Himalaya launches digital campaign #momsunplugged

The unscripted film delivers a refreshing take on what motherhood means and shows honest and candid conversations between moms

 

In 1930, a young visionary by the name of Mr. M. Manal foresaw the benefits of herbal remedies while riding through the forests of Burma. After diligently researching the science of the traditional field of Ayurveda, he decided to dedicate his life creating products that would improve millions of lives across the world. Today, with a history spanning more than eight decades of herbal research, Himalaya has positioned itself as a brand that cares about not only enrich people’s lives but also the environment. With their ‘head to heel’ range of products, Himalaya aims to provide a holistic solution to everyday ailments that affect our bodies.

Seeped in a legacy of researching nature, Himalaya has successfully been able to harness the science of Ayurveda through cutting-edge research to become a brand that is safe, gentle and trustworthy.

Now taking this legacy forward, and Turning the spotlight on mothers in a unique way, Himalaya FOR MOMS, India’s first natural mother care product range, launched their digital campaign, #momsunplugged. Captured in a series of unscripted films, the campaign features spontaneous and heartfelt conversations between real moms sharing their emotions, experiences of joy, fear, guilt, apprehensions, and efforts to create a new identity while exploring the world of motherhood.

“We launched Himalaya FOR MOMS to help mothers in their journey of motherhood. Through #momsunplugged, we wanted to feature them in their true sense. This is our first campaign that allows mothers to speak their hearts out in the most candid way. We hope to ignite these conversations among mothers to share their happiness, sadness, anxiety, and experiences that come with motherhood. We want mothers to believe that it is completely normal to feel anxious during this period. Unless we acknowledge their concerns, they will continue to feel stressed and imperfect”, said Mr. N.V Chakravarthi, General Manager Himalaya BabyCare.

“This is the first leg of the campaign that will be promoted on digital platforms. Our intention is to create a community for mothers to support each other by openly sharing their experiences and advice,” added Mr Chakravarthi.

This campaign will be accessible on various digital platforms including Himalaya BabyCare’s Facebook Page, Blog and YouTube.

#momsunplugged films can be watched on

http://himalayawellness.com/products/himalayaformoms/momsunplugged/index.html

Siddharth Bhavnani, Managing Partner, ShotReady says, “Our goal was to give moms a platform to have a conversation about motherhood. To address topics like guilt, expectations and things we wouldn’t normally discuss or hear about, unless in a closed circle. We asked real mothers to participate, it brings genuineness and honesty which we felt was the best approach to creating relatable content.”

In the video, Jharna, mother of twin boys, mentioned that while she completely loves and adores her sons now, initially she felt slightly overwhelmed about being a new mother. She felt a huge burden of responsibility on her shoulders and couldn’t believe that she was in charge of two human lives.

Sumita, a mother of two-year-old baby girl added, “I found that maternal instincts were initially dormant. It took time for it to evolve within me and I was unable to express it. But, over a period of time, you learn to trust your instinct and let the smaller things slide”

 

 

Kedarnath: Holy abode of Lord Shiva – The Protector, the Destroyer!

Recently PM Narendra Modi offered prayers at Kedarnath temple, the sacred Himalayan Shrine located on Garhwal Himalayan Range near Mandakini River in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. You must be wondering am I following PM? Ah! Yes, though unintentional. His trips are as exceptional as he himself is. His visits take us to various unthinkable destinations which are great enough to generate big curiosity. I personally like to explore places, but it is not possible most of the times, so the best thing is to follow PM and write and spread awareness about those places. The destination of this is week is Kedarnath – where PM paid obeisance as soon as its doors opened after six-month-long winter break.

Kedarnath is amongst the holiest pilgrimages for the devout Hindus. It is set amidst the stunning mountainscape of the Garhwal Himalayas at the head of the Mandakini River. Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva, the protector, and the destroyer. Shiva is considered the embodiment of all passions – love, hatred, fear, death and mysticism which are expressed through various forms. The shrine of Kedarnath is very scenically placed and is surrounded by lofty, snow – covered mountains, and during summer grassy meadows covering the valleys. Immediately behind the temple, is the high Kedar dome peak, which can be sighted from great distances. The sight of the temple and the peak with its perpetual snows is simply enthralling.

Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April (Akshaya Tritiya) to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon, usually November). During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshiped there for six months. Lord Shiva is worshiped as Kedarnath, the ‘Lord of Kedar Khand’, the historical name of the region.

All of us remember Kedarnath to be the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas, and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple structure did not suffer any “major” damage, apart from a few cracks on one side of the four walls which was caused by the flowing debris from the higher mountains. A large rock among the debris acted as a barrier, protecting the temple from the flood. The surrounding premises and other buildings in the market area were heavily damaged.

The unstable temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and manchan service are available to reach the structure. The temple was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, expounded in Tevaram.

Pandavas were supposed to have pleased Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The temple is one of the four major sites in India’s Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas. This temple is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas.

The presiding image of Kedarnath in the form of lingam is or irregular shape with a pedestal 3.6 m (12 ft) in circumference and 3.6 m (12 ft) in height. There is a small pillared hall in front of the temple, that has images of Parvathi and of the five Pandava princes. There are five temples around namely Badari-year, Madhya Maheswara, Tunganatha, Rudra Nath and Kallesvara. The first hall inside Kedarnath Temple contains statues of the five Pandava brothers, Lord Krishna, Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva and Virabhadra, one of the guards of Shiva. Statue of Draupadi and other deities are also installed in the main hall.  An unusual feature of the temple is the head of a man carved in the triangular stone fascia. Such a head is seen carved in another temple nearby constructed on the site where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati was held. Adi Shankara was believed to have revived this temple, along with Badrinath and other temples of Uttarakhand; he is believed to have attained Mahasamadhi at Kedarnath. Behind the temple is the samādhi mandir of Adi Sankara.

The temple, at a height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), 223 km from Rishikesh, on the shores of Mandakini river, a tributary of Ganga, is an impressive stone edifice of unknown date. The structure is believed to have been constructed in the 8th century CE when Adi Shankara visited. The present structure is on a site adjacent to where Pandavas are believed to have built the temple. It has one Garbhagriha and a Mandapa and stands on a plateau surrounded by snow clad mountain and glaciers. In front of the temple, directly opposite to the inner shrine, is a Nandi statue carved out of the rock.

You can reach Kedarnath from Jolly Grant Airport at Dehradun which is located 260 Km, whereas nearest railhead is at Rishikesh 243 km. Kedarnath is well connected to Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and Delhi.

The ideal time or peak season to go to Char Dham Yatra is from May – October, except monsoons, this is because all the four sacred sites are parched in Garhwal Himalaya, which is prone to heavy rainfall.