This was a topic discussed by Dr.Abhijit Misra at Siliguri December 2024 :43rd West Bengal State Pedicon Uttorcon 2.0
Education
Elimination of Tuberculosis by 2025 #WorldTB Day
This module is specially development by State TB Cell ,Swasthya Bhawan,Department of Health and Family welfare ,Government of West Bengal to help coordinate between private practitioners and state government resources for elimination of Tuberculosis.
It’s a social diseases which needs to be fought at all levels.
24th March is World TB day.Sharing this presentation for awareness.
New innovation in diagnosing TB
Sharing is good Karma!
Childhood Obesity and Adult life :Powerful Secrets No One Told you
No hiding behind smokes and mirrors now.Obesity is a health danger in multiple ways .In COVID times ,it’s more so.Co-morbidities are risky for all of us.
Check yours and your kids BMI here.
Download a fitness tracker here.
In these times seeing higher number of morbidly obese people in the ICU with COVID19 complications, has made this an urgent matter.
England has taken a stand with the new obesity strategy.They banned the advertising of fast foods in the prime time television.The time period which has most kids watching TV.
That’s a a start.They also plan to stop the two for the price of one offers.
This is all good.Because several research has shown significant increase in fast food serving size over the years.It has shown that an increase in use of processed , calorie dense, nutrient poor fast food is behind rise in diabetes ,heart disease ,obesity even in childhood.
Fast food is fast to eat but is slow to leave your body.
Obesity starts early.Then it creeps up .Then the next kilo adds up and the next.
With every passing decade with a sedentary lifestyle you end up adding kilos to your body.
That needs action if you want it to stop.
The small steps you can take to change the way you eat and move is what my new book is about.
Childhood Obesity and Adult life :Powerful truths No One Told You.
Find out what your daily calorie intake should be?
Sharing is good Karma!
How to leave the World a little better
How to leave the world a little better.
When I started blogging in 2014 ,I read amylynnandrews blog.She wrote a very useful newsletter called useletter.
She talked about creating original content online;not just rehash of existing content.
But I had a problem.
The health topics I wrote about often had extensive write ups on educational websites.
On looking deeper I found they were often(if not always)written by content experts or influencers not interested in the topic with expertise in writing, not necessarily a professional or expert in the medical field.
On big sites these articles were reviewed by Doctors or other Healthcare professionals .
I knew what I wanted to contribute to make my website and blog create it’s own little space in the very cluttered online World.
That started the journey of Healthwealthbridge 10 years ago.
Spreading awareness and education digitally wad my goal and I think I am on the right path to make the world a little better.
Trying to go carbon negative Since 2020 we have planted more than 500 trees and that’s something which made me really happy.Trees are the most selfless living things ever.Mother Nature has gifted us with tree friends wherever we go .My daughter knows books and plants are her mom’s favourite gifts and is my favorite partner in in nature walks.That I think is a good thing to get started on.
Making active lifestyle fun is my dream.In 2013 we shifted to a small town in West Bengal.A rented apartment with no common area,play area ,gym ,pool or a garden, I felt stuck indoors.While buying a home in Kolkata we found a lovely community housing offering not only great location,infrastructure but all of the above.But we couldn’t shift to Kolkata right away.Before 2020 my hubby simply didn’t have time to visit the village home 20 km away.I was always asking about it,but it was rented out and going there on weekends seemed impossible.
COVID pandemic lock down and my husband realized the prison like feel of the modern apartment house.
He jumped into action mode and in October of 2020 we started renovations in the village home and buying a small plot for our kitchen garden and a community garden area with friends for play time with kids ,friends and family.Its not easy and it’s not a project which is ever done.But we are doing the best we can.We made the best of a truly horrifying situation and decided to make a change for good.
Continuing to actively work for restoring gardens,forests, community gardens,nature walks and spreading the message of good health with nature is my way of leaving the world a bit better for the future.
Sharing is good Karma!
