To start at the beginning is a good point. And, in her own words, in her deeply engrossing, almost lyrical memoir (Close to the Bone), Lisa Rani Ray chooses the moment of her difficult birth. As the umbilical cord tightened around her neck, cutting off oxygen supply, she displayed such tenacity for life that even the nurses could not help but remark upon it.
That set the template for a life that could skid out of control, despite the strongest safety nets. It pushed Ray on a path to unravel and reconcile in herself the many contradictions that included the tussle between poetry and pragmatism that came from her Bengali and Polish bloodlines.
In the early 1990s, when Ray burst on the Indian entertainment scene, she was, in her own words, "a poster child". Her focus was on looking good, no matter how wretched her insides were. She remembers being on a film set, running a temperature and being jabbed so that she could complete the shoot. She remembers suffering from body dysmorphia. That beauty with the piercing eyes-forever frozen as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Aafreen' (blessing)-thinking she was any less than perfect is an unimaginable stretch of imagination. But so it was.
Those days are long gone. And Ray couldn't be happier. On her Instagram profile, her often-used hashtag is #52andthriving.
"I finally have come to a place in my life... where I have understood the only thing that will last, that will keep me healthy, fit... in body, spirit and mind, because I believe that there is a connection between all three... is sustainable health and wellness," she says.
For someone who hated going to the gym since she started it at age 16, Ray's measures of beauty were always external gratification.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 05, 2025-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 05, 2025-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Walking in pine forest can have the same effect as a prescription drug
INTERVIEW - KATHY WILLIS, professor of biodiversity, the University of Oxford, and author, Good Nature
MORE THAN A HELPING HAND
Maria Victoria Juan spent a lifetime healing wounded soldiers, and she can't think of anything she could have done better
Against all odds
Mohamed Raishan Ahmed was born with spinal muscular atrophy, which made him unable to sit, stand or walk. Recently, the Maldivian underwent a rare, complex surgery in India that now allows him to sit upright. At 23, the fact that he is alive is in itself an achievement. But he has gone beyond mere survival-with a pursuit of excellence
A pacemaker tale
From science fiction to reality, with a touch of southern Indian wisdom
Driving safe
Taxi drivers endure gruelling hours, cramped seats and relentless traffic, making them prime candidates for health issues like back pain, hypertension, diabetes and insomnia.
Good food, good life
From the moment of birth, we establish a relationship with food—a nourishing link that requires care and attention to stay healthy
POOR SLEEP IN MIDLIFE COULD AGE YOUR BRAIN FASTER
PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE SLEEP ISSUES, such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep in their 40s, may show more signs of brain ageing in late midlife. Poor sleep may accelerate brain atrophy that is associated with dementia.
BRAIN SCANS SHOW MINDFULNESS MEDITATION CAN REDUCE PAIN
CAN MINDFULNESS MEDITATION actually relieve pain, or is it just a placebo effect?
NON-SURGICAL OPTION TO EASE KNEE ARTHRITIS
A NEW, MINIMALLY INVASIVE procedure called genicular artery embolisation (GAE) can effectively reduce pain, improve quality of life and reduce progression of the disease and the need for knee replacement surgery in people with knee osteoarthritis.
EARLY ONSET DIABETES, BELLY FAT LINKED TO DEMENTIA
FACTORS SUCH AS DIABETES and belly fat in midlife can put you at risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease later in life.
