The Hindu Business Line : Fitness flash from the past

To the older generation, fitness was a part of lifestyle, not a fad or a passing obsession. The road to health was simple — physical work and a wholesome diet.

Revathy Sankkaran pauses thoughtfully, then continues, "First there was rice, and dal was usually a sambar; the next course comprised rasam and the final course curd-rice rounded off the meal." Don't forget the assortment of poriyals and aviyals which would make the average south-Indian lunch a power-packed tuck-in.

This is not a gourmet discourse. But a look at those days when one could find gyms only in five star hotels and dieticians were virtually non-existent, and good health was rarely something to agonise over.

What was it about the lifestyle and food habits of the older generations, which kept them in such fine feather that they would have put any of the gyms today out of business?

It was all courtsey a very simple and uncomplicated recipe as Revathy, the vivacious host of the programme Tamil programme Paati Vaidyam (Grandmother's Remedies) on Vijay TV, explains. "The first thing one did in the morning after waking up was drink hot water. This was to facilitate bowel movement, which is very important as it cleanses the system. Also our eating habits were very systematic."

Adds N.V. Raman, a retired Government official in Chennai, "In those days there was no substantial change in food habits, and our intake of food was comparatively less. What we consumed was more out of a necessity and to avoid wastage than any fancy idea of staying fit." Both he and Revathy recall the days when the breakfast would comprise a bowl of the previous day's rice, a meal "unheard of today," says Raman, with a laugh.

But even though the meal was simple, adds Revathy, it was high on nutritional value. "It contained all the vitamins the body requires like Vitamin B and other essential acids. This was mostly the meal of the farmers and it sustained them during their long hours in the field."

We go back to the three, and some times four-course meal, and she dwells on the health aspect of every part of the meal. "The first course was always the heaviest, like your sambar and rice, then each subsequent part of the meal would be lighter than the previous one, so that your body's metabolism was not disturbed and your food was digested completely."

She also dwells at length on the methodical manner in which people took their meals. She also draws to attention to an unhealthy habit that most of us could well do without. "We were never allowed to drink water during the meals. This is because water interferes with your appetite," she says.

Wonder what she'd say about the habit we, especially those in the urban areas, seem to be getting from the west when every meal needs to be washed down with a cola or any other aerated drink? Apart from regular meals, what also kept our grand folks in ship-shape was fasting, which is very different from the starvation diets we put ourselves through, today. "Fasting cleanses your system. Those who fasted would rely on a diet of fruits, so the body wouldn't go hungry," says Revathy. And whenever there were visitors, it wasn't coffee or tea, but a native ambrosia called chukku coffee, a concoction of jaggery, milk and ginger extract. The other alternative was buttermilk.

"Our eating habits were clean," she continues, fondly recalling how her grandmother would carry her very own kooja (little container) of water with her wherever she went. Adds Raman, "Eating out was not something we were used to. At the most we would gather together as a family for a meal. But it was never done frequently." And that too would take place, more often than not, in somebody's house and for a wholesome meal.

Reverting to the topic of diet she says, "At night the system was never taxed. Dinner was always light. And even if you did have a hearty meal, you were given jaggery and ginger for digestion."

In her opinion, this is the most effective antacid, in comparison to the stocks of pills that we pump our body with today, in order to fight acidity or indigestion.

She frowns on the unhealthy habit of popping pills at the drop of a hat, today. "We are so used to taking allopathic medicines that we have now become dependant on them. Natural remedies are infinitely safer and more reliable than chemical ones," she says.

Then again there was seldom any need for medication. Raman says people were more fit in the olden times because they had less stress to cope with. "In those days, there was little to worry about. And the people were more healthy because they were leading a contented life."

And then there was the `exercise' element ingrained into daily routine. It was an era when exercise did not necessarily have to be pumping iron in the city's famous gym or jogging out in your new Pumas. It was exercise of a different kind, one that revolved around the house and household chores. "There was rice pounding, grinding flour and other work that ensured we got our daily dose of exercise," says Revathy. "We had no set exercise or workout that we followed. Our main exercise was housework. We also used to walk a lot," adds Raman.

The other form of exercise was recreation. And this was nothing very fancy. "Do you know why we played seven stones?" asks Revathy.

When she receives an honest `No' in reply, she continues, "It was to keep our fingers supple and flexible, so that later on in life we would not get ailments like Arthritis."

Raman reflects on the days when recreation involved tearing across the streets in a game of hide-and-seek. "In our school days we had a lot of games, and that is another reason why we appear so fit today," he says, ruing over the equivalent of recreation in this electronic age where television has turned us into couch potatoes. And, playing games on the computer or surfing the Net for long hours, has brought in another set of maladies related to the back and the wrist, not to mention the tremendous strain on the eyes.

Then she moves on to an interesting topic — beauty and health. "Women were women in those days too. I remember my grandmother taking the caramel of jaggery and smearing it on her hands and slowly wiping it off to remove the hair."

Well, today we shell out over Rs 200 for waxing!

"Those days," continues Revathy, "people knew more about health and fitness than what we know, even though we are educated. They truly knew how to live."

Picture by Shaju John

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Fitness takes the cake

Fitness flash from the past

Beating the obesity trap

Count those calories

Dieting made interesting

Heart of the matter

Freedom that yoga gives

Watch what you eat

Spice up that salad