Where love ’n beauty blossom

Caryl NUGARA

Flowers are the loveliest of earth’s adornments. Whether wild or propagated they are part of nature’s beauty. Flowers act natural accessory to enhance female beauty.

As early as the sixth century, King Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon yet considered a wonder of the world.

The Elamite city of Susa had perfect gardens long before the Christian Era. Assiriya, Sumer and Egypt were proud of areas unique for flowers.

Persia was the most important horticultural region in the world and flowers such as crocus, cornflower, lily and amaryllis are species that originally grew there. In fact there are flower paintings on some ancient urns and dishes.

The Cape Jasmine grew on shrubs in American states such as Georgia and Savannah. The waxy white flowers heavily scented have long tubes and the other variety is pale yellow with purple impressions.

Margaret Mitchell in her ‘Gone with the Wind’ writes about the wealthy southern mansions scented with jasmine buds which burst out into flowers. She also depicts the Magnolia blossoms in spring, white and fragrant. This flower is yet the emblem of Louisiana and Mississippi.

In the warmer climate of Colorado and the old reservations floral bouquets of pinky-mauve verbena, sunflowers and yellow brittle-brush odd to the glory of spring. Even the alluvial slopes of deserts were enhanced by the wild chicory flower, the pure white primrose and Beaver-tail blossoms ravishing in reddish pink.

The crepe myrtle bloomed in splendour amidst wisteria tumbling down in glorious colours.

The Mountain Andromeda grew among the Kentucky Blue Grass and clover beds. Flowers that needed warmth and moisture like sweet peas, and cyclamen also grew in abundance. The Columbine, Delphinium dandy tuft, moss pinks and violets lent their loveliness to summer. The Floribundo Rose and rhododendron flaunted its clusters of bright flowers.

England had her own species like roses, azaleas and lupins. In Pamela Harper’s famous collection of flower photography there is an enchanting one of an old English cottage embraced in a profusion of roses, buttercups, pansies and Jerusalem sage.

The queens of England admired flowers and had silver bowls of them in their courts. There is a luxuriant bed of tulips and hydrangeas at Hampton court making a combination of colours.

Queen Anne’s Lace (the flowers named in honour of her) has an arrangement of clustered snowy white flower heads on the stem. Canterbury bells, mimosa, lilac, fragrant sweet peas, briar roses and “babies’ breath” are delicate and rich in nectar.

In cold countries there were summer flowers like holly-hock, gladioli, fox-glove and Sweet William in vivid colours. Tubular flowers like Lilly-of-the-Valley bloom on stems right up to the top. The golden rod and pussy willow have silky, cylindrical inflorescences. Dahlia, dandelions and crown-of-thorn grew in hedges.

The gardenia and chrysanthemum are sub-tropical flowers with a fragrance. Chinese peasants painted them on silk scrolls.

The impressive scarlet poppy was supposed to have blossomed in the war fields of flanders where several brave soldiers died during the World War I.

Tulips, belonging to an early period are bulbous flowers, erect and cup shaped.

They grew abundantly in fields and dykes of the Netherlands.

Canals, ancient grounds and swamp-land that had constant water drifts were natural places for water lilies, lotus, marsh marigolds and purple hyacinth. They created a hazy and serene environment ideal for meditation and healing.

Oriental flowers like plum blossom, mulberry flowers and cherry blossoms thrived in quiet, untouched places blooming in silver gleaming mass on their trees.

It is curious some pre-historic people grew flowers for food. The ancient Mexicans ate dhalia roots and the Chines ate stalks and seeds of the lotus.

During the Elizabethan Period, mothers grew marigolds which seasoned their “pot pies” (meat in stew) and salad. Syrup of violets gave a pleasant taste to puddings and cakes.

Small pastry shells containing custard was garnished with primroses. Cherry and orange flowers were mixed in a broth or prepared as ice cream with butterfat and sugar. “Rose pies” were filled with meat and rose petals. (Funk and Wagnall’s Encyl. Vol. 2)

Flowers were also used as medicine. Foxglove, digitalis, poppy and sweet scabious each had their medicinal properties.

Roman women, disdainfully proud of themselves applied the lily, a symbol of purity to cleanse the skin and root of iris as a perfume.

Dissecting dreams

Shanila Perera unmasks her strife in becoming a doctor:

The medical student peers through her surgical face mask at the patient’s big toe. Her mentors pick up the scalpel and forceps to demonstrate. Then she makes the first cut. Amidst the sea of blue forms and shapes that colour the crinkled surgical scrubs, a halo of light hovers above the student’s hands as she gets one step closer to becoming a doctor.

Becoming a doctor just takes time and a lot of work, the student says while brushing aside the fatigue with a bright smile.

Shanila Perera, 26, is full of smiles when she talks about her first year as a medical student. “It’s good to be smart, but it’s not all of it. Hard work has to do a lot with becoming a doctor.”

“It’s good,” she laughs. “I mean it is my dream come true.”

Perera has waited a long time for this moment - with continuous studying, dissecting, going to class, meeting “patients,” she is surviving the medical education gauntlet that all physicians endure.

Since the fourth grade, she knew she wanted to be a doctor. Perera started studying science at age nine and fell in love with it.

“We did all these experiments, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’” she said. By the end of that year, Perera was in love with science and helping people.

“Medicine was a way to do all of that,” she said. Now a student at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (Chicago Medical School) in North Chicago, Perera is pursuing her dream. But it was not easy getting here.

If you want to be a doctor, Perera says, “stay with it.” She had to try twice before her dream became a reality.

