Recycling and health tips from mom

I had been planning to write this blog for sometime now but....as all important things get delayed...so did this one.

Three summers back my mom visited united states to spend some time with me. We were living in the downtown palo alto at that time. Life was beautiful. Nice weather, nice people, well the economy was in doldrums buts lets keep that out of this.

What my mom could not understand was why people were not recycling enough even in the heart of silicon valley.....not taking bags to the grocery store, not reusing the small plastic bags we use to keep the produce, not closing lights in the stores and offices in the night. Everytime she would go for grocery she would carry her bag and those little plastic bags for produce. She would never let me buy things in bulk saying its not healthy and lot goes to waste. And don't even say anything about those pre-processed and restaurant food.

At that time while my mom was doing all that I was always appreciating those little acts but never thought of actually practicing what I was appreciating.

A few months back I quit my job to take a break from my 7 years of vigorous lifestyle and see what I wanted to do next. For the first time in my adult life I had time to relax and enjoy. 

The result was disastrous: I was eating bad, sleeping in till noon, hardly exercising ....... well I gave myself high sugar.

When the doctors report came in I came face to face with the realities of my mortal body. I was sent to take a course on healthy eating. Well my reaction to put it mildly: OMG what was the h___ I had been eating up till now. 

Then the meaning of every little thing I saw my mom do dawned on me. There are no shortcuts to health for our human bodies nor for the lovely planet earth we live in. What is good for our earth is actually good for us.

Just a few things I found from my experience that I would love share with everyone:

We have to make food from scratch(preferably, the less pre-processed the better). Check the amount of salt and sugars used as natural preservatives on the labels.

Buy fresh food, yup not any of those cold storage, out of season fruits and vegetables. Local farmers markets are best. And they taste really good:)

We need to drink fresh clean water. Not bottled water. Highly recommend reading about chemicals leaching from plastic bottles, PET, etc. I have started using life factory glass bottle very reasonably priced on amazon.

No microwave cooking. It decreases nutrient value of food. Yup its hard but please google: side effects of microwave cooking. This was hardest to give up.

Many more things but I will add them in my future blogs.

For all my readers in US, one really good recycling trick: Whole foods sell small reusable nylon bag to keep the produce. I found them in the produce section for about a dollar each. Not expensive at all and we can easily reduce our consumption of those flimsy good for nothing bags. A small but good effort to protect our earth.

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Slumdog Millionaire

Now we all loved the movie, the promise that an ordinary Indian with no proper education can make it the right way is very inspiring even when told as a fictional story.

But the movie shook me to the core, even after 62 years of independence we still are looking at this story as a dream and not as a common possibility for an ordinary Indian to rise above his circumstances and make it happen just like an "American Dream".

Is it because all these people who show poverty or bring it to light are actually just making money from selling poverty and walking away?

Of course it is the job of the government to fix poverty which is the promise each political party has promptly iterated before every election...having said that:

Shouldn't these people who bring poverty to a bigger audience and really touch our heart do something about it...an argument can be made that they are just movie makers its not their job...they just tell a story....but seriously should these people make so much money and do nothing.

If they cannot can they at least bring to light those people who unlike them are trying to help instead of making money.

Slumdog Millionaire is a classic example of showing poverty but not doing anything substantial about it...this is not the first time nor would it be the last... selling poverty is not the same as solving it.

What I would have loved from the movie is promotion of organizations which are helping these people at least on the same level as the movie is promoted.

And by the way I would also like to know how much money they paid to these organizations or how they are helping the people from whose story they are making millions and possibly few Oscars....

After doing a little research I have found that trust funds have been set for the 2 kids Azhar and Rubina who acted in the movie but is it really enough....

Now as a firm believer in democracy I believe there is no reason to hide the facts, showing the reality is the only way to find the cure for it but I really hope some more responsibility is shown by people who make money by showing poverty...not just trust fund for few kids who acted in it.

My Salutes...but its not enough. Indians must demand Action.

I salute all the brave Indian police officers who try to maintain order and serve our country in inspite of corruption and less than state of art armaments.

All of us saw pictures of ATS chief Hemant Karkare wearing that shoddy bullet proof jacket.

Times of India article says it will be another year before Indian police can expect to get better bullet proof jacket.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Better_bulletproof_jackets_for_police/articleshow/3768933.cms

Deccan Herald also references to the delay for another one year
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Nov292008/national20081129103560.asp

Does it always has to be an incident which wakes up Indian government and that too with a delayed response?

Did not Indian Government know that these jackets are incapable of securing our officers?

Is Indian government going to stop only at Bullet Proof Jackets?

We need to demand proactive steps - The protectors of Indian democracy should be protected in every possible way not just with Bullet Proof Jackets.

-Aditi Jain Shah

Is it time to revisit Gandhi?

“Mumbai attack, Nov 26 2008” once again this retribution against innocent people has been successful. This appalling incident forces me to question if this insatiable desire for revenge will ever end.

Who is going to be Gandhi this time? Who will put an end to this? Are we even going to be lucky enough in this century to have someone who can stop all this?

India has very conveniently forgotten about our founding fathers and our strong foundation of unity, compassion and non-violence that has made us the biggest democracy in the world and the only democracy in the region.

Its time we remember Gandhi we cannot wait for some foreign enlighten from the west. Gandhi has given us enough to keep the harmony in the world. Non-violence, not because we are weak but because we are civilized to understand that violence affects both the winner and the looser.

Can any of us be sure that violence in the name of ‘right’ from one perspective will be right from every perspective?

Also, I would like to pay my tributes to ATS Hemant Karkare, Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and all the 11 police officials who sacrificed their life to keep Mumbai safe. May God give courage to the families of all the victims and survivors in these tough times.

Its time India stands united and says no to violence of any kind from any side.

-Aditi Jain Shah