India, vibrant, dynamic, alive.......
The warm sunshine and the blue skies, the rain tempests and the desert storms, the noise and pollution of the cities, the incredible green of the rice paddies, the coconut trees and the concrete jungles, the easy smiles and the dramatic emotions, the songs and the dances, the tempting aromas of its cooked foods and the smelly odors of its overflowing garbage dumps......
A country of sharp contrasts and gentle contradictions, where the yes often means a no and the no even more often is a yes.........
No way to define it or limit it with words, a place where the map is never ever the territory, in fact, there rarely ever is a map to begin with in the first place........
In every big or not so big town and city of India, you can find McDonalds, Pizza Huts, Dominos Pizzas, KFCs, Ice Cream Parlours, Coffee and Cake shops.
There are huge air-conditioned shopping malls with all the latest international brands available in smart designer boutiques, and an entire floor that is a food court filled with every kind of fast and processed junk food you can think of, American, Chinese and Indian!
Adults and children walking around, sitting, sprawled, eating and eating and eating some of this and some of that and then some more......
Diabetes is rampant, even children are beginning to suffer from it now, heart attacks attack younger and younger men everyday, cancer has become a word known to all......
Stomach ache, acidity and constipation is more common than common cold, joint pains and chronic fatigue are a constant part of day to day life......
It has always been said that "Ignorance is Bliss"........ but once you awaken from your follies than you feel not only your own pain more acutely, but the pain of another becomes even more real to you than your own........
So my heart broke a few times this time in India.........
But if there are many who line up to eat junk food, there are as many who are conscious that this way of eating is what is causing them some serious health problems too!
And when you share with them that the food they eat not only affects their physical health, but also their mental clarity and emotional states, it makes perfect sense to them - no need to argue and spend ages trying to convince them......
In fact, they are ready and happy to learn and to try out new foods, how wonderful is that? :-)
One thing I learnt very clearly these last few weeks is that sustainable change needs to happen one step at a time, that new and different ways of walking and dancing have to be integrated slowly......with care, with respect......and without rush........
One has to be very attentive and go with the flow and the level of readiness of the people, instead of imposing, pushing or giving more information than they want to receive, thus creating resistance in them!
A green juice in the morning, a smoothie as a pudding, more water and less sherbets, flax oils instead of refined oils, steaming instead of frying, dates or honey instead of white sugar, nuts and seeds instead of chips and biscuits, one cooked meal a day instead of two, more variety of healthy whole flours instead of white and refined.......
So many ways to begin a radical transformation, a quantum change made with small leaps and tiny jumps........
I bought a book at the airport in Mumbai on my way to Chennai/Pondicherry/Auroville.
It is called "We are like that only" and it is a study of the consumer trends and attitudes in India.
I love the title of the book, it is apt and suitable in so many contexts related to Indian people......
"we indians are like that only, we are open and willing, we'll accept raw foods and green juices in our lives but how can you expect us to only drink juices without eating, one day or one week is enough but 92 days, what, you think we are rishis or yogis or something? and to give up our wholesome vegetarian food? even ayurvedic food is cooked, so don't forget, everything is not bad, you should not become rigid, so of course of course, we should not eat fried foods or sweets, if you say milk is bad now, then we will only use a teaspoon in our tea and also take stevia instead of sugar, and we will only eat homemade yogurt and eat no ghee, now the zucchini pasta you made was very good so maybe we can use that tasty pesto sauce on our toast instead of butter, i can't believe there is spinach in this smoothie, i can only taste the banana, how is this possible, you must teach me more of this raw foods definitely......but tonight i need my rice and dal and vegetable curry, what to do, we are like that only........"
This could be a mixed masala of my Mom in Mumbai and my Aunt in Pune :-)
I am very proud of them because they have both begun to change their lives so quickly, I feel immense admiration and respect for the determination and discipline they show, their genuine interest in learning new ways of nourishing themselves and their families......
I feel very grateful.......
I am filled with excitement - I know that India is ready and waiting........and that I am going to have so much fun and fulfillment in helping people to hydrate hydrate hydrate and to drink pure liquid sunshine in the form of green juices, to eat healthier, eat less, eat prana rich foods......
To feel as vibrant, dynamic and alive, as the land they live and breathe upon......
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