Though it's acceptable to be perceived as an introvert at the workplace, your shy demeanour could also have a few career impediments.
Since school, we have been introduced to two major personality types - extroverts and introverts. The introverts are the ones who enjoy spending ‘alone time' whereas the extroverts are social by nature. Also, extroverts are looked upon as easy-going and approachable - two traits vital at the workplace. On the other hand, introverts get perceived as ‘non-participative' because of their less-expressive nature. Studies have shown that about one third to one half of the population consider themselves to be introverts. Studies have also revealed that some of the best leaders in the world have been introverts by nature.
Ravi Shankar, executive VP and CPO, Mindtree Limited explains, "Introverted employees are good listeners, composed and quietly assertive. However, they also are less vocal and may not express themselves, thus losing out on ‘visibility'," he states.
According to Nagrajan Balanaga, VP HR, Cummins, "Introverts typically derive energy from within, reflect upon their thoughts and the resulting ideas or solutions have immense depth and value."
Introverts are known to be great contributors to an organisation's success; however, not all introverts are talented, asserts Sangeeta Pandey, director – HR, Akzo Nobel India. "Talented introverts are generally aloof, observant, and less talkative and may need probing to elicit response. They may not be socially inclined and don't enjoy much of attention, but prefer to work in solitude. They generally perform better as an individual than in a team," she shares.
Introverts have a lot to offer employers, but introversion still carries a stigma at the workplace. "Sometimes, introverts may get excluded in certain recognitions and/or similar exercises, essentially because such people prefer to work within an individual capacity. This might also be true in situations where extroverted co-workers outshine their introverted counterparts, when they actively draw attention and ‘brand' themselves in front of their superiors," Pandey points out.
Narasimha Rao, VP, HR, AgroTech Foods Ltd concurs, "While introverts suffer from underselling themselves, extroverts suffer from overselling themselves. Organisations must take adequate care in applying systems in such a way that the real talent does not go unnoticed, regardless of the personalities." Balanaga has mixed views on this. "I have known introverts who never had a raw deal, mainly because they had smart managers. If introverts get a raw deal, it is owing to their managers not being educated about the personality types," he expresses.
"Continual and focused interactions with an introverted employee are vital towards making them feel valued. One way is to recognise and appreciate the talent of introverts in public. This drives a powerful message that it is not the individual's external demeanour/behaviour that decides his/her success in the organisation, but the output," Shankar says. Rao feels that organisations should focus on developing their leaders to handle diversity of this nature effectively. "The leadership development programmes should help leaders to identify this diversity of extroverts and introverts in their teams and suit their leadership style in line with the personalities of people they are leading," he adds.
The possible ways of identifying such talent is by proactively looking out for silent performers, who have displayed great results and encouraging performers to participate and interact in small group discussions, asserts Pandey.
Introverts have a wealth of natural strengths. By understanding the needs of such employees, managers can harmonise them and encourage their introverts to be their best selves.
The pipeline of senior management talent has shrunk to 17 per cent in Asia, according to a survey. We delve into the reasons for this dismal statistic.
It appears that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find appropriate talent as one moves higher in the echelons of seniority.
According to the ‘Global Talent Market Quarterly 2013' from Kelly Services, a dearth of senior management is a worldwide trend.
"The primary reason for this is that most organisations have not invested in leadership-development. They have not taken a long-term view of the available in-house talent or groomed them to take up leadership positions," avers Rashmi
Mansharamani, corporate head (HR), Wave Infratech. The problem is compounded by increasing attrition rates at senior levels. "With the strong success rate of small- and mid-level companies, there is an even stiffer competition for the senior-level talent as the ‘small' companies offer lucrative propositions in terms of opportunities, which large companies fail to match. Also, at the senior level, talent seems to be an under-managed corporate asset, which over a period of time turns into a talent crunch," explains Sakaar Anand, VP, HR, CA Technologies, India.
As demand far exceeds the supply, senior managers are taking to job-hopping. "There has been growth in year-on-year salaries, with experienced professionals staying in the same role likely to receive a salary increase of 10 per cent-15 per cent while those changing roles can receive 15 per cent-20 per cent salary increases. The shortage of experienced talent is also driving Indians currently based abroad to relocate to India in order to capitalise on the growing employment opportunities," illustrates Tulika Tripathi, MD, Michael Page, India.
