CULTURAL QA 08202403 Topic General -Base Quora QA- Compiled
Q1 What is a typical breakfast for a poor Indian? KR Breakfast the western style is totally different in India. According to Ayurveda, dinacharya - or daily routine - is integral to our physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Making space for meaningful rituals helps us ride the waves of energetic shifts throughout the day. An Ayurvedic morning routine lays the foundation for a grounded, focused day. Here’s how to tune into the rhythm of the universe from the moment you open your eyes. Our lives are a reflection of the small choices we make each day – how we treat ourselves, spend our time, and direct our energy. Unfortunately, in our busy modern world, it’s easy to feel spread thin or swamped with endless obligations. Doshic Energy and Your Ayurvedic Morning Routine An Ayurvedic morning routine aligns us with the changing doshic energies in our environments. In Ayurveda, the three doshas - Pitta, Kapha, and Vata - dominate different hours of the day. Small daily rituals, done at an intentional hour, help us flow with these bio-energetic forces – rather than struggle against them. Vata: 2 a.m. - 6 a.m. (and 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.) Airy Vata rules the wee hours of the morning. Waking up at peak Vata hour helps us rise with greater vigor. These early hours are a great time to eliminate and detoxify, as well as perform grounding practices like meditation and breathwork. Kapha: 6 a.m. - 10 a.m. (and 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.) Try to start your day before heavy Kapha rolls around. Otherwise, it can be a bit like waking in molasses, and you may feel off and dull throughout the day. Kapha energy is best harnessed for knocking mundane items off your to-do list – or getting the heart pumping with a bit of light exercise. Pitta: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. (and 10 p.m. - 2 a.m) Vigorous Pitta energy is ruled by fire and water. Make the most of Pitta by using these hours for focused productivity. For instance, if accounting is challenging, do it between 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. when Pitta’s sharp mental qualities are at their strongest. Ayurvedic Morning Routine: 6 Rituals to Start Your Day The most important part of an Ayurvedic morning routine? Do what feels best for you. It’s about finding a few key rituals that provide you the most support – not following a set of rules. You can think of your Ayurvedic morning routine as six simple rituals: 1. Wake at a supportive hour 2. Cleanse and clear 3. Ground and breathe 4. Eat a dosha-balancing breakfast 5. Get moving! 6. Take your herb 1. Wake at a Supportive Hour The hour at which you rise is one of the most important principles of an Ayurvedic morning routine. When we wake at the most supportive time, we catch a wave of energy versus struggling and swimming upstream. The ideal wake-up schedule varies by dosha and with the seasons. But, in general: • Vata-dominant types should wake up by 6:00 a.m. • Pitta-dominant types should wake up by 5:30 a.m. • Kapha-dominant types should wake up by 4:30 a.m. If you start your day before sunrise, you can harness the light, expansive quality of Vata hour. Vata rules movement and helps get us going. Even spending just a few moments in this energy can spark a powerful shift in your day. fter waking, take a few deep breaths and welcome your body, mind, and spirit into another day. Connect with your breath with gentle diaphragmatic breathing – which nostril is more open? You may also take a moment to self-reflect, express gratitude, or journal. 2. Cleanse and Clear Just as we sweep the entryway to our home, it’s important to cleanse our bodies and minds. The following rituals help clear gunk - or ama - in our system. These practices are best done just after sunrise, when Kapha’s grounding energy aids purification and self-care. Normal morning activities become cleansing rituals when we infuse them with intention. As you brush your teeth, wash your face, bathe, or drink a glass of warm water – consider how they purify and rejuvenate your energetic life force. Tongue Scraping Have you ever stuck your tongue out in the mirror and noticed a filmy white coating? This is a buildup of ama, or toxins. Daily tongue scraping helps remove bacteria, improves bad breath, and keeps our body from reabsorbing this harmful oral gunk. It also provides a gentle - yet stimulating - massage of the internal organs. How we breathe changes how energy - or prana - moves through our bodies. All dosha types can benefit from two basic pranayama, or breathwork practices: diaphragmatic breathing and alternate nostril breathing (Nadi shodhana). To make pranayama part of your Ayurvedic morning routine, start with regular diaphragmatic breathing. Once you’ve established a strong practice, add alternate nostril breathing to your morning ritual. (Sequence is key: Nadi shodhana should be performed after diaphragmatic breathwork.) Meditation Practice Morning meditation helps you awaken and carry a relaxed awareness throughout your day. Pranayama prepares the body to go deeper into the meditative state, so meditation is best done following breathwork (even a few minutes counts!) 