Addiction At 85?

 Can you become an addict at 85 and lead a healthy life? Addicted to what?

A substance? Drugs? Alcohol? What else?

This is the story of a super senior citizen (and many others like him!) ‘suffering’ from addiction of a different kind. Addiction for good! Addiction for golf!

This super senior citizen, an armed forces veteran, is so deeply addicted to golf that he plays even in darkness. Don’t believe it? See the picture below shot in the darkness on a wintery morning at Secunderabad India. Can you spot a ball and the golfer?

 

As the day dawns, the darkness gives way to magical dawn and sometimes a misty morning with ground frost! Some more pictures below.

Golf is such an addiction that the golfers not only start the day with a round of golf but also dream, breathe and live golf! Ask any golfer! There is a society called ‘Golf Addicts’ with chapters around the world. Unlike ‘Alcoholic Anonymous’, the golf addicts celebrate being an addict.

Ghumakkad is also a golfer. Our earlier stories on golf have had wide readership. Links to some of the golf stories from our blog are listed below. Just click to browse the picture stories.

Golf and Yoga

Rolling Pin and Golf Club

RSI Golf Secunderabad - Hasn't happened again after 2016!

So, to remain happy in life, become an addict! Get addicted not to drugs or substance or alcohol, but to something positive in life like golf or painting, music, dance or gardening!  Follow your positive addiction with passion and you will live a healthy life! Just like Col GB Sethi featured in the story. Thanks Dr Sethi for your companionship, wit and humour on the golf course and beyond.

 

Thank you for browsing.

Incidentally, this is Ghumakkad’s 600^th story in our 12-year-old blog! It comes to you from a moving train! Thanks for your continued readership and support.

-        Harsh-the-Ghumakkad / Vande Bharat Train/ 23^rd Dec 23

#addiction #passion #golf #darkness #life #dawn #magicalmorning #mistymorning #golfaddicts #drugs #alacohol #substance #veterans #armedforces #bloggingfromrunningtrain #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Guava A Powerhouse of Nutrients

We all love Guava except those with cavities and gaps in their teeth where guava seeds get stuck! Even the birds love guava. In fact the birds announce that the fruit is ripened.

We have two guava trees in our garden. One each with pink and white pulp variety. It is a tropical tree. It is a treat to pluck the fruit and then sit together to eat it with a dash of salt and chili powder. Mouth already watering for some of you?

Guava has been called 'a powerhouse of nutrients'. According to LinkedIn "This humble fruit is extraordinarily rich in vitamin C, lycopene and antioxidants that are beneficial for skin. Guavas are also rich in manganese which helps the body to absorb other key nutrients from the food that we eat." 

Guava is also called 'super fruit' like super cars and super bikes! It contains 4 times more vitamin C than orange, 3 times more proteins and 4 times more fiber than pineapple, 2 times more lycopene than tomato and slightly more potassium than a banana. Guava is used in treatment of high blood pressure, constipation, respiratory disorders and hypercholesterolemia. Readers may browse the LinkedIn article for further details. 

Here is an earlier picture of the pink pulp guavas plucked from our tree in July-18.

Eat guavas and stay healthy!

Thanks for browsing.

    -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/2nd Oct 2018
#guava #nutrition #nature #fruits #heart #skin #health #antioxidants #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Pumpkin- The King

Story on Pumpkin?
You must be going mad! Who will read it? Who likes pumpkin?
Well Ghumakkad loves pumpkin. Doesn't just love it but also grows it in his yard. It grows as a creeper and it's bright yellow flowers are in bloom currently. That's why this story.

What do we use pumpkin for? Many many ways including as a noun in Hindi! Read on:

• Pumpkin for Cooking: Vegetable, Soup, Sambhar, Raita, Puree, Desserts, Pies, Drinks etc. Postscript: Agra Petha, Kaddu halwa- courtesy Umesh Dhyani and Lalit Khanna respectively.
• Salad Decoration using its shell
• Halloween masks
• Water can with a handle called kamadal कमण्डल used by Sadhus and hermits in India
• Pumpkin seeds- extra nutrition and medicare
• To ward off the evil eye- when hung on the front wall of a newly constructed house
• A noun in Hindi- in derogatory sense. He is a kaddu कद्दू  - meaning dimwit person
• Pumpkin Festival- held in many countries

It was interesting to observe how pumpkin fruit grows on a vine. There are male and female flowers. Male flowers bloom early morning for 4 to 6 hours. Pollinators such as the ants and the bees have to visit the male flower and then pollinate the female flower. Otherwise, the female flowers just fall off. The male flowers shrivel after few hours. See the pictures below narrating this fact which Ghumakkad learnt after observation.

Pumpkin is a healthy fruit. According to Nutritiondata, "It is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Potassium, Copper and Manganese." Did you know that?

As a result, pumpkin has many health benefits as summarised below by WebMD, Healthline and Reader's Digest:

Weight Loss- Pumpkin is rich in fiber

Sharp Vision- Supplies beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential for eye health

Better Immunity- vitamin A helps your body fight infections, viruses and infectious diseases

Younger-Looking Skin- helps you look younger

Lower Cancer Risk- lowers the risk of some types of cancer including prostate and lung cancer

It (May) Help Treat Diabetes- research continues to prove this postulate

Boost your sex life- provides a good dose of zinc

Improve Prostate Health- eat pumpkin seeds

Treat Intestinal Worms- eat pumpkin seeds

So, those of you who love pumpkin, are on the right track. Keep eating it. And those who don't, better start liking it. You can grow pumpkin on terraces too. The creeper keeps the house cool during summer months.

As we said earlier, sometimes in India we call a dimwit as kaddu (pumpkin in English). But for kaddu lovers like Ghumakkad, there is a corollary. If anyone belittles you for liking kaddu, please tell them that "The liking for kaddu is inversely proportional to the amount of kaddu in one's head"! QED.

Hope you enjoyed the story on Pumpkin- The King.

Thanks for browsing.

        -Harsh-the Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 7th July 2018

#pumpkin #kaddu #pumpkinseeds #prostratehealth #health #nutrition #Healthyfoods #ghumakkadHB #ghumakkadharsh