Ash you like it

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I wish I had the same friends and well-wishers that Aishwarya has. It’s been over five months and the lady has yet to shed her post-natal fat. Yet all I hear is applause for letting nature take its course and bravado for choosing to spend time with her baby instead of sweating it out in the gym. When questioned about her larger than life appearance at Cannes, Ms Bachchan proclaimed that she’d rather be “healthy” and is no mood to listen to people’s recommendation when it comes to dieting.

Personally I have no problems with Ash flaunting her flab in the tents she wears. In fact I am also happy for Abhishek for getting more than he bargained for.
 

My problem is why weren’t you there to defend me, when I had started looking like Dolly Bindra’s distant cousin during my pregnancy. My “alleged prettiness” was referred to in the past tense and I was branded a moti for no fault of mine. By my last trimester, I couldn’t see my feet and my feet couldn’t see the sky. I was waddling like a penguin and even my Mom (after a lifetime of accusing me of being too thin) had started sniggering at my new shape. My clothes refused to accommodate me and I refused to recognize myself in the mirror. Things took a turn for worse when a heavily pregnant me was asked by sweet little girl in my school – Didi, are you married?


How dare she assume that I am this fat! I mumbled to myself as I shed copious tears for my lost vanity.

The next few weeks whenever I met strangers, I made sure that I acquainted them with my marital status before disclosing my name. Guess what! I am married. By the way, I am Purba.

So you can imagine how desperate I was to reunite with my lost slenderness. So desperate that she tried combining pranayam with her labour pains. So desperate that the day she popped out her baby girl, she was on her feet, pacing up and down the hospital corridor.

Barely five months into my mommy avatar, when my well wishers and friends (the same ones who were calling me fat) started showing concern at my lack of weight, I finally sighed with relief. Why aren’t you fat? Are you sure you’re eating right! And I would reward them with a Meira Kumar smile, while my heart would somersault with joy.

Did I do it for others? No, I did it for myself. I wanted a fit and fabulous me to enjoy my motherhood. It’s not as if I put myself through a punishing regime and survived on lettuce. I just ate sensibly, made sure my baby’s leftovers went down the drain instead of finding their way to my stomach and did some moderate exercise. It helped that I had age on my side. It certainly helped that my daughter was quite a handful and made me chase her like a wild goose.

I am not the kind of person who’ll make fun of someone’s obesity. But I’ll definitely not be consoling her saying it’s okay to be fat…it’s okay to let go! Motherhood is not the be all and end of all moment in a woman’s life. Don’t take refuge in now that I have fulfilled my purpose in life, I can let go. I’d rather spend time with my baby than waste time doing tiresome cardio. Nope, it doesn’t work this way. Your me time is as important as your us time. Your concern for fitness doesn’t make you a lesser mom.

The longer you keep the extra inches, the more attached they become to your frame. The older you become, the more tough it becomes to work it off. Yes, it’s as simple as that.

So let’s not glorify Aishwarya’s plus size. Let’s not confuse her lack of concern with bravado. Because any decent obstetrician/gynae will tell you that chubby is not healthy. Many doctors train you not to put on too much weight during your pregnancy, and to lose it soon after childbirth. I said no to all the ghee laden ladoos that my Mom tried to force down my throat. And if you do enjoy tucking in, be responsible enough to work it off pronto.

Just remember you are as important as your child. Your body needs as much caring as your baby. And if you can’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of your baby?

Aishwarya deserves a place under the sun but certainly not for her chubbiness. Because flab is not brave, it is unhealthy.