Your Adsense Link 728 X 15

Pages

Search This Blog
Home / Posts filed under health
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

What's your reason for falling in love with Melbourne, the most livable city in the world?

Posted by ABC Thursday, 18 December 2014 5 comments

MELBOURNE: If there is a paradise on Earth, it is this…it is this…it is this! 

Adventure adds spice to life. The essence of life cannot be relished, unless an individual gamble his or her comfort with some quivers and shivers. Only a paramount person who possesses great valour, dexterity and killer instinct to struggle with the trials and tyrannies of life can experience and explore the myriad intricacies of life, decipher the message embedded in one’s existence on Earth and drown himself/herself into delirium of ecstasy.
  

A pristine and lively, cosmopolitan city like Melbourne would present one with a legion of opportunities to indulge in its culture. Australia, and the state of Victoria, is well-known for its tranquil nature, diverse flora and fauna, beautiful beaches, insane adventure sport activities,a la mode couture and exquisite food and wine. I wish to visit this virtual paradise on Earth and return with the memories of an extremely pleasant experience from Melbourne.

How wild my imagination can be! I feel delighted at the very thought of relaxing on the sunny beaches across Melbourne from the popular swimming spots at St Kilda to the bathing huts at Brighton. I wish I could go for a stroll to the city's parks like the Treasury Gardens, accord my respects to the Scarred Tree, and indulge in fun and frolic at Flagstaff Gardens. There is nothing more rejuvenating than a walk amid thick foliage - something that I dread of every morning. Melbourne Heritage Walk and a walk along the Yarra River path are also in my wish list, mere glimpse of which lightens up my spirits. And how can I forget the heart gladdening hot air ballooning? A heavenly city like Melbourne ought to be enjoyed from a hot air balloon to get a bird's eye view. Finally, for a person like me who loves to play cricket, Australia is the ultimate destination. 

Following are some of the facts about Melbourne that corroborate my desire to visit this wonderful city, trying to convince me, saying “…it's your time to visit Melbourne NOW!"

  • The Federation Square that is the cultural centre and houses the Melbourne Visitor Centre, Australian Centre for the Moving Image and National Gallery of Victoria's Ian Potter Centre. And the starting point for many trips and cruises....
  • The University of Melbourne, the second oldest in the nation, and all built in sandstone in a good mesh of gothic revival and modern styles; a public University with the largest endowment in the country! The Medical History Museum here would be of great interest ...with class photos of the earliest women medical students in 1887!
  • The Queen Victoria Market, spread over 7 hectares, and having the largest collection of open air markets. Being earlier a meat market, an old 1868 mural here depicts a few lambs and cows ; though I have never figured out why you erect a statue before killing the animals....
     
  • The Yarra River at the Yarra Bend park. Melbourne being situated at the lower end of the river, as it flows down towards Hobsons Bay... Lovely parklands on its banks, giving you a country feel right in the middle of Melbourne, as you decide to indulge in cruise on the MV Melburnian in the Yarra .
     
  • The imposing Victorian State Parliament building, which was supposed to have a huge 20 story dome, but they cancelled the idea, and now it is domeless, and the Exhibition Buildings, the last remnants of the major 19th century exhibition buildings in the world.
     
  • I would love to do the Golden Mile heritage walk that would take me through the Royal Arcade and the Block Arcade, not to mention Melbourne's little shopping lanes...and would enjoy the year round fruits from the shops at the Queens Parade in Clifton Hill, along with the cafes.
     
  • And how can we forget Cooks Cottage, the house owned by the parents of Captain Cook in England, sold to an Australian, and shipped piece by brick piece, along with the ivy plants , and reconstructed in Australia. The Cooks decreed that the house must stay in England, and some smart person got that amended to "Empire", and so it came Down Under.
     
  • The Royal Botanic Gardens, The Luna Park, The Maritime Museum at South Wharf, and the Literature Lane  in the City, decorated with cover pages of some amazing Australian literary works.
     
  • Balloon trips high above Melbourne, taking in the CBD, the Yarra and the woodlands, floating above the Melbourne Cricket Ground, imagining visiting its Sports Museum, creating stories to bring home to 2 cricket crazy family members.
  • Melbourne (in fact, the whole of Australia) is a heaven for food lovers - world cuisines, thick shakes, cocktails, cupcakes, crepes and donuts.
 …It's your time to visit Melbourne NOW! Because, more than the Bricks and Mortar, the delicacies and the rides, it's the people who make a country and a city.  

Here is a question for all the readers (to be answered in not more than 100 words):
What's your reason for falling in love with Melbourne, the most livable city in the world?

Which of these places would you want to visit in Melbourne and why? 



Do visit this Website for more details : http://www.visitmelbourne.com/in


Categories: , , , , ,

The scourge of Child Marriage

Posted by ABC Wednesday, 19 June 2013 0 comments


The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) defines child marriage as a blatant violation of human rights of young girls who are married before eighteen years of age and robs them of every opportunity to live a life of dignity by depriving them of their fundamental right to health and education. It is a harsh reality that even in the 21st century, child marriage is widespread across the world and rampant in India in particular. In the developing world, one in seven girls is married before her 15th birthday and some child brides are as young as eight or nine. According to the 2001 census there are 1.5 million girls in India, under the age of 15 already married. Of these, 20% or approximately 300,000 are mothers to at least one child. In 2010 alone, 13.5 million girls were married globally before they turned 18, many to men twice their age or older. That can mean that one day, she may be at home playing with her siblings and the next, she is married off and sent to live in another village or town with her husband and his family – strangers, essentially!

