Probus Way to Successful Ageing. Published by Probus Club of Chennai. 2007. Pages approx 300.

Available upon a donation of Rs 100. Contact: (044)26692252 This 300 pages annual publication is a veritable compendium of facts and data extremely useful to senior citizens. One part of the book contains a good number of brief articles on various topics such as Ethics, health, sex, finance, growing or ageing issues, religion, spirituality, psychology, relationships, travelogue, insurance, IRDA, Laws etc. Like Cinema titles, there is indeed an article called: Successful Ageing: The second 50 perhaps justifying the title of the book. The other part comprises of several mini directories rolled into one: Associations, NGOs, Old Age Homes (in Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Kerala), Help lines, Meals-on-wheels providers, Gas complaints, Toll free numbers, Important phone numbers, and the ultimate place where we should all go -- the crematoriums. There are some articles in Tamil too. This is an advertisement (34 pages) supported publication. The qualifications of the contributors give credence to the quality of articles. Sri KV Chary has contributed a lot to this volume by way of content. There are lots of quotations used as fillers: One of these quotes Habib Mian of Jaipur saying at the age of 127: Why are you asking me to name a nominee. I have no intention of dying soon. Well, that is human mind, never wanting to quit. Everything about Probus Club of Chennai their activities, members, history, contributors, members of Executive Committee, publications etc are given except the contact postal address! On page viii there is a disclaimer stating that the publishers are not responsible for any factual errors or infringement of copyright , if any. As far as the copyright issue is concerned it would have been better if the burden is specifically shifted to individual authors wherever this can be done and in the case of other content (unsigned articles or compilations), publisher will have to assume responsibility. I recommend this book to all senior citizens. The directory part will be useful to locals and the rest of the book will be useful to all. Review by: Dr P Vyasamoorthy Vyasamoorthy@gmail.com (040)27846631 ========================================================================

Swasti: Simple Remedies for Healthy Living. Published by Manava Seva Kendra 8/57A, 1st cross, 8th main, Rajajinagar, Rajmahal extension. Sadashivanagar, Banaglore 560080 Phone 23614824. manavasevakendra@usa.net www.manavasevakendra.org june 2000 p 48 + 25 pages of color photos. Price not mentioned. (free?) Swasti is a very useful booklet giving health tips for most common ailments. All remedies are made up of common kitchen ingredients. Nearly 200 problems are covered under: Brain/mind, ears, eyes, fever, head, heart, nose, throat, lungs, preganancy, skin, stomach, abdomen, liver, kidney, teeth etc. A 25 pages appendix shows the photo of the natural ingredient along with local names in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and English. This visual part is useful for easy identification of the material concerned. In some cases better pictures could have been chosen: for example for banyan leaf, picture of leaf is shown instead of banyan tree. There is no particular order in which the items are presented, which makes it difficult to get at the entry. As these are home remedy tips each entry is short. No references or sources are given. What sources may be quoted for traditional knowledge? Reviewed by: Dr P Vyasamoorthy Vyasamoorthy@gmail.com Ph: (044)27846631 ======================================================