ICynosure: December 2019

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No arguments, dogs are truly God's favourite animals. These beautiful little creatures are so cute that you can stare at them the whole day. People fall in love with their dogs so much sometimes, they become their life. We all have this one friend who's a damn dog lover. They literally live for their paws only. They care for them like their own children. We always envied those dogs for being their favourites. But here's an opportunity to become a favourite number 1. Here is a gift of a lifetime for your dog lover friends and family members. Handmade Portrait Paintings of their Doggo! They indeed are going to win their hearts and soul. But where can you have these artworks?

BookMyPainting is one such destination to your search for finding the best gift for dog lovers. They are a tech-enabled team that gives you a smooth experience in getting a hand-painted pet Portrait. They have artists who are pet portrait experts. They can literally paint your dog on a canvas. They have a number of art styles and sizes available for you to choose from. Their website makes it so easy to order a painting that you'll fall in love with their customer experience. BookMyPainting even supports urgent delivery and they can even write a short message or a poem for you with the painting. These poems are equally adorable as their artworks. From classic Charcoal to Old school watercolour, they have everything for you. All you need to do is upload pictures, select the Size and gee! You are done.

Wait! Are you not sure, what art style you should choose? Let me help you with that.

If your dog lover friend prefers a black and white sketch and has a classy taste, here is one photo to painting technique which is seriously out of the box. I'm talking about stunning charcoal sketches. Charcoal has great contrast and is the best option to capture the shine of fur of your little paws. Charcoal Sketches can be the classiest birthday gift for dog lovers. They will have their dogs with them forever with this.

Okay. He's more into colours. We have one of the best colour portraits. Oil Portrait Paintings are one of the oldest art styles available. They have this world-class realism and depiction of reference that it is hard to spot the difference between real and art. Oil paintings can last a lifetime if they are kept properly and will surely make a collectors favourite anytime. So your two dog lovers are getting married? Get them a pair of their dogs painted on canvas and it will be the best wedding gift ever.

There is one more good option in colour paintings that is watercolour Paintings. Watercolour is a real splashy and creative art style which will capture the innocence in painting better than anything. Watercolour paintings have creative, colourful backgrounds which will be great with your monochromatic walls. This will make the best Christmas gift for dog lovers.

If you want a sketch but still in love with colours, your winning bet should be pencil colour drawings. Pencil colour drawings are the only sketches which are in colour. They are created with old school Pencil colours and have the detailing and surrealism of Pencil drawings of graphite pencils. This is a must-buy if you're looking for a gift for a girlfriend who is in love with her dog and can't live without you and him. This is a chance to make her believe you love her dog the way she does.

Dog lovers are definitely a different kind of people whose attachment with their dogs are unmatched. They believe to feel accomplished with their dogs. We as their Friends and family have this duty to share those emotions and embrace them. A dog portrait will be a chance for them to preserve all those moments with their dogs forever. Let me know in the comment section who's dog lover in your friend list?

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Palm Oil, one of the most magical ingredients available to mankind today, is present in almost 90% of products we consume. However, just as fame comes at a price, Palm Oil’s popularity comes with a huge debate with an equal number of people for and against it for varied reasons. Unfortunately, those who vote against it, have only seen one side of the PALM without attempting to see the picture in totality. I have consistently followed the highs and lows of Palm Oil, including it’s rising demand over the years, questions surrounding its impact on health, and the hue and cry around its sustainability. With this article, I wish to debunk some myths surrounding Palm Oil, so consumers can fearlessly make an informed choice whether for or against it.

So to the layman first up is the oblivious query, What is Palm Oil?

The answer to this is pretty simple, Palm Oil just like any other oil is made from the fruit of the tree, in this case, the Oil Palm which originally grew in Africa, then was harvested in countries with tropical weather like Indonesia and Malaysia.

So the pressing next question followed is, How is it used?

Palm Oil contains antioxidants and beta-carotenes, and has a mid-range smoke point with a nutty taste that makes it perfect for cooking, especially baking, sautéing and medium heat frying. Palm Oil also contains high saturated fat along with high lauric acid making it an ideal ingredient for personal care products such as soaps, lotions, cosmetics and household cleaning products. It is also used as biodiesel.

Since it is present in almost all aspects of life there is a raging debate on its effect on wellness. Let’s not forget that today Palm Oil is an indispensable part of our lives, with the WWF estimating it as an important ingredient in 90% of all supermarket products used. This huge magnitude opens up a continuous debate about the effects of Palm Oil on overall health and wellness. Thankfully there have been numerous studies conducted by respectable international bodies that reaffirm a positive effect on the health, thereby ascertaining the nutritional benefits as well.

