What is Neoveda?

Before I delve into the reasons for Neoveda's existence, let me share a brief history of my origin and my inspiration for this idea.

Historical records claim that my first port of entry on planet Earth was at Doha, Qatar in the year 1985. My parents had immigrated from Kerala, India to this peninsular country in the Middle East in search for a financial stable life; from one humid and lush green town to an extremely arid city where temperatures would soar to just shy of 50 degrees Celsius and life would just continue like clockwork. Qatar - which used to be 'the country besides Dubai', had turned into a prosperous and flourishing country. Doha was my dear home for 16 years, where the sheltering shades grew from scanty date palm trees to majestic skyscrapers.

In search for better graduation opportunities, I moved to Kerala, India in 2001. TBH, I hated India at first. Let me explain :) This is because my initial perspective was solely focused on the negatives, namely: the national bird of India, which also happens to be blood sucking monsters called 'mosquitoes', the famous power cuts during evenings, and lastly I missed Doha and my friends. In retrospect, I wish I had taken the time to enjoy the positives and paradisiacal nature in Kerala that was right in front of my eyes and thus rightfully called - God's own Country (depending upon your vantage point). At my parents' recommendation, I tried out two different Ayurvedic treatments to treat my skin allergies. I immensely enjoyed the dhara and abhyanga massages that cured my skin, although it did come with a strict diet that avoided my favourite foods at the time like meat, pizzas, KFC and pop. I did not fancy the latter restrictions, but there was no room to question the dictatorial Ayurvedic vaidyas (physicians). You do as you are told, else you are kicked out. Does this remind you of the Soup Nazi from the famous TV Show - Seinfeld? Yup, very similar!!

The Kerala episode ended there. I later moved to England to complete my Masters in Engineering, followed by a brief 2 year stint in Qatar for work (P.S. I loved to be back in my home country), and then followed my dear sister to Alberta, Canada, where I have been living since 2011. So yeah, just like my parents did, I migrated from the scorching heat in Qatar to the sub-zero temperatures of Northern Canada. I guess it runs in my family to move to places that are extremely inhabitable. LOL!!

Now, 10 years later in 2021, I feel a longing for returning to nature and embracing its true under-utilized potential to heal the human body. After years of exploring foods from different cuisines from various parts of the world (Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern, Egyptian, Moroccan, Nigerian, Ukrainian, Polish, Greek, German, French, English, Mexican and North American), my stomach and I are sincerely grateful to all the creators of these amazing flavours. But now, it is time to take a step back and understand the true origins of food and explore how food can be thy medicine - as supposedly suggested by the Father of Medicine - Hippocrates.

Thus Neoveda was born with the goal to proactively improve the overall health and wellness of all Earth’s inhabitants and Mother Nature by accelerating the adoption of an Ayurvedic whole food lifestyle synergized with everyday innovation in technology. Neoveda is a combination of 2 words: Neo (means new / futuristic, and also because I love The Matrix movies) and Veda (means science, sourced from Ayurveda: science of life)

It hurts me personally to see that public massacre occurs in broad daylight as slow poisons like sugary carbonated beverages, energy drinks and 'foods' that are Frankensteins and vampires of real food continue to be served and purchased by the masses - usually justified by cost and economic affordability. These kinds of food cause life-style related diseases and then these same masses spend millions at the hospital for expensive treatment of their ailments and eventual death. Don't you see the viscous cycle here?

If human health is important, then why do governments and companies make profit (directly or indirectly) by authorizing the sale of these toxins? Building an economy should not be at the expense of its residents. There needs to be a voice for real food, preventive health and mental homeostasis (fancy word for balance). Neoveda is that VOICE and we need to consciously treat the root cause, and not the symptoms.

Join me on this journey as we learn about embracing nature, creating simple natural products and local food recipes that are meant to restore your inner and external beauty.