KYS Retreat – Exploring Nourishment Of The Mind, Body And The Soul
Our Chief Content Officer, Anjali, shares her thoughts on this month’s retreat.
Every time we write about our retreat experiences, we find ourselves waxing poetic about breakfast! I’m not a big breakfast person, but I love the simple act of eating hot, comforting food with my team, and catching up on each other’s lives. So, when JD told us that this month’s retreat would begin at Chitrakala Parishath, we thought we were in for a day of good food and beautiful art. We weren’t completely wrong, but instead of art, we found ourselves talking about ‘nourishment’.
We’ve used the word ‘nourishment’ before in our articles, and at this month’s retreat, we found ourselves pondering it again. What does ‘nourishment’ mean? The dictionary defines it as “the food necessary for growth, health, and good condition.” Sounds simple? It’s a little more complicated than we thought! But more on that later.
Studying The Path Before Us
After eating our fill of piping hot idlis drenched in sambar, we headed over to Gandhi Bhavan to soak up the atmosphere and see what we could learn from the father of our nation.
If you haven’t already visited the museum at Gandhi Bhavan, you really should! In addition to some lovely photographs of Gandhiji at various stages of his life, the exhibit also features a lot of his correspondence. It was wonderful to see the letters that Gandhiji wrote to Tagore and many of his other contemporaries. It shows that the march to freedom was not just a physical movement, but an intellectual one.
Once we had explored Gandhi Bhavan, we made our way back to Chitrakala Parishath for our first circle. Sitting under the beautiful old trees, surrounded by eager students, we found ourselves talking about our journey thus far. JD had spent the previous evening talking to some dear friends about KnowYourStar, and was brimming with new ideas regarding our pitch and direction. If you’ve been following our work over the last year, you will have noticed the way we’ve been evolving. Each month bringing new revelations and baby steps towards our ever-dynamic future. We talked about KnowYourStar and the journey that lies ahead of us. Including our need for nourishment and what that means for us.
The True Meaning Of Nourishment
Though we’ve been working in this space for a while now, we’ve been seeking nourishment in very different ways. We’ve built wonderful connections, met so many lovely and interesting people, and brought sunshine into the lives of many children – but we realised the ones who hadn’t been receiving nourishment were ourselves!
We’ve been so busy and caught up with KnowYourStar that we’ve neglected some of our own basic needs. I’m sure you’ve all read JD’s heartfelt article about his 15-months without salary. When he spoke to us about his journey during that time, and what he’s learned from it, we realised that it was a story that needed to be shared. We have always asked for help to nourish others, but it had never occurred to us that we need helping hands too!
Since we sent out that email, we’ve received a lot of support in the form of well wishes, advice and yes, even a few monetary donations. Thank you! The nourishment was much needed and very, very appreciated.
Food For The Soul
Once we finished our first circle, we set off to do what we love best – eat some good food! We walked over to the Green Path – Forgotten Food hotel, I’d heard a lot about this place from friends and was eager to visit. An organic and largely vegan space, the Green Path hotel is a great place for those who value clean eating and clean living in the city. Jaideep and Pranita had met Mr. Jayaram, the owner, at a workshop and we had been meaning to visit ever since. Let me start by saying that the food was spectacular. We ate so much that we decided to conduct the second circle at the lunch table – none of us wanted to move!
We also had the opportunity to meet Mr. Jayaram, who told us about his story – a small town boy who made his way to the city to become a lawyer. Today, he not only practices law but owns a beautiful space that embodies all of the values he was taught in his village. If you ever visit the hotel, be sure to say Hi. He’s always ready to chat about the greener path!
Combatting our food comas, we sat down to discuss our work at KYS and how we felt about it. It’s been a month of change for us, and we’ve had to shift focus and prioritize in an all-new way. However, we realised that we really welcome these changes. They are necessary for growth and development in a healthy way. We were pleased that our small steps towards nourishment were creating ripples that were affecting us so positively.
We ended our introspection with some delicious dessert (really, we can’t recommend this place enough!) and were happy to close our day on a sweet note!
If there’s any story that needs to be told, we will tell it. Write to us at contact@knowyourstar.com with your story lead, or contact us on Facebook or Twitter.