Organisations are turning inwards to bridge the gaps in senior management. "Identifying young talent and nurturing them through the leadership pipeline will ensure greater retention. Significant investments of exposing (job rotation) talent across the organisation value chain will help in developing senior leaders," suggests Subramanian Suryanarayanan, national head - HR, Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd.
"At Trident, home-grown talent is developed through job rotation, rigorous training and development and sponsored study programmes," says YPS Kanwar, CPO, Trident Group. However, the situation may be marginally better in Asia, according to Noor van Boven, global talent director, human resources, TomTom International BV. "The ‘Global Talent Risk Report' of the
World Economic Forum in fact shows that the problem is greater felt in North America than in Asia. This has a lot to do with the shift in vacancies and movement of labour from the West to countries such as India, and the other BRIC countries. If you compare the situation of the developed economies and the US in particular, Asia is in a stronger position. When you look at the age demographics, you see a significant lower per cent in retiring baby boomers in Asia than in North-America," says Boven.
Thus, organisations need to develop focused strategies to tackle the problem of scarcity of talent at senior managerial levels.
Few tips on nurturing talent at the top:
- Put potential leaders in jobs before they're ready – offer opportunities for actual role-play;
- Put a good feed-forward system in place;
- Move on the under-performers now;
- Create a winning EVP (Employee Value Proposition) – know/identify what motivates people, intrinsically and extrinsically;
- Recognise the winner and reward appropriately based on the complexity of the assignment.
FDI came too late for Kingfisher. Jet Airways’ Naresh Goyal too finds that his potential partner can now dictate terms to him. Is it curtains for him?
India’s aviation czar Naresh Goyal could soon take his place in history books. After the recent eclipse of Vijay Mallya‘s Kingfisher, it may be the turn of Goyal.
For years, Goyal kept on opposing any move by the government to get foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers. But the moment FDI was opened up, he sidled up to long-time friends in Etihad Airways to get money for his troubled airline.
However, now even his friends have second thoughts. Etihad is apparently driving a hard bargain and Goyal seems unwilling to give up more than 26 percent equity in his beloved Jet Airways.
The arrival of AirAsia with 49 percent foreign equity, and with the Tatas as junior financial partners, has sent a powerful message to the likes of Etihad. There is no reason why an Etihad should choose to play second fiddle to Goyal in Jet, when it is putting up all the cash.
The two potential partners seem to be stuck on two issues: who gets management control and how much equity does Etihad get eventually.
Goyal is now caught between a rock and a hard place because if the Etihad deal slips through his fingers, he is staring at a bleak future for Jet Airways, which has lost passengers rapidly last year and is now third (standalone) in terms of domestic market share behind IndiGo and Air India.
The airline has lost ground even on the international front where it has had to shut down operations on several loss-making routes.
A senior executive from a rival airline had told Firstpost earlier that international business has already begun to contribute less to Jet’s topline, “If the international-domestic ratio earlier was 60:40, it is now moving rapidly towards 50:50.”
Goyal will be unwise to let his ego come in the way of a deal. Because without Etihad bailing him out, he really has no future left in the rapidly changing aviation scene in his own backyard in India and indeed in the global aviation business.
But the catch is this: even if he agrees to let Etihad scale up equity investment to 49 percent, Goyal will lose what he’s spent a lifetime building and protecting – control over the airline and thereby virtual control over the Indian aviation business.
So either way, Goyal could become history in Indian aviation. If he clinches the Etihad deal, control over the airline diminishes because Jet is expected to then function largely as a domestic feeder airline to Etihad’s own global operations.
More importantly, Jet will be virtually managed by people handpicked by Etihad with Goyal relegated to second position.
But if the deal does not go through, Goyal could face multiple problems. To begin with, there is no other source of immediate cash infusion outside the Etihad deal. In a recent report, Kotak Institutional Equities said that cash infusion is extremely critical for the airline which has a large debt repayment of $400 million in fiscal 2014 (a similar amount in the current fiscal) out of which $200 million is on account of working capital.
