A ‘fruitful’ lifestyle makes a difference

AS I unwrapped the box of fruits that I had ordered online in the IT hub of Bengaluru, my friends from a southern state expressed bewilderment as they saw a bunch of lychees for the first time. Amused, I recalled how I had gorged on an almost unlimited supply of fruits in the summer months during my childhood in Chandigarh.

Besides heatwaves and power cuts, summer in north India brings a rich variety of fruits, lending vibrancy to the otherwise dull months of May and June. Markets are flooded with an assortment of mouth-watering fruits, including watermelon which can cool you down even on the hottest of days. Then comes muskmelon, with its subtle fragrance and different textures. Following closely behind are the delicate lychees which can give anyone sweet cravings. In a way, lychees are the perfect epitome of life; while life may appear to be rough from the outside, it’s up to us to peel away its layers to enjoy the sweetness it offers.

And who can forget the king of all fruits the mighty mango! In colours ranging from bright yellow to tempting green, to a fiery orange! From chutneys and jams to juices, milkshakes, smoothies and ice cream, mangoes are used everywhere and summers are just incomplete without them. With more than 1,500 types of mangoes available in India alone, I recently lost my heart to the Banganapalli and Himayath varieties in Bengaluru.

As a child, I abhorred eating fruits and was more interested in pandering to my sweet cravings through packaged food. Summers meant an endless supply of ice cream, frothy cold coffee, sugary milkshakes (ironically, in fruit-based flavours), and soda-based drinks. With time, however, I started making a conscious attempt to adopt a healthier lifestyle by cutting down on processed sugar and replacing it with natural substitutes. Fruits are now an indispensable part of my life. I travel with a large bag full of them, apart from trying out local varieties in each new city and country that I visit.

Fruits provide us nutrition and hydrate us in the summer months; they also brighten our mood with their myriad colours and flavours. At the workplace, I actively try to replace the tempting samosa with fruit chaat.

Making healthier choices often requires support from peers, friends and family. Fortunately, most of my friends prefer consuming fruits over processed food. Some time back, a friend who was seeking a matrimonial alliance had only one precondition for his future wife the girl’s family should love consuming fruits, for it reflected health consciousness. Today, my friend and his wife are happily, ‘fruitfully’ married.