4. Eat a Dosha-Balancing Breakfast In Ayurveda, food is medicine. What and how you eat doesn’t just nourish your body. It can shape your entire life. “When you eat, just eat. Sit down. Quiet yourself by observing your breath for a few inhalations and exhalations. Feel your feet on the ground. Be grateful for your food, and how it will support your health physically, mentally, and spiritually. "Chew your food well and eat with awareness of the experience, rather than gulping it down. The taste, texture, the action of chewing, of lifting the fork to your mouth. Eating is a meditation." For all dosha types, foods are best when cooked, eaten warm, spiced, and freshly made. Beyond this, we benefit from morning meals attuned to our doshic composition. Vata Breakfast – Dense and Moist • Stir fried root vegetables (ex: sweet potato; carrots; beet) with ghee-fried egg • Oatmeal in plant-based milk; with a pinch of cinnamon and/or cumin, and a touch of maple syrup and/or nut butter • Stewed fruits (ex: pears or apples) with cinnamon and nutmeg Pitta Breakfast – Cooling and Dry • Basmati rice or oatmeal with plant-based milk; topped with sunflower or pumpkin seeds. • Whole-grain toast with avocado or fresh fruit preserves • Chia pudding with plant-based milk and a dash of maple syrup (or other natural sweetener) Kapha Breakfast – Light and Dry • Bitter greens (ex: kale; arugula; chard) lightly sauteed in ghee • Warm cereals with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup • Fresh seasonal fruit – stewed, juiced, or blended into a smoothie 5. Get Moving! One of the best rituals you can add to your Ayurvedic morning routine is a brief nature walk after breakfast. Getting outside has numerous health benefits, including reduced stress and depression, improved breathing, and better sleep. A morning walk is perfect for all. Vata types can glide along an easy stroll. Pitta types can speed it up a touch. And Kapha types can shake energetic heaviness with a vigorous power walk. Exercise, even light movement, makes us healthier, stronger, and more energetic. If you can’t get outside, a brief sequence of Qi Gong or Tai Chi can get your blood pumping and clear your mind. Walking is "...the closest thing we have to a wonder drug," in the words of Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." "The breath is the connection between the mind and body, so by training the breath, we become calm, focused, and grounded, we slow down the aging process by decreasing stress. These practices are so simple and easy to have as part of our daily life. We actually feel and look younger." Ii What is the morning routine of a village: https://youtu.be/DKXsy4QlGPM Simple life and they have the ayurvedic system in their blood. Usually, the houses in Indian villages are made of bamboo, clay and mud. Most of these households have cows and hens to get fresh milk and eggs. They also have domestic animals. The best thing about these villages is that they are very environmentally-friendly. They collect forest produce and most of the villagers are farmers. Other jobs usually include blacksmiths, carpenters or potters. Their houses don’t have many rooms. In fact, they wouldn’t even have doors most of the time. Although some villages are getting electricity now, most of them are still devoid of it, so forget about internet connectivity or proper cell reception. They usually grow their own vegetables and have a common well to collect water. In states like Rajasthan, the women have to walk for miles to bring water because of its scarcity. Transportation facilities into the villages are limited unless it’s an important village. Therefore, you’d have to catch a bus auto-rickshaw from the closest town that you’ll have to share with at least 4 or more people. There is not much traffic near villages so its very calm and peaceful. Festival seasons are celebrated with lots of fervor here. Every one plays an equal part in decoration and arrangement during such occasions. A collective, family-like feeling is common among the villagers unlike in a city where every one prefers to mind their own business. They lead a very simple lifestyle and naturally, they feel content with it. Just like Indian states are