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MUSIC VIDEOS TO EASE YOUR PRESSURE

Listening to music is soothing and has often been associated with
controlling pain or anxiety and acutely reducing blood pressure.

So, just click and listen!

■ HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA

• Bansuri flute
• Raga Bhopali with Pdt Shiv Kumar
• Raga jog with Ustad Sabir Khan on tabla
• Live with Subhash Dhunoohchand

■ PRASAD BHANDARKAR : BAMBOO FLUTE SITE

• Raga Shivranjani on Bansuri

■ PANDIT BHIMSEN JOSHI

• Raag Darbari Kanada - Drut teental
• Yaman Kalyan with Dr Balamurali Krishna
  

■ RAVI SHANKAR, SITAR

• On the Dick Cavett Show
• Raga Rangeela Piloo
• Rag Charukeshi with Alla Rakha

■ ANOUSHKA SHANKAR

• Concert for George

■  ASHWIN BATISH : SITAR MANIA

■ JIT SAMAROO :  PAN IN A MINOR

■ RAVI AND ANOUSHKA SHANKAR : RAGA RANJEELA PILOO

■ ZUBIN METHA TRIBUTE

■ DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN, HAITIAN AMERICAN COMPOSER

■ J.S. BACH

• Toccata and Fugue in D minor
• On steel-pan

■ BEETHOVEN

• Symphony No. 9 : Part 1
• Part 2
• Symphony No. 5 - Part 1
• Part 2
• Piano concerto no 4, 3rd movement
• Moonlight Sonata
• Moonlight Sonata on Pan !
• Fur Elise

■ MOZART

• Piano Concerto No. 21 K.467 - 2nd Mvt
• Allegro of Symphony 41 in C Major
• Piano Sonata C Major K.330 3rd Movement
• Symphony No.40 1st Movement

■ RAVEL

• Bolero

■ MASTER CONDUCTOR JEFFREY TATE (INF0)

■ WRITES OUR GOOD FRIEND DEOSARAN FROM TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

    When I arrived in New Jersey, I took a liking to the Classical music played in our offices. It has been established that soothing melodious music helps in concentration, health, productivity, and lifestyle.

    In fact, the mantra for Classical music promoters was "Classical music makes you smarter". That's stretching it, but I can tell you from personal experience that life is much more enjoyable, soothing, calmer, serene, and you can be extremely productive, and you work much harder, and for longer hours, with classical music in the background. I have it on all the time, 24/7.

    The downside - if you can call it that- is that you have almost zero tolerance for loud, jarring music.

    Fortunately, you don't need to buy music - it's FREE !

    YouTube has thousands of classical pieces - of the East like Shankar, Sharma, Joshi, Chaurasia et al, and West like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach et al. 

    Enjoy. Share.

    In Trinidad, there was a time when many steel orchestras (or Steelbands, although Orchestra seems more apt) played classical music - I remember Catelli All Stars etc.

    From what I observe today, pan music, and what's left of calypso, survive only because the State, and some business entities,  pay the artistes to perform; it is State-subsidised in the Land of Steelband and Calypso.

    But, we will not leave out steel pan - included in the playlist are pieces on pan, too.

   Deosaran Bisnath

 
■ RESEARCH HAS IT...

    Houston (PTI) : According to researchers at the American Society of Hypertension's 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2008), patients with mild hypertension who listened to just half an hour of classical, Celtic or Indian raga music a day for four weeks experienced significant reductions in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP).

    "Listening to music is soothing and has often been associated with controlling patient-reported pain or anxiety and acutely reducing blood pressure," said study investigator, Prof Pietro A Modesti, Professor of Internal Medicine in the University of Florence in Italy...

    But for the first time, today's results clearly illustrate the impact daily music listening has on ABP. We are excited about the positive implications for both patients and physicians, who can now confidently explore music listening as a safe, effective, non-pharmacological treatment option, or a complement to therapy."

    At first, the patients wore a device that tracked their blood pressure for 24 hours.
   
    Next, they were given a CD of classical, Celtic, or Indian music.

    Top Photo : J.S. Sahai ©2008.

 

VEGAN TALK

VEGAN TALK

MATT BALL WRITES

Growing up, I was a big fan of Carl Sagan, and I dreamed of exploring the universe, expanding the frontier of human knowledge and vision. I started my college to become a rocket scientist, with the plan of working for NASA.

But fate intervened on the first day of college when I met my roommate, a big, strong guy, who was not shy about explaining his vegetarianism or what hidden realities my eating meat supported.

After a false start, I went vegetarian -- I simply found the cruelties of meat production too severe to continue to rationalize away.

Shortly thereafter, I met Jack Norris and started learning more about animal exploitation in this world.

I decided I needed to do more than be a vegetarian. With ten other activists, Jack and I held a three-day Fast for Farm Animals in front of a Cincinnati slaughterhouse (three days being the amount of time farmed animals often go without food before slaughter).

