I am 45 now, and as the winter chill settles in, a simple act—oiling my head after a shower—triggered a cascade of memories spanning three decades. When I was a boy in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, the ritual of a weekly, sometimes daily, head massage with oil was as common as breathing. My favorite was the potent, earthy scent of mustard oil . I remember visiting our local vaid ji (traditional practitioner), who stressed the importance of this practice, lamenting even then that fewer people were keeping it up. Fast forward to adulthood, and my simple habit met the sharp reality of changing cultural norms. My wife, from a different background, and her circle found the idea of oiled hair "un-stylish." Even when I switched to the fragrant, dark luster of amla oil, the gentle teasing and continuous pressure to conform chipped away at my resolve. Now, my cherished ritual is relegated to an occasional, quick application, washed out within hours. Where Did the Oil Go? As I drov...
Often there is little connection between eating out and eating healthy. When we are going for taste and searching for the best option, we will have to compromise with healthy food. Momos, spring rolls, fried rice, burger, patties, noodles, and the list goes on. The majority of the restaurants are providing taste. Even we as customers are attracted towards a restaurant that has the best taste. Few days back, me and three of my family members were out for lunch, but our priority was to eat tasty food and eat healthy. After juggling through numerous options, my wife suggested a restaurant that serves tikki made of millets. This was a new thing and to our knowledge there is only one restaurant that is serving this. Good thing was, my wife forgot the name of the restaurant which serves this dish. The only thing she remembered was that it is somewhere in sector 35 of Chandigarh. Well, it was already 2 pm and everyone was starving and no one had the patience to search through the entire secto...