The pre-medical era

Unlike American students applying to U.S. medical schools, Perera had additional barriers to overcome. Although she struggled with the language, she excelled in science, double-majoring in biology and chemistry.

Perera applied to about 20 schools, still, she didn’t get in. But she didn’t give up. She shadowed a doctor. She did summer research. She got some clinical experience by volunteering in the community and at hospitals.

And she enroled in a master’s programme at Rosalind Franklin to study biomedical sciences. During the one-year programme, Perera took classes most first-year medical school students take: molecular cell biology, physiology, biochemistry, neuro science, embryology.

Although she stayed on top of her studies, there were times when she questioned when and if she would ever get into medical school. “There were times I cried,” she said. “It was sometimes very stressful.”

The first-year

Eventually Perera re-applied, this time only to Rosalind Franklin, and got in. “The greatest thing is getting accepted,” Perera said. When she started medical college, Perera was stressed.

“The first few weeks were, like, ‘Oh my God I need to do well; I need to study; I don’t know how to manage this time,’” she said. “It’s a freaking-out period.

“The hardest thing is it’s a lot of classes.” Looking back on her first two quarters, however, Perera says medical school is not all about getting an A.

“It’s about studying, knowing my stuff, so I can take care of my patients,” she said. “I see why it’s important to learn and I try not to freak out.”

Still Perera calls herself a “nerd” when she talks about how much she studies. She begins the day at 4:30 a.m., poring over her notes from the previous day’s classes. Then she studies between labs, classes and discussion groups.

“I could get a B with less work,” she says, “but in the end, it’s worth it. When you do something really well, or you see patients - acting patients - it’s just like, ‘Wow, this is why I’m here.’ It’s good at that moment.”

First patients

One of the most significant experiences for a medical student is the gross anatomy lab.

It is here that students meet their first real patients -cadavers - people who have donated their bodies as a gift to these aspiring physicians and their future patients.

This lab was Perera’s first cadaver experience. Anatomy is important because it “teaches you the body. We feel for the liver. We feel for the spleen. If you know where it is, what it does, how it feels, if you’ve seen it, you’ll know it better,” she added. But Perera’s favourite ‘patients’ are her peers. Students learn how to treat patients and diagnose problems by practising on each other.

Perera lets her friend examine her reflexes, eye sight and heartbeat, before switching roles from patient to doctor. “It tells me that one day I’m going to do this, and that’s the most meaningful thing for me.”

Future plans

Perera does not know what kind of doctor she wants to be. For now her plan is to get through the third quarter.

With neuroscience, genetics, biochemistry, more clinical reasoning, medical ethics and epidemiology, she has a full academic load. As the medical field becomes more competitive, Perera recommends that aspiring physicians do internships, explore research options and shadow a doctor.

“If it’s your dream, as long as you work really hard, it will come true,” she said. “It did for me, even if it was a little later.”

- Medill reports Chicago

Let the eyes talk

What beauty style you prefer, there are eye make up tips that allow you to be the very best at it. But one thing that should always be considered is the health of your eyes. Your vision should never be compromised for makeup and there is really no reason for that to happen either.

As you are probably aware eye make up application takes practice and you will probably need to experiment to find out what eye make up designs and what eye make up style suits you.

Your eye make up application will include mascara, eyeliner, and eye shadow, and knowing how to apply these correctly and how to choose the right make up for your eye colour will help you to discover the true secrets to beautiful eye make up colour.

Four steps to beautiful eye make up colour

Choosing the right eye shadow

Choosing the right eye shadow can sometimes be a matter of taste. Eye shadows come in cream and powder types. Powder is most suited to people with oily skin. Cream eye shadow is ideal for younger skin as it will sink into wrinkles and be dissolved in oily skin. If you have uneven skin tone an eye make up concealer should be applied before your eye shadow. The best eye make up concealer is one that makes your skin tone.

Choosing the right colour eye shadow

Getting the colour of your eye shadow right is the best way to achieve beautiful eye make up colour. Browns are generally used for daytime as these are natural colours. For evening wear and social occasions you can choose a shade to match the clothes you are wearing.

When choosing make up for your eye colour, you should never choose the colour of your eyes as this will not draw attention to your eyes and will have the opposite effect.

Eyeliner Application

Your eyeliner will help to accentuate your eye shadow so it is imperative that you get this right. Eye pencil is the most commonly used, although it does not last as long as the liquid form.

For a younger looking eye make up style you could opt for a brownish coloured eyeliner rather than traditional black. Your eyeliner should go the whole way along your eyes but should not exceed them.

Using Mascara to Frame

The final step in creating beautiful eye make up color is your mascara. This can make your eyes really look beautiful and can create an illusion of dark, long eyelashes. Mascara comes is many different colors with the most common being black. As with eyeliner, if you wish to achieve a softer more natural look, you should opt for brown coloured mascara.

Using these tips not only will you achieve beautiful eye make up colour but you will also look radiant in the process.

(Eye-make-up-tips)

Womanly Solidarity:

‘Investing in Women and Girls’
Life disowned; yet skilled
and experienced life’s bitter troughs
One’s stature diminished?
No!! Dignity and self respect transcend
You engage in a social contract
independently
Sacrifice the best times of life
for other’s well-being
Your rights and freedom
we shall safeguard and uphold!
Molding the basic unit of society;
your family
Conferring professional judgment
via your career
Cascading guidance unto the young
and tender
With solicitude we act as sentinels,
over you, for your advancement
Certainly you have fulfilled obligations; it’s our turn to “salute you” indeed.

- Dhiruwani PERERA