"Pure vegetarian"?

Often while visiting restaurants, I've overheard this a lot. 

Waiter: Sir, chicken or veg?
Angry customer: Veg. PURE veg. 


Now let's come to this term. Pure vegetarian. 

Oxford Dictionary defines the terms pure as:
1) Not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material
2) Free of any contamination

Now let's take a look at what vegetarian means:
1) A person who does not eat meat or fish, but consumes diary and dairy products, along with all plant products. 

Cool, we're clear. 

Time to ponder and find out how pure vegetarian is. 

Vegetarianism says that an adult human should consume the milk of a cow, who is lactating because she's given birth to a calf. Rightfully, this cow's milk is meant for the calf. One look at the dairy industry, and you realize that the calf is taken away immediately after birth, so that we humans get the best milk from the cow. In simpler terms, we're breaking the bond between a mother and child. Is that pure?

The milk from a cow is got from artificially impregnating a cow (read: a fully grown man inserts his entire arm into the cow's vagina). The cow is also given a number of steroids and medicines, which of course manifests itself in the milk we steal from her. A cow should ideally get pregnant once in about two years. Thanks to the demand of milk, a cow gives birth once in six months. Is that pure? 

The milking machines are stuck to the cow's udders to milk the cow. Most times, these machines are left overnight to the cow and she starts bleeding. Every packet of milk that you purchase has drops of blood and puss mixed in it. Is that pure?

As soon as the calf is born, if it's a female - the baby is sent to a separate place, away from her mother, given artificial milk because don't forget, you are buying the calf's actual milk. If the calf is male, he's directly promoted to the meat industry for meat. Or he's used for farming. So much for a glass of milk. Is that pure?

Cows are kept in dingy, enclosed factories, in small cubicles without any space to even move. They're constantly raped for milk, and they bear a lot of trauma from the separation of the calf. For what? To match the demand of your milk. Is that pure?

Yes, milk is very high in calcium, protein, and vitamins. But NOT for you. It is a rich source of nutrients for its baby. Just like you drank the milk of your mother. Cow's milk is for the calf. Not for you. Cow's milk does not make your bones any stronger, it only makes it weaker and brittle. It has adverse effects on your health, also thanks to all the hormones ingested in the cow. Is that pure?

The meat and diary industry is the number ONE reason for global warming. These industries are solely responsibly for millions of water usage as well as throwing back waste into earth. Is that pure? 

The term "pure vegetarian" makes absolutely no sense, because it's nothing but impure. 

Stop fooling yourself that by being vegetarian, you are causing no harm to an animal. You're causing more harm than you can imagine. 

Even if you do take it for granted that you do not care for suffering animals, if you care for yourself and your health, refrain from it. 

Most importantly, if you care for the world around you, do not participate in eroding it. 

Why vegan?

Vegan.

Vegan? 

Why vegan? 

It all started one fine day when my father walked in and said he's going "vegan". I instantly thought of it to be a shortened version of vegetarian, and laughed at him. He snorted, and started to explain what it actually meant. Well, at first, it all bounced off my head when I heard "Give up cheese". 

It took me a while, about a year, to realize what was wrong in my current lifestyle. I kept convincing myself that nothing was. Really? I then started reading and researching more about veganism and what's wrong and right with it. 

I first read about the dairy industry. About the torture that went behind making a single glass of milk. I was horrified. And horrified is an understatement. 

One thing led to another, who would have thought the dairy industry is so closely related to the meat industry? I, for one, have been an animal lover for most parts of my life. After two dogs at home, I only empathized with them that much more. 

And then, my world shattered. 

Everything I ate on a normal basis was stemming from cruelty. I felt like I had an identity crisis. Morning milk, curd rice for lunch, buttermilk to calm myself, cheese for all those cravings, curd rice for the night again. Not to mention the occasional butter and creamy pasta indulgence. 

Then came a point where I learnt to look at life differently. I learnt how to look through a lens that is not selfish. When I realized that it was not worth the pain I was putting an animal through. 

