Window Seat

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 24.3.19

Holi

By the time you read this, the festival of colour would be over. Holi is a big festival in North and Eastern India. It heralds the end of winter and the arrival of spring. However, with change in climate, in many parts of the country including Dhenkanal, where I live- spring is short lived and summer arrives early.  By latter part of March- it gets hot. And therefore- the fun of moving around and ‘playing holi’ is gradually diminishing. I also find people have become conscious of the perils of using chemical colour. They are mostly using gulal and many are using herbal or organic gulal, which is good.

I find many youngsters these days prefer to ‘play holi’ from indoors with their computers. They prefer to play virtual holi.

And with elections round the corner, the netas are changing their colours so fast- that real holi is ‘out-coloured’.

Shoes not to wear

On average, a person walks 245-292km  in a year. It is therefore crucial that you wear a pair of shoes which won't damage your feet, since our feet are responsible for carrying all of our weight around, and are already subject to enormous pressure on a daily basis. However, we often don't realize this, wearing all kinds of footwear that make it hard for our feet to do their job. Some popular kind of foot wear may actually doing great harm to your body.  I got the following information from an email forward and got it vetted from a doctor friend of mine.

Pointed shoes may be too tight

If you have wide feet, you may want to reconsider wearing pointed shoes. These types of shoes are too tight and will put a lot of pressure on your toes, causing nerve pain and blisters. If you keep insisting on these shoes, they may cause lasting nerve damage. So before buying such a pair of shoes, check to see whether your feet feel comfortable while wearing them first. Maybe get a pair that is bigger than you need and stuff the end so you don't have to squeeze your toes. 

Flip flops cause misalignment in your ankles

While flip flops (popularly known as Hawai Chappal) are great for summer, as such, they're not all that comfortable. Flip flops rub between your toes causing skin damage and wearing them can lead to misalignment in your ankles and knees because your feet are not supported properly. The soles of your feet rarely get good support from flip-flops and the different walking technique used with flip flops will often make your back pain worse.

High heels can cause nerve damage

Most women do love to wear high heels, and while they look great and make you feel attractive, they can cause a lot of damage to your feet. Wearing high heels leads to sprains, ingrown toenails, nerve damage, and lower back pain. To get rid of these problems, it is advised that you make sure your everyday heels are no higher than 3 inches.

 Flat shoes put pressure on the ligaments

While it may be surprising, flat shoes can damage your legs. This happens because they don't have any arch support, thus putting pressure on the plantar fascia - the ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes. Consequently, you will experience pain in your knees and back.

 Running shoes that are too light and soft and may cause trauma

Running shoes should only be worn when running.. If you wear them every day, because they seem comfortable and light, they may actually damage your feet on impact because they are too flexible and soft. In other words, if you bump your foot while running you may injure yourself quite severely. Athletic shoes with a harder sole are much safer when accidentally slipping or bumping into something with your foot.

Platform shoes ruin the mechanism of walking 

Platform shoes are flexible and have rigid footbeds. Our feet need more forgiving shoes. The shoes we opt for should repeat and reinforce the movement of the feet and these actually do the opposite, going completely against the mechanism of walking. It is, therefore, better to not wear platforms on a regular basis but only on rare occasions such as special events.

Tailpiece: Tension ka Solution

Wife :- tum bahot badal Gaye ho.. aajkal mujh se theek se baat hi nahi karte ....

Husband :- nahi kaam me busy tha...

Wife:- 2-3 din se tum kaam ka bahana bana rahe ho...tum mujhse kuch chupa rahe ho...

Husband :- nahi thodi tension hai....

Wife :- tum hamesha apni tension mujhse chupate ho.....mujhe batao hum dono mil kar koi solution nikalenge.. tum mujhe kuch to batao problem kya hai....

Husband:- to lo suno . TDS file karna hai.  Income tax file karna hai. NPA ki report deni hai. CGTMSE claim lodge krna hai. Printer kaam nahi kar raha hai. Biometric login kal se nahi ho rahi hai. ATM mein cash atak jata hai hai. Recovery aa nahi rahi hai. Bank main grahak ki bheed hai. Upper se connectivity ka panga pada hua hai . Customer complaint ho rahi hai... March closing me account pe dhyan du…ya recovery pe?

AB DE MUJHY ISKA SOLUTION....

Wife: Tum naa aaj  2 peg maar hi lo...

Happy March Closing.

(Courtesy: Social Media)

***

The author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat, published in 2018 has been published as a book. Write to him to get a free e-copy.

mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com