Category Archives: AestheticHoliday.com

  • February 8, 2016
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Thrissur Homestay

Thrissur Homestay with AestheticHoliday

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Category : AestheticHoliday.com

When you talk about Thrissur Homestay, AestheticHoliday is the first choice. AestheticHoliday is a serviced villa with all modern amenities, and it is not just a homestay. It is ideally suited for small groups of about 10 to 20 people. The ambience is ideal for small parties and we have a swimming pool in the courtyard. AestheticHoliday is situated in a 4-acre nutmeg orchard. There are 3 AC bedrooms and 2 Non-AC rooms. The majority of our clients are groups attending weddings in Thrissur or NRI families visiting their relatives in Thrissur. If you are looking for a homestay in Thrissur, do contact us.

About Thrissur Homestay

Thrissur is situated in the centre of the state of Kerala and is also known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala because of its cultural, spiritual and religious leanings throughout history. The district hosts the Thrissur Pooram carnival, the most colourful and magnificent temple festival in Kerala. The festival is held at the Thekkinkadu grounds in April or May. Thrissur has a large number of well-known temples including the Vadakkumnathan temple, Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple and Paramekkavu temple, and the Guruvayur temple as well as two famous churches, the Our Lady of Lourdes Syro-Malabar Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral and the Our Lady of Dolours Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica. Thrissur homestay is located in this exotic location.

AestheticHoliday and Thrissur Homestay

Thanks for visiting our site. Please check out our some of our farm products too. We also have a well equipped Gym and our tariff is available here.

  • April 3, 2013
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Potential Solutions to Kerala’s Power Crisis

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Energy , Kerala

To be mathematically correct, I have lived only 40% of my life in my home state of Kerala, often called the God’s own country. I was born in a village (villages in Kerala are not really villages any more) called Kombodinjamakkal in central Kerala. Our state (it is more important to be politically correct here than mathematically correct) is plagued by two impending disasters. A looming power crisis because of the angry rain gods scourging the bourgeois for exploiting its hydro electric power for such a long time. The second is the pathetic waste management, all because of the inefficiency of our neighbour and the government to remove the wastes from our backyard!

Kerala Temple Festival
Ayyappan Kavu Ulsavam (Photo credit: beapen)

Why am I getting into this quagmire? Because I am a winner of multiple innocentive challenges and I want to show off. Hey, I am entitled to some self promotion on my blog. This is an attempt to give some lateral thinking perspective (if you will) to these complicated problems. But needless to say that I have no prior experience in this.

OK, let us start with energy or power. I don’t know much about both except that both have the same unit for measurement. Political power has a different unit by the way! I also know that the two easily available, clean energy sources are the sun and the wind. Wind energy is proportional to the cube of wind velocity. (Hey, I seem to know more than I thought). So a wind turbine has to be mounted on a tower for effective functioning and may not be cost effective in Kerala. Besides we don’t have much free space with an exceptionally high population density in spite of being manpower suppliers of the world for well over a decade.

That leaves the energy from the sun. Solar energy is traditionally harvested with photovoltaic cells made out of silicon wafers. We do not produce enough silicon to harvest solar energy. If gold could trap sunlight we could have made use of the gold our housewives have accumulated over the years.

Solar water heaters are effectively being used in Kerala. In my house, we cover the panels of our solar heater to prevent excessive heating of water! Water is abundant enough to trap solar energy too. Is there any way to produce electricity from hot water? Do you think a modified steam turbine would be an answer to our energy woes? Feel free to post your ideas here. Maybe men of power (pun intended) would someday see this and experiment (and implement) with our ideas! When I get some fresh ideas for waste management, I will post it here. Well do you have any?

Watch the video posted below. (Credit: Timothy Sohacki – YouTube )

  • February 8, 2013
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The elusive Kallana (Stone Elephant)

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Kerala

Elephant Self-Portrait
Elephant Self-Portrait (Photo credit: Cybjorg)

Kallana – കല്ലാന  (the literal translation would be stone elephant) is an elusive species of elephant supposed to be seen in Kerala, that belongs to the realm of cryptozoology. The locals describe it as a adult elephant with a maximum height of 5 feet, but with normal trunk and tail. Till recently it was only a local folklore like the bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. Recently one was captured, but whether it is a mutant pygmy elephant or a new species has yet to be ascertained. Even a genetic test could be inconclusive as proof of many such elephants with the same genotype and phenotypic presentation is needed for defining a species. Well documented pygmy elephant species (Elephas maximus borneensis) has been described in other parts of the world.

