Thinking Beyond Food

Dear readers - two months of waiting, and I am back! Sorry! I have been terribly busy with so many things demanding my attention and had no time to do anything productive on my blog (farm). And it has remained fallow since January this year.

I have nothing to share with you even today - two months later. Just that I am pleased by this sheer coincidence. Today happens (April 7) to be World Health Day. I am here at Kathmandu. We wanted to go out in the market and see some things, but there is a bandh (strike) here. So, we are literally stuck in the hotel. And just because of this bandh I could start my exercise – spent good, productive one hour in the gym using treadmill and other equipment. It was fun. So, symbolically – I launch my first fitness program on World Health Day! What a fit day to start to become fit, isn’t it?

Getting licensed to be less healthy!

I must admit – we in Bhutan are least conscious of our health. Of course the trend is starting to change with some educated/elite Bhutanese who have realized the value of health. But otherwise we are not even bothered about our health and lifestyles. On the other hand we consume volumes of rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner, without proportionate exercise to go with.

Not to forget our (many of you) fascination towards – phaksha sikam! A few of my friends told me that given the options they could stop eating other meat items, but not pork! It says it all! People in the olden days ate lots of food. No doubt. But they were involved in very demanding manual work. That consumed lots of calories. And that’s why they had no problems. Now – we live more and more sedentary lifestyles. We talk on the phone. We drive to work. The list of inactivity goes on!

And maybe this shows lack of facilities in our towns and cities. We need to have places where people can exercise – run, swim, and weightlift, among many others. I think it is time that we think beyond food! Government, I am sure, very well understands it. And it is now high time that we do a huge campaign to raise awareness on personal health!

With this I plead here my fellow Bhutanese to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Happy World Health Day! Go out and run. Go out and do some exercises.