My experiment with fasting....

I do NOT belong to a family of fasters. They were more a family of feasters .:hide: As far as I can remember both my grandmothers never fasted, nor does my mother fast. During my college days, my maternal aunt was a great influence on me and she used to observe the Santoshi ma vratt every Friday, which I too copied. That was very easy actually. One could eat anything except sour food which was not very difficult.

Then I got married to a guy who is sceptical about so many things that I discontinued.While my friends teased that I had fasted only to get a husband, the truth is I am like the company I keep.

After all these years, for no apparent reason, I wanted to start again and thought it would be a good idea to start with once a month, so chose the day my father passed away.Now I know that my father would never have approved of it at all, as all his calls always ended with "take care kondhai ", not once but thrice, and I used to laugh saying "appa ,I should be saying this to you."

So I thought I would go on a fruit and liquid diet since the main idea was to cleanse the system. I had a glass of milk, an apple and a banana until lunch time. I started feeling a bit queasy, so had a bowl of papaya and a glass of lassi for lunch. My head started aching so I watched a movie and had a nap. Around 5 pm I started feeling so weak that I just couldn’t take it anymore and had a cup of tea with two slices of bread and butter. I felt much better and rounded off my day with a glass of dry-fruit milk shake (which btw is exactly what chitvish claims it is...instantly refreshing). And lots of water in between.

I thought it was not bad, as I did feel very light but there were surely pangs of hunger. How the h*** do people fast for days, I couldn't help wondering. Frankly friends, for the first time I really felt from my whole heart (and stomach) for the hungry and the poor, and saluted those who fast for a cause, for the betterment of others.

But one good deed did come out of the hunger I experienced and made me a better person,or so I like to think.

I have a maid who comes for exactly one hour everyday and she gets paid by the hour. Half the days she would come without breakfast early morning and though I used to offer her some, she would easily take fifteen minutes over it and when I realised that she wasn't working those extra fifteen minutes, I discontinued the practise.

Now I felt I was really being petty. To know that a person is hungry and do nothing about it is undoubtedly a sin. I decided to give her a glass of milk (they love soya milk here) and pack her whatever breakfast we had, which she could have on her way out.That way, my conscience is clear and I am sure this would make my dearest father very happy indeed, for he was someone who would at the slightest pretext, offer a meal to the security guards or gardeners in his complex.

I am happy that soul cleansing…. a little at least, has been done. Thank God that I had got my priorities right.

Now I would really like some tips to cleanse the body, from any of you who fast.

 

Dear C,

I know what you mean :rotfl.Generally I bear the brunt of my decisions and do not vent it off on others,but you never know.


Beware, if you cut salt the whole day, the next morning, your spouse "had it"!!:rant

hahaha I am a very straightforward person, you know that. I think I would go around with a placard saying" keep away from me.. this dog not only barks ,today it may bite too."

Never be too sure of the netas who fast for causes!

yes I too do not believe in them but even now watching any clips of Gandhijis salt satyagraha tears me up.

thanks for the first fb and the tip. next time it will be two salt lassis and two dry fruit milk shakes (this was just too refreshing and tasty ..thanks for the recipe)

I can hear you say "...and you call it fasting???" :hide:

 

Hi Sabi,



I belong to a family similar to yours! There is no one in our family who does not enjoy a good meal or any meal, at any time

so seems to be the general opinion here .where are all the people who speak about ekadashi and sankrushti..surely they dont visit IL, looks like.

All this explanation to just tell you, "no I do not have any tips" !!

hahaha yes,I was wondering what you are coming to.Never mind.,giving food for thought is what you are always good at.:thumbsup

I am glad you struck a nice balance with your cleaning lady!

Me too..and touch wood, that department seems to be running smoothly. it pays to take the high road sometimes.

 

hi Satchi Baby,

I found all my Tuesdays and Thursdays were spent looking towards the western horizon willing the sun to set faster. After a few weeks decided this was barely the idea behind a fast, if one kept thinking of food all day long.

:rotfl:rotfl so so true that is. I promise to stop the day I feel like that, okay. It is like what bhargs has said here .. just wondering whether I can control the desire to eat what I eat normally.

any way you did remind me of a friend who observed fasting for karva chauth.From 7 pm she would start calling me on the phone every half hour from two floors down below, rave and rant and ask me " just see nah if the moon has come out " and my hubby used to say, tell her it has come out on our side of the balcony, long back...LOL.