Change not always for the better

Reminiscing about Eids past and present, a group of friends who sometimes sit and recall the ‘good old days,’ regretted that some things had not changed for the better and one of them was the selecting; buying and posting of Eid greeting cards! Yes, it used to be part of the excitement and a very important one at that. The right card for the right person - one with written sentiments for family and friends to convey our love and affection and plain ones for acquaintances and officials as a public relations exercise!  

Customs and habits change but not always for the better. Though it might not be important in some people’s mind, these days Eid cards – or any others, for that matter – are not on the shopping list of families except in rare cases - it is only companies; organisations; government officials and foreign missions which give public relations importance and have their office send out cards to clients and well wishers. This is a sad state of affairs. Of course email cards are sent out by the dozen as they are available by the hundreds and that too for free - but it is not the same. There is something special about receiving an actual card and even about sending it. It’s hard to describe but it does leave you in a ‘feel good’ mood, either way!

When actual greeting cards were in their heyday, it took some time to look through them and find one with the right sentiments you wanted to convey. There were hundreds to choose from. Looking for a decent one which said ‘Eid Mubarik’ in Urdu – or for that matter even in English – was like looking for a needle in a haystack! There were cards with ‘Happy Eid;’ ‘Happy Eid Day,’ ‘Eid Greetings;’ ‘Joyous Eid;’ and every other Eid but no ‘Eid Mubarik.’ A majority of the cards were decorated with flowers like you never see in real life; cheap pictures of film stars; copies of cards used for Christmas and cards with animals; there were even cards with Batman, Superman and Spiderman and that ridiculous model for all little girls, Barbie! Big, garish cards, glowing with all the colours of the rainbow, glittering with foil and carrying utterly inane or irrelevant messages, were the ones that were the most popular. These were sold on roadside stalls that were set up by young men wanting to earn some extra cash for Eid and there was always a lot of people looking and buying. It was fun looking for the right card!

Anyway, it’s no use ‘crying over split milk’ as they say. What’s gone is gone and such customs will probably never be revived, thanks to technology. But you can still find a card section in most book stores, so if you are feeling sentimental and want to send an actual card, then you have the choi

Benefits of camel milk

These days - apart from all the beggars and other persons looking for handouts because of Ramazan – there is a new lot of persons, mostly females, who ring the bell or knock on the gate incessantly when there is no electricity – the camel milk sellers. With a couple of female camels and their calves in tow, these women raucously insist you buy their milk. At Rs80 a kilo, many housewives do succumb and purchase some for their needs while others baulk at the idea and refuse point blank with a look of disgust! My maid insisted it be bought because she said it is very good for the eyesight, so she got some to take home!

Curiosity and the need to know had me searching the web. Research and shared experiences from an increasing number of persons around the world demonstrate that camel milk facilitates healing in our bodies. According to information available on the many sites devoted to camel milk and its properties, it has been proved that it heals food allergies and gut problems – the antibodies and immune properties of camel milk contributing to its viral and bacterial fighting abilities; it contains insulin and is effective in diabetes, including the gestational variety. Since children with autism routinely have immune system challenges: inability to fight bacterial, viral and other infections and states of chronic inflammation, allergy, and autoimmunity, camel milk has promising health and healing benefits.

A large part of camel milk’s healing power stems from the unique and hardy immune system of camels. Camel milk is highly nutritious and contains only 2% fat, the molecules of which are joined to protein, so there is no stress on the liver to process it.

Being higher in some nutrients and lower in others, camel milk is rich in vitamin C, iron and calcium. It is considered a complete food and can be consumed exclusively while meeting all nutritional requirements and should be consumed raw and un-pasteurised, because the raw milk contains the most nutritional and immune properties. Only when the quality and safety of the milk is in question should someone pasteurise it.  —Ishrat Hyatt