GO GREEN, PLASTIC IS OBSCENE-Skit
A fun skit highlighting the environmental impact of plastic bags. Join Riya as she spreads awareness about the importance of going green.
Skit made by Anuprita Misra and Oliviya Tanweer
Scene: Riya’s mother calls her.
Mother: Riya! Come here.
Riya: Yes! I am coming.
(She comes into the kitchen)
Mother: Dear, can you run and get me potatoes and carrot from the nearby grocery store?
Riya: Ok, mother. (she said with a sigh.)
Scene: She goes to the grocery store.
Riya: Uncle, can you give me potatoes and carrots?
Shop keeper: Sure! I can!
Riya receives the items from the shopkeeper.
Riya: Don’t you have a cloth bag? Plastic bags pollute heavily, so I am against them.
Shop keeper: No, we don’t, we only use plastic bags because they are cheaper.
Riya: But they cause harm to our environment.
Shop keeper: See, miss, I tell people to bring their own bag from home if they don’t want a plastic one.
Riya: And what do they tell you?
Shop keeper: They say that they don’t want it but after that, I try to explain it to them, but they don’t
seem to understand! I prefer not to create any trouble because it is bad for business and often customers leave me.
Riya: Oh, I see.
Shop keeper: you are interested in making our surrounding clean so why don’t you bring a bag from the
next time?
Riya: no need for that. I will bring a cloth bag from my home now only.
(She walked home with a speed to get the cloth bag)
Scene: Riya sees a boy with a plastic bag throwing in the river.
Riya: Hey! Stop throwing that plastic.
Boy: (He turned around as he got startled and the plastic slipped out of his hand) Hey you scared
me!
Riya: Hey-were you throwing the plastic in the river?
Boy: What is your problem with me?
Riya: I don’t have any problem with you boy, I have a problem with you throwing the plastic.
Boy: By the way, my name is Arjun, not Boy.
Riya: Don’t throw the plastic bags in the river. They pollute the rivers and make it harmful for us to use.
(she said this as she got angry)
Boy: it’s none of your business (telling this he left)
(Riya then went home)
Scene: Riya goes to her home, and her mother sees her empty handed
Mother: where are the vegetable, Riya?
Riya: mother I came here to take my cloth bag.
Mother: But why?
I’m against using plastic bags.
Taking the plastic bag would have saved you the trip.
Riya: I came here because I really don’t want the environment polluted!
No one understands the importance in our environment, she thought angrily as she left the house.
Scene: She reaches the shop after a long walk
Riya: Uncle, please give me the vegetables. (with handing her cloth bag to the Shop keeper)
Shop keeper: Sure! Take it!
Riya: thank you very much and please tell your customers not to use plastic bags.
Shop keeper: I will try my best for you.
Riya: Ok! Bye now!
(She went home from there)
Scene: She went home and gave the mother the vegetables
Riya: Here mother, take the vegetables.
Mother: Thank you, my dear!
(Riya then went up to her room.
Riya: Finally, I can rest here for a while.
She found a magazine article titled “How to clean your surroundings” and sat up straight.
Mother: oh wow! But what is the plan?
Riya: mother sees we have two dustbins in our homes. One is biodegradable, the other isn’t, let’s buy big dustbins with gigantic signs and put it in our neighborhood.
Mother: Not everyone will use separate dustbins for throwing garbage.
If they won’t, I’ll go to each neighbor’s house and explain why we should throw.
Mother: Go as you like
Riya: Mother, let’s set the dustbins tomorrow early in the morning, before anyone comes to throw litter on the already dirty streets!
Mother: Ok, but we need to get the dustbins by this evening!
Riya: Yes! I totally forgot about that! Let’s go today at 5pm.
Mother: Ok!
Scene: Riya and her mother are getting ready to go outside.
Riya: Let’s go mother.
Mother: yeah! Let’s go.
(They got home after buying dustbins of different colors)
Riya: I’m so tired now,
Mother: I am also super tired.