“Also, there are overdue bills of about Rs 5 billion which need to be cleared. Sale and leaseback transactions could release equity to the tune of $300-350 million and could enable the company to repay debt, but they will also increase cost (leasing cost is higher than ownership) and hence not good for the long term. Also, refinancing the loans at 13-14 percent (domestic banks) is also not a viable option,” the brokerage said.
Hence, for the business to remain viable, the Etihad deal is absolutely essential for the company.
A recent report by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation also indicated multiple other benefits Jet would gain from this deal. It mentioned capital infusion for growth; access for Jet to a large global network; scale economies for procurement and the ability to tap into a large pool of experienced management.
In addition to the equity investment, Etihad could provide other financing support which may see Jet Airways accelerate its proposed order for 100 narrow bodied aircraft. The partnership could see the rate of both domestic and international expansion scaled up.
So if the deal falls through, Jet will have multiple reasons to worry.
Secondly, the arrival of ultra low-cost AirAsia, in partnership with the Tatas and the Bhatias, is also a significant negative for
Jet. The proposed new airline will bring with it cost efficiencies, much cheaper tickets and make the overall domestic aviation scene fiercely competitive, even more than it is at present.
An industry veteran pointed out that “AirAsia, if it succeeds, will kill not only the LCCs (low-cost carriers) but even Jet Airways’ business in South India since it will set up base from Chennai”.
Amber Dubey, Partner and Head-Aviation at KPMG says, “Entry of Tata-AirAsia will enhance competition, expand the spread of air connectivity to tier 3-4 cities, and bring down air fares for the Indian passenger. The airline may aim for dominance in South India and then expand thereon, using their point-to-point strategy and generally avoiding large metro airports that come at a high cost.”
So if Jet remains a standalone, debt-laden airline with no equity infusion, will it be able to bear this onslaught?
Goyal has for long been an object of reverence, fear and much curiosity. Even today, any reference to him in the corridors of the Ministry of Civil Aviation is made in whispers.
Babus and their minions will often refer to which policy was changed at the behest of Goyal, how he remains unbeatable until now in the aviation business, but all in whispers. But now that Jet is at crossroads, Goyal’s larger-than-life presence in these corridors of power may become a thing of the past soon.
The FDI policy change came too late for Kingfisher; and it might prove so for Goyal too. Etihad holds all the high cards, and Goyal may have no cards left to play.
The economy is now doomed without short-term capital inflows, and in a slowing economy, the country is having to raise oil prices and abandon taxes for foreigners (GAAR) to continue growing. What a fall!
In many ways, Palaniappan Chidambaram’s 2013-14 budget will have to be a sort of mea culpa for his 2008-09 budget, which set the country on the path to high inflation and low growth. We have a tendency to blame Pranab Mukherjee for the slide, but the rot began with Chidambaram’s 2008-09 budget, which set us on the path to disaster. Mukherjee merely compounded the errors introduced in Chidambaram’s last budget of UPA-1.
So when the Finance Minister talks of presenting a “responsible” budget this time, we should see it in the context of the gross irresponsibility of the last budget he presented five years ago.
The budget of 2008-09, presented in the context of the looming 2009 general elections, was triumphalist in every way. Consider what Chidambaram said and did then.
Chidambaram said in 2008: “The four years to 2007-08 have been the best years so far but, may I say with humility, that the best is yet to come.” We are still waiting for the best that is yet to come, and even the “humility” wasn’t very visible as Chidambaram went on to claim, “If 1984 and 1991 were turning points in the history of India’s economy, 2004 was another turning point.”
How was 1984 a turning point for the Indian economy, unless Chidambaram wants to say that the Indian economy started the build-up to the 1991 crisis during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime?
There was more self-congratulatory nonsense: “The India growth story, so far, has been an absorbing and inspiring tale. Beginning January 1, 2005, the economy has recorded a growth rate of over 8 percent in 12 successive quarters up to December 31, 2007…but if you ask me ‘can we do better?’, my answer would be ‘we can and we should.’ Budget 2008-09 is about raising our sights and doing more and doing better.”
Quite apart from the point that the revival in growth rates began in 2003-04, the last year of the NDA, what the budget of 2008 actually did was put Indian economy on the path to long-term slowdown, with higher vulnerability to external shocks and higher inflation. Budget 2008 did not raise Chidambaram’s “sights” beyond the 2009 elections, for all he did was announce a huge farm loan waiver – ultimate cost: Rs 72,000 crore – coupled with some of the biggest increases in support prices for rice, wheat and other foodgrains (which came outside the budget), which made India’s food inflation structural.
