Sattva: Issue 23
On hating goodbyes, my book's first birthday, retail therapy and a holi-salad recipe
Hello! If you are new to my newsletter, a warm welcome.
Sattva (सत्त्व) is a beautiful Sanskrit word that has many meanings—spirit, true essence, good sense, wisdom, quality of purity, energy, consciousness and mind, among other things.
Through this fortnightly newsletter, I want to bring to you all things good, which will make your life better. My focus will be on topics such as mindfulness, productivity, slow living and sustainability, accompanied by genuinely useful recommendations of products, books, music, links to read, and of course food and recipes. Through these, I hope to instil some Sattva in your life.
This issue of my newsletter is going to be slightly different - a bit personal. I want to share with you how my last few weeks have been.
Even though I loathe the term ‘crazy busy’ and I have written about how it is not a good thing to be, it is what I have been these past few weeks.
I continue to be in that somewhat flustered state even now.
The month started with me visiting Mumbai, taking my first flight since October 2019. I almost felt like someone going to the airport for the first time. Quite a few things had changed with respect to check-in and baggage rules. I even forgot the PIN to my debit card when I had to swipe it for something, having used only Google Pay for the longest time.
The Mumbai trip was to resume shooting episodes for my YouTube channel. We shot for two whole days. It did take me some time to warm up to the camera after what seemed like ages but it got progressively easier and better. If you have already subscribed to my channel and have taken me for dead on YouTube, I am resurrecting that :D, so please come back. If you haven’t subscribed, then please do, so that you can watch me do the thing I am most uncomfortable with - i.e. putting myself in front of the camera. Bonus: You’ll have a new recipe video every week, starting in April.
Once the Mumbai work was done, I came back to Bengaluru with my mum and my sis’s family as we all had a family wedding to attend. It was so much fun to travel together as a family, hang out in the airport, check out the shops with my sister etc. The pandemic has made us grateful for each of these little things we took for granted all along.
Last week, we drove to Chennai for the wedding. It was my first long road trip with my mom in a long time and I enjoyed the time with her thoroughly. The wedding was a beautiful affair. Getting ready and being in the company of loved ones (NOT in a screen) was a surreal feeling.
All through this, I had work on two big projects happening in the background. I am a terrible multitasker. I do the jobs well, but my mental health suffers a lot when I have to focus on multiple work deadlines and social commitments, along with the usual day to day chores.
The constant buzz of deadlines in the background all through the days kept me a bit anxious and high strung. To add fuel to the fire, a few of my posts on social media went viral during this period, which got picked up by radio stations, websites and newspapers.
You might think, ‘whoa, this lady even has a problem with going viral’.
Actually, I do.
A large number of responses, the more than usual attention, the fair share of trolls (no viral post without trolling), all of this contributes to stress, even though I don’t check the responses after a certain limit, just to keep my sanity. I even ended up giving an interview and writing a column on one of these viral topics for the magazine, Brunch, in the middle of the wedding and other deadlines. It will be out this weekend.
Drinking tea with Amma in the morning, going for small walks with her in the complex, asking her to make my favourite dishes, talking to her about distant relatives I’ve never met, were my stress busters over the last two weeks.
After we came back from the wedding, the whole of Monday I was locked in my room, ticking off things from my to-do list. Things got a little better yesterday. I woke up very early and got most of the work done so I could spend more time with her before she left.
Today, she has left for Mumbai with my sister and her family. This is what I had tweeted the last time she went back after visiting us.
And this is what I tweeted today.
I absolutely hate goodbyes. While I may not openly cry or show emotions, the first few days after we say goodbye to our parents are always tough. We are reminded of their affection, their simplicity, their caring and their idiosyncracies and of our own impatience and shortcomings.
I type this with a lump in my throat.
It was never my intention to get too personal in my newsletter. But this is the state of my mind today and today is the deadline for the newsletter and I must be true to both. I’m hoping I get to spend more leisurely time with Amma soon, free of any deadline pressures. Forget hoping, I want to make it happen. ❤️
🎉Everyday Superfoods turns ONE
My second book turned one on 15th March 2022. My heartfelt thanks to all those who bought my book but also to those who did their bit in promoting it among their family and friends. The generosity of such recommendations is what helps non-celeb authors like me sell a decent number of copies such that publishers are happy to work with us.
You can read more about my book and check out the reviews in this Twitter thread. If the Covid pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that our health is our biggest asset. No single supplement or food can boost immunity overnight. Eating to maintain good health is a lifelong pursuit and my book is about just that. Do check it out on Amazon and consider getting a copy if you want a dependable partner for a healthy lifestyle.