I could not give up my indulgences quickly, but eventually, when I saw a bowl of curd rice or a glass of milk, I could only see exorbitant levels of cruelty, along with blood and puss in it. It did not taste good anymore. I knew I needed to get away.

Hence began my journey.. 

Grandpaa.

I wake up in the morning and find the old man sitting on a rocking chair, his veshti knotted up half way, and reading The Hindu. Next to him on the wooden stool, is a steaming hot davara-tumbler of filter coffee, which he sips on occasionally, but will be perfectly timed to when the last page of the newspaper is done. Playing in the background is but of course, MS amma's Suprabatham. 

I walk into the hall. 

"Good morning thatha!"
"Good morning kanna. Go drink complan, and get the sruthi box."

I dutifully do as ordered, and sit down to sing a varnam and two songs. He nods, he hums along, he appreciates, he corrects, and he adores. Post which, I run to take a bath and get ready for school. 

Once ready, I run into the garage and find his well polished, shiny scooter, all set for a spin. 

"THATHA THATHAAAAA WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Varen di, varen" (I'm coming) 

He sits on the scooter, and lets me stand in the front. The wind tossing around my two pigtails fastened with black ribbons.

"Shaadu, do you know why penguins walk the way they do?"
"No thatha, I don't."
"Idiot, this is why I tell you to sit with me and watch The Discovery channel. Anyway, I'll tell you why."

And so the conversation carries on. 

He drops me right outside the school gate, and tells me he'll see me at 3 in the afternoon again. 

<School>

Walk out at 3, and find thatha on the scooter, balancing it on his legs, one hand on his cheek, watching people pass by impatiently. I run to him, and jump into the scooter, back to standing in front. 

"Thatha, inniki History teacher enna solikudutha theriyumma?"
"Ennaku epdi theriyum? Nee sonna daane di theriyum."
"Ok. Kelungo."

We ride through the streets of T.Nagar to reach home. On way, we see a very special man.

"Thathaaaa stoppppppp. ICE CREAM ANNA!!"

Thatha stops, and buys me my all time favourite 1-2-3 ice cream. He then also buys himself a raspberry delight, once in a while. And when he does, there's always his trademark dialogue - "Paati kita solladhe di."

We go back home, freshen up, eat some tiffin, and head out again. Either for dance/swimming/instrument class. Drop and pick up by thatha beloved. 

Back home for homework and studying, after which we all sit down to eat. No surprises there, that I settle myself right next to thatha, though he always puts surplus amounts of vegetables on my plate. 

"Good night thatha."
"Good night shaadu."

Next morning, we're back on track with the good ol' routine.

------------------------------------------------

If my grandfather had been alive to have brightened my childhood further, this would have been an ideal day for me. For most of you, this is something so ordinary, so normal. For me, it's something I've never had. If my dad is my hero, my grandfather's my superhero.

Every waking and sleeping moment, I miss someone I've never met, never seen, never touched. I crave for his company, his love, his presence. I wish he'd seen me, and spent time with me. I'd have been a different person today. 

My grandpaa.

Wake up alarm

I've always wondered what it meant when people said "Don't wake up on the wrong side of the bed." This of course has more meaning than just physically waking up, but I always thought there will be a more practical way to life, and believing in this was plain superstition. 

I was (sort of) proved wrong today. 

We've moved into a new row house in a beautiful society, and my cats do have a great time there considering the vast amount of space they have to run around. They don't always stay at home - we lock the door at night, so they sleep anywhere they find space and comfort. Likewise, one of our cats (Dipti) slept under our car last night.

Fever has made me cranky and pissed off, and I was nursing a cup of hot tea sitting on the swing right outside our main door. The driver came home, took the keys and started the car. All of a sudden, I saw this cat limp and drag her way across, though really fast and jump to the storage room near the car park. I couldn't figure out which cat it was, as 4 of our cats looks very similar. But I understood what had happened and instantly started screaming for my dad. He dropped whatever he was doing, and rushed out to help the baby.

