Dharmendra

Ahana Deol Vohra will be seeing for the first time hosting an organic fest-The Conscious Market in tomorrow, 5^th January 2020 at the Celebration Club Grounds, Lokhandwala, Andheri West. Initiated by Ahana’s friend and Mithun Chakraborty’s nephew Debu Bannerjee. The fest will bring the top organic companies under one roof to spread awareness amongst citizens for a healthier lifestyle. Right before the fest, Ahana Deol Vohra speaks about her association with the event.

Expresso: Please tell us something about your association with the event?

Ahana: My friend Debu is organising this event and I’m very proud of him for getting this together. He asked me if we would be interested to keep a stall at this event. I was very keen that ourselves means Aparna Saraf, Sameer Athavle, and myself are a part of this since the event having all organic brands under one roof or else open sky rather !! It’s not easy to get people to understand the importance of eating the right food. The conscious market celebrates causes that support organic living as well as ethical and environmental causes. Shop for change is dedicated to developing an ethical supply chain that promotes and supports the use of organic and chemical-free produce in our daily life. We do this by educating farmers to deploy environment-friendly practices to deliver the best quality products. Our practices help to earn sustainable livelihoods for farmers.

Expresso: You will be hosting this event and it will be your first. Does that make you nervous? 

Ahana: Not at all. I’m extremely glad to be a part of this event.

Expresso: You come from a family of legends like Hema Malini and Dharmendra, so how do they react to your new role as a businesswoman?

Ahana:  They are always supportive of everything that I am passionate about. In fact, even more for this since they love the products we have at the shop for a change.

Expresso: You will be hosting the show with Ram Kamal Mukherjee, your mother’s authorized biographer and also made a successful director of the film Cakewalk with your sister Esha…

Ahana: Happy to be hosting this with Ram. It’s like chatting with him casually but this time about healthy interests and not films.

Expresso: You are the mother of a lovely kid, and you must be very conscious about the food that you serve to your kid. How do you keep a check on quality? 

Ahana: So I started looking into a healthy lifestyle after having my boy. And I make sure he gets his veggies and fruits which he also prefers over meat! All our produce at the farm is tested and 100% organic. I order organic every week so that way I’m rest assured about the quality of the food being prepared at home. He actually loves home food.

Expresso: Dharmendra has been posting a lot of farming photos from his Lonavala farmhouse. Does this love for organic food come from your dad? 

Ahana:  Maybe the whole apple not falling that far from the tree is legit!! I did a course in biodynamic and organic agriculture back in 2010 and I’ve been keen that he grows organic at the farm as well. We always discuss what veggies are growing and what seed to the source !! Basically we are similar and share the same passion for organic farming.

Expresso: You have been an accomplished Odissi dancer and since marriage and motherhood you have stayed away from the stage, do you intend to get back to the stage? Or you want to completely focus on being a businesswoman? 

Ahana:   I did a couple of performances after having my boy… and I did a performance recently in November 2019. I definitely intend to keep dancing as well.

Expresso: How can you think we can educate our next generation on organic food and food without preservatives?

Ahana: There are many interesting and informative courses on this subject. Also a good number of websites and blogs out there. The main thing is to get people curious about the health benefits of fresh organic produce and the dangers of genetically modified products which people are unaware of!

I personally feel spreading some light on this subject in schools and universities can be of great help. Spreading awareness among the next generation related to the origin of the produce and products that we use is crucial to their understanding. The next generation should be encouraged to demand that methods deployed for production are sustainable for the environment thus minimising the use of harmful chemicals. This should be done through multiple platforms like a conscious living, use of social and print media as well as the inclusion of such topics as part of their education curriculum.