Hello Readers,

Things are getting a bit difficult by the day, with no respite. That’s something all of humankind is struggling with today. All we can do is sympathize with each other, help each other and try to bring some positivity in each other’s lives.

And that’s what we have set out to do.

I got Covid last month and life has been a struggle since then. The way things are, even a sneeze makes one scared that it must be the notorious virus. And once we get it, we are scared of not recovering. Once we recover, we are scared of not healing. Once we start healing, anything that happens, even a mouth ulcer, makes one worried that it must be the after effects of Covid.

And the biggest fear of all, is the entire family getting it. I mean, it was contagious last year also, but it seems to have bulked up and become more contagious now for some reason. I went through that personally, and have shared my experience in Road to Recovery – Battling Covid 19 about what I did (and you can do) at home to heal. Remember, it is possible to recover at home, for mild to moderate cases. Just hang on to the hope and promise that things can get alright.

There was a joke circulating during the first lockdown about people sitting at home and having more babies. Seems like it turned out to be true. The world goes on, with the cycle of births and deaths. But it begs the question – how can we protect new born babies? It surely would be a task to protect them, or even the pregnant/nursing mother. Turns out there are things you can do, says Charulatha Jai, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in Pregnancy and Lactation during Covid 19.

Nutrition and health cannot be ignored during these times, and immunity is the buzzword today. Supraja S, a Nutritionist and Holistic Health Coach writes a very informative piece on how we can build our immunity in Immunity in Covid Times.

Positivity aside, let us accept that the times are tough, and we have lost many people in the last few months. One such person, who had a great impact on people (especially in her spiritual group, including my family for a brief period) was Indu Jain (of Times Group). A grand lady, she made an impression on us when we were very young. Even today, when someone says Iron Lady, her fleeting image does come to mind first. We pay our respects to her in Embracing Death with Equal Élan – Indu Jain. May her soul rest in peace. And may the souls of all those people we have lost rest in peace.

We need immense strength to not only face the loss of lives, but to continue on our own journey, picking up the pieces. What better book to review than the Dream Keeper to remind us that it’s absolutely alright to lose, to fall down and to rise again. Read more about it in Dream Keeper – A Poetography Ensemble.

And because we are a gender enlightening magazine, and because we want to highlight the prevailing gender inequality in every issue, we bring you a very thought provoking piece on how gender reveals are not a great tool for achieving gender equality in Gender Reveals: A Non-Inclusive Cultural Practice. After all, boy or girl or trans, a baby is a baby and is born with all of the human AND citizen rights the rest of us have, isn’t it? What better time than now to embrace the differences amongst us and lend a helping hand to those suffering.

Because our own suffering is not hypothetical anymore, it is somewhere lurking around the corner.

Peace, Strength and Wisdom to All,

Jyoti Shekar

Founder Editor, Eyra

*All images used in this article are either Eyra’s own design or widely and freely available on the internet.*