Soya Latte, Anyone?

Sustainable food, experiential dining and fusion cuisine are making their mark on the Indian culinary scene.

- Anjuly Mathai

Perspective is a pain in the backside. The day I rejoiced over losing 0.5 kilos in my weekly Ode to the Weighing Machine was the day I read that Aamir Khan had lost 25 kilos in his journey from fat to fit in Dangal. It put matters into perspective. But the bright side was knowing that I was not alone in this all-out war against belly fat. The whole sea of humanity seems to be on a collective mission to turn from fat to fit. You go to your local gym and a heated discussion is going on about the advantages of avocado. You scan the newspaper and, right below the item on Islam and polygamy, is the piece on the rise of the vegetarian traveller. You try the GM diet and, for weeks later, long after you’ve regained the weight you lost, you see that it is a conversation starter because the entire world is divided into those who have tried the diet and those who have an opinion about it. You watch television and feel depressed because everyone on it is slimmer and shinier than you. Then, of course, there is the holy grail of health fads—the internet, which seems to be a tangled mess of diet plans. This Purveyor of All Things Wise informs me that sniffing an apple, banana or peppermint can help control my ravenous appetite, and eating in front of a mirror can reduce what I eat by nearly a third.