After the fast, Jack and I formed a group which eventually became Vegan Outreach, dedicated to preventing the most suffering possible.

You can order a free copy of our Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating HERE

Matt Ball is co-founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Vegan Outreach.

vegan (VEE-guhn) noun

   One who does not consume animal products.

adjective

   Made with no animal ingredients.

[Coined in 1944 by Donald Watson (1910-2005) to describe a "non-dairy vegetarian"; formed from the first three and last two letters of the word vegetarian.]

Enjoy being fit, healthy? Like guilt free eating? Make animals friends and not your food. CHECK OUT HERE

SOURCE
http://wordsmith.org/
Courtesy Anu Garg.

ENERGY IS ONE - SAROJINI SAHOO

"The world would be a lot poorer without sexual energy in art, music, literature, drama, architecture, design, poetry, cooking and even in religion and spiritualism."
- Sarojini Sahoo, The bicycle and me, Orissa, India.

Article ici
More here 

Info source : Indes Réunionnaises Site by Philippe Pratx.

Photo ©JS.S.

OVERCOMING THAT A... AN... ANG... ANGER

Yoga and Anger Management by  Arun Goel

Almost all of us experience anger at some point or the other.

Rather than get into a monologue of why anger occurs, I will try to touch upon why we should overcome it and how it can be done.

GUADELOUPE COLOMBO vs. TRINIDAD CURRY

TRINIDAD'S  CURRY STYLE

If Guadeloupe's Colombo is a brand of curry mixture, then you will be
pleased  to learn that the Trinidadians have done the same many years
ago.

In the nineteenth century we did not attempt to recreate any of the Indian styles of curry, for the simple reason that it was not possible. The Indians can use more than a dozen ingredients to grind their masala, we in the Caribbean were cut off from the full spice supply. So we improvised and developed a style of curry based on just a few ingredients centred around turmeric, and voila! Trinidad curry.

PROTECT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SOUTH

WE SUPPORT
Gene Campaign!

Dr. Suman SAHAI, who has had a distinguished scientific career in the field of genetics, was honored with the 2004 Borlaug Award for her outstanding contribution to agriculture and the environment. Dr. Sahai received her Ph.D. degree in genetics from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi. From 1981 to 1989, she served as a faculty member at the University of Alberta in Canada, University of Chicago in the U.S., and the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Dr. Sahai returned to India in 1989 and organized Gene Campaign, a non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting farmers’ rights and food and livelihood security.  

Gene Campaign which has played a key role in formulating Farmers’ Rights and fostering genetic and trade literacy among farmers and the general public, has been at the forefront of generating awareness on issues relating to trade, intellectual property rights, and genetic resources conservation and sustainable use.

WE SUPPORT
Gene Campaign!

Gene Campaign is dedicated to protecting the genetic resources of the South, and the rights of farming and tribal communities. Gene Campaign works to strengthen self-reliance in agriculture and the basis for  sustainable food security. 
Gene Campaign charter is to work for establishing the rights of local communities over biological resources and to develop an alternative paradigm of development, by seeking to influence legislation, policies, and programmes to empower local communities. Gene Campaign is working for the recognition of the Indigenous Knowledge as an important technology and its potential for increase incomes    for rural and adivasi communities. An important goal of Gene Campaign is to develop a system to grant legal rights to communities over the Indigenous Knowledge that they have created and  continue to create. 

As part of its endeavour to protecting Indigenous Knowledge, Gene Campaign has lobbied hard and has succeed in keeping medicines and products derived from Indigenous Knowledge, out of purview of patents so that they are exempted from the Patent law.

Gene Campaign! contact

BANANA - THE ALMOST PERFECT FRUIT

DIVERSIFICATION OF BANANA INDUSTRY

Guadeloupean Researcher Nathalie Minatchy creates Banana Juice.
See her site.

See Nathalie's site.

Almost perfect fruit!
Tuesday | March 28, 2006.

Dr. Audia BARNETT speaks up.

"I THINK banana is almost a perfect fruit. It is quite nutritious in terms of the profile of nutrients in banana and so at Scientific Research Council (SRC) we are fortunate to have played a role and still continue to play a role both at the primary level and at the value added level...

"The market for neutraceuticals is a booming one, worldwide. Just the fruit (of the) banana is considered a nutraceutical.

Nutraceutical just means that you can eat that fruit whole and, in addition to getting the regular nutritional value in terms of your bodily functions, you get some added health value...

We have looked at banana flour, which may seem to not really have a place, but this flour can be used in baked products.

There are several persons or a percentage of the population which is allergic to gluten, for example, so they cannot have wheat flour; banana flour can be used as a replacement. It can also be used in other value added components from the flour.

