically yours.

This finding was reported last month in the journal Architectural Science Review by a group of researchers from South Korea's LG Electronics and University of Berkeley, California. Lead author Madhavi Indraganti, who is currently a visiting professor at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, studies thermal comfort – the perception of comfort which people experience when the temperature, their clothing and the air speed around them is just right. Indraganti's work involves speaking to occupants of residential and commercial buildings to understand what contributes to their thermal comfort and then creating mathematical models to help building designers pick the most appropriate architecture for a climate. As Indraganti tells me in an interview on the phone, "Thermal comfort is the primordial reason behind human existence. If it wasn't for thermal comfort, we wouldn't be alive."

We humans are fair-weather people: there is a very narrow band of temperatures in which we can survive. So we widen this band by wearing (and taking off) clothes and building houses, thus allowing us to live in inhospitable regions such as Antarctica and the Sahara. Even so, we don't always manage to make conditions perfect for ourselves, and this, predictably, hurts our productivity. In a 2006 analysis of 26 previous studies on the relationship between workplace temperature and productivity, Finnish researchers found that the productivity rose with each degree Celsius upto the 20-23 degree band, peaked at 21.6 degrees, and then began dropping past 24 degrees. 
Indraganti and her team have also been looking for data on the optimum temperature for productivity in India, but not much is available. India's National Building code, a compulsory code of health and safety standards for buildings, borrows over two-decade old guidelines from ASHRAE, an international society that sets standards for building design. Apart from being obsolete, the ASHRAE 1992 standards borrowed by India also rely on studies conducted in western countries. This is a problem, because India has very diverse and unique climatic zones, with both Himalayan and desert conditions. Such diversity in climatic zones means that the temperature at which people experience thermal comfort varies from place to place in India, something not captured in the Indian building code.

The other problem is that ASHRAE 1992 standards assume that building occupants wear western clothes – business suits, skirts or trousers for women – something that doesn't hold for the majority of Indian offices. "If you really follow these standards, it will be very detrimental to our environment given the power shortage we have," says Indraganti. Designing buildings for the wrong temperature standards means they will be too cold or too hot, requiring enormous quantities of power to correct. 
These are the problems that got Indraganti interested in studying Indian buildings and their occupants more closely. And one of the things she has to put a number on for this is the insulation potential of the Indian sari.
For her study, Indraganti and team used thermal manikins – physically indistinguishable from the mannequins displayed in clothing store windows – but with a complicated apparatus inside that helps them generate heat and dissipate it the way human bodies do. They then placed these manikins in a climate chamber, designed to simulate a variety of environments, at the University of California, Berkley.
Next, they draped the manikin in nine sari ensembles. Seven of these were summer ensembles, put together using a lightweight yellow silk sari of a south Indian design called Kalakshetra, and a heavier green handloom poly-cotton sari from the Gadag region of Karnataka. Two were winter ensembles, which threw in an acrylic shawl on top of the green Gadag saree. In some ensembles, Indraganti and team pleated the pallu, while in others, they left it loose. In some they draped it over the shoulder, while in others they left it hanging behind the back. All the ensembles included a petticoat, or a long skirt worn under the sari, a blouse and undergarments. The manikin's temperature was set at 34°C, approximately the temperature of our skin. Finally, the team measured how good the ensembles were at preventing heat loss from the body.
What they found was that depending on how the pallu was draped, the sari could offer a variety of insulation levels. Just covering the arms fully with the pallu increased insulation by 47 percent. On the other hand, a pleated pallu sari, with a low clothing insulation value (measured in clo units) of 0.65 clo, was as airy as western summer ensembles such as formal turtleneck blouses and skirts. "The sari is a very dynamic attire," says Indraganti.
Proponents of the sari have been saying this for years. Rta Kapur Chishti, a textile scholar and the founder of the Delhi-based The Sari School, says each climatic zone in India has its own interpretation of the sari, to help the wearer adapt to the weather. She documents around 108 of these from 15 states in her book Saris of India: Tradition and Beyond. This kind of adaptability is possible with the sari because, Rta says, "It is not a structured garment. You can make of it what you want – a pair of pants, a pair of pantaloons, a short dress, a long dress, a gown. You can reinvent it – it is not a kimono."
How is it that the sari, with its multi-layered skirt, is no more insulating than a single-layer western skirt, as Indraganti's study shows? The sari pulls off this trick by its clever design, explains Indraganti. First, the sari skirt is conical, with the tight pleats around the waist flaring into a larger circle near the feet. This allows small currents of air to move up and down the legs, swished about by the motion of the pleats. Then there is the exposed midriff, which keeps the skin cooler. Women who engage in physically intense work can go one step further and lift their hemlines by pulling their pleats up and tucking them into their waistbands. Just this act brings down the sari's insulation value by another 40 percent, Indraganti found in another study.

