Guest Mentor Ayurvedic Indian Cuisine chef Gita Mazumdar joins Nancy Meyer to talk about how food is at the center of everything and her entrepreneurial journey in the United States.
Gita says, “She was made in India, on the coconutty west coast along the Arabian Sea. What luck to have been nurtured by a playful father, an orderly mother, and both her grandmothers.”
In Gita’s first few years, “she was held for long hours by her beloved Badi, an elderly Adivasi (indigenous) woman who cared for her while her parents, both doctors, worked. Gita’s first food was Badi’s unusual grains cooked in clay. Gita cried for Badi when they moved away from that early home. The story is that Gita refused food, chanting ‘Badi’ a hundred and eight times before her father lost count. Her paternal grandmother, Mein, prepared bhakri, confident that it would break the spell. Hours past bedtime, Mein placed the spiced bread in front of Gita. She regarded it silently, looked up, and wailed ‘Baadiiii!” Exasperated, Mein said, ‘Eat your Badi’s fat chapattis’ and snapped off the lights.
The next morning, there were no signs of bhakri and no more chanting.” This is how I begin today’s podcast conversation with Gita Mazumdar. An Ayurvedic Indian Cuisine chef, photographer, wife, mother, friend, filmmaker, and conscientious community connector. She continues describing a life that eventually circles back to her paternal grandmother Mean’s recipes and how women pass on their stories from one generation to another. Food is at the center of things
Listen to the podcast episode Food Connect Us
You’ll Hear:
Gita describes her life and the Mystic Murrabba project: food for body and spirit. Listen in to other parts of our conversation that will nourish your spirit and inspire you to create a lifestyle of connectedness and well-being:
- Ayurvedic Indian cuisine and your well-being.
- Gita’s Kitchen Philosophy and Hygiene. The percentages between food nutrients and what we need for digestion.
- 23 and Me DNA testing results and how far back Gita’s ancestry goes.
- A cross-cultural event Gita brilliantly overcame when she married Jim.
- What her three adult children tease her about.
- How she overcame cultural disjointedness between our Eastern and Western cultures.
- A common Indian saying, “Indifferently made food will only satisfy half a man’s hunger.” Why is food preparation so important?
- Redefining what is vital in your life at different stages.
- Why Project Mystic Murrabba is not a business.
You will also learn about Thali. Thali is the way Indians eat regularly, an Indian-style meal. The meal is prepared with seven components that make up a complete meal. Each region in India has a different Thali but is prepared with the same seven components in mind. There is particular attention paid to details.
- There is a Rice dish, a lentil dish, a cooked vegetable, some kind of bread, fermented pickle, some kind of chutney with lemon or lime (some added acidic flavor), fresh vegetables, and a small bite of sweet to encompass all the different flavors.
- “The entire Thali meal consists of seven components:
- Seven colors.
- Six flavors.
- Five textures.
- Four elements: earth, fire, water, and air.
- Three different qualities (temperaments) wake you up, calm you down, and encourage the balance in between.
- Two people. You never eat alone, so you eat together with at least two people.
- ONE, UNITY. We are all connected. We remember we are part of an Ecosystem; part of a cycle connected through this daily ritual two to three times each day, to what we are,” says Gita.
About Nancy
Nancy A. Meyer, M.A. is a Business and Life Mentor | Speaker | Podcaster | Blogger | Author, (and Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Integrator)
Nancy integrates mindfulness yoga and meditation into everything. She has a compassionate and collaborative approach that reinforces resilience and maintains accountable conversations that support how you evolve. Bottom Line: YOUR transformation and creating a meaningful life through business ownership is my top priority (learn new skills, practice, evolve, innovate, expand marketing efforts, financially prosper). We start with your desire to change.
She founded WeMentor, inc. in 1992 to promote Dual Innovation Leadership, the ability to evolve how you lead as you redesign your business model. WeMentor is a professional mentoring organization for emerging to experienced business owners and entrepreneurial leaders. Brave leaders take charge of how they evolve and learn how to respond to the unpredictable nature of business ownership by innovating on purpose (asserting self-leadership). Now it is in vogue to address your emotional health while leading others.
Nancy earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Bemidji State University, Minnesota, in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts Degree from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, in Special Education. Nancy taught entrepreneurship education at two universities: The University of St. Mary’s University, Minneapolis, MN Campus, and St. Catherine’s University, St. Paul, MN Campus, for 15 years and has run entrepreneurial leadership groups and one-on-one strategic mentoring sessions for 30 years. https://linkedin.com/in/nancy-a-meyer/ https://wementor.com/