There were more pipedreams in the 2008 speech. Chidambaram said: “Mr Speaker, Sir, once upon a time India, together with China, accounted for 50 percent of the world’s output. We must regain our position and it is within our capacity to do so.” Chidambaram’s claims in that budget speech look so unreal today because he wrongly assumed that four years of good growth made India immune to what was happening in the rest of the world.
He said: “Since 2005-06, there has been an unmistakable boom in investment. Two indicators tell the story. The saving rate and the investment rate in 2003-04 were 29.8 percent and 28.2 percent, respectively. According to estimates made by the
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, they will be 35.6 percent and 36.3 percent, respectively, by the end of 2007-08.” Well, savings rates are now down to NDA levels at just over 30 percent. The problems Chidambaram imagined for the Indian economy were ones of plenty – plenty of capital inflows. He said then: “We have also witnessed capital inflows that are far in excess of the current account deficit (CAD). This poses a challenge to monetary management. The solution lies in increasing the absorptive capacity of the economy in the medium term.”
Chidambaram also gave himself lots of pats for revenue buoyancy – which was largely the result of high growth built on buoyant global growth and huge liquidity. He said: “Many people are surprised by the buoyancy in tax revenues, especially in direct taxes. I am not. I have always maintained that moderate and stable tax rates coupled with a tax administration that shows no fear or favour will bring high revenues to the exchequer.”
It did not take long for revenue growth to level off and expenditure to bloat out of control. The budget deficit – and especially the revenue deficit – was about to go out of control, but the FM was on cloud nine in 2008. This is when he indulged in his prime folly and decided to abandon the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act just because the going was temporarily good.
He said: “The fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 133,287 crore which is 2.5 percent of GDP. Honourable Members will note that not only will I achieve the target for fiscal deficit under the FRBM Act, I have also left for myself some headroom. In the case of revenue deficit, I will meet the target of annual reduction of 0.5 per cent. However, because of the conscious shift in expenditure in favour of health, education and the social sector, we may need one more year to eliminate the revenue deficit. In my view, this is an entirely acceptable deferment.”
He explicitly abandoned fiscal rectitude in an election year, and tore up the FRBM Act in the interests of political expediency. We are still paying the price for that. But it isn’t as if Chidambaram was meeting his fiscal deficit targets till then either. The FRBM targets were being met by sleight-of-hand. And he acknowledged it for the first time in that budget.
“I acknowledge that significant liabilities of the government on account of oil, food and fertiliser bonds are currently below the line. This accounting arrangement is consistent with past practice. Nevertheless, our fiscal and revenue deficits are understated to that extent. There is a need to bring these liabilities into our fiscal accounting. As a first step, I have shown these liabilities clearly in ‘Budget at a Glance’. After the obligations on account of the Sixth Central Pay Commission become clear, I intend to request the Thirteenth Finance Commission to revisit the roadmap for fiscal adjustment and suggest a suitably revised roadmap.”
Even while acknowledging the wrong accounting, Chidambaram could not bring himself to do the right thing and show a higher fiscal deficit. Mukherjee was the one who corrected it.
In 2004, Chidambaram tore up the FRBM roadmap once; in 2008 he did so again; and in 2012, he gave us yet another fiscal roadmap. What is the point in a roadmap if you are anyway going to go where you feel like?
With hindsight, it is clear that Chidambaram highly underestimated the dangers of giving up fiscal prudence and the scourge of inflation. He noted the “downside risks” thus: “World prices of crude oil, commodities and food grains have risen sharply in the period April 2007 to January 2008…Among commodities, the prices of iron ore, copper, lead, tin, urea etc are elevated.
The prices of wheat and rice have increased in the world market by 88 percent and 15 percent, respectively. All these trends are inflationary, and there is pressure on domestic prices, especially on the prices of food articles. Consequently, the management of the supply side of food articles will be the most crucial task in the ensuing year.”
But within months, the UPA government announced the biggest increases in food procurement prices, pouring fuel over raging inflation.