Research shows that each tablespoon of Palm Oil contains 119 calories, 13.5-gram fat and 2.2-milligram Vitamin C, which help reduce the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, raise good HDL cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart attack and improve the immune system. Additionally, the antioxidants contained in Palm Oil offer many benefits to skin and hair health, including protecting cells from UV radiation and toxins.

So you must be asking yourself, if Palm Oil is so healthy and versatile, what’s all the debate surrounding it?

Well, honestly I find it rather amusing, for it seems like a smear campaign to discredit Palm Oil. Among the numerous non-validated arguments, one of the major accusations that detractors talk about is how the Oil Palm crop is not sustainably grown and wreaks havoc on the environment, animals and communities. This argument is usually followed by a constant call to substitute Palm Oil with other alternatives including rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.

However, the individuals who push for this change are unaware of the fact that the Oil Palm crop uses less land, fewer pesticides and fertilizers to produce than its counterpart. Now to put this in numbers, as per the research conducted by The Oil Palm, to produce 150 million tonnes of oil; 38 million hectares of oil palm will be required. However, to produce the same 150 million tonnes of oil, the need will be of 187 million hectares of rapeseed or 250 million hectares of sunflower or 375 million hectares of soybean, which clearly is more than thrice the land and so hence water, pesticides, fertiliser all resources will be greater than that for Oil Palm. So now the crucial question must be asked, Which crop would be able to match the climate and environmental sustainability of Oil Palm? As outlined above all alternative oilseed crops have a much larger negative impact on the environment and imbalance the metrics to a far greater extent.

But as the world population grows, the need for food, requirement for products, etc is rapidly growing. And to ensure that the need for food and other livelihood products is met, the best option currently is Palm Oil. Having said that, it’s no surprise that to cater to the rapid demand, the industry has pushed its boundaries to supply it. Unfortunately, an influx of Oil Palm plantations have sprung up all around the world, of which some are ethically planned while many are unethically seeded which creates doubt about sustainable and impact. To correct the wrong, many checks and balances have been put in place by the industry body, which enables the industry to head in the right direction.

However, the buck doesn't stop with the industry, but it does extend to us. As consumers who are aware of our individual responsibilities, we need to ask the tough questions, voice our opinions, pressurise for use of ethical ingredients, and join movements like Palm Done Right to be a part of this revolution and support those who are leading the change for a better tomorrow.

Until next time,

~ Heena

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Disclaimer:

This article is written in partnership with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council to create awareness about Palm Oil, its history and way forward. The views expressed are independent and unbiased observations made by the blogger and the council bears no responsibility for the same.

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Everyone has a dream, but very few are willing to truly chase a dream. I have seen that willingness, that zeal and that perseverance in Heer. Her choices over the years have been out of the box for a child her age. At times I did want to caution her for the fear of her not being able to achieve what she wanted. But I have tried to be supportive as I've always been amazed at her ambition to get better and her onus to complete.

Over the years she has shown interest in performing arts and music. I have let her pursue what she wanted by discussing the pros and cons, the future and more. She has always been extremely keen in learning and performing ballet and a musical instrument over the years. Last year, she has taken great strides in her ballet class and has gone on to perform with her ballet group too.

However, music education on the whole had taken a back seat for a while and we wanted her to pursue this interest as music plays a very important part in a child’s development. Research even shows that children exposed to music training from an early childhood develop an interest in exploring, they speak more clearly, have a larger vocabulary and have strong social-emotional skills. The psychologist Howard Gardner also pegged music intelligence above logical and emotional intelligence as it has the ability to strengthen the bond between the mind and the body.

We finally decided to trade her tiny little pink toy keyboard for a portable Roland E-X30 Arranger Keyboard. Investing in a piano is a huge decision and after scrutiny, we picked the Roland E-X30 Arranger Keyboard for its high-quality sounds that are ideal for music lessons. This keyboard seems to be a beautiful blend between western and Indian music as it has wide range of both Indian and western sounds and rhythms. Roland is also planning to provide local music styles for Roland E-X30 in future.

A keyboard - contrary to what people believe - is a relatively easy, interesting and social instrument to include in a child’s learning. It helps build a child’s musical expression and creativity, develop technique and rhythm while letting children play and create full-band performances. Roland E-X30 with features like a portability, onboard speakers and battery operation is convenient to carry anywhere.

I’ve seen my little girl blossom as the keyboard has sparked her passion and curiosity for music. She keeps setting her musical goals and revisits them from time to time. I think as a mother while I encourage her to chase her dream and soar high into the sky, my instinct also ensures that I keep her grounded and raise her as an individual true to herself. And as she gets older and begins to fine-tune her dreams, I shall help her keep an honest eye on reality which shall become her greatest assets in understanding who she is, what is she doing, where she is going, and how she will get there.

Let me know in the comments below how do you as a parent help in your child’s dream?

Until next time,
~ Heena

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