diverse, the food is too. A village in Punjab will offer you different dishes than a village in Kerala would. As mentioned earlier, villages in India are the major agricultural hotspots of the country. Therefore, the cuisine of each state depends largely on the crops that are grown there. For example, rice is grown in abundance in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and so, it’s a staple meal there. In Punjab, wheat, sugarcane and mustard are plenty, therefore you can expect to have roti (flat bread made of wheat dough) and sabzi (vegetable dishes). Non-vegetarian meals are available everywhere. In South Indian states, fish and beef is common (beef is now banned in India though) while in North Indian states, chicken is served more. In Punjab, all the meals end with a large glass of lassi (a sweet or sour drink made of yoghurt). Roti made of other grains like makka (maize) is also common here. In the South India states, idli (small cake-like dumplings prepared by steaming fermented rice batter), dosa (a huge flat pancake kind of dish made of fermented rice batter) and sambar (lentil-based vegetable stew) are the major local dishes. Then there are also places like Ladakh, Gujarat and the North-Eastern states where you’ll get their own local cuisines, whatever that may be. Clothing Well, again, this differs. States like Kashmir, Bengal, North-Eastern states, etc have their own particular dressing style which usually differs from Central India and South India. To generalize, women in India wear saree and salwar-kameez which is considered to be traditional. Men in the North Indian villages like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab wear dhoti (a loose garment just like a salwar) and a loose kameez on top. They also generally wear a turban on their head. Villages in India have boundless beauty surrounding them. Usually, these villages are tucked away in deserts, hilly areas, near forests or near some rivers. This gives them a natural appeal. They are away from the pollution of city life. You will have a relaxing time in the villages, left to your own thoughts. The villagers in this country are extremely friendly. They will treat you like a member of their family and make sure that you face no inconveniences during your stay with them. If you’re here to not only visit places but also learn about the culture of the country, you should definitely think about staying in an Indian village. KR IRS 3 8 24 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2 Why do hotel guests put a towel under their door? KR Strange. I had seen towel under our feet when we get down from the bathtub. All doors are air tight; and windows are well screened. Sound proof is not possible. A dead foot will sleep over happily even on a mud floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Q3 Why do some Canadians prefer not to change planes in the USA when travelling to overseas destinations? KR Again a strange answer about the USA alone. In every nation, transit passengers (through tickets but halting planes in one or two destinations, changing only gates.) undergo custom checks only with the CARRY-ON BAGS and never checked baggage. If you book flights through different routes hopping planes by your own banking, where you clear your baggage checked in then you have to do that in every airport. And Vietnam, Korea and UAE countries have the worst baggage check in unlike the western ones. After the Muslim break in the USA, now a special interest is shown by the USA only by the TSA in the first check in. And as far as Qatar airlines is concerned, the USA clears in between thorough checks if landing in the USA. Canada Passengers undergo only once a routine one; and while crossing the Canada-USA bridge near Niagara there is a check. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q5 Do Brahmins and Nairs eat meat in Kerala? KR Silly question. Nambutris bascally and Brahmins basically are veg; but today definitely including women in the brahmin community eat Non veg and take to drinks also; why even smoke. Nambutris are not exceptional. And Nairs also. Why would I bother about personal habits if changed. Only real Brahmins not by birth do take veg food and no cig nor Liquors. ------------------------------------------------------------- K Rajaram IRS 3 8 24 On Sat, 3 Aug 2024 at 09:33, Gopala Krishnan <[email protected]> wrote: > CULTURAL QA 08-2024-03 > > Topic General -Base Quora QA- Compiled > > Q1 What is a typical breakfast for a poor Indian? > > A1 Srividhya, I make dosa almost everyday. Updated 5y > > Based on my development work for 9 years in the slums and villages of > south India. Poverty is an extreme state of powelessness and an inability > to have skills to come out of