By August 2008, wholesale price inflation was hitting 12.63 percent, and interest rates were soaring. It took the global financial crisis of September 2008 to lower inflation in the year after that. But by then Pranab Mukherjee was trying to boost the Indian economy with injections of steroids – three consecutive stimulus packages, that were not withdrawn for two more years.
Mukherjee ensured that inflation would stay high for at least two more years, and bring growth down subsequently. A Reserve Bank of India study shows that whenever inflation crosses 5.5 percent, it inevitably impacts growth. Chidambaram’s irresponsible 2008 budget set the stage for that. And Mukherjee fanned the fires.
This is why Budget 2013 has to be a mea culpa for 2008. It has to reverse the damage that Chidambaram inflicted in 2008.
Actor Vivek Oberoi, who is actively involved in philanthropy, has pledged to build bio-digester toilets as part of clean Ganga campaign.
The actor is the brand ambassador of Ganga Action Plan, which aims to clean the river.
“I am so glad to be part of such an important initiative, which not only helps to keep Ganga clean but which also is a seva (service) for all of our mothers and sisters – of every age – who don’t have access to toilets and must brave the jungles and rapists in the dark of night. Giving our women the dignity they deserve is our duty,” Vivek said in a statement.
The campaign has been initiated by Swami Chidanand Saraswati, founder of Ganga Action Parivar.
Vivek was in Allahabad with family for the Mahakumbh and along with his mother Yashodhara Oberoi he performed a ceremonial bhoomi puja for bricks to be used in the eco-friendly bio-digester toilet complexes.
Toilet complexes are being made across Uttarakhand, and plans are underway for constructing these in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.
The two toilet complexes sponsored by Vivek will be located in Allahabad and Badrinath. They are being built in partnership with Ganga Action Parivar, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Swami Chidanada also showed a film that revealed how lack of proper toilet facilities is not only a major factor contributing to pollution of the Ganga, the Yamuna and other rivers, but is also a source of violence against women, and fear and illnesses in them.
According to Chidanand, the programe is an answer to problems faced by the Ganga, the Yamuna and the young girls and women living on their banks.
“Every time we drive and I see women and girls having to jump up in the middle of answering nature’s calls due to shame of passing cars, it hurts my heart and I feel that we are inflicting great physical and emotional violence against our ‘Matri Shakti‘ by not providing them with safe, available places to go to the toilet,” he said.
“Also, lack of toilets is one of the main reasons for young girls dropping out of school, so we are committed to building toilets in schools so they can continue their studies,” he added.
As baby Lili celebrates her first birthday in Australia, far away in India her surrogate mother recalls the day the child was born — and on whom she never laid eyes.
‘I averted my gaze,’ says Seita Thapa, recounting her experience of giving birth at the Surrogacy Centre India clinic in New Delhi last February on behalf of a gay male couple who used an egg donated from another woman.
‘Why would I want to see the child? — I have my own children,’ said the mother of two teenagers aged 16 and 18, adding that the clinic gives courses that ‘prepare us mentally for the fact it’s not our baby’.
Commercial surrogacy is a booming industry in India with legions of childless foreign couples looking for a low-cost, legally simple route to parenthood.
While the Indian government has been pushing the country as a medical tourism destination, the issue of wealthy foreigners paying poor Indians to have babies has raised ethical concerns in many Indian minds about ‘baby factories’.
The Confederation of Indian Industry, a leading business association, estimates the industry now generates more than $2 billion in revenues annually.
In a bid to silence critics, India recently issued rules barring foreign gay couples and singles from using surrogates, drawing sharp criticism from rights advocates and fertility clinics who called the move discriminatory, but the industry remains otherwise unregulated.
Clinic owners deny ill-treatment of mothers, saying it is in their interest to treat the women well in order for them to have healthy babies.
Thapa, 31, who has the jet-black hair and almond eyes of the Indians of the northeast, said she has no doubt what she did was right in allowing the Australian couple to use her womb to fulfil their dream of parenthood.
‘I wanted to be a surrogate mother because I wanted to deposit money into an account for my children for their future. I also wanted to help parents who cannot have children,’ Thapa said. ‘I am proud to have given birth to a beautiful baby. ‘The baby and parents are in my prayers forever. I feel like part of the family,’ added the former cook, her eyes suddenly bright with tears.