Kalev Kuklane, a thermal environment researcher at Sweden's Lund University who has also conducted studies on the sari, says the sari's versatility is a definite advantage amongst workers who experience different temperatures within the course of the day. For those who travel between a hot and cold environment or those who get periods of rest between periods of high activity, an adjustable garment like the sari makes logistics easier. An alternative would be to carry along an extra piece of clothing, like a jacket, but that could be inconvenient.

Indraganti's study shows that "we have a lot to learn from the traditional clothing," adds Kuklane. From the thawb worn by Arab men, which shields them from solar radiation during the day and warms them at night, to the wide-brimmed hats worn by farmers in Latin America, traditional clothes pull off many tricks without much technology.
That's why Indraganti rues that some Indian offices impose absurd dress codes that don't allow for the adaptation possible in traditional attires. One example is leather shoes and full-sleeved shirts for men. During a thermal comfort survey she conducted in Hyderabad, she noticed that while all men stuck to the dress code when they walked into the office in the morning, they would roll up their sleeves and kick off their shoes by the afternoon. "If I am allowed to wear something more conducive to my cultural climate, I would tolerate the weather better," she argues. Perhaps these offices would do well to switch to the south Indian lungi – another promising garment that Indraganti is carrying out insulation studies on.
Priyanka Pulla is freelance science journalist based in Bangalore.

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[www.keralites.net] WHEN I STARTED LOVING MYSELF

 

CHARLIE CHAPLIN - When I started Loving Myself....

When I started loving myself
I understood that I'm always and at any given opportunity
in the right place at the right time.
And I understood that all that happens is right –
from then on I could be calm.
Today I know: It's called TRUST.

When I started to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
When I tried to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time is not right and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I know: It's called LETTING GO

When I started loving myself
I could recognize that emotional pain and grief
are just warnings for me to not live against my own truth.
Today I know: It's called AUTHENTICALLY BEING.

When I started loving myself
I stopped longing for another life
and could see that everything around me was a request to grow.
Today I know: It's called MATURITY.

When I started loving myself
I stopped depriving myself of my free time
and stopped sketching further magnificent projects for the future.
Today I only do what's fun and joy for me,
what I love and what makes my heart laugh,
in my own way and in my tempo.
Today I know: it's called HONESTY.

When I started loving myself
I escaped from all what wasn't healthy for me,
from dishes, people, things, situations
and from everyhting pulling me down and away from myself.
In the beginning I called it the "healthy egoism",
but today I know: it's called SELF-LOVE.

When I started loving myself
I stopped wanting to be always right
thus I've been less wrong.
Today I've recognized: it's called HUMBLENESS.

When I started loving myself
I refused to live further in the past
and worry about my future.
Now I live only at this moment where EVERYTHING takes place,
like this I live every day and I call it CONSCIOUSNESS.

When I started loving myself
I recognized, that my thinking
can make me miserable and sick.
When I requested for my heart forces,
my mind got an important partner.
Today I call this connection HEART WISDOM.

We do not need to fear further discussions,
conflicts and problems with ourselves and others
since even stars sometimes bang on each other
and create new worlds.
Today I know: THIS IS LIFE!

- Thanks,
M.D.HEGDE MANGALORE

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[www.keralites.net] THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BLACK SALT

 

The Health Benefits of Black Salt


Salt is one of those substances that human civilization is built upon, not only for its taste, but also for its health benefits and its ability to preserve food.

