Whisper in the WInd - Book Review

Book Review 

Book Name : Whisper in the Wind
Author : Venita Coelho
Publisher. : Westland Publications
Genre. : Fiction / Drama / Gothic

Description:

🍂In Venita Coelho's Whisper in the Wind, the main protagonist is a writer,  Jamshed Fali Irani who is struggling to finish his book. The book is set in Portuguese Goa of 1947. He encounters a madman who tells him to listen to the stories and secrets murmured by the winds. He finds little Alice running about in a graveyard searching for Sara, her sister who disappeared many years ago, and he catches the mysterious Tania, stealing water from the well in his yard. In the dead of night, holed up in a decrepit mansion in the Portuguese Goa of 1947, sounds float towards him: thick, pattering raindrops, jingling wind chimes, soft voices from the forest and screaming, like 'a woman in agony'. Jamshed promises Sara, that he will find her sister, Sara. He gets caught in many dangerous situations , risking his own life too!

🍂But was he able to find Sara? Was Sara dead or alive? To know more, read the book!

🍂Review:

🍂I haven't read many ghost / gothic novels. When I came across this book, I was really interested in reading it because it was mystery mixed with some eeriness ! I felt the beginning of the book is a little slow but after that it gains pace. Venita Coelho has described the scenes vividly and one starts imagining along. I felt the book is emotional too because the way Venita describes about the orphan girls living in the convent, deprived of love makes you sad.  The climax of the book is very well done. All the characters, whether they have a large part or a small part in the story have been described well. The cover of the book is intriguing and makes you know what the book is all about. All in all a good read !

Rating ⭐⭐⭐/ 5

#bookreview #review #bookworm #keepreading #bookblogger

Nu - Shakti , Nutrition For You !

                                                

Nu - Shakti is a brand of DSM that has been designed to support better nutrition for India. DSM is a purpose-led global science-based company in Nutrition, Health, and Sustainable Living. Nu-Shakti  products include daily home fortifiers for staple foods like rice and atta, micro-nutrient powders that can be sprinkled on or mixed into regular food and a powdered fortified beverage mix. Micro nutrients  are vitamins and minerals which form an essential part of a balanced diet. 

Deficiencies in micro nutrients such as iron, iodine, vitamin A,  and zinc can be very harmful for your body.

Nu- Shakti in collaboration with Momspresso, organised an event in Chennai at Fab Cafe on 26th November 2019.  These days whatever we eat has pesticides and chemicals in it. It is very important for everyone to get right kinds of nutrients  in our everyday lives. The event was conducted by Vaishali, who gave us the introduction about Nu -Shakti and the different kinds of products .  Revauthi, a dietitian , explained its benefits and also explained how we can include it in our everyday diet.

The different products which are manufactured by Nu - Shakti are -

• Powermix for Rice
• Powermix for Atta
• MixMe Powered Beverage
• Micro Nutirent Powder

Power Mix For Rice :

10g Powermix for Rice when added to 1kg raw rice provides 5 vitamins and 2 m found in some common foods. For eg. Spinach (280gm), ripe tomatoes ( 200gm), skimmed milk (125gm), almonds (100gm), walnuts (135 gm), ragi (661 gm), sweetcorn ( 364 gm)

Powermix for Atta :

5g Powermix for Atta when added to 1kg raw Atta provides 7 vitamins and 2 minerals found in common foods. For example, spinach ( 300gm) , ripe tomatoes ( 210 gm), milk ( 125 gm), almonds ( 100 gm),papaya ( 240gm gm ), walnuts (90 gm ), groundnuts ( 300gm), ragi ( 381 gm), sweetcorn (364gm )

MixMe Powered Beverage :

1 serving (20g powder mixed with 200ml water) provides micronutrients found in some common foods for example Spinach (440gm) , papaya (216gm), ripe toamtoes (120gm ), walnuts( 100gm ), groundnuts ( 45gm), almonds (120 gm), orange (50gm)

Micro Nutrient Powder:

1g Powermix when sprinkled and mixed on cooked food provides micronutrients found in some common foods, e.g. almonds (136gm ), oranges ( 100gm) , papaya (481gm), groundnuts (100gm), spinach (880gm), wlanuts (100gm) , ripe tomatoes (300gm)  

The rice mix or the atta mix can be easily mixed with one kg rice / atta per packet. It is not expensive and is your complete dose of nutrition. 

I am so glad that I found out about Nu-Shakti. Before attending the event I did not know hat micro nutrients were  and  how essential they were for our everyday diet.

It can be given to everyone above 6 months of age except for thalassemia patients

Vaishali gave us a  quiz to check if our family was nutrition positive. After calculating the result, I found out that my family was medium nutrient but still we need to be high nutrient.

Also Vaishali had organised another lovely game for the mothers, - Memory Game. She divided us into pairs and gave us a sheet of different foods and other objects. She gave us 30 seconds to go through all the products and then told us to write what we remembered. It was a nice fun game.