it. > > Based on what I have seen there will be an akka or anna selling idli, > chutney as a micro enterprise that people wil eat on an account that they > pay off when they get a wage. These akka and anna themselves are poor but > they willingly feed what they have for those around them. I have met > courageous and highly self respecting women who survive on 30–50 rupees a > day feeding the entire family. ( less than a $) > > Courtesy: Thanthi TV with a caption of selling idli for 1.4 cents. > > In my opinion poorest of poor in India, if they are lucky to have > breakfast, will probably have leftover rice and salt. This is the most > readily available food, as the public distribution system gives them rice > at a subsidized price. > > Poor in India survive with a lot of caring and sharing for each other. > > Q2 Why do hotel guests put a towel under their door? > > A2 Ted Clough, Former Airline Pilot (1984–2017)Feb 8 > > As a 34-year airline pilot, I have spent hundreds of nights in hotel rooms > of various qualities. I often put a rolled towel across the gap under the > door to muffle sounds and sometimes light. We often had to sleep during the > day while there was lots of activity in the hallways from guests and hotel > staff cleaning. I also travelled with large paper-clips that I used to > clamp curtains together to keep out light. Others used duct tape to tape > curtains together or at the edges to keep out light. Not unusual at all. > > Q3 Why do some Canadians prefer not to change planes in the USA > when travelling to overseas destinations? > > A3 Corey Cohen,Lives in Canada Updated Jul 10 > > It’s not just Canadians. Most people will generally prefer to avoid > connecting in the US if possible. The reason for this is because the US, > for some wild reason known only to them, doesn’t understand the concept of > international transit. > > In most places in the world, if you arrive from an international > destination and immediately get on a plane to leave for another > international destination, you remain in the secure area of the airport, do > not need to pass through immigration, collect your checked bags, go through > airport security or any of the other stuff normally involved in air travel. > You simply follow the signs for “international connections” and get on your > next flight, easy peasy. > > The US, however, always need to be special and does none of this. Every > single person, regardless of their onward destination, must pass through US > immigration and collect all of your checked luggage. Even if you are > immediately getting on another plane to go to another country, you still > have to go through the whole process and the re-check your bags and go > through airport security all over again. It’s a major pain and dramatically > increases the length of time needed to make a connection. > > It also adds more potential causes for you to miss your connecting flight. > If there is a major influx of travellers or something is wrong with the > computer systems and the line for US immigration is super long? You miss > your connection. A CBP agent is in a bad mood that day and decides to make > life hard for you? You miss your connection. Something goes wrong with > baggage handling and it takes a long time to collect your bags? You miss > your connection. It’s a bunch of extra complications you have to worry > about. > > Not to mention having to go through the process of US Immigration, where a > grumpy CBP agent will grill you about your reasons for entering the US, > your intended address in the US, what you plan on doing, if you are > bringing anything in, where you came from, where you are going etc. when > your answer is “I’m just switching planes to go to another country”. US > immigration is never a pleasant experience, but when you’re not even going > somewhere in the US, it’s all the worse. > > And that’s for Canadians. We don’t require visas or even ESTAs to enter > the US. Oftentimes, we even have our own, separate line in the US > immigration hall. We have it easy. If you are from a country that requires > a visa to enter the US, you need to get that visa, even if you are just > changing planes. US visas are a difficult and expensive process, adding > time, effort and expense simply for the privilege of changing planes in the > United States. You could even be denied the visa or denied entry when you > arrive in the US and there goes all your travel plans despite, again, you > not going to the US. > > Connecting in the US is a whole additional thing you have to worry about > that does not apply to most any other country. If you have an option to > connect somewhere else and avoid that entire hassle, I can’t blame you for > taking it, even if the flight is more