She refused to say how much money she earned from the surrogacy but says she wants to start a second pregnancy in April. The clinic told AFP the mothers get $6,000 from the $28,000 total surrogacy procedure cost.
During her pregnancy, Thapa lived with her husband in accommodation in New Delhi rented by the Surrogacy Centre India clinic, with over 100 other surrogates.
Thapa’s own children in their hometown of Darjeeling never knew their mother was pregnant. ‘I didn’t tell them so as not to disturb their studies,’ she said.
In 2012, 291 babies were born in the clinic that opened in 2008. They now live in 15 different countries, including Canada, Australia, Japan, Norway and Brazil.
In New Delhi and across India, there are dozens of clinics like the Surrogacy Centre but many refuse to open their doors to the media.
According to Dr Shivani Sachdev Gour, director of the centre, the women recruited never have the desire to keep the baby they have carried for nine months.
‘They have their own children, they’ve finished building their families,’ she said, calling people who oppose surrogacy ‘ignorant’. ‘They should come here to meet parents who dream of having a child. How can they deny them this right?’
Marcia, a 40-year-old Brazilian who lives in Luxembourg, is one such case. After trying for three years, Marcia has just arrived with her husband in New Delhi to sign a contract with the clinic.
‘When I look at the photographs of all these babies in the waiting room, I want to cry,’ she told INN, refusing to reveal her full name because she has not told her family about her step. ‘I’d rather not meet the surrogate mother who is chosen — especially since it is not certain the pregnancy will be successful. We’ve already had so much disappointment.’
She said she will initially attempt to have her own embryos transferred into the womb of the surrogate mother but if that fails, she will opt for an ‘egg donation’. ‘At first it was difficult to get used to the idea of another woman carrying my child, but if this is the only solution, then we will have a baby this way — it’s like a miracle,’ Marcia said.
Gour said the clinic organises counselling sessions for the surrogate mothers to stress the importance of eating nourishing food, adding the majority of the women want to repeat the experience.
Mamta Sharma, 29, from one of India’s poorest states, Uttar Pradesh, has been a surrogate mother twice, most recently last year for an Australian couple. ‘Everything has changed in my life with the money I got,’ said the mother of four children who invested her earnings in a new house.
Bad hair day? Well, going by the recent spurt of ads on hair care products, everyone is moaning over hair woes.
Thanks to lifestyle changes, hair problems are becoming increasingly common in both women and men, doctors say, warning against being misled by random products bought over the counter.
“Hair problems are becoming common these days and we have noticed an increase of 10-12 percent in patients coming with such problems every year. Similarly, the demand for hair transplants has also increased over the last five years,” D.M. Mahajan, dermatologist at Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, told INN.
The nature of hair problems is varied - hair fall, thinning, baldness, dandruff, scalp problems and the like. Depending on the age group, some problems are more common than others.
“The most common problem that inflicts people across all age groups is hair loss. This is a big concern for women and young males. The second most common problem is dandruff. This is usually related to climate, type of water and soap and shampoo used,” Mohan Thomas, cosmetic surgeon at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital, told INN.
Usually, men suffer from hair loss at an earlier age than women, he added. “Concerns about hair loss are usually more in men and at a younger age, starting as early as in their 20s”.
The reason for hair loss could be anything - bad lifestyle, poor diet, pollution, hormones or even genetics. But stress is the big culprit behind the increasing hair woes among people, doctors say.
“Stress is a major factor behind hair loss. Hair is the fastest growing organ in the human body but has less stability. So when there is a change in season, or an exam coming up, it is generally accompanied with hair loss. Plus, there are other factors, like not enough exposure to sun and vitamin D deficiency, peer pressure or anxiety,” Mahajan said.
Nitin Walia, consultant in the dermatology department at Delhi’s Max Hospital, said that women usually suffer from hair loss post-pregnancy, after menopause, or when there is a hormonal imbalance.
While doctors unanimously agree that an increase in awareness among both the sexes, and at an early age, is benefitting in early detection of problems; random use of hair care products should be discouraged.
“Some patients come to us after trying every possible product bought over the counter. A majority of them have tried home therapies or have gone by their hairdresser’s advice. A word of advice - companies try to push the sale of their products through beauty parlours; so be careful,” Walia cautioned while speaking to INN.