  • January 26, 2013
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Tourism in God’s Own Country

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Kerala , Tourism

Sad day for tourism in Kerala as 4 people were drowned in a freak house boat accident in  Alappuzha – The Venice of the East. I think basic infrastructure development and proper waste management would go a long way in attracting tourists to the state than the much hyped Grand Kerala shopping festival! BTW posting few of our DSF snaps.

  • December 7, 2012
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The male psychology

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Beauty , Cosmetics , Health , market research , Men , Personal care , Television advertisement

"OLD SPICE ODOR BLOCKER BODY WASH IS SO P...
“OLD SPICE ODOR BLOCKER BODY WASH IS SO POWERFUL, IT CAN BLOCK B.O. FOR SIXTEEN HOURS!!!!!!!” (Photo credit: edwick)
How to market a cosmetic product or service to men? From my experience women tend to notice new products in the market more than men. It may be easier to reach men through their partner because of this. Gift coupons might work as a significant proportion of men’s cosmeceuticals are gifted by their female partner. However the purchase of personal care products is borne out of necessity in men. Men give more importance to price and endorsements. It is vital to give a convincing explanation of how a product works. Men do not have preconceived ideas about what they require to improve their looks. They are more open to suggestions. Men do not compete with each other as far as looks are concerned. They just want to be different. Men generally come with their partners for consultation and consider them experts while women usually hide cosmetic services from their male partners. Tired looks is a common male complaint. The most common male concerns are hairloss and body odour.
  • August 21, 2012
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Not Fair!

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Clinical trial , Cosmetics , Medicine , RCT

Cosmetics
Cosmetics (Photo credit: My Sight, as You See.)

Should the cosmetic industry be regulated? Cosmetic industry historically is either not regulated or the regulations are minimal and ineffectual in most parts of the world. A topical pharmaceutical product takes years to reach the market after stringent safety and efficacy tests on humans and animal models. Still pharmaceutical products cannot advertise while the cosmetic industry can make horrendous claims like 2 shades lighter skin and “get your hair back in 15 days”!

English: Sun Spray, Nature Cosmetic, Sun Spray...
English: Sun Spray, Nature Cosmetic, Sun Spray from Germany Deutsch: Sonnenspray, Naturkosmetik, Deutsches Sonneschutzmittel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ironically most consumers believe that cosmetic products have to substantiate their safety and efficacy to regulatory bodies before they make these claims. But the fact of the matter is, you can get away with normal clay packed in an attractive bottle as a fairness cream. If you have a good advertising team, you can make money too. Some claim “medical” benefits and call themselves cosmeceuticals!

Pharmaceutical products go through pre-clinical Phase I testing on animal models and clinical Phase II and Phase III testing to establish its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile. Further monitoring and testing is done in Phase IV for which the gold standard is Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). RCT is used to compare the product to placebo or the existing standard treatment. Though there is some merit in the argument that Phase I-III tests may not be required for cosmetics as only “products generally considered safe” are used in the manufacturing process, evidence collected through an appropriately conducted RCT is imperative to substantiate any advertisement claims that cosmetic manufacturers make. Manufacturers may not follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) too.

It is high time for fairness creams to play fair!

  • April 14, 2012
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Pound foolish Vishu

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Kerala , Malayalam

Pounds Sterling
Pounds Sterling (Photo credit: 917press)
Today is Vishu, the malayalam new year. People wear new clothes and elders gift money to children called ‘vishukaineettam’. The latest TV advertisement of Kerala State Lottery shows this gifting ceremony. But there is a twist in the tale. What the person is gifting is not Indian rupee! It is a 2 pound sterling coin!! Time for introspection to all idolatrous Manglish speaking Mallus including me.
india kerala boat people
india kerala boat people (Photo credit: FriskoDude)
There are few hilarious TV ads in malayalam as well where Mohanlal buys, sells and does everything possible with gold. One hair oil ad rambles: “Why look at the face, everything is in the hair!!”  All the “kuri” ads try to be funny by emulating the comical Thrissur accent. Is it because all ‘kuri-companies’ are from Thrissur or is it because they (we) are the most gullible?