We also have done banana figs, not just the regular figs but exotic figs coated with toffees, you name it. We have done sauces, like barbecue sauce using banana as the base.

We have done a clarified banana juice which I think has exciting prospects because a lot of persons don't like the heaviness that banana has when they are using it as a component in their punches.

So we have the clarified banana juice which there is a special procedure for that and you know the usual chips and jams..."

Read full article on The Jamaica Gleaner

A banana a day keeps the doctor away!

After  reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way  again!

Bananas contain three natural sugars -  sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber.
A banana  gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy  for a strenuous 90-minute workout.   

No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. 
But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.  It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and  conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst  people suffering from depression, many felt much better after  eating a banana. 
This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a  type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS
Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which  can affect your mood.

Anemia
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure
This unique tropical  fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it  the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US FDA has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams  this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a  bid to boost their brain power.  Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to  make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood  sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating abanana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites
Before  reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected  area with the inside of a banana skin.  Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the  nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads  to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips.
Looking at  5,000 hospital patients,  researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs.
The  report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood  sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers
The banana is used as the  dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft  texture and smoothness.  It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases.  It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of  the stomach.

Temperature control
Many other cultures see  bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical  and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand,  for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is  born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the  natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking
Bananas can also  help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance.  When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels.  These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes
According to research in "The New  England Journal of Medicine," eating bananas as part of a  regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.  It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. 

So maybe its time to change that well-known  phrase so that we say,

A banana a day keeps the doctor away!

South India Nature Temple, jan. 2006. ©J.S. 06.

OUR OWN BIOLOGICAL CLOCK

Human Biological Clock Set Back an Hour
By William J. Cromie
Harvard Gazette Staff 

                      

Charles  A. Czeisler and his colleagues have made the most accurate measurements to date of human daily rhythms.

The internal clock that drives the daily activities of all living things, from wild flowers to whales, is wound by Earth’s rotation. The 24-hour cycle, tied to one turn of the planet on its axis, embodies a biological clock mimicked by timepieces invented to measure the human day.

See this article.

LE SANTAL DE NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE

Sandalwood in New Caledonia

Sandalwood was discovered in 1840 on the Ile des Pins by Edouard Foxhall du Camden.
News of this discovery created a rush to New Caledonia.

Overexploitation led to shortage as early as 1865. By the end of the 19th century, Europe reactivated this commerce, characterized by an anarchic production due to strong speculative movements.

It was only in 1987/1988 that government and customary authorities decided to end this economical/ecological waste and collaborated to launch an inventory of the plant potentialities, regulate the felling areas and organize a systematic restocking.

Local populations were involved in those policies; this was crucial for their success.

Here is fine comprehensive article on the internet.

Traditional Attars

The traditional attars of India are rarely found in their pure form today.   They are often adulterated with synthetic chemicals or the base oil, sandalwood,   is stretched with liquid paraffin and other substances. In the traditional process   various flowers, roots, herbs, spices, etc are hydrodistilled in copper vessels   into a receiving vessel containing sandalwood oil.

It means that a certain proportion   of flowers or other aromatic plants is put into a copper vessel containing water,   sealed and the aromatic vapors produced from a wood or cow dung fire, rises   through bamboo pipes and passes into another copper vessel containing sandalwood   oil, sitting below the larger distilling one. There the vapors condense and   after the days distillation the water and oil separate, allowing most of the   aromatic molecules to become adsorbed into the sandalwood oil. The water is   decanted off and added back to the distilling vessel for the next days distillation.  

The process, in the case of single flowers like rose, jasmin, kewda, night queen,   kadam, heena, etc is repeated for a minimum of 15 days until the sandalwood   becomes totally saturated with the perfume of that particular flower.

The process   for making Hina, Shamama, Amber, and Saffron Attar is much more sophisticated   and requires numerous other steps as as many as 60 natural ingredients go into   thier production which takes place over a couple of months.

Please do note that many many oils in India are in the common market called  Attar but they are not at all what their names claim to be. Authentic oils requires   a huge amount of labor and fresh materials which makes them costly items to   produce.

Essential Oils Friendly link :

White Lotus Aromatics
http://www.whitelotusaromatics.com

THE MANGO : COMMENT LA MANGER

Comment la mangue se mange : (click) how to eat your mango.

Mango history

             

The fruit Mango, of the tree Mangifera indica,
is one of the most widely cultivated fruits of the tropical world.

This juicy, delicious fruit is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D.

In India there are hundreds of varieties of mangoes,
in different sizes, shapes and colours etc.



Mangoes, have been cultivated in India
since time immemorial.

The famous Indian poet Kalidasa sang its praises.



King Alexander relished its taste,
as did the Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang.       

Akbar, the Moghal emperor
planted over 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga,
known as Lakhi Bagh(India).

mangez des mangues !