Instead of relying on haircare products, doctors suggest medical intervention for problems so as to pinpoint the exact reason. For instance, women with dry and thinning hair need their thyroid hormones checked.
Dandruff and boils on the scalp, if not treated early, can also lead to hair loss later.
“Most of the shampoos don’t carry scientific evidence of solving hair problems. They are just cleansers,” Walia said.
Breach Candy’s Thomas recalled the case of a 38-year-old woman with grey hair who had been using a branded hair dye for years. Seeing a new product on TV, she decided to try it.
“After a couple of weeks, she noticed tiny eruptions on her scalp. This led to flaking of skin and dryness of hair, further leading to hair breakage. When she approached us, we stopped the product usage and put her on low dose steroid-based creams and sun screens. It took months before the hair grew back to normal,” Thomas said.
“I therefore advise people to use medicated products under a doctor’s supervision. Shampoos should ideally have a pH of 4.5-5; otherwise it makes your hair alkaline and dry,” he added.
The moment a man opens his eyes to this world, he encounters a great order surrounding him. If he needs oxygen to survive, the atmosphere provides more than just the adequate amount of oxygen he needs; and thus he breathes without difficulty.
If heat is essential for the existence of life on this planet, the sun is located at just the right distance to emit the exact amount of heat and energy human life requires. Man needs nourishment to survive; every corner of the world abounds in astonishingly diversified provisions. Likewise, if man needs water, three-fourths of the planet is covered with water. Man needs shelter; in this world of ours, there is land on which it is suitable to build and all sorts of materials with which to make shelters.
These are only a few among billions of bounties making life possible on earth. In brief, man lives on a planet perfectly designed for his survival. This is certainly a planet “created for human beings,” as God said in the Qur’an: “Do you not see that God has subjected for you all that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth, and has completed and perfected His Bounties upon you, [both] apparent and hidden?...” (Qur’an 31:20)
A person’s interpretation of the world rests on “acquired methods of thought.” That is, he thinks in the way he has been taught, or, less kindly, the way in which he is indoctrinated. Under this misguidance, he often dismisses all the aforementioned as “trivial realities.” However, if he does not side-step the matter, and start questioning the conditions making our existence possible, he will surely step out of the boundaries of habitual thinking and start to think:
How does the atmosphere serve as a protective ceiling for the earth? How does each one of the billions of cells in the human body know and perform its individual tasks? How does this extraordinary ecological balance exist on earth?
A person seeking answers to these questions surely proceeds on the right path. He does not remain insensitive to things happening around him, and doesn’t plead ignorance about the extraordinary nature of the world. A person who asks questions, who reflects on and gives answers to these questions will realize that, on every inch of the planet, a plan and an order reigns: How did the flawless order in the whole universe come into being? Who provided the delicate balances in the world? How did living beings, incredibly diversified in nature, emerge?
Keeping oneself occupied with relentless research to answer these questions results in a clear awareness that everything in the universe, its order, each living being and structure is a component of a plan, a product of design. Every detail: The excellent structure of an insect’s wing, the system enabling a tree to carry tons of water to its topmost branches, the order of planets, and the ratio of gases in the atmosphere, all are unique examples of perfection.
In every detail of the infinitely varied world, man finds his Creator. God, the owner of everything in the whole universe, introduces Himself to man through the flawless design of His creation. Everything surrounding us, the birds in flight, our beating hearts, the birth of a child or the existence of the sun in the sky, manifest the power of God and His creation. And what man must do is understand this fact.
These purposes owe their existence to the fact that everything has been created. An intelligent person notices that planning, design and wisdom exist in every detail of the infinitely varied world. This draws him to recognition of the Creator.
So you need never plead ignorance that all living beings, living or non-living, show the existence and greatness of God, look at the things around you. Strive to show appreciation in the best manner for the eternal greatness of God. For the existence of God is obvious, and ignoring it would only be the beginning of the greatest damage we could ever do to ourselves. That is simply because God is in no need of anything. He is the One Who shows His greatness in all things and in all ways.
God is the owner of everything, from the heavens to the earth. We learn the attributes of God from the Qur’an: “God! There is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sufficient. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge save what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent.” (Qur’an 2:255)
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