A Curated Guide to Slow Living in India
Working with modern communication systems and animal behaviourists, Ruth Ganesh, Trustee of the NGO Elephant Family, tells us how we can protect the beloved pachyderm from decimation in Asia Whenever I left for a long journey across the seven seas, my grandmother insisted I ate […]
The first time I met Shubhendu Sharma, the disarmingly unassuming engineer-turned-forest planter, it was hard to conceive the scale of what he has achieved. Since its inception, in 2011, the Bangalore-based Afforestt, a for-profit social enterprise, has helped plant more than 100 tiny and big forests […]
Third generation entrepreneur Mahima Gujral’s love for travel is the inspiration behind her fresh sustainable indi luxe label, Sui by Sue Mue I opened the small box. Bundled with the brochures were a couple of swatches of soft hemp and organic cotton, an up cycled […]
The lime is the small desi sibling of the more robust lemon, from the Citrus Aurantifolia tree ( Nimbuka in Sanskrit) , found widely in India. The acidic fruit comes from the short, squat, shrub like tree with short stiff twigs and many small prickly thorns. These tiny thorns have a spiritual meaning, says Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium. You can’t just pluck it, it takes mindful appreciation to gather the fruit. This self-protectiveness is reflective of real-life relationships, which one should approach with mutual love and admiration for those around us.
“Veganism brought a far more compassionate, aware and disciplined approach to life. I started relooking at my food not just from a nutritional point of view but also at its carbon footprint. I realised the importance of seasonal, local and organic food.”
Sarah Nicole Edwards, Founder, Copper + Cloves & Health Coach, is on a mission to prove that eating well does not mean boring or restrictive food. Sarah studied with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and is a certified Health and Wellness Coach. She uses a […]
I have lived the past month shrouded in the swirls of dust that have enveloped Delhi. The smog never seemed to disperse. So, the opportunity to visit a manicured oasis in the heart of the city, a palpably green wonderland, was naturally a draw for […]
Designer and co-founder of design house, Unlike Design Co. (www.unlike.in), Harpreet Padam graduated from the Accessory Design Department at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi in 1999. Harpreet and his partner at Unlike, Lavanya Asthana, a communication design graduate from the National Institute […]
Sri Lankan Marine biologist Asha de Vos is the champion of the tiny pygmy whale found in the northern Indian Ocean and is a role model for marine conservation An image of a bright red substance floating on the surface of the ocean is the […]
I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me ’bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
~Fools Garden
When I think about summer, I think about the Delhi loo, the dry, debilitating winds with dust devils curling from the ground. I remember parched throats and withered trees, each leaf coated with dust. Grīṣma (ग्रीष्म, “summer”) is one of the six seasons of the year, starting from April and lingering till June, till the season slides into Varsha Ritu, when the first drops of rain melt into earth.
During summer, the sun sucks the nutrients out of the living, squeezing every single drop in the gut-wrenching heat. Plants and vegetables lose sap, moisture and nutritive element in summer, becoming dry and extremely light. Water loses its natural coolness and nutritive properties. Thus, whatever you eat and drink leads to an accumulation of wind or vayu dosha.
Step in the lime,the small desi sibling of the more robust lemon, from the Citrus Aurantifolia tree ( Nimbuka in Sanskrit) , found widely in India. The acidic fruit comes from the short, squat, shrub like tree with short stiff twigs and many small prickly thorns. These tiny thorns have a spiritual meaning, says Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium. You can’t just pluck it, it takes mindful appreciation to gather the fruit. This self-protectiveness is reflective of real-life relationships, which one should approach with mutual love and admiration for those around us.
With pale green leaves and tiny clusters of white flowers, the fruit of a lime tree is tiny hardly 3 – 4 centimeters in diameter, a tiny globe or oval, with a small protruding apical nipple. Go beneath its thin green-yellow peel and you find a tender juicy fruit a pale lemon green in colour, a few seeds and a whole lot of acidic punch.
Lemons (desi limes) are a good source of vitamin C, support weight loss and leave your skin glowing. An integral digestive aid, before meals eat some raw ginger with a squeeze of lemon and some rock salt to stimulate the agni. A breath freshner and mood elevator, it is an energy booster too. Limes contain bioflavonoids, which are anti-histamines, and have pectins that reduce cholesterol.
Stay fresh by having lime water with masala. The late renowned nutritionist Vijaya Venkat of the Health Awareness Centre consumed the juice of around eight lemons a day. The reason was lemon juice has an alkaline effect on the body, in spite its Acidic pH. What’s essential to know is that food’s effect on your body has little to do with its pH before it is digested. Once digested, the very acidic lime proves to be alkaline with many health benefits.
Lemon in Ayurveda
According to Ayurveda, lime is sour or amla (taste/Rasa). It is light to digest and it has a calming effect on Vata and Pitta, but stimulates Kapha and an aggravated Pitta. It has a cooling effect on hot spicy, Pitta foods . A lime is a sour, bitter and a cooling food, but once digested in sweet.
An anti-inflammatory lemonade
Come summer and cool down with a very refreshing lemonade with a pinch of turmeric for an anti-inflammatory effect
Lime: ½ freshly squeezed
Water: chilled, one glass
Honey/ Jaggery: according to taste
Ginger: half an inch of a sliver
Turmeric: a pinch
Mint: a few leaves
Method:
