FOREVER YOUNG- A BOOK REVIEW

1        FOREVER YOUNG: UNLEASHING THE MAGIC OF AYURVEDA: REENITA MALHOTRA HORA : PAN (2012) : PAGES 150 : PRICE : RS 185/-              
   


      It is a compact book, just running into 150 pages. The author and broadcaster explains how the 5000 year-old form of alternative medicine can help us stay healthy and youthful throughout our lives. The advice that the author gives is simple and easily understandable. The doshas - vata, pitta and kapha have to be in balance, practice of yogasanas, eating balanced and nutritional meals, using beauty treatments prepared at home -all of these will help in remaining vibrant and beautiful. Reading this book will surely motivate us and make us  aspire to achieve this state of looks and health. The key, however, remains in its implementation. The author derived

t     the inspiration to write this book from her grandparents. Their longevity mantra was that to live long you must live life to your full potential. We live in a fast-moving world with all its complexities. What does Ayurveda do? How relevant is it today? The author emphasizes that it shows us ways and means of disconnecting from our remote-controlled existence and lead a simple life attuned to the natural patterns of the universe. We have to re-awaken the mind- body wisdom to lead healthier lives. We must know our dosha, ensure good sleep, drink plenty of water, resist over-eating and make Abhyanga (oil application) a ritual. If we can do all this, remaining ever healthy and preserving our youth is not impossible, says Reenita Malhotra Hora. 

CANCER SURVIVOR BUILDS SAND CASTLES AND IS SURE OF BECOMING A CENTENARIAN

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      To support and celebrate World Cancer Day this year, Simon Smith, 54, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1995, demonstrated sand sculpting at High Street Phoenix, Mumbai.
     

   
      The cancer disease runs in his genes. His grandparents died of cancer, his father suffers from leukemia and his mother from breast cancer. Taking a look back, Smith says that cancer is the best thing that happened to him. He says that it changed his life for ever and for the better. After procrastinating for two years, he underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy. Unable to bear the pain of chemotherapy and the sight of people dying around him, he left the hospital and headed towards the beach. He sat down and with a broken lollipop and started carving sand. He realised that he had found his hidden talent. He then and there decided to live life on his own terms. He spent a lot of time in the beach, built sand castles, ate junk food and relaxed. He was influenced by Dr Norman Vincent Peale who authored the book “The Power of Positive Thinking”, whom he met very often as Smith’s mother was Dr Peale’s housekeeper. He realised that the fear of dying of cancer was only in his head. He went back to the hospital, took further chemotherapy treatment and responded well by putting positive thinking into action. Dr Peale used to tell him,”If you take your problems and put them in a box in the night,when you wake up the next morning, you’ll find the box empty.” When his treatment was over, he thanked his doctors and told them that he will never see them again. Today, the ex-salesman is a minimalist. He lives in a van, travels to various places, builds sand castles and has perfected the art of controlling his body through his mind. He says that the power of positive thining has kept him alive. “ I know I’ll live to see a 100 years”.

TIME FLIES: HEY BUSY YUPPIES ! CATCHUP WITH YOUR PARENTS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

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                  NEW WEBSITE GIVES WAKE-UP CALL TO THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS 

      

      A new website calculates how many chances are left for those living separately from their parents to meet them before they are no more. Luke Tipping an advertising professional from London sails in the same boat like many other working youngsters in different professions who live away from parents. When there is a string of holidays, should he just hang out with his friends and chill out or should he head for his parents’ home? To resolve this dilemma, Tipping developed a website called ‘seeyourfolks.com’ with a few of his friends in less than 24 hours. It calculates how much time is left before they never see their parents again. The calculation is based on data collected from WHO (World Health Organisation) on country-specific life expectancy and the average number of times they meet with their parents in a year. The site has attracted many visitors from all over the world. The results can be stunning as it only underscores the fact that life and death wait for no one. The banner on this domain is startling. It reminds the young that they are so busy in their careers that they forget that their parents are also growing old. “Increasing awareness of death can help us to make most of our lives”, says the website. 

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P    Picture: Kind courtesy of postnoon.com

A SENSE FOR SPICE- BOOK REVIEW

        A SENSE FOR SPICE :  RECIPES AND STORIES FROM A KONKAN KITCHEN :TARA DESHPANDE TENNEBAUM : WESTLAND LTD : PAGES 294 : PRICE RS 495/- 

      Though born and brought up in Mumbai, the author’s heart remains in Konkan where she spent many holidays with her grandparents. Her olfactory sense perhaps got ignited during those periods when her grandmothers prepared food for the family using traditional spices found in the Konkan region. Extremely talented and one who has acted in plays as well as in TV shows and films both in India and the USA where she lives with her vegetarian husband, this is her second book. It is exceptional in the sense that it combines cooking recipes long forgotten with an engaging act of story-telling that fixates you to the book for you can literally smell the aroma oozing out of the Konkani kitchen as well as imagine the picturesque beauty of the Konkan land. The book’s title should have read “A Sense for Spice and a Sense for Konkan History”. Three generations of culinary treasures passed on from one generation to another with care and love and now preserved through this book for posterity is something very remarkable. One would have thought Konkani food is essentially seafood for which their restaurants are famous in Mumbai. Tara Deshpande in her recipes, (which include many vegetarian dishes),one hundred and twenty three in all, has neatly categorized them for the sake of the amateur cook’s convenience. An A to Z glossary at the end of the book makes it easier to understand the various local words for the different spices and cooking utensils. With coloured photographs selectively used, the book is bound to excite readers with the inter-generational bonding which the author experienced and which she has shared with her readers. It is a ‘déjà vu’ for all of us from different ethnic backgrounds. Her unique recipes intertwined with her family history makes the book a compelling read.

LONGEST WORDS AND TONGUETWISTERS

When I was young, long English  words always appealed to me. At the drop of a hat, I would find some reason to use a long word when a short word could have been used. Probably, I wanted to impress my parents and friends with my supposed command over the English language. Instead of praise, I faced criticism. I realised later that using shorter words were more meaningful and  had more impact on the readers than pedantic long ones. During those heady days, the longest English word that I had learnt was "antidisestablishmentarianistically". 34 letters in all.
As one who has learnt German language recently, I learnt quite a few long German words. Old habits they say die hard. But then nothing can beat Germany's longest word. Only a law change could kill it. The word is "Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz". The meaning of the word is "law delegating beef label monitoring". With the death of this word of 64 letters, probably, the longest German word now is "Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung", which means automobile liability insurance. From fire to the frying pan!

                                                  Picture is courtesy allwomenstalk.com