Anuradha Sridharan

After lunch, I stepped out and sat on the swing in my balcony garden. My cat was resting peacefully as usual, soaking in the sunshine. There was just a slight tingling of her ears because of my footsteps. After realizing it was me, she went back to her nap. I sat there, without any book or gadgets in hand. It was blazing hot but I needed that warmth. I quietly started observing the various sights and sounds around me - gentle swaying of palm leaves, distant sound of helicopter, honking from cars on the road (yeah, even at 1PM), bees buzzing from one flower to the next, my cat nicely stretched and her breath so rhythmic and relaxed, a tiny jasmine flower that has just bloomed this morning, announcing that summer is nearing. As I was taking in all these through my senses, a pigeon dropped by from nowhere and was curiously looking around. I turned towards my cat and as expected, she was all alert but for only a few seconds. She might have thought, "nah, I already had my food. Not ...

The last 2 months seem like a blur. Winter is definitely not my favorite season. The dullness, fatigue and the chill made me feel very down. I was lethargic and didn't have the motivation to do anything. Added to that, the new Netflix connection unleashed the couch potato in me. Tougher questions like "what next?" started creeping in, ever since my last consulting contract ended in Dec. I also felt stuck at home because of the cold weather. The afternoon sun rays just didn't seem to give any warmth. Thankfully, I see a hope of light in the past few days. My Yoga mornings are back to being regular. The winter is slowly packing its bags and bidding goodbye (thank you very much!). I just decided on a whim to go for a walk on my apartment terrace this evening. The beautiful sunset, pleasant weather, cloudy sky and fresh air brought a lot of cheer to my heart. I stopped my brisk walk now and then to look at the busy road - people returning from work, cars gliding th...

  I'm a serious Tamil movie buff. Some of the dialogues from popular movies etti paathufy (sneak in) in my articles now and then. So sorry about that.  Junk foods review ve podaama kaanji poi irundha en blogukkuga vandhudhu Instagram sponsored ad from Kelloggs (It's been a while since I posted about any junk foods and my blog looked like a draught struck field. Thanks to Instagram sponsored ads, found this new one from Kelloggs). This time, it is the new product line titled Real thandai badam corn flakes , right in time for Holi. In Captain Vijayakanth style, " breakfast cereal, junk foods la enakku pidikkadha mudhal vaarthai " (the junk food I hate the most is breakfast cereal) Ok, enough of vetti pechu (trash talk). Let's get to the facts. The front side of the packaging states "Energy from real almonds", "created by local chefs". Turn to the back side, the brand tries to invoke a nostalgic memory of drinking a glass of...

Recently, I came across an email campaign by Zomato titled "No cooking January". What the hell, I wondered. Are they urging people to order in all their meals for a MONTH? The email says " This month you can do more of what you like the most – stay in bed , catch an extra snooze or two, watch your favourite shows and binge on all the food you crave. " What a perfect recipe for weight gain and loss of health, that too being prescribed for a month like January when people usually make fitness resolutions! I vividly remember this conversation that happened a couple of years back at a friend's home. It was a varamahalakshmi pooja day and many women from our apartment were at her place, including me. The friend enquired me about my cooking and then turned to another lady and said, "Anu loves cooking. I have tasted her aviyal, it was yum". The lady then looked at me in disbelief, "What? You like cooking?" in a disgusted tone. I co...

  Ever since Rujuta announced this book, I've been eagerly awaiting its launch. Having read all her previous books, I resonate with her approach towards nutrition, fitness and health. Though I may not agree with every single tip/guideline that she shares in her books, I totally subscribe to her underlying philosophy of eating local, seasonal and traditional foods. A few months back, I was at a book store and was skimming through another popular book on kids nutrition written by another celebrity nutritionist. I knew this book wasn't my type when I came across a strict calorie-based approach and suggesting 2 rotis for lunch, 150 ml of milk for after-school drink etc, all measured to the T. We are raising children, not robots. Coming to "Notes for Healthy Kids", Rujuta in her trademark style describes the various factors that are impacting the health of today's children. And parents alone cannot be blamed for it. It is a systemic failure due to poor ...