The kitchen is the heart of this conversation. A conversation that author-surgeons Kalpana Swaminathan and Ishrat Syed begin in their recent book to make the Indian population aware of their bodies. Drafted on the premise of COVID-19 that got the better of us essentially for our co-morbidities, Gastronama (Roli Books) answers one of the most prevalent questions of the Internet Age — Are we eating right? Although common, have we been able to find pertinent answers to it? Or, do the answers change, and confound us, with every upward swipe? This ‘nama’ or tale doesn`t provide quick fixes. It only lays out a better understanding of how we can restore the human body to health, through food. And what`s a more fitting site to discuss food than the kitchen?

This writer reaches out to them to fathom the potency of diets, the need for `wellness`, the quality of cookware and the breadth of good habits. But wellness sounds so wholesome. What about the word can irk Kalpish Ratna — a pseudonym for writers Syed and Swaminathan? "Health is our natural state of being. Wellness is an artifice — the promotion of foods and activities presumed necessary for health. Although it is a terrific commercial success, the ground reality is different. The wellness industry coddles and nurtures an increasingly sick population," Ratna shares, further explaining that cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, diabetes and obesity are on the rise in very young people. "Wellness bullies the body, telling you to do this or that, defining things as good and bad for you."