Upcoming festive season focus of 11th Bhumika event

The Deccan Herald and Prajavani Bhumika Club presented by Manipal Hospitals, was held at Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Chamrajpet, on Saturday.  

This was the 11th edition of the club’s meetings, and focused on the festive season. The meet was inaugurated by Kannada film actor Priyanka Upendra. She answered a few questions by emcee RJ Nikitha and the crowd, and emphasised on the importance of how women should take care of themselves, despite “being caregivers of their families''. 

Priyanka also spoke about her acting career and her 50th film ‘Detective Teekshana’, directed by Trivikram Raghu, which is set to release in November. A title track and trailer of the film, where she plays a female detective, were screened at the event.   

The evening’s sessions started with a talk on 'Women's Heart Health' by Dr Sunil Dwivedi, consultant cardiologist, Manipal Hospital, Millers Road. He said that there are sex (biological) and gender (sociocultural) differences in heart diseases between men and women. "The belief that women are protected from Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) was true earlier when they were protected from oestrogen. But that is lost now, due to varied reasons like increasing type-2 diabetes, smoking, surgical or premature menopause, and multiple risk factors of CVD," he added. 

Increasing age, lifestyle diseases, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, PCOS, and reproductive hormone therapy, are emerging risk factors for CVD. Prevention and treatment of CVD is common for both men and women — a healthy lifestyle and regular checkups, Dr Sunil added.

The second session was called ‘Nutrition for Women’ by Vani Krishna, chief nutritionist, Manipal Hospital, Varthur Road. It started with a small section about 'How to eat smartly in festive season'. Sharing some tips for the season, she said, "Eat food slowly and relish the flavour. Consuming a protein-rich meal before a party will leave you satiated and ensure that you eat less in the next meal."

Moving on to explain the essentials for proper nutrition in women, she said, "It is important to consume food rich in iron, folic acid, calcium, and zinc. Vitamin D is also essential for bone health." 

Both sessions ended with a Q&A session from the audience. 

The evening moved to a lighter note with an energetic musical performance by Rajyotsava awardee and renowned folk singer Appagere Thimmaraju. 

The event ended with a DIY workshop, where Jatinder Saini demonstrated to the crowd how one could make origami Deepavali decorations. This was followed by high tea and networking among the attendees of the event.