Also read: Spring-time issue of Sattva from 2021 includes cleaning routines, uses for gulkand, spring-time playlist and sun-dried stuff.
Retail therapy
I bought some interesting stuff last month. You know how vloggers do a ‘shopping haul’ video on YouTube? Well, I’m no vlogger, so I shall share this retail therapy stuff with my newsletter reader friends. P.S. None of these mentions are paid for.
My top buy is a massive chopping board, 21 inches in length from Westside Home that I plan to use as a cheese board or an appetizer tray. I wasn’t planning on getting anything from the home section this time but the sweet staff at the billing desk told me I was eligible for a birthday discount so if I want to get anything else, I should. Very few brands beat Westside in the combination of design, durability and pricing. Their caddy with a rotating base, perfect for storing pens and other stationery (or cutlery) is one of my favourite buys from earlier.
I’ve been a fan of the tea tree face wash from the UK brand Superdrug, even though my skin is dry and tea tree is better for oily skin. I love it for its amazing aroma. When I saw that Superdrug body washes are available on Nykka for a steal, I bought a bunch of them. Tea Tree and Mint is hands down my favourite variety (I almost said flavour lol). Also, check the lime variant which is my second favourite.
I have never worn hoop earrings. Not even the tiny gold hoops a lot of girls wore as kids. I was always a stud-earrings person. For the family wedding I attended recently, I decided to wear golden hoops with the dhoti pants and kimono outfit (Biba), that my friend Janaki convinced me to get. It was nice to find something moderately sized (not a bangle kinda hoop), a simple and classy design that pairs well with both Indian and Western outfits. These are the gold-toned hoops from Myntra.
On Women’s Day, I did a pro-bono collaboration with The Indian Motif, founded by a lovely lady from Bengaluru, Swetha Sunder. Their website has sarees listed by weaves from various parts of India. They are going to have a sale at the end of the month which I will also share on Instagram closer to the date. Meanwhile, browse through the beautiful original handwoven weaves and bookmark your favourites. Mine was this Kutchi Bhujodi saree in off-white and black in kala cotton. They are also on Instagram.
I have bought quite a few blouses from Umbara designs in Bengaluru over the years and have worn them with many of my sarees. For the collaboration with The Indian Motif, Umbara designs stitched a beautiful blouse with Himachali fabric as a border. That reminded me to contact them to get a blouse stitched for the wedding and they did a lovely job, all of this on the remote. They ask you to send a set of body measurements and they do a good job to get the blouse fitting right. It was fun planning the fabric and the design with them on Whatsapp. Do check them out on Instagram.
Did you buy anything fun or is there something in your shopping wishlist you wish to share with me and your fellow readers? Tell me in the comments below.
Holi Salad - an edible rangoli
I made this holi-inspired colourful salad today with kala chana or brown chickpeas as the main ingredient. Using vegetables of different colours gives this salad a vibrant look and you can’t resist digging in. If you read my thoughts on ‘chopping therapy’ you will know how meditative is to finely chop a pile of ingredients, which is the only thing you need to do for this salad.
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 cups cooked kala chana, drained (brown chickpeas)
1 red bell pepper, deseeded, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, deseeded, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 large cucumber, deseeded, finely diced
2 onions, peeled, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1 cup cooked sweet corn
Dressing:
1/2 tsp lime zest
1-2 tsp green chili-garlic paste (grind 2 green chillies and 4 cloves garlic to a paste)
2 tbsp cold-pressed coconut oil
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
2 tsp powdered jaggery (optional)
(blend all the dressing ingredients in a small mixer jar)
Take all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
I would love your feedback on my newsletter. If you like what you read, please share it with your family and friends. I am grateful for your help in reaching my newsletter to a wider audience.
Books: Everyday Superfoods | The Everyday Healthy Vegetarian
Blog | Amazon store | Twitter | Instagram
This newsletter may contain affiliate links for some products. As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission if you purchase something by clicking on my link, at no extra cost to you. It helps support the newsletter.
None of the product mentions are sponsored unless explicitly mentioned.
Lovely read as always Nandita.. Multitasking and racing to catch deadlines makes even the most pleasurable stuff seem difficult. Can relate to that.
The joy of being with loved ones and their departure to their own lives definitely feels like they've taken a part of you along😅.. especially mothers and sisters..
Was a true to self post.. hoping you have calmer monotasking times ahead!