Mundane Musings

Understandably, since it involves me, Intermittent Fasting had nothing much to do with my weight loss, though I did lose some weight when I followed it diligently. But I sure can wear out any self respecting diet or weight loss program - I am that relentless. Nevertheless I had started Intermittent Fasting last year with the noble intention of losing weight before I hit 40. The mile stone came up alright, except it did with the same fat and weight on my person as it was at 39. So yes, this post has nothing to do with weight loss. But it is about the adoption of a healthy eating mindset, thanks to Intermittent Fasting. After trying it for almost a year without doing any exercise, I had managed to lose a couple of kilos. But I haven't pursued it this year, as I have started yoga and exercise and I wanted to use the confidence Intermittent fasting had given me to pursue a concrete and fitting diet plan that will get me through my forties and my binge days. Now what did I...

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had started reading Chitra Banerjee's The Forest of Enchantments with a casual detachment thinking this was a reproduction of Valmiki's Ramayan. Any self respecting Indian has in some time or the other gotten introduced to the story of the valiant and perfect prince Lord Ram and his suave, strong, utterly wronged wife Sita. I didn't expect this book to be different. I empathized strongly with Sita who had to keep proving herself to her husband and his praja (citizens), in spite of wrongs done to her . And though Valmiki's Ramayan is a colossus that deals with a lot of other stories including Ram's unfair banishment from Ayodhya, Sita's story demands empathy and just retribution. So Chitra's retelling of the classic is important and relevant. Chitra Divakaruni's Forest of Enchantment focuses on Sita's side of the story - from the time she marries Ram, taking her ...