This harmful practice is most common in poor, rural communities, and its consequences only perpetuate the vicious cycle of poverty. There are several factors that have made this despicable practice widely prevalent across the world. Some of them are discussed as under :
  1. TRADITION
    Child marriage is entrenched in tradition and culture and continues even today simply because it has happened for generations. Orthodox notions like a girl’s body are the repository of family honour has led to commodification of the fair sex. This has put young girls at risk and kept them mired in poverty. Straying from such traditions could mean inviting the wrath of rural bodies and even ostracising from the community.

  2. POVERTY
    Poverty plays a pivotal role in causing and perpetuating child marriage. Poor families often have few resources to support healthy alternatives for girls, such as educating them. In such a scenario, marrying a daughter allows parents to reduce family expenses by ensuring they have one less person to feed, clothe and educate. In communities where a dowry or ‘bride price’ is paid, it is often welcome income for poor families.

  3. PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY
    Indian society is a patriarchal society where girls are not valued as much as boys and considered a burden on the family. Consequently, a girl child is deprived of health and education. They are treated with an attitude of negligence and indifference by the society.

  4. SECURITY
    Many people prefer to marry off their daughters young because they feel that this would ensure her safety in a society where females are vulnerable to physical and mental exploitation. In rural areas, lack of police action coupled with high crime rate leads to lawlessness.  

The harmful consequences of child marriage are separation from family and friends, limiting the child's interactions with the community and peers, lack of opportunities for education. Girl children often face situations of bonded labour, enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation and violence as a result of child marriage. Because of lack of protection child brides are often exposed to serious health risks, early pregnancy, and various STDs especially HIV/AIDS. It is also found that infant mortality rates are higher than the national average in the states where child marriage is highly prevalent. 

Child marriage undermines global development efforts focused on creating more educated, healthier and economically stable populations. With little access to education and economic opportunities, child brides and their families are more likely to live in poverty. The need of the hour is to bring this unjust practice to an end. The following measures may be undertaken:
  1. EDUCATING AND EMPOWERING GIRLS
    Improving a girls’ access to quality education will increase her chances of becoming reliant provider her economic opportunities to excel. Empowering girls, by offering them opportunities to gain skills and education, providing support networks and creating a secure environment where girls can gather and meet outside the home, can help girls to assert their right to choose when they marry.

  2. MOBILISING AND EDUCATING COMMUNITY
    Religious leaders and community heads can play a major role in speaking out against child marriage and changing community attitudes. It is necessary to raise awareness among communities of the impact of child marriage through street theatre, processions and encouraging community dialogue, which can result in a collective community pledge to end child marriage.

  3. INTRODUCING NEW SCHEMES AND INCENTIVES
    Introducing economic incentives can in encouraging families to consider alternatives to child marriage. Incentives include microfinance schemes to help girls support themselves and their families, and providing loans, subsidies and conditional cash transfers to parents of girls at risk of becoming child brides. The government need to play an active role in this regard.

  4. ROLE OF MEDIA IN ENFORCING LAWS
    The media needs to play a proactive role to raise awareness among the general public, make the citizens aware of their fundamental rights through its campaigns and to influence governments and community leaders to take necessary action to end the practice. The provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 must be strictly enforced and the offenders must be severely punished.



Strengthening and utilizing the economic potential of girls is a critical approach for economic development. Unless the international community join hands to tackle the menace of child marriage, it will not succeed in fulfilling its commitments to reduce global poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Let us not deprive a child of her childhood and rob her of her innocence. Let us not turn her into a bride at an age when she is supposed to explore her world of dreams and tread paths for herself to realise them. Let us not commit a sin by clipping her wings and enslave her at an age when she is supposed to fathom the separation between the zenith and the horizon.

Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
free counters

Labels

Aam Aadmi Party acid attacks activities adventure alcohol angels anguish animals anna hazare anvil anxiety Arvind Kejriwal auspicious battle begging Big Bazaar blood booze catastrophic child marriage childhood clild labour combat common man confidence corrupt corruption country courage cracker crime culture cyclone debts delirium destination destiny determination development disaster discrimination doctor dream drugs education elections embarrasment emotions emphatic engineer enlighten environment eternal evils explosion fable failure FDI in retail. India female flood FMCG foetus freebies freedom funds future glory goal god goddess grandeur Happy new year 2013 havoc hazard health hearts heat heavenly helping hand hero horizon Horror illiteracy indelible marks India Indian Premier League industries infrastructure insane institution international jan lokpal bill jerk journey kingdom leader leather lethal liquor love machine Mahatma Gandhi marriage MARS ORBITER MISSION masculine medals memories menace mental mercy mid-day meal milestones money morning mundane Narendra Modi nature net neutrality olympics opportunities Opposition ordeal orthodox paradise passion peace pleasure pledge political poverty prejudice premier prepare pristine progress ragging rape religious Republic Day reservation reward rifle sacrifice scams scared secular shadows singing sleep smoking soldier solemn sorrow soul sports stallion struggle sunshine support sweet swift tempest temptation The King's Speech tomorrow tornado torture trauma tri color triumph trust truth underachiever usher venom vices violence virtues vision vivacious vote voyage vulnerable WalMart watchdog west woods worship youth zenith

About

My blog is an innovative amalgamation of my thoughts, how i perceive and react to different events in the ordinary business of life and at the same time entertain the readers and sensitize them.
Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Detector Clipart

Copyright © Unfolding Thoughts. All rights reserved. Blogger template designed by BLog Bamz