Moon is used in world literature as an allusion,allegory simile to express various emotions.
Moon Shining Courtyard of Moon.
The practice of using the concept Moon as a part of Life goes to the Tamils.
There is no Poet who has not sung about Moon right from the Classical Age of the Sangam till the present day.
It is also the part of Indian life to show Moon and feed the child.
Usually a song is sung inviting The Moon to play with the child.
This has been such an expected custom that a special grammar has been created to accommodate this activity.
In PillaiThamizh, The Tamil of The child, various stages of the child’s growth has been explained and suitable songs were sung.
Those who know Tamil, enjoy this song, Thiuvoimozhi of Periyazhvar sung in praise of Lord Krishna asking Him to sleep while making Him sleep in a Cradle.
The celebration of the Moon is not restricted children.
Moon is used to express Love,Pangs of separation and even pathos.
I am proving some songs towards the close of the Post.
It is the practice, as the child grows up, to have the family sit around in the Pial( a reclining slab at the entrance of the House) have the food made into a Ball , place in the Palm of the family members.
This is/was widely practiced.
I used it to do this for my children till they were in the Ninth or tenth standard.
The taste and the camaraderie one feels as a Unit is incomparable.
Children eat more than what they usually consume.
Tamils have taken this a step further,
In ancient days, Homes had a special area built, normally in the first floor and the Kings used to build a Floor for this purpose , enjoy the Moon and take food.
This place is called the Courtyard of Moon.’Nila Mutram’.
There is also the practice of eating under the Moon with the family on the Full Moon Day of the Chaitra,Chiththitrai Month , The Full Moon Day of April.
Special festival is celebrated on this day and this is special in Madurai, Chitra Pournami
Such simple pleasures do not cost you nor do they harm children.
Hinduism is unique in that it treats Gods as one among them.
Chidambaram Gotsu
Gods are bathed,dressed up,fed, married, sent to bedroom with consort .
The offerings to God at the end of a Pooja or Payer is mandatory.
Standard daily offering is Betel-leaves, Betel-nuts and Plantains.
Coconut is also included during special functions.
The belief is that what plan to eat must be offered to God as a mark of thanks giving to Him for having provided us with food.
Another reason is that it is the belief of the Hindus that Food articles, whether cooked or uncooked are impure,might contain negative thought waves by those who produced them because of their personal problems or they not having been compensated adequately.
Edible products may also contain some inherent properties which may be injurious to our Physical and mental health.
By offering these to God before we eat, God relieves of these impurities and makes the food fit to eat.
For details please read my post Naivedyam, How to Offer, filed under Hinduism.
Some special food items are offered to Deities in the Temples.
Some items offered are odd.
They are in tune with the local legend of the Deity.
Aravanai Payasam Sabarimalai
In Uppiliaapn Koil, near Mayuram,Tamil Nadu, Lord Venkateswara is offered Food without Salt.
Legend has it that Father of.Tamil Saint Andal,of Srivilliputtur,wife of Lord Vishnu in his form a manga Mannar, informed and prayed Lord Vishnu that his daughter whom he has married was brought up by him .
He being s Sanyasi used to take less of Salt or no salt at all.
Their fore His daughter may not know how to cook or cook with less or no Salt at all. He prayed God that He bear with her.
Lord Vishnu replied that hence forth He would accept food ony with out Salt at Uppiliappan Koil.
This is being practiced even to-day. Cooked Rice with Kumkum and turmeric powder is offered for Mariamman in general and it is also offered in Samayapuram.
In Madurai and Srivilliputtur a specially cooked Milk, which tastes Divine, called/Arvanai Pal, is offered.
In Sri Rangam and Srivillputhur,a Special Huge Dosa, cooked with out oil and containing dried Ginger is offered.
One can not eat even a half of thi and this Dosa does not go stale even after a week.
Every one knows the Tirupati Laddu. In Sabarimala, Lord Ayyappa is offered Aravanai Payasam, an exquisite sweet delicacy.
In Ujjain Lord Kala Bhairva is offered country liquor!
Special Maha Prasad id offered at Puri, to Lord Jagannath.(Orissa, India) In Andhra Paramaannam is offerd to Gods.
This contains Cooked Rice Jaggery, coconut gratings, a slight variation of Sarkarai Pongal of Tamils ,
Other standard offerings are Ven Pongal, Thayir Sadam.
In Chidambaram Nataraja temple, a special dish, Brinjal Gotsu is offered to the Lord along with Samba Saadam.
I shall post the Recipes for for offering to God and course for us to eat and enjoy.
While Ground nut Oil is used for frying Vegetables, Sesame oil is used for seasoning.
But Sesame Oil is used for every cooking activity among Brahmin house holds, Ground nut oil is used by the other communities.
Sesame oil is also used taking Oil bath by all the communities in the South.
In Kerala people use more of Coconut Oil,West Bengal,Orissa,Assam and the North East use more of Rapeseed Oil.
