Launch of the 321 Baby Bulge Be Gone for Fortis Hospitals
After a week spent in Hong Kong I am finally on my way to India the real reason for travel this month. It has been a trip I have been waiting for, praying to happen and now it has finally arrived. It has been over 5 years since my first trip to India but this time it’s going to be a much different experience. This time It is not the family excursion back to our roots, this time it’s the launch of my 321 Baby Bulge Be Gone workout with Fortis, a private hospital chain, a red carpet launch with notable people and numerous press opportunities. And to prepare for this on my flight, I have found a music station that features Ravi Shankar and his Sitar. It’s fitting I feel as it transports me instantly into a culture of which I belong to but know not enough off.
I was born to Indian parents who left Mumbai in their late 20 s for Germany. My first language was German and then I spoke English. Living most of my life in a small town in Canada and then in LA I had little or no contact with other Indians. Growing up my parents chose to integrate us into our environment, being of Christian faith much of our daily lives and spiritual beliefs blended with other Canadians. When I moved to LA I was the only East Indian on the LA Raiders for the 10 years I worked with them. Artesia California, a suburb of LA known as “Little India” was a long drive from Santa Monica where I lived and for me, during the 80s and 90s the real India seemed a long way away.
Then one day as if almost overnight I woke up and was 45 and India came calling . Out of nowhere a deep desire arose and, I needed to see India… but not alone. I needed to make this journey with my family. I wanted to experience what my parents had experienced the childhood that they knew, the world that included my mother’s kitchen where she ground masala as a child. I wanted to to meet Ann my only female cousin , whose life could have been the life I would have been living had my parents not left India. I wanted to walk down the beaches of Goa where my Dad and Mom escaped to for romantic getaways from the hustle and bustle of Bombay.. And so we returned. My parents, my brother and his family. We stayed at the YMCA and were toured around by my Dads childhood friend . We returned as foreigners, with money to spend on the sights, Agra, Jaipur and Rajasthan. I slipped in a side trip to Dharamsala and was incredibly fortunate to be able to see the Dalai Lama in person along with hundreds of Tibetans celebrating his long life celebration. It was and incredible spiritual experience to be there for that live.
I could never imagine topping this trip back to India but now over 5 years later Im returning, with a different set of circumstances but equally exciting and perhaps even more of a bonding experience for me as I am back to share what I have learned in my life in the West and hope to discover what the East can teach me about myself. Strange coincidence, I am for the first time in this months India Vogue magazine with a large article on Creating Curves on the female body, The timing is uncanny and I believe I owe this all to my grandmother. Growing up she was my only real connection with India and now she has brought me back to experience it. Omi, this project is for you.
And as Ravi Shankar plays his sitar on my headphones and we fly through turbulence the adventure has begun.
I love it!!