A world of paradoxes & It’s all about ME ..

A world of paradoxes & It’s all about ME here …

After 12 days of carrying a mixed bag of emotions .. I am now out of Jindal Nature Cure Institute.

An almost mythical world where one enters with a mission and exits with resolution. This is a place where you pay to be deprived. You pay to have discipline imposed on to yourself - that's because you yourself just won't do it. 

The world inside is almost divine and is full of paradoxes…. A world where modern comforts are juxtaposed with traditional methods. The rooms, the facilities, the infrastructure etc are laced with modern creature comforts but the cures are all traditional. There are the farms, the gardens, the lake, the birds (spotted the Indian Pond Herons, Robins, Cormorants, Egrets, Black Winged Stilt, Red Whiskered Bulbul & peacocks here) and the amazing variety of flowers and other flora in the ‘Flower garden’, the ‘Sawan Baug’, the ‘Herbal garden’, fruits and vegetables cultivation etc. Walking through the lush green vegetable garden watching the exotic veggies such as cauliflower, bottle gourd, turmeric, green chilies, and ginger is in itself therapeutic. To complete the ‘divinity’ of the place, a temple has been built here.

This is a world where medicines are shunned and food is prescribed.  A world where all the sections just scream out 'good health' .. the acupuncture section, physiotherapy section, the aquatic exercises section, the multiple yoga sections, the eye care sections, gym, reflexology tracks and so on . There's so much on offer, there's so much choice .. with all roads leading to unimpaired health and wellness. Take your pick or better still, take them all.

I’ve had many massages - Kairali massage, vibro-massage, deep tissue massage, oil therapy, hot stone massage, ozone steam bath, Infra-red sauna, shirodharya, colon hydrotherapy, enema, kidney packs, mud packs, castor-oil packs, full body herbal pack and finally Salt glow massage. With all the massages, packs and treatments, this is a world where your body is ... rubbed, scrubbed, brushed, massaged, scoured, buffed, abraded and polished until you are squeaky clean - both inside and outside.

This is a world where you forget that good means ‘exotic and gourmet food'. This is a world where less is more. Less you eat.. more the energy you seem to miraculously accumulate. A world where you see the self- healing power of the body and its transmogrification into boundless reservoir of energy.

This is also celestial place where the body is regaled and pampered while respecting nature in all its glory but with lesser regard to the palate. This is unlike anything else, where the taste buds are pampered, nature is tampered and the body is hampered sadly with all the toxins, preservatives and chemicals we stuff inside of it. No ‘chemical’ is ingested into body during your stay here. No ‘factory’ produced stuff, no biscuits, breads, cakes or similar. Everything fresh… off the farm – into the kitchen and onto the plate

This is a world where you meet a lot of motley set of people - young and old, Indians and foreigners and Indians settled in foreign lands, singles and couples, loners and groups of friends, the silent variety and the over the top (OTT) loud intrusive kinds, celebrities and the aam aadmi (except Mr Kejriwal who is quintessentially both and was coincidentally here). All of us are united for a purpose- to come close to nature, rid our body of toxins, attain that evasive wellness and well .. shed some weight in the process. 

This is also a place where you learn to shed your inhibitions and attitude. You are together with that simpleton, that celebrity, the corporate magnate or that senior bureaucrat and they too are in the buff (well almost) preparing for the same treatment and the same massages that you would undertake and the same food or juice you would devour - democracy in the real sense, so egos and charades vanish in no time.

And when you come out, you start thinking if you really have been there or was it just a dream. You ironically feel sad to have left this mythical place behind for a world where you can go wherever you want, whenever you want, eat wherever and whenever. I wish someone would rap me onto my knuckles for biting into a samosa (representative of a calorie bomb) or for any of my other unhealthy habits. But alas, ‘out here’ we wink at each other and commit the crime in unison knowingly breaking the ‘laws of nature’.

Finally, this is also a world turned interesting by the sheer presence of other 'inmates'. This place is like a long train journey where you meet a mélange of people. Some you know will be interesting companions and know that they traverse 'this' journey with you and no further. Some will traverse the journey from being a co-passenger to companion to real friends whom you want to keep in touch. I also met a few who I can call friends – an app. developer from Chennai currently in Hong Kong, an Orthopedic surgeon of Indian origin from Kenya, a Yoga teacher from Latvia who came to understand the ‘Indian way’ better, a cheerful business man from Vizag and his charming wife, an amazingly humble superstar from Kannada film industry, an elegant lady from a Mumbai, a colleague from my telecom fraternity, a wealth manager, a doting elderly gentleman from Ireland, a few corporate execs like myself and a lot more.  It is the excitement of meeting the family, the friends and these new found friends even 'outside' that makes me happy. 

And remember, this is a place that is meant for me and me alone. Even if I come with a friend or the spouse…. This is ME time. The problems faced are unique to me and so are the answers. With all the roles that we play that are transitory in nature (son, father, grandfather, husband, brother, manager etc)… we don’t get enough time to play the role of a lifetime – ME. I unapologetically came here to take care of ‘myself’… in preparation of the various roles that life outside has bestowed upon me. And I know I am better equipped to handle those roles now.

Of course, this world is not just all emotions-it's businesslike too. All the KPIs have to be in check. My cholesterol came down from 272 to 210 (ratio dropped from 6.9 to 4.1) , my BMI dropped 2% points, my BP came to an athletic 110/80 and yes I also shed 8kgs in these 12 days.. most of it fat & water retention.

This place has left its impression on me like nothing else and I do wish to come back.

Am reminded of these famous lines from Hotel California…

“Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
'Relax' said the night man
'We are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave! “