Sesame Oil is used for Medicinal purposes as well for almost all illnesses starting from mouth Ulcers.
Of late Olive Oil has come into India, priced high , promoted very heavily , is becoming popular
I hold the view that the art of cooking has evolved over centuries by our ancestors by trial and error taking into consideration the availability,Environment and taste.
I have tried all the Oils in all the places where I have lived and travelled.
I have found that what is used and found good for me in one place is not conducive to my health in the other place.
For example when I used Rapeseed oil in Calcutta It was agreeable to me.
But when I used it in Chennai/Bangalore it did not agree with me.
The same is the case with Wheat products.
I can use Chapati, Nan etc when I am in North India and if I use it in South India it does not agree with me as much as Rice.
Now one finds the widespread use North Indian dishes in the South and the availability of the South is becoming optional.
The entry of the South Indian foods in the North is not as much as the North Indian Foods food in the South.
But the landscape there is also changing.
Compounded to this is the use of Olive Oil, which is essentially meant for Mediterranean Climate in a tropical Country like India.
I am not sure how the interchange or change of food culture is good for Health.
I am of the view that food developed for a region is best for health.
People when they do a Master Health Check up, are often stumped when trying to understand the results.
Though the Doctor is the competent person to interpret the Data, it is in our interest to understand what the Health Check Results say.
The reason is many Doctors often willingly misinterpret or distort facts , taking advantage of our ignorance and put you on medication, for which they are being compensated by the the Pharmaceutical Companies(Please read my post on Hoe Doctors have been paid by these companies, filed under ‘Health/Consumer information)
This understanding of the Data gives you a chance to discuss your health issues with the Doctor, and as I have seen’ the Doctors are wary of people who seem to know, not necessarily know,some thing about the subject.
Now to Health Check up Preparation.
1,Fix an appointment for the Health Check Up, preferably in the morning, say around 8 pm.
2.Take your last food (the day before the test) around 8 pm(12 hours should be allowed to test Fasting Sugar after taking Food)
3.Do not take anything after the last food, save water.
4.Have a sterilized bottle/container from the Hospital one day earlier to collect your Stools.
5.In the morning, collect your first Stool.
6.At the Hospital, test the Blood first. Pre- prandial for sugar
7.Take a lot of water, not less than one liter.
8.Ensure that your bladder is full and have the ECG and Ultra sound scan done.
9.Have your eyes checked.
10.Take normal breakfast and not the time.
11 Between one and a half hour and two hours from the time of taking breakfast have your Sugar level tested,post -prandial.
If your doctor ran a test called Total T4 or Total Thyroxine, normal range is approximately 4.5 to 12.5. If you had a low reading, and a high TSH, your doctor might consider that indicative of hypothyroidism.
If your doctor ran a test called Total T4 or Total Thyroxine, normal range is approximately 4.5 to 12.5. If you had a low reading, and a low TSH, your doctor might look into a pituitary problem.
If your doctor ran a test called Free T4, or Free Thyroxine, normal range is approximately 0.7 to 2.0. If your result was less than 0.7, your doctor might consider that indicative of hypothyroidism.
If your doctor ran a test called Total T3, normal range is approximately 80 to 220. If your result was less than 80, your doctor might consider that indicative of hypothyroidism.
If your doctor ran a test called Free T3, normal range is approximately 2.3 to 4.2. If your result was less than 2.3, your doctor might consider that indicative of hypothyroidism.
If your test results are ‘normal’ but you have many symptoms or risk factors for thyroid disease, ask for an antibodies test. Some doctors treatg thyroid symptoms in the presence of elevated antibodies and normal TSH levels.
Alkaline Phosphate. 120(IU/L.
Cholesterol- Bio Chemistry.
Parameters.
Total Cholesterol. 140-200mg/dl.
Triglycerides . 35-165 mg/dl.
High Density Lipoprotein. HDL. 30-63mg/dl.
Low Density Lipoprotein LDL. 15-30mg/dl.
Total Cholesterol. ‘According to the American Heart Association (AHA), you should keep your cholesterol ratio at or below 5:1. The ideal cholesterol ratio is about 3.5:1.”
Stools Test check out the Link web MD .
Ultra Sound, Heart,Lung X ray results have to be analysed by the Doctor.
Liver Function Test.
ALT. 7 to 55 units per liter (U/L)
AST. 8 to 48 U/L
ALP. 45 to 115 U/L
Albumin. 3.5 to 5.0 grams per deciliter (g/dL)
Total protein. 6.3 to 7.9 g/dL
Bilirubin. 0.1 to 1.0 mg/dL
GGT. 9 to 48 U/L
LD. 122 to 222 U/L
PT. 9.5 to 13.8 second.
Urine Analysis.
Urine Test Analysis. Click on the individual urinalysis parameters (except for volume) in the image for information on the performance and meaning of the test..
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