April 15, 2008
Every year my dear friend, Mamta, lets me know when Navratri is going to begin. “It’s the nine-day fast, but you don’t have to change anything since you are already eating so healthy.” Traditionally, Hindus used to abstain from eating during Navratri. In modern times, with everyone working and life being less relaxed, fasting isn’t always something that can easily be accomplished. So, over the years Navratri has been modified by many to represent a time of eating more simply and abstaining from meat if you eat it.
This year, I had an email question from one of our readers who was asking about ways to eat simpler during the nine-days of fasting. After responding to him, it sparked in me a desire to do something this year for Navratri. I had read about eating mono meals and always thought it sounded like such a gentle way of cleansing the body, so I figured I’d try it for the nine days of Navratri. To make it even easier on me, I decided to consume a different food every 24 yours, rather than eating the same thing for the full nine days. Maybe in the future I’ll try that, but this time I wanted this to be as easily doable as possible.
So, I did it. I selected my foods (strawberries, pineapple, oranges, apples, cucumbers, celery, bananas, and tomatoes) and wrote about my mono meal adventure each day. When I was on my final food (apples) it was very difficult. I wanted to eat some gourmet raw foods, to have meal of multiple foods combined with salt and oil. I was strong, however, and continued eating only the apples. I ate my fill of them for dinner and told myself that I only had until dinner the following evening to complete the nine days, and I gave myself a little “you can do it” talk.
Then I talked with Mamta. I wanted to let her know how well I was doing and that I couldn’t wait for the nine days to be completed. “But, it’s Ram Nami today, Wendi! You must end your fast and eat some salty and oily foods! I forgot to call to let you know. I’m so sorry.” What?!! It was kind of funny to me that every year when Mamta tells me it’s Ram Nami, the end of the nine-day fast, it doesn’t really mean all that much to me. This year, however, since I’ve actually been observing the nine days in my own way, I would have rejoiced to hear that it was Ram Nami!
So, I could have eaten foods that entire day. However, it was already after dinner time and I didn’t feel like preparing a complex raw meal. Mamta insisted that I consume something salty with some oil, however, so I prepared a salad with avocado, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and lemon. It was divine!
It didn’t all add up, however. I kept asking Mamta to explain, since it wasn’t truly nine days if the fast was to end that day. She explained that it’s a special reprieve, of sorts. The final day gets reduced, or taken away, but it still counts as a nine day fast. I still don’t fully understand how it can count as nine days, when it was really eight, but if that’s the way it’s done then who am I to argue about it?
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I’ll be sure to have Jim pick up the special battery for our camera, so that I can take a picture of my meal tomorrow night. It might seem like it’s not such a big deal, but after nine days of mono meals, I’m truly looking forward to this like no other meal that I can remember.
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