About 5-6 months of age, she had just recently been neutered. A cat as tiny as her, and a car as big as a Xylo. Running over her had caused the surgical stitches to open up, the reason for her bleeding. Her legs had been paralyzed/fractured for sure, evident it was. The sad part, though in great shock, she wasn't even crying or whining in pain. 

We rushed her to the doctor, and within minutes of reaching there, she passed away. Not because of the pain, but because of the shock. She probably wasn't strong enough to withhold that level of trauma. 

It was her misfortune. If there's one silver lining, it is this - If I hadn't been sitting in the swing cribbing about the rain, nobody would have seen her run into the storage room hurt. In which, she would have died a slow, painful death and none of us would have even known. 

She slept last night, possibly thinking of what games to play with her sibling in the morning, or when she's going to eat her next meal.  

Little did she know, her wake up alarm would be a gigantic tyre crushing her bones and ending her life. 

When Dipti and her siblings were little babies

 

Shreeeeeee Gurubhyo Namaha!

If you've ever walked into PSBB on a normal working day, you'll hear these words in a tune that is louder than the school bell. As soon as a teacher walks in, all the students get up from the chairs in unison, fold their hands, bow their heads slightly, and chant this. To which, the teacher replies, "Sukhi bhava."

When she/he walks out after a 'period', the same is repeated. 

Sit in one classroom, and you'll hear the chant from the other classroom, which is when restlessness shifts in - because everybody knows the other teacher has left the other classroom. Why on earth is only our teacher not leaving? 

Taking a walk around the school premises was permitted, but if you saw a teacher passing you, this is how you wish her. And if you didn't, tch tch. Bad manners, child. 

Shree gurubhyo namaha has become special. Not then, but now. It was nothing but a daily ritual that was done like a chore every day, at least 15 times. I'm pretty sure it was the same for the teachers as well. I moved out of PSBB after completing my tenth standard, and moved to a school in Mumbai. Each time a teacher walked in, they're be greeted with a "Good morning ma'am!" and that's when my heart would sink. Something felt empty and incomplete when I sat back in my chair.

I'd silently say 'Shree gurubhyo namaha' in my head, and imagine saying it with my PSBB classmates. Some days it'd make me smile, and other days, cry. 

I moved on to college, but grew out of missing this chant. Grew out of missing, but not the fondness attached to it.

I hated a few, and loved some. But they all taught me a lot. When someone says teacher, this is the first thing that comes to my head. Drag it, drag it some more, and make a tune of of it - SHREEEEEE GURUBHYOOOOOO NAMAHA!

When I recently attended a friend's wedding in Chennai, I happened to bump into a few of my school teachers. Before I could even think, I folded my hands, bent my head down and said it. It happened so unconsciously, I was taken by surprise. 

With a slight tweak to the saying - You can take me out of PSBB, but you cannot take PSBB out of me.

Fortitude - #awordeveryday

She aced her board exams.

She went on to finish her PhD.

She was honoured by Dr. A.P.J. Kalam at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

She gives speeches, across the country.

She won prestigious awards.

She walks ramps. No, wait - showstopper.

She poses for photoshoots.

She has an incredible fan following.

She wears a smile with unbelievable optimism.

She spreads love, abundantly.

She lives a second life, and beautifully at that.

"How do you manage?" an innocent girl admiringly asked her.

"Well, the bomb blast took only my hands away. Not my spirit." said Malvika. Exhibiting fortitude in its clearest and most perfect form, she catwalked her way to success.

Read more about this beautiful lady here.

Effusion - #awordeveryday

"You look lovely today" he said.
"Thank you. You're looking handsome too." she replied.

"Care to take a walk with me tonight?" he asked.
"Yes, of course." she blushed.

"You do know I want to spend my life with you, right?" he whispered.
"Do you know I do too?" she winked.

"I've written a song for you. Would you like to hear it?" he gleamed.
"Oh my! Yes of course." she gushed.

________

"CAN YOU BOTH STOP BARKING FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE?" Monisha shouted from inside her room.

"How will a human ever understand, the poetic effusion of dogs?" Tommy and Ginger sighed in sync and retired back to their respective kennels.