Celebrations in Blossoms II, Sector 51
Karva Chauth, the fast-cum-festival, is celebrated every October. Much before this auspicious day, the shops are seen loaded with bangles and decorative materials, and mehndi specialists are much sought after. The fast is undertaken by married women, in honour and for the welfare of their husbands. The women take a bath, some bites and water, before sunrise, and offer puja for the day. They then begin their fast. In the afternoon, the women of each locality get together for community puja, dressed in their best and sporting their mehndi decorations (applied the previous evening). The women then anxiously await the sighting of the moon – which invariably is ‘late’. The fast is broken when the moon is sighted. υ
‘Mental illness is treatable’, was the slogan on National Mental Health Day. It is estimated that almost 2 out of 10 Indians suffer from some kind of mental illness. The causes are multiple. A specific mental illness, Schizophrenia, affects 1% of general population. In Delhi alone there are approximately 1.5 lakh people suffering from this illness. This psycho-social problem usually strikes young people in the age group of 15-35 years. Presently, the treatment and rehabilitation facilities available for persons affected by this disease are limited in our country. The Richmond Fellowship Society of India had organised an interactive lecture/film session at the India Habitat Centre. VISHWAS, a Fellowship that is helping in the rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental heath, are managing centres in Delhi, NOIDA, Gurgaon and Dharuhera. During the interactive session, the factors responsible for mental disorders were discussed. These include: lack of communication, family set-up and culture, keeping a person in isolation, tension/stress/depression developed at study or professional levels, over (academic) intelligence, marital or love affair dysfunction, shocks or trauma relating to family or parental disturbances. The modern lifestyle – of a nuclear family, both parents working (that too 12 hours), single people preferring to live alone, poor interaction with friends/relatives/neighbours – has also contributed to this (mental) illness. υ
O.P. Ratra
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