Scene: Riya and her mother get up early in the morning and set the dustbins in their
neighborhood.
Riya: Ah! Finally, it is done.
Scene: After two days, she saw no one is throwing the plastics in different dustbins.
Riya: Mother, I will start a campaign in the public park with my friends.
Mother thinks it’s a good idea, but it will require a significant time investment.
Riya: Whatever it takes, I will do it.
(she prepares for the campaign and calls her friends too to help her)
Scene: She and friends go to the public park and announce their project idea
Riya: We are deciding something. Everyone present here may express what they feel about it.
Raj: We have formed a group to collect and segregate the litter on the streets. Anyone willing may line up here and sign their names.
Also, you can make banners and poster to warn others of the dangers of single use plastic.
( About 10 people line up, others look disgusted)
Riya is a little disappointed
But she has faith and calls her friends
Next day: On Saturday
Riya: Mother- where are you? I want ribbon and tape for the banner. Do you have any?
Mother: Yes, here.(hands ribbon) How is your campaign going on?
Riya: Oh, well, actually. Me , Raj and 3 other friends of mine make 5 people- also yesterday 10 more people added their names. Raj has collected many posters today. Tomorrow we shall start the collecting of litter.
Mother: Impressive amount of work!
Next day:(Everyone gathers around Riya to hear the plan)
Riya: We can move on to the other streets once we’re done. Our goal is to finish at least half of the neighbourhood, making it litter free, by 2 pm.
One child: What a lot of work!
Another child: Hm-I already feel tired thinking about it!
Raj: Thinking like that prevents accomplishment. Come on !
(They set out together, and work hard till the neighbourhood is almost litter free.)
Random person: Hey! What are you doing messing around, being dirty?
Riya: Uncle, we are cleaning the neighbourhood
Random person: Why, that’s something quite new
(he goes away)
Riya works even harder.
A half hour later
Raj: Oh finally! The job is done! (he sits on the street)
One girl: What are you doing , sitting there?
Raj: Nothing-we have worked hard, remember?
Girl: I guess-reasonable excuse.
Riya: We did it!
Everyone: *cheering*
MONDAY:
Riya and the others troupe around, shower their posters, shouting slogans
*they arrive at a playground with many people of their locality.*
Raj: EVERYONE KINDLY LEND YOUR EARS.
Riya: We are here to discuss the need of reducing single use plastic’s use, as it is very harmful and not everyone knows it.
Many of us show apathy towards the dangers of plastic pollution, littering without regard for the consequences. This pollution has devastating effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The plastic debris injures and kills wildlife, either from being tangled or through ingestion. As the plastic decomposes, it leaches toxic chemicals that can harm both humans and animals alike.
Another friend of Riya: Instead of plastic bags , you can use ones of durable cloth, like jute. As plastic bags tear easily and have to be replaced by another. After a time, that one tears etc, etc.
Another boy: Did you know-all paper cups have a plastic lining inside of them-so they can hold liquid for long?
Raj: Use traditional earth cups or bring your own cup to avoid this.
EVERYONE together: GO Green to make India clean!
*crowd claps*
Riya gives a satisfied sigh.
Tuesday
Scene: children are going to school
Children: Wow! The road is litter-free!
(Riya being proud of her teammates and her, while watching other children go to school)
(She is walking home, dreaming and thinking of all the hard work she and her friends had done. “I wonder if all of it will pay off,” )
(She is seeing that everyone in the neighbourhood has thrown their garbage in a separate bin and plastic in a separate bin)
Riya sees her work paid off!
STOP plastic-SAVE our Earth.
Sharing is good Karma!
A Living Witness:Autobiography of a Tree
A few days back I received an unexpected gift.It was given to me by my daughter and it was an essay she wrote for a CBSE project. I wanted her to write an Autobiography of a mango tree and that’s what was in her mind (she told me ) when she wrote this.
