ANJU VENKAT
From school house captain to competitive athletics to engineering, Anju Venkat always took the road most challenging – the one that demanded sweaty discipline and utter dedication!
She was the first to take up the challenge of Dr Venkat’s dream; to build on, what was later to become THAC. All there was to start with, was a pigeon-infested crumbling old building, loads of grit and a clear vision of holistic health principles. And so brick by brick, concept by concept, dish by dish, a kitchen and a space grew with Dr. Venkat, Anju and two other women to provide wholesome, nutritious food while motivating, training and counselling others.
Anju’s personal battles with illness in her teens and twenties strengthened her resolve to learn, understand and overcome them. Sharpened by her body’s symptoms and signals, she undertook copious studying about health and nutrition through the Life Science College, (Texas) PhD programme. By attending numerous conferences, workshops and interacting with leading lights in the field abroad, Anju Venkat’s own mission became clear.
Today Anju is THAC’s C.D & C.A! Chief Do-er and Chief of All. She is a health counsellor and nutritionist, co-facilitator and the main face of THAC along with Dr. Venkat. Her tips to alleviate pain and her unstinting support during personal health crises are legendary amongst her numerous clients. As a mentor in the present team, she takes her lessons from the mighty banyan tree. While admitting its sheer majesty, she saw that nothing grows along or under it! So, much like a variegated forest, Anju actively supports and provides for THAC’s team to grow while encouraging individuals to stick to their health goals. Her eye-opening partnership with C.A.S.A. (an NGO working with HIV+ people) for over 4 years, helped her develop the broad guidelines of putting health and nutrition into daily lifestyle practices. ‘Adding life to life’, THAC’s motivational engine, is her brainchild.
All production, be it for food, classes, seminars, projects or partnerships, goes through Anju’s sharp hawk-eye acceptance. Her concept clarity and dedication to the purity of natural living principles, ensures that the simplicity and truth of Nature’s ways are kept intact.
A godmother to many naturally birthed children and a saviour to countless others, who have regained their health and belief in the body, Anju wears her many roles humbly. A recipient of numerous awards and accolades (Rotary / Wellness University / Noni / Young Achiever / Young Entrepreneur), she has appeared on many TV programs and food shows (CNN, etc) and spoken at the first TED talks in India. Numerous Youtube links are available on the same, along with wide media coverage in local, regional and national press. Anju is also one of the IMC Winning Women of Bombay.
Resilient, reserved and almost regal, Anju stays constantly trusting and aware of the Divine intelligence, guiding her path to take on the challenges of natural living in a fast-food-filled, chemical and illness-driven world.
