Rishi Panchami Vrata | World Physiotherapy Day | International Literacy Day

Background of Rishi Panchami
Today (Bhadra Shukla Panchami) is Rishi Panchami, a special day for women to worship the seven sages (Saptarishis). The history of Rishi Panchami is thousands of years old and just as old is the history of the importance given to women's sexual and reproductive health and rights by Vedic Sanatan rituals. It is customary for women to compare the days of menstruation according to the four goddesses: Chandalani on the first day, Brahmadhatini on the second day, Dhobini on the third day and purification by bathing on the fourth day.

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु ज्ञानरूपेण संस्थिता।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु दयारूपेण संस्थिता ।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥

Meaning:
The Goddess who is addressed as the consciousness among all beings, greet them, greet them, greet them repeatedly, frequently. Those Goddesses who are intellectually situated among all beings, greet them, greet them, greet them repeatedly. Those Goddesses who are mercifully situated in all beings, greet them, greet them, greet them repeatedly.

Our heartfelt salutations to the omnipresent and all-pervading woman in the universe as a force. It is clear that comparing menstruation with untouchability is a misinterpretation of the classical statement. In ancient times, it was forbidden to do kitchen and other activities to get enough rest during menstruation. Later, this prohibition was taken as untouchability and guilt. Remember that the menstrual blood of women is the basis of the universe, the essence of creation comes from here.

What is done today?
Today, women use UpaMarga, i.e. a plant with special natural herbal properties, to brush and chew their teeth after completing their daily routine in the morning. The Upamarga is a plant readily available on Nepali soil. Upamarga means the disease eradicating substance in Sanskrit. After using the stalk pieces of 108Upamarga, the women use the soil on their body and go to the nearby stream or lake to bathe. After bathing, it is customary to mix Panchabhagya i.e. milk, curd, ghee, dubo, kush and cow dung, and consume one or two drops of it kept in a copper vessel.

World Physiotherapy Day



Background:
Various muscular problems, bone problems, and stiffness can distract a person from this skill and practice of mobility, maintaining the same mobility requires the skill and study of physiotherapists. With this need in mind, World Physiotherapy Day is celebrated on September 8 every year with various programs.

World Physical Therapy Day is on 8th September every year. The day is an opportunity for physiotherapists from all over the world to raise awareness about the crucial contribution the profession makes to keeping people well, mobile and independent.

 In 1813, Swiss gymnast Henrik Ligan opened the Royal Institute of Gymnastics. The organization was the first in the world to introduce massages, remedial exercises, and other exercises for mobility and pain relief.

 The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy was opened in Britain in 1894, and the first college of physiotherapy was at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC. A physiotherapy branch was started in this hospital during the First World War.

History of physiotherapy in Nepal
In Nepal, the history of physiotherapy can be traced back to a few decades ago when some private hospitals formally started this as a new medical system. In the 1980s, physiotherapy was practiced through military hospitals, leprosy prevention therapies, and some trained health workers from India. In 1983, the IOM formally recognized physiotherapy as a 30-month post-SLC course.

In this process, we have a history of about 50 people being trained till 1990, but again in 1990, physiotherapy teaching was stopped in Nepal. However, there were various informal trainings and on-the-job trainings. Since 2002, Dhulikhel Medical Institute has formally started physiotherapy. Since then, the number of courses and service providers has been increasing in Nepal.

After the armed conflict, after 2063 BS, physiotherapy was used extensively in military camps and hospitals for the rehabilitation and recuperation of wounded and injured soldiers. NEPTA is a professional association of Nepali physiotherapists. Physiotherapy is the backbone of treatment in itself, and today back and neck pain has become the most common and recurring pain due to a more hectic lifestyle and constant use of computers and mobiles, isn't it?

Theme 2024:
The focus for this year's World PT Day is low back pain (LBP) and the role of physiotherapy in its management and prevention. The campaign is focused around the following key messages. LBP is the leading cause of disability globally.

Physiotherapy is essential in various procedures including amputation and after an accidental injury. We also want to combine yoga practice with physiotherapy here. Ayurveda has given equal priority to Aahar and Bihar. Yoga practices are the basis of sophisticated physiotherapy, Patanjali and Dhanwantari's books and studies discuss yogasanas to stay healthy.

Mobility is life, take care of health Congratulations to all the physiotherapists and clients!

International Literacy Day



International Literacy Day 2024: Promoting Multilingual Education: Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace.

The importance of written letters and numbers is so great and incomparable, the concept of a developed society is certainly not possible without introducing all human beings to these letters and numbers.

Context:
 In the modern world, education and literacy are linked to basic human rights, but studies show that more than 770 million people around the world do not have basic literacy skills. It is easy to find some illiterate people of all ages living near us. It is a fundamental right of everyone to be able to read and write by recognizing common letters and numbers and general arithmetic. However, these things need to come out of the pages of paper and come true in real life.

According to the Global Literacy Monitoring Report, one in five men and two-thirds of women in the world are still illiterate, and many more have extremely low literacy skills. Many children still do not go to school and even those who do get it do not go to school every day. Countries including West and South Asia still have low literacy rates.

Background:
September 8, World Literacy Day. In 1965, UNESCO declared September 8 of each year as World Literacy Day. Schools, communities, and institutions around the world celebrate this day spontaneously in various ways to spread awareness for literacy.

It is everyone's responsibility to make everyone literate. From Nepal's perspective, the digital age and its utilization for digital education and awareness for literacy is still inadequate. Hand-held mobiles and home-based internet should not be just a waste of time to communicate and spend time without education and literacy.

In Nepal, it is important to give continuity to programs including early education because education is important for everyone, be it children or the elderly. From kharipati and dhulopati to carving letters, from blackboard and slate, from reading Ka, Kha alphabets on the chart hanging on the wall to the generation knowing the letters from the computer screen, Nepali society has witnessed a lot of transformation on its education system.

How can we make everyone literate is the question for today, whether it is by reading alphabet books or by giving them free daily reading or by creating a reading environment to take them to school, it is the responsibility of everyone to make a literate society, literate nation, and a literate world. ‘Siksha Dhan Sarvapradhanam’ ‘शिक्षा धनं सर्वप्रधानम"

Meaning: Education is the supreme wealth.

-Suyog Dhakal