Twenty- five Seven

3 reasons to be vegetarian: #ThursdayPotLuck- 4

September 26, 2019

Traditionally I am a vegetarian. But in reality, I am not.

However having grown up mainly vegetarian, I can go for days without any meat. Of course, this annoys my mother the most who feels that having weaned me on Bovril, I am being disloyal to my upbringing. But honestly, sometimes it is easier to be vegetarian than not.

When it is easier to be vegetarian

♦ Around twenty years ago Hubby Dear turned vegetarian and since then we have stopped going out to dinner. This is largely because we can’t share the food anymore. With serving sizes the way they are, we often have to take home the left overs. But leftover restaurant food tastes awful the next day. So I land up being vegetarian.

So, if you want to eat out with a vegetarian spouse, it is easier to be vegetarian.

♦Hubby Dear’s Chinese colleague Zhou Gou Qing was really thrilled when I decided to accompany him on a business trip to China. Having shared many a meal with him in India, he was excited to show off the Chinese delicacies in his own home turf. He indulged my request to eat Peking Duck in Beijing but in Shanghai, I was instructed to leave the ordering to him. All was fine till the last dinner when he introduced me to his favourite delicacy. It was hard to be enthusiastic about a pigeon eye staring right into your face as you contemplated eating the rest of his body.

That’s when I decided it’s better to be vegetarian when you aren’t doing the ordering.

♦In the late 70’s, while travelling through Arunachal Pradesh, we were invited to a tribal chief’s house for a spot of rice beer. Everything was fine till after the event when my father told us that the boiled eggs accompanying the beer were being shelled with generous amounts of the host’s spit!

So when you are eating food in a culture you know nothing about it is safer to be vegetarian

While October 1st is observed as World Vegetarian Day, in India it is observed on 25th November which is Sadhu Vaswani’s Birthday.

Ciao,
Chowpatty at night #WordlessWednesday

September 25, 2019

Eating out on Chowpatty is a quintessential Mumbai experience.

When we were little we loved going there and having a patta of sookhi bhel . While we kids munched on the crunch puffed rice, bits of poori, chopped onions and pieces of sour mango , our parents slurped down dozens of paani poori and tons of spicy bhel.

Ever since the haphazard bhelpuri stalls have been neatly relocated to one part of the beach, I haven’t visited the beach and was tempted to do so as I looked down from a building across.

Sharing this photo and memories of Chowpatty past with Esha and Natasha on #WordlessWednesday.

Have you been to Chowpatty?
Ciao
Alzheimers is no laughing matter

September 21, 2019
What is Alzheimers ?

As friends in their early 60s we often have difficulty in remembering names. We know exactly what we are referring to when we are reminiscing but can’t seem to remember the person’s name. We grapple for a bit, then laugh it off, slightly embarrassed, saying ” Oh! it must be early Alzheimers!”

[bctt tweet=”Little do we realise that Alzheimer’s is no laughing matter.” username=”viaunishta”]

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with the disease—those with the late-onset type—symptoms first appear in their mid-60s – Source

Many old people suffer from Alzheimers, a form of dementia.

The disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist, and neuropathologist who noticed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness, in 1906.

Today , both the word and the condition has become pretty commonplace and we often see people suffering from it.

But do they really have Alzheimers? Or do they just have dementia?

Early signs of Alzheimer’s

Since this is an incurable disease that only progresses, it is best that one recognises the signs early on. Remember not to use the word Alzheimers loosely. Early signs are typical.
1. Short term memory loss : Remembering things that happened in the recent past.
2. Struggling with planning or problem solving: Getting hassled with simple tasks like paying a bill or answering the phone.
3. Losing track of time: Often asking the day of the week again and again
4. Misplacing things: As we get older, it is hard to remember exactly where we have kept things but constantly losing them is worrisome. Unable to retrace steps and find objects
5. Withdrawing from the world: Being careless about their grooming and dressing. Talking less with others.
6. Mood /personality changes: When someone acts totally out of character.
7. Trouble in following conversations: Losing track of sequential thoughts. Forgetting words, names, and spellings.
8. Trouble completing common tasks: Cooking or doing once familiar tasks become daunting.
Alzheimers & Me

No! Don’t get alarmed . I’m not suffering from Alzheimer’s. Nor do I intend to. I make sure I do the Sudoku and word puzzles in every newspaper we get .

But dealing with older persons every day, I am always watchful for early signs of the disease.

It is natural for older people to experience age related problems like poor vision, partial deafness, illogical logic, heightened emotionality, confused memories. But thankfully, the seniors in my life are not suffering from Alzheimers.

Not like Ava who used to sneak out of the house for a walk. Sadly, she couldn’t make her way back! Luckily for her, she couldn’t walk very far and used to be found wandering in the neighbourhood. Equally fortunate was the fact that she was duly returned to her family. A family that really cared for her.

But Mrs. D whose only daughter lived overseas had no option but to be cared for professionally. Mrs. D suffered from Alzheimers . These healthcare workers were dedicated but nothing they did could prevent the disease from progressing rapidly.

Can you prevent Alzheimers?

I am not a medical person so am completely unfit to answer this question. But common sense tells me that a healthy lifestyle which encompasses meaningful social interaction, nutritious food and regular exercise definitely helps people age well.

Remember, Alzheimer’s is not a joke.

Keep your brain active by playing Bridge or solving puzzles and quizzes.

Above all, remember that the next time you find yourself forgetting things or unable to recall a name, don’t laugh it off as early Alzheimers because Alzheimers is no laughing matter.

Saturday 21st September is World Alzheimer’s Day

Ciao,