Emerging Stronger

Preferring to look at the positive aspects always, the actor and the performer, Lisa Ray pens down her journey of survival and her perceptions towards life.

- Akanksha Arora

The mother, the actor, the philanthropist, Lisa Ray always aspired to become a writer. In this conversation, she leaves no chords untouched and speaks her heart out about writing being her first love to her idea of living and more. Edited Excerpts:

You have always remained in a good shape, what involves your daily fitness regime?

Thank you. I don’t want to give off the impression of being in the perfect shape, or of putting my physical appearance ahead of all else. I struggled with body issues in my youth and I have written about this in depth in Close to the Bone, my debut book. For me, fitness is about maintaining an emotional and healthy balance and keeping my disease (Multiple Myeloma) which is technically incurable- in check. Yoga is a constant in my life and in scenarios I do not get to practise it for a long time, my body and mind craves for it. I go to the gym as and when I can, but erratically. I prefer Pilates and outdoor activities. I practise the 80-20 rule: 80 per cent of the time I eat clean, organic and cut out sugar, too much salt and fried and processed food. But 20 per cent of the time, I need to indulge in pizza and batata wadas. Food love continues to be in my life since childhood, so I give myself breaks from my regime.

You have embraced life even more beautifully, after fighting the battle against cancer. Are there still any traces? How do you manage your lifestyle and diet for that?