Save Yourself to Save the Other, Planet Included

Who you are is who you are, your basic traits like your basic instincts hardly ever vanish. Or shall we say, your old crafts stay with you rather than die. For me, being interviewed is as fresh an art as ever before. Whether it is with a leading Indian tabloid or an international one like the Los Angeles Times, my answers are prompt, direct, and in their creative humour maybe a bit tongue in cheek. I rule the rooster like I always have. I am quick to banish misunderstandings and false claims about my character, or revealing certain hidden personal traits, or tackling curious questions about my single and solo status, mind you a happy one. In a press conference I may not seem like Prince Hamlet, to move the stage soliloquising on my complete failure in life—my near-fatal accident, which I call a near-death-experience. I wrote out in poems my severe trauma, languishing, having lost my youthful vigour and vitality, but whenever I spoke publicly about the horrific crash I tried to do so with as much gusto and positive vibes. To bring ‘Hope in times of hopelessness’. Why mourn a past failure? When the truth is alive, for you to see. Today I have more than what I lost.

A few days ago I was having my sattvic breakfast when a headline in the newspaper caught me. With 70 per cent of the urban population overweight, India is facing a serious challenge. It now has the third-highest percentage of obese citizens in the world. They say that in just a decade, obesity rates have nearly tripled. That raises my concern. This ticking time bomb will have severe consequences for the healthcare systems and economic productivity. Statistics show that the number of obese women is double that of obese men. Since the mainstay of AAF is mental health, we clearly note that obesity needs to be tackled inside out. I was so moved that I decided to take it up as a ‘Woman Empowerment’ project. I began research for a project that my foundation can start to build awareness while making significant lifestyle changes. Yoga says that eating habits have to be in symphony with how much your body can consume. Mental preparation is key.

World Earth Day has everyone talking about sustainability with slogans of ‘Save Earth’, ‘Save the Planet’, while who really needs to be saved is ‘you’, from bad habits and toxic living that is actually playing havoc with how you end up treating the planet and other people, the habitat, the animals, the flora and fauna—in short your existence. So self-love and self-care come first before you can do anything for anybody else. Save yourself. Not from others but from your unruly mind. That is not even using your built-in traits to your full advantage. Health being one of them.

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