The Indian black salt, also known as 'Kala Namak', is a popular variety of Indian volcanic stone salts. It sees extensive use in India, Pakistan and internationally, by those who know its benefits. Its unusual color comes from the presence of tiny amounts of iron and other minerals.

This special salt is found in the Himalayan mountain ranges and has some excellent health benefits that you should know about. In India, black salt is often prescribed for patients with high blood pressure or those who require a low-salt diet. Why? Because black salt is low on sodium, and so doesn't raise the blood pressure like normal salt does. It is also a popular treatment for heartburn and intestinal gas. In short, it provides a boost to the digestive system.

The health benefits of black salt:

1. A healthy alternative to sea salt

Salt is incredibly common in everyday life. We find it in a huge amount of snacks and dishes. This is usually iodized salt or sea salt. However, an overdose of salt in our daily lives is a common problem that may lead to paralysis, thyroid problems and high blood pressure, to count a few. The two most dangerous chemicals in sea salt are potassium iodate and aluminum silicate. This is why sea salt is banned in some countries. However, black salt is a great alternative to iodized salt, and here are a few of its benefits compared to iodized salt:

- Treats arthritis problems
- Treats paralysis problems
- Lowers high blood pressure
- Deals with impotency issues

2. The therapeutic benefits

According to centuries of tradition, black salt is a 'cooling' salt that is filled with therapeutic benefits. It can be used as a laxative and as a cure for intestinal disorders. It has benefits for eyesight and unlike common salt, does not enhance your sodium intake. Due to its high sulfur content. However, due to its high sulfur content, it can also weaken the digestion in large amounts, and so a balanced use is recommended, no more than you would regular salt.

3. Soft, beautiful looking skin

Another use for black salt is skincare. Instead of chemical peels, special soaps and spas, consider adding black salt to your bath water. It works as an excellent healing agent, especially good for cracked, swollen feet, athlete's foot, warts and sprains. Just sit back and let it heal your pain and relieve your worries while you enjoy a truly refreshing bath. When you come out, your body will feel truly rejuvenated.

Note: If your skin is sensitive to irritation, it's best not to make the water too hot, or you may incur some itchiness.

4. Strong, problem-free hair

If you're one of many who suffer from a receding hairline, you're probably frustrated by all the supplements and tonics that never seem to work. So try something more natural this time. The essential minerals in black salt will boost your hair's natural growth, strengthen it and treat its split ends. If you have dandruff or acute hair loss, I recommend taking black salt with tomato juice at least once a day. Not only will it encourage hair growth, but will also make your hair thicket, with more sheen and luster.

Do try to use this wonderful natural product and see the difference for yourself. Don't forget to shoot us a comment. Stay fit and stay healthy!

 

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[www.keralites.net] LAST LECTURE

 

LAST LECTURE


Dr. Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, but wrote a book 'The last lecture" before then, one of the bestsellers in 2007. What a legacy to leave behind…

In a letter to his wife Jai and his children, Dylan, Logan , and Chloe, he wrote this beautiful "guide to a better life" for his wife and children to follow.
May you be blessed by his insight.

1. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment 
3. Don't over do; keep your limits 
4. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does 
5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip 
6. Dream more while you are awake 
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present 
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you 
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more
14. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.unity:
15. Call your family often
16. Each day give something good to others 
17. Forgive everyone for everything 
18. Spend time with people over the age of 70 under the age of 6 
19. Try to make at least three people smile each day 
20. What other people think of you is none of your business 
21. Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.
22. Put GOD first in anything and everything that you think, say and do. 
23. GOD heals everything 
24. Do the right things 
25. Whatever good or bad a situation is, it will change 
26. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up 
27. The best is yet to come 
28. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful 
29. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it 
30. If you know GOD you will always be happy. So, be happy.

While you practice all of the above, share this knowledge with the people you love, people you school with, people you play with, people you work with and people you live with.
Not only will it enrich YOUR life, but also that of those around you.
If you like this, please share.
THANKS
- M.D.HEGDE

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