Sugar crush!

Does the title sound like candy crush , latest sensation among the gaming enthusiasts? I am sure, the success of this game is due to the huge diabetic population which relishes the candies at least in the game.
Since both my parents are diabetic and always the threat of me becoming one is there , I thought I should have enough of all the sweets I relish before I come into the risk category. I never realized till about recently that diabetes was knocking at my door and it would all come down to my will power not to open the door for it.  Recent round of health check up showed that I am a borderline case and  am likely to  join the club soon.
As a first step towards prevention, I decided not to give in to the weakness of munching chocolates at any given time and also cut down on sugar added to tea or coffee. I was foolish enough to think that this is going to be a cakewalk (why do I have to think of cake now?). Gulping down a bitter cup of coffee early in the morning was the worst punishment I have had in my life so far.  Just a sip and I decided, ok, I am just borderline case, a half spoon of sugar won't do me any harm and promised to myself , no more sugar for the day.  Then during the day, every time I opened my fridge, there was the  chocolate bar that was inviting me. I convinced myself just this day would be the last day of having that bar and I had a hearty bite. By evening, my neighbour sent me a bowl of kheer she had made and I had to taste couple of spoons  as I was sure she would ask my feedback the next day. By the end of the day, starting with a half spoon sugar in my morning coffee , I realised that I have had the regular dose of my sweets and it was just another day of my life without any changes for the warning I have received.
As a daughter, there have been innumerable instances when I have screamed at my father and mother for giving in to temptations and eating sweets during festivals and they were not even habitual sweet lovers like me. Except for the diabetes related outbursts (one or two per day) I can vouch that I lead a very , happy, quarrel free life with my diabetic husband.
If just one day of my life without sugar was so torturous and difficult to resist temptations, I am dreading the Diwali time when the house is going to be loaded with chocolates and sweets of all kinds. The real test for me lies ahead and I am already busy browsing the net for all kinds of tips to keep my sugar level under control irrespective of the amount of sweets I eat. I am also trying to drink everything from karela juice to aloe vera juice and anything recommended by anybody to keep diabetes at bay. I am sure, I am going to get free advice wherever I go and I am game for trying them as long as they give me the choice to enjoy my sweets. The images below are for representation purposes only !

Eco-friendly Ganesha

Ganesh Chathurthi is one of my favourite Hindu festivals, since it involves lord Ganesha, the most fascinating Hindu God and also the modaks that are made during the festival are my favourite sweet. The vivid memory from my childhood celebrating this festival, involves the trip to the market to buy a small idol of Ganesha for the puja. Couple of days before the festival, the market area used to be bustling with activity, with mountains of clay being kept on the pavements and artisans busy making the idol for the orders. I used to watch fascinated the way the artisans deftly created the elephant face and within minutes, the ball of clay turning into an idol was a real treat. the fun part of the puja was the visarjan or immersion of the idol in ponds or wells that followed the day after the puja. The idol was dropped into the well and the whole family stood around the well watching the idol slowly getting immersed and disappearing.
Though the prices of the clay idol have gone up over the years,  the simplicity of the festival, celebration with a clay idol and its immersion is still a custom that is followed. But after coming to mumbai, the city which is known for its Ganesh chathurthi festival and its grandeur, I realise that the celebration here is not as eco friendly as in chennai, my home town.
We could not find a single market which had clay or artisans making clay idols and we were not interested in buying huge PoP idols that were sold.  The idols  are huge and the festival is a community celebration. Hence the puja and immersion are a grand affair with lot of song, music and dance. Though it has a different flavour here, the noise pollution and the water pollution that result from the celebrations here is really frightening and I wonder what kind of negative impact will this festival have in the future, and just hope that huge PoP idols and playing loud music during the festivities at every corner of the streets is banned soon.
Though a small percentage of the population in Maharashtra is now thinking of eco friendly ways of celebrating the festival, its going to take several years before the entire state changes its way and the damage caused to the nature might be too much by then.

 Huge procession for immersion which stalls the entire city on the day.








Immersion of huge idols     

    The remains of the idols at the sea shore days after the immersion