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  • January 31, 2012
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My personal experience with KIRTADS healer

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Alternative Medicine , Health , India , Medicine , Traditional medicine

Traditional healer stand in an open market in ...
Image via Wikipedia
So on to my personal experience with a KIRTADS healer. I went inside one of the shacks (there were many, specialised in various segments perhaps) and met a dark, well built healer with a smooth-shaven face. (Not the features you expect for a traditional healer.) I told him that one of my friends has a thick skin condition like psoriasis. He immediately recognised psoriasis (may be it is a common complaint) and advised me that psoriasis requires exfoliation of thick skin from outside and purification of blood from inside and recommended concoctions for both. I realised that at a conceptual level, their approach is not very different from ours. Purification of blood is a very popular concept among traditional healers. It is a very appealing concept and has very high placebo value. Even if you go to a modern pharmacy in India and ask for “blood purification mix”, I am sure you will get something or the other OTC!!
Next I asked him whether he has any medicine for being fair. I sensed a qualm before he offered me “slim oil” for the same. May be he equated fair to beauty and by a complicated reasoning process – beauty to being slim. He did not offer me any further explanation. I feel “fairness creams” is a modern fad and never existed before. That brings me to certain ludicrous claims of Indian “fairness creams”. More on this in the next post.
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  • January 29, 2012
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KIRTADS

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Alternative Medicine , Kerala , Medicine , Psoriasis

KIRTADS – The Kerala Institute for Research, Training and Development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is conducting a പൈത്രികൊല്സവം (culture festival, the translation may not be accurate) in Mala, Kerala from Jan 22nd 2012 to Jan 30th 2012. Since I am in Kerala now on vacation, I visited this festival a couple of days back. They had several stalls for traditional medicine. I will blog about my experience later. Today I will translate relevant parts of their brochure. Disclaimer: The translation may not be accurate. Read at your risk!!

Ethnomedicine (വംശീയവൈദ്യം): Every tribe has their own knowledge and treatment methods to deal with various diseases. Diseases that exist for several generations are treated with herbs and materials of animal origin. These practical knowledge evolved over several centuries and became a form of medicine called ethnomedicine. However this form of medicine is on the decline because of inefficient transfer of information through generations. Kirtands is trying to preserve this knowledge by encouraging ethnomedicine practitioners. Their core expertise is in psoriasis, piles, infertility, cancer, diseases of the nervous system, vitiligo, asthma, hair fall, abdominal diseases, cough, various arthritis and joint pains, eye diseases and tonsillitis. 

Medical Sauna: 

This is effective for skin diseases, respiratory diseases and arthritis and includes more than 60 herbal medicines. This treatment method is available in several centers in Kerala.

Research Initiatives in Ethanomedicine:

The main emphasis of our research division is on perpetuating the knowledge we have accumulated. We have initiated a 3 year course in ethanomedicine. Many of our practitioners who completed this course has become very popular in various districts of Kerala. We also conduct treatment camps in various places. We have even collaborated with Regional research center, Trivandrum on trials for diabetic medications. Our initiatives have helped in preserving our traditional treatment methods and to make it popular among the masses. 

In my next post I will describe my personal experience!

  • January 22, 2012
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Is there more to yoga than exercise?

Category : AestheticHoliday.com , Alternative Medicine , Religion and Spirituality , Yoga

Yoga at Wanderlust
Image by aquababe via Flickr
Today I read an article titled “jeevithayogam” about yoga in Malayala Manorama – Health. Though the title of this blog post may seem negative, I personally have no doubts about the many positive effects of yoga. In fact I have copied the title from an article published recently. We even provide yoga classes in our AestheticHoliday. I believe that Yoga is one of the most  intelligently contrived placebo treatment in the world. I must again stress that I am a strong supporter of the placebo effect and I don’t consider it an aberration that needs to be accounted for. 
However the focus of this article mentioned above is not about yoga itself. The author claims that the west has started to accept yoga by quoting few attractive names and studies. In fact it is little difficult to read these names in malayalam script. If cute names and studies can garner credibility, we may still be far behind acupuncture, and traditional chinese medicine. Here is what I found on pubmed.
1. Search for yoga  (779 results)
2. Search for acupuncture.  (8921 results)
3. Chinese Medicine (3069 results)
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