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Healthy trend
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Call it focus or fetish, the `H' word seems to be the mantra of young and old in Chennai, says GEETA PADMANABHAN
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THE 20-SEATER, couple-of-weeks-old Café Viva is full. This may not be news, but what follows is. It's 5 p.m. on a workday and on the menu are "health foods." There are fruit juices and no coke; sandwiches with baby corn, toast with slices of fruit, mini pizzas with vegetables and no cheese, adai without rice, vegetable aval sans peanuts, bowls of salad, soups, rasams and slurp! the sundal of the evening.
"Health food is no longer `yech!'," says Rekha Sudharshan, the trim nutritionist in the management trio. "Children who came in asking for finger chips now happily spoon in sundal. Our mint/horse gram rasam, palm sugar juices and low oil-high ginger preparations are gulped down by people of all ages." Sripriya, the dietician, chips in, "The low-cal, high protein dishes cooked in my kitchen are a favourite with those working out in the gym," while Sandy, the hotel management graduate, shakes up his mocktails.
The gym is Maverick, the latest addition to muscle-flexing zones in the city. Kicking off in May, it has sold out 595 memberships. "Gyms are now a big addition to the health craze," says Sripriya. "Seven years ago, such a culture would have been unthinkable." These gyms employ personal trainers to guide clients in search of weight loss, toning and muscle building. Equipment dealer Susheel Bhalla of Landmark Systems expects a 20 per cent increase in sales. "I sell to gyms but 70 per cent of my machines go to individual buyers."
"Yes, even the young in Chennai are increasingly health-aware," says Dr. Aarthi, Ayurvaid at Marga. "Quite a few teenagers believe in ancient cures while a lot of middle and upper middle class women ask for ways to downsize their indulged contours. They want to fit into well-cut salwar kameezes and jogging suits. They want spotless skin and shiny hair — signs of health. It's all about good health leading to good looks. Mushrooming Ayurvedic clinics and natural medicine shops are proof of this." At an ITES office, Kumar who is in-charge serves fruits and salads to those who are working on night shifts.
Balasubramaniam
Not surprisingly, outlets selling organically grown foods see the sun shining on them. "I'm very happy at this turn of habits," says Balasubramaniam, MD, Enfield Agrobase Ltd. "Many understand the value of organic products. They come in looking for certified pesticide-free, chemical fertilizer-free stuff and return because of the taste. Our mangoes and vegetables get plucked off the shelves. The health tag is fast replacing the price tag. The 10-15 per cent extra you pay is the premium against doctor bills. Increasingly our customers include people of all sections." Shop manager Ganga hands over the last of the keerai bundles to a customer as she says,
"People buy organic cereals at Mehta Jewellery and come here for condiments." Adds P. R. Ramanathan, a customer, "Around 30-35 per cent of the populace clearly thinks about well-being when it opens its purse."
If early morning beach activity is any indication, Chennai is walking its way to health. By 6 a.m. Elliots, Thiruvanmiyur and Neelankarai beaches are silent melas of serious walkers. For Divya Balraj (19) and Pratima Hari (20) the brisk walk is a summer ritual. Without missing a step they chortle, "We feel energetic through our busy day. Being here early means going to bed at a decent hour. No Internet chat sessions and no late night movies. Walking is better than surfing channels. Our friends who need to shed weight are motivated by our routine." Six-footer Shiva, about to fly off to Texas for his Masters, is a latter-day jogger. "I had bouts of cold and doctors advised me to improve lungpower. I could have done that shouting but jogging is a better option.
Dr. Aarthi, Ayurveda Specialist
I am also on a diet of fish, egg white, soya and lean meats." Hrithik Roshan is his inspiration. "He doesn't do ads for coke, smoke or drinks and is clean in the movies." Friend Sidhesh, an Anna University student, complains: "A lot of the playgrounds have gone forcing us to pay for gyms." As for role models, he says "Surya, Vijay, Vikram, and Arjun look fit. Film crazy Chennai is definitely influenced by them."
And did you notice the changes at your regular shopping outlets? Pharmacies sell fresh (?) vegetables. Soy products do brisk business. Cosmetics majors promote health drinks. At Ashtalakshmi, a vegetable co-operative, salesgirls wonder why dates, ginger fudge, candied amla, mushrooms and sprouted cereals "move so fast." "Two years ago, these weren't even on the stock." At the Khadi shops, the price of honey has doubled in the last two years. Shopping bags are filled with nuts, herbs and super-food supplements. Health chasers drink grass juice and use health shampoos. Add the "H" word and it's sure to sell.
Health is a major topic with the media. Several booklets on wellness are being published every now and then. Many newspapers have large columns allotted for health. All TV channels have health programmes — discussions with doctors, tips on exercises. AIR has an informative broadcast at 6:05 every evening. Health has been elevated to the super-specialty realm. And what about health insurance? The number of entrants in this field proves the profitability of this business.
Rekha Sudharshan, Nutritionist
Add yoga classes, wellness centres, art of living lectures and coping with stress workshops for emotional health, and you get the picture.
Shiva, Student
It could be the travel to lands of health worshippers. It could be the sight of light-as-air nymphets walking the ramp. It could be the `visible' jobs on TV and stage as anchors. It could be just plain rejection in a marriage proposal. It could be visits to doctors at an age one should be visiting discos. For whatever reason, Lady H is the latest goddess.
"The markets are shrewdly cashing in on this craze," says a beach regular, staring darkly at the sun rising on another business day. "A huge market has sprung up promoting dubious health products. Gems, bracelets, socks and magnets claim to cure ailments. Questionable concoctions can keep you workworthy all day."
Sripriya, Dietician
The Chennai-ite is writing the rules for his own balance of good living and well being. Catch him at the crack of dawn, keerai bundle in one hand and newspaper/magazine in the other. The paunch is still there, but you can bet your last should-be-shed pound he's reading the health column.
GEETHA PADMANABHAN
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