She is a 100% Mom! Are you?

"Aditya, don't be stubborn!", Screamed his mom, Radhika at the side of the road where he wanted to fancy the colorful kulfi flavors. Radhika was furious because she didn't want to lose her control and make a scene in public. Otherwise meek and well-behaved Aditya was acting weird these days and he was developing a temptation to all roadside snacks especially the cold stuff like ice-creams, kulfi, barf ka gola, neebu paani etc. But was she very worried? Read on to know more!

Radhika was a high-profile business manager in an international firm. Her job asked her more than a 9 to 5 job would but she was disciplined and controlled lady. Though her career was important, her family was important too especially her 8 year-old son Aditya whom she fondly called 'Aadi'. She knew that kids are like wet mud, however you mould them, they will take the form. Kids are what their parents make them, she was a staunch believer of this statement-cum-fact. 

Radhika's grand father was a state Ayurveda expert and all his life he has devoted to the practice of Ayurveda. Her father had carried his lineage and though, he wasn't a Ayurveda doctor but he made sure to learn his maximum from his father. Radhika remembers, whenever she had bad cough, her father would make her gargle with tumeric-salted warm water. Voila, the cough was gone in a less than 3 days. If she had pain in her legs, her father would let her mother massage her toddler-feet with mustard oil instead of giving her a kids painkiller. To cut the short story short, hers was a Ayurveda family. 

Radhika grew up to learn these little home remedies. But her father made a little change. He also gave her one teaspoon of Dabur Chayawanprash every morning and one every night. He believed and knew from his father, that kids had less power in their bodies to fight against the infections, the bacteria/viruses etc. and tend to fall ill sooner than adults. Immune system of adults is far better than those of kids. Her father made sure she never left home for her school without that morning ritual. Yes, Radhika recalls, "for my father, giving me that Chayawanprash was a morning ritual just like lighting that diya in the home mandir every morning and praying to the God. I could never leave without it, he said it is my bodyguard. Same with every night, with every goodnight hug, I got a spoon of Dabur Chayawnprash." 

Radhika learnt this from her father and now Aadi gets this spoonful of magic immunity every morning and before going to bed. To his pleasure, Dabur Chayawanprash has come up with interesting flavors- Orange and Mango, both being his favorite fruits. Aadi refers to it as his healthy jam. Reason! Reason was Radhika. She has made her little son understand that in ancient times where there were no stheshsope wearing doctors or dressed-in-white nurses, there were "Vaids" who served the king and the public. They used herbs like amla, laung, bamboo, sandalwood, sesame, honey, etc. to make medicines. Today, we can't do this all at home therefore we eat Dabur Chayanwanprash. It's a magic jam made of around 25-80 of these immunity enhancing herbs that will make him stronger to fight against any attacker that would make his body get cold/fever etc. Radhika believed and has also experienced if kids are given the right logic, they could relate to it better and would never say no to listening to you. Aadi got the message from this story about Vaids and the Ayurveda herbs, and he wanted to eat Chayawnprash every day, in a spoon or mix it with milk. He often wanted to eat it as a bread-spread and enjoy it. This made Radhika feel so relaxed. She was being a 100% mom by taking care of her son's physical and intellectual immunity. Dabur Chayawanprash not only helps in keeping flu/fever away or fighting against these common ailmetms, but it is also helpful for digestion, memory, physical strength, urinary problems. It gives children a strong base to start their life with.  (It can be taken by any age-group because it is never late to start taking it.)

Sometimes, Radhika wonders if India would be a person and she can be fed a big spoon of Chayawanprash to get rid of problems like corruption, poverty, illiteracy, power-plays, child-abuse, child labor, violence. But at the same time, she believes that if she is helping her kid grow physically and intellectually, he would turn out into a good citizen who would not give in to these bad facets, she would be helping her country. She believes that as one's body is one's temple, same way the citizens of a country are its soul. If the soul is peaceful and 'sanskaari', the country would be on its way to progress and peace. Here is a piece portraying her thoughts and belief that what we sow, so shall we reap- 

प्रोत्साहन की मिट्टी 

बन सव्रेगा सुन्दर नेक पेड़ ...

...लदेगा जो मीठेपन से,

भँवरें गाए जिसका गुंजन 

तितली इठलाये जिसके रस पर।

बीज 'गर जो पाये 

स्याह कर्मों की परछाई 

तिरस्कार का मरुस्थल 

काटों की चुभन ...

...जन्मेगी शक्ति कलेषित 

डसेगा दुर्योधन फ़न उठाए 

जाने कितनी द्रौपदी पुकारेंगी 

कहा से कितने आयेंगे मोहन 

शीश झुकाए बैठ सिसकेंगे 

हजारों पाण्डव।

हाथ में हमारे आज 

लिखें लकीरें सतोप्रधान शक्ति की,

शक्ति जो माने, जो जाने 

नारी के प्रति आदर,

नन्हों के प्रति स्नेह,

बड़ों के प्रति सम्मान,

ऐसी युवा शक्ति का 

आओ मिल-करे निर्माण,

लाये पुनः सतयुग 

निश्चल आत्मिक दैविक युग 

शक्ति जो सात्विक 

जीवन जो अलौकिक।

आओ मिल-हो स्वतंत्र 

विकारों, इच्छाओं, माया से 

पाए आत्मिक शक्ति,

आओ ऐसी युवा-शक्ति का 

संजोये ख्वाब

मिल बुनें हाथों से स्वर्णिम कर्म

रोशन करे सूरज-सौन्दर्य,

आओ फिर मिल-करे ऐसी 

'युवा-शक्ति' को नमन!

This was the story of Radhika. Don't you think so we want lots of 100% Dabur moms in the country? Moms like her believe in raising immunity of their kids right from the right age and believe that they are contributing in making a better citizen of India.

This post about a 100% Mom is written for IndiBlogger for their "An Immune India" contest, organized by awesome Dabur Chayawanprash. Thanks to Dabur to come up with this immunity-builder herb mix. As a kid, I always had this magic herb-jam every morning and every night. Thanks to my mom too :-)

PS: All images, courtesy Google Images

Hindi Poem: One of my poems published in Online magazine- Garbhanal (http://guptashaifali.blogspot.com/2013/10/blog-post.html)