The event was very informative and  thank you Nu -Shakti for giving us samples of all the products. I would definitely recommend this to everyone. Make Nu-Shakti a part of your everyday meal and lead a healthy, nutritious and fit life

                                                       

#nushkati  #momspresso #nushaktiricemix 

Activities for babies below one year of age

💝The first twelve months of a baby's life are amazing time, as he transforms from a floppy-headed newborn into a tiny person who can sit and play when propped up. I will share a list of activities that you can do with him which will help develop his visual, fine, motor and emotional skills.You can do all these activities at home with a few objects.

💝Tummy time:

In the initial months, babies spend a lot of time on their tummies, so make this time enjoyable! Propping up abstract patterns like this one will keep babies interested as they bat and swish at it.

💝Balloon Kicking:

Give your baby’s legs a good workout, along with developing his eye-leg coordination.

💝Fun with faces:

Babies love to explore the world through touch. Allow your little one to feel the different parts of your face and his stuffed animals' faces with his hands.

💝Listening:

Sing and talk to your child using exaggerated tones of voice. Watch your baby's facial expressions and see how he reacts to different pitches.

💝Reflections:

Show your baby her reflection in the mirror, then ask, "Who is that?"Repeat with your own reflection and a sibling's or a stuffed animal's. This helps in their social, emotional and visual development.

💝Peek a boo :

Which kid doesn't enjoy peek a boo. You can make it fun by hiding behind his favourite toy or a blanket.

💝Sensory activities:

Sensory play activities are those that stimulate a baby's senses and encourage him to explore and discover things on his own. You can make sensory bags with beads, pulses, thermocol balls.

💝Sensory Play Mat :

Play mats for babies are quite common, but this one has lots of bells and whistles that your baby will enjoy to push and pull.

💝Water play :

We know that all kids love water.Make it more enjoyable by adding a few toys in the water and let them play.

💝Play Dough:

You can make play dough at home with wheat flour. Let them explore the textures and have fun .

💝Stacking:

Give them big blocks or even utensils.let them stack one on top of the other .

💝Pull along toys:
💝 Read , Read, Read :
x

Once they start crawling or walking, you can get them pull along toys. They are a lot of fun and also help in developing gross motor skills.

💝 Read, Read, Read :
The more you read to your babies the better it is for their vocabulary, listening and other developmental skills. 

Must read another wonderful post on  helping your baby to reach his highest potential which I came across for babies below one year of age. 

#babyactivities  #activityforbabies #kids #happybaby

The Curse Of Nader Shah - Book Review

Book Review

Book Name - The Curse of Nader Shah
Author - Sutapa Basu
Format. - Paperback
Publisher - Readomania
Genre - Historical fiction

The curse of Nader Shah by Sutapa Basu is a historical fiction. The book clearly shows the rise and fall of a  tyrant ! I was curious to read about him because growing up I had only heard that he was a tyrant but was always curious to read about the way he ruled and how he conqured India. Nader Shah was a son of a humble Shepherd from the mountains of Persia. But his colossal ambition and bold strategy catapulted Nader Shah from a soldier to the Shah of Persia.
The book is well researched and it is commendable how the author mixes history with fiction.
Nader Shah is called a Tyrant in the  history and rightfully so because he killed anyone who came in his way.  It is not that he wasn't intelligent but is used his intelligence in a wrong way. 
The books is slightly slow in the beginning but after that you can't put the book down! Each character has its own importance and is very significant. Sutapa Basu has portrayed emotions, behaviour, mannerisms of each character beautifully. A must read book for all those who love History and fiction.

Thank you team @blogchatter for sending me the review copy.

Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Books for babies for 0-12 months of age

🌠Once your baby arrives, reading to your newborn is a must. Your baby won't understand your words, but hearing your voice stimulates an interest in sounds and helps him develop listening skills. No matter what your baby's age  is, reading together is a great opportunity for cuddling and bonding.

🌠Reading aloud helps your child build memory, listening and language skills. By 3-6 months of age, your baby will start to enjoy looking at mirrors and pictures of faces, shapes, colors.

🌠You don’t have to have a BIG library. Children especially babies love repetition.

🌠Here's a list of our favourite books for babies under one year of age :

🌠Touch and feel books:
You get very good ladybird series of big and bright touch and feel books. Peekaboo series are very popular among touch and feel books.

                                                             

                

🌠Classic books like The very hungry caterpillar and Goodnight Moon

                               
                                                         
                                                               

             

                               
                                                             
                                                             
🌠Lift the flap books :
These are all time favourite for kids. They love to lift the flap and see what is under the flap. A lot of different topics are available under lift the flap books.

       
                                                               
                                                             
🌠You get cushioned musical books which the kids just adore.

                    

🌠Spot series are excellent for babies.

                                             
                                                               


🌠Nursery rhymes and animal books are all time babies favourite books.


                                                                                                                   

 🌠Sharing some of the books from our collection. You can get these books easily from @amazondotin, crosswords, star mark or any books stores.

🌠These books also help in introducing color, shapes, numbers, animals and birds in a creative way.

🌠Please share in comments if you found this post helpful. Also tell the name of your child's favourite book when he was a baby.


#alexanonstop #raisingareader #babybooks #kidsbookswelove #talesofsimrit