expensive. > > I have NEXUS trusted traveller and TSA Precheck, which drastically reduces > the hassle of US immigration, airport security and all the other nonsense > of US connections. But even I will consider how much extra I am willing to > pay to not have to deal with it at all. If I didn’t have that privilege, I > would be far more likely to want to avoid it entirely. > > It’s not the end of the world to have to connect in the US, particularly > as a Canadian. I have done it and will do it if it saves me a substantial > amount of money. But I can’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to deal with > hassle. > > Q4 As a surgeon, what is the most shocking thing you ever saw > after opening somebody up? > > A4 Dr Enamul Hoque, Doctor at Government of West Bengal > (1993–present) Apr 16 > > I am an obstetrician and gynaecologist, MBBS,DGO, MS, posted under the > government of West Bengal, India. I performed one caesarean section and > delivered a healthy baby of a mother in the government settings. While > cleaning the abdomen, I could feel something unusual in the abdomen. I > asked the lady for anything abnormal activities in the past. She revealed > nothing. Observing and feeling something hard within the gut, I smelled > something bad which is beyond my academics and long period of service > experience. Which prompted me to curiosity and something serious issues and > deterred me from closing the abdomen from my conscience point of view. I > sent an urgent call book to my surgeon friend to come to Operation theatre > immediately and he came very soon and I explained everything to him on an > urgent basis. He became involved in the operation and we jointly decided to > explore the gut. We opened the bowel and to our utter surprise , it is > eight( 8) inches long wooden stick, which we recovered from her bowel. We > closed the abdomen and recovery of the lady was uneventful and surprisingly > satisfactory. > > On repeated questioning, she revealed that she had done one abortion by a > quack about 10 years back, who performed the abortion with a long stick. > I understood the matter immediately that the abortion stick had perforated > her uterus and after that it perforated her bowel and went fully inside the > bowel , to remain within it for such a long time without making any further > complications.We recovered the stick from her bowel. > > The matter was published in the newspaper in the next day , as the matter > in question , is really unbelievable. Since the lady didn't give me any > history, I could have closed the abdomen as such. She might have had many > problems later on. > > On the part of the patient , everything should be disclosed to the doctor > for the benefit of the patient, himself/ herself. It's my sixth sense > which saved her from future further complications. Not otherwise, it > should have been informed to me by the patient which she didn't do. Moral > of the story, expect the unexpected and to be prepared for the action as > and when necessary as per the demand and gravity of the situation. In > every sphere of life, we have to act even with the sixth sense. > > Profile photo for Pradeep Prabhakaran > > Q5 Do Brahmins and Nairs eat meat in Kerala? > > A6 Pradeep Prabhakaran, Former Associate Professor at Kerala > Agricultural University (1987–2019)8mo > > Namboothiri, the Brahmin Priests, in Kerala are pure vegetarians. They > mostly eat food in their homes or temples. They do not travel much and go > to work in foreign countries. > > But they bring up their children in modern ways, giving them better > education. They do not want their children to become temple Priests. What > these people eat is simple food ( satwik food) just rice and a curry > Sambar. They may eat dosa in the morning or at tea time. > > The Namboothiri who are not serving in temple may eat mostly vegetarian > food. Many of them are high professionals, serve as doctors or engineers or > government servants. They may have vegetarian food at home but may eat > meat or fish outside if unavoidable. > > Nair is a very progressive people. They are well settled everywhere. They > eat all types of food like meat egg and fish. Never the less many might > be vegetarians. > > Now egg or egg white is considered as vegetarian food. Many eat such food. > Consider themselves as vegetarians. > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iyer123" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/CAEE2L%2B3p-N0PMyu%2BqiTQHjmuvVtO%2BVJSDURrTQNs8w2H6uNGKg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/CAEE2L%2B3p-N0PMyu%2BqiTQHjmuvVtO%2BVJSDURrTQNs8w2H6uNGKg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZor4Ub1gVuyxKpRjyXo8tKOPa_oAkKj57hYKQGU%2BCBxbPQ%40mail.gmail.com.