I never realized the effect on kids when they see their parents become tree lovers. Its like creating budding plant warriors, who understand not only the science ,but the soul behind spending time in nature.
As a family we spend weekends playing outdoor .Rain,sun or cold we have a walk amongst green trees and flowers and recharge our soul.I always wondered why people didn’t spend more time creating technology to make spaces green while building cities and innovating.Man has landed on the moon but that still needs doing. Maybe that’s something I need to start trying too.
But if I can’t do it ,I hope all the kids who love plants and trees, find a way back to nature’s lap .
That’s why when I read my daughters essay about a Living Witness, I knew I had to publish it on the blog after the project submission ,so that parents may realize that walking the talk is way more important that talking !
Autobiography of a Mango Tree by Anuprita Misra
I am a Mango tree. I stand tall and proud amid quite a few others! But I am the biggest and oldest!
I have seen things people never even dreamed of. I am a witness to so many activities that happen daily around me. Almost every weekend, on Sunday, two young children climb onto me and swing from my lower branches. They can’t be that old, only around 10 and 12. A big sort of low, circular wall was constructed around me, serving as a resting place. It is still not fully finished, and a work in progress.
The children and their parents don’t seem to mind. The adults sit there and chat, while the children enjoy running around on the wall and getting up as high as possible on the branches. Often, a younger child comes, a girl of only around 3 or 4 years.
She needs the other’s help to get up on the branches. When everyone is tired, they rest and eat the juicy mangoes I bear every mango season. There are so many squirrels and small birds nesting in my leaves! When no one is there with me, they keep me company by scurrying about, looking for food, and chattering all the time.
Once, the area I now reside in was wild. Grass and leaves everywhere. An endless forest. Now some people came along, made the place neat, and made way for a small path so no one would get lost. I guess that had its good points. I get so many visitors on the weekend! But I used to like the quietness too. Me and my fellow mango trees resided in peace. And the area would only be busy during mango picking season and when we are supposed to be watered by the caretakers. It was calmer. But one of the trees died, too. It turned dark and would not bear leaves anymore. It has been cut down now.
The place is still littered with leaves. We can tell that the sound carries in the calm whenever someone steps into the small forest.
I help so many people. I give humans shade in the sweltering heat. I provide lovely mangoes you can eat raw, or ripe, cut, or pickled. My leaves rustle in the wind to make soothing breezes. I produce mass amounts of oxygen that everyone requires! I am the home of so many small animals.
And what do I get in return?
Humans cut down so many trees every day. With every tree you cut, every life you take away. We too are living beings, We feel pain, just like you do. Oh sure, we don’t run around and move like you do. I often wonder what would happen if we too could have the same mobility as you. But I don’t think that can happen yet. Maybe one day–?
When you cut a tree, you simultaneously do so many bad deeds at once. We can no longer produce oxygen, bear fruits, and give shade. You dislocate so many homes of animals that resided there once. And of course, cutting a tree is just wrong, in whatever aspects you look at it. And yet, I have heard so many people say “Oh, we can cut a tree here, and plant a sapling somewhere else. There’s no harm!”
Large trees produce large amounts of oxygen. Small trees produce small amounts of oxygen.
The logic is as simple as that. So, NO, “there’s no harm” is incorrect. I often feel angry that I can’t speak out and say my opinions. Unfortunately, I don’t have a mouth to talk with, so it makes things a little bit difficult.
So you see-I am a living witness. For human activities, animal world activities, and many more. But not only for that. I witness all the wrong judgments people have. I see every single tree you cut, and feel their pain. I don’t know if this will make an impression on whoever reads it, or not, but I do know that attitudes change very slowly. People refuse to believe they are wrong. They are adamant and try to prove their opinions right.
I cannot see the future, so I don’t know what may happen one day. I just hope that one day, humans will understand the truth in the statement “When all trees are dead, we all shall be dead too, for we cannot live without them.”
This was my daughters school project for a CBSE work on World Environment Day and all rights belong to Anuprita Misra
