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Vignettes
from a vegan's vacation in India
I had been looking forward excitedly to my planned
three weeks in India, and it had all the makings of
a heady trip. I was going to be spending quality time
with near and dear ones after an inexplicably long period
of almost six years, and to be seeing a brother get
married. I had also heard much, especially from other
U.S.-based Indian friends who had visited more recently,
about the rapid changes that had been accompanying the
"liberalization" of the Indian economy. That's right;
I had been bracing myself for a surge of emotions as
well as an attack on the senses by old---and new---sights,
sounds, and smells. At the same time, I was also preparing
myself for what was sure to be a challenging experience:
you see, I was returning to India as a vegan!
Granted, I was a lacto-vegetarian all through my growing
years, and Indian culture and cuisine were substantially
vegetarian-friendly. Yet, I expected that I would have
to deal with a still-lower degree of awareness about
the very idea of veganism. I didn't have to think beyond
my own family's outlook to imagine that there would
be difficulties in comprehending my vegan ethic. Bear
in mind that vegetarianism had never been an
alien concept to any of us. After all, my father had
been born into a large, brahminical family---one in
which meat-eating remains anathema to many. Yet, omnivores
(my father included!) outnumbered vegetarians in my
immediate family. The family kitchen may have been mostly
vegetarian, thanks to my kindred mother. Yet, as the
lone vegetarian among three children, I was often teased
and admonished for my "obstinate" and "fussy" ways.
Thinking back to the summer when I was preparing to
leave for graduate school in the U.S.: I was told that
I would surely be humbled by the beef-eating culture
that was America. I can also recall a joke to the effect,
"Just watch---it is his kind that undergoes the most
complete transformation. He will soon want nothing but
hamburgers!" Little did they imagine that I would surely
undergo a transformation, but only further along the
same direction; that, far from taking to eating meat,
I would only come to feel more deeply about the exploitation
of animals. I turned vegan within six months of being
entirely on my own, in a Web-enabled Iowa.
Over the past five summers, I got to read and listen
to repeated pleas and arguments that attempted to get
me off veganism. E.g.: "You NEED to consume dairy";
"Even Gandhi used to drink milk"; "You will realize
your folly only when you reach our age and your bones
fail you." Unfortunately for me, all of these were no
longer going to be from a phone line half way across
the globe, or no more jarring than beeping incoming
E-mail. I was also conscious that I tended to be defensive
(as against combative) when it came to explaining my
vegan ways. I felt that I would at least have to be
well-prepared. Is it any wonder then that I decided
to go armed with literature that I had freshly downloaded
off PeTA.com and a few other animal rights groups' Web
sites!
My concerns about venturing into culinary and sartorial
battlefields were, however, momentarily forgotten when
I set foot again in India. It felt wonderful to be soaking
in all the love and affection, to be connecting again
with boyhood friends, and to be taking trips down memory
lane. And, yes, I did also see from close range the
numerous described changes---the sprouting of many a
McDonald's and Pizza Hut; a burgeoning and cash-rich
middle class being wooed into spending on designer clothes,
Yanni concerts, and vacation packages; hordes of new
Fords, Mitsubishis, and Hyundais clogging already congested
and chaotic roads; and ballooned prices (from real estate
to commodities) that made me wonder how most people
managed to make ends meet.
Not surprisingly, my veganism followed me everywhere,
figuring as a conversation topic in all of my social
interactions. Interestingly, when I would explain to
people in the U.S. that I was a vegan (or "strict vegetarian"),
many would reason that it was because I was from India
-- "Aren't most people vegetarian in India?" (Sigh,
I wish!) When I was in India, on the other hand, and
letting people know about my veganism, there were some
who opined bluntly, "He has been in America for too
long!" (America, as in "where people make a lot of noise
about human rights and animal rights.") I let them know
that I was a high-school student in India when
I learned of the animal bones connection and swore off
gelatin-containing jelly (and even sugar for a while,
until a queried Chemistry teacher dismissed the bone
char connection as "not really so").
This brush with "knowledge association" and the accompanying
stereotyping gave me pause for more thought. Now, I
often find myself earnestly dismissing stereotypes,
not just negative but also positive ones. It didn't
seem sound to me that multifaceted human beings could
be wholly slotted on the basis of---as often seen---just
one attribute. But while I was in Madras and seated
at a restaurant, it struck me that deep down, there
was now one trait---even if it was an all-encompassing
one---that I would willingly accept as defining me:
vegan. (Of course, true to nature, I will want to dismiss
that all vegans are alike, or that veganism is all there
is to a vegan.) For, seated there, I didn't feel like
a returning Indian at ease in the city where he grew
up. I felt simply like a wary vegan explaining, "I don't
consume (this, this, this, and this)"! That scene could
just as well have had me play a graduate student in
Ann Arbor or a tongue-tied tourist in Tel Aviv. The
sameness in the scenarios stood out in my mind.
I came to encounter other similarities too: mishaps
in my efforts to consume only vegan food. Still, I probably
got by more easily than I do here in the American Midwest
-- to the extent that there were simply a lot more vegetarian
and vegan-friendly food establishments around. Although,
this abundance was counterbalanced somewhat by the sparser
availability of definitive information. Many a time
I found myself unsure about the actual ingredients in
a number of foodstuffs, which I inevitably gave the
skip.
I had no such problems when invited to the homes of
relatives and friends. I am not sure whether they all
understood, but they catered to my dietary choices graciously.
(One host, though, to my amusement, tried to coax me
into accepting "taste-enhancing" clarified butter.)
I also enjoyed being by my to-be-wed brother's side
when he went over the wedding arrangements with the
hotel staff: "500 plates, including one v e g a n, as
in ..."! Of course, it pained me to be party to the
purchase of silk and woollen clothing and to see all
the unthinking, ostentatious display of silk at the
wedding. But I refrained from expressing my disapproval
except when asked for my opinion on a prospective purchase
or a worn outfit. I just derived comfort from contributing
to at least some measure of awareness, as when my brother's
fiancé supervised his careful selection of a polyester
necktie gift for me.
As for my stay at my parents' place: I wasn't surprised
that they had this urge to indulge me during my "short"
stay, and I was thankful for having a loving family.
(True, there were occasions when I was reminded of that
wise saying, "Happiness is about having a loving, caring
family in another city"!) I was also glad for
the fact that there were many vegan or easily-veganizable
recipes to choose from. Ours was, moreover, a multicultural
home with influences from several different cuisines.
Nevertheless, some comment or the other about the
supposed pitfalls of veganism would crop up unfailingly.
After yet another verbal duel, I decided finally to
unpack and pull out my pro-vegan literature. I would
have been disappointed if they did not produce any effect,
but I had not expected what was to come. While I had
been condensing a certain long piece of literature into
a commentary to my mother, I noticed that my father
seemed to be going over a PeTA pamphlet keenly. Admittedly,
he was affected by what he saw and read, and he abstained
from meat for at least the rest of my stay.
I have not managed to silence my family's concerns
about my veganism, but I have noted that the focus has
since shifted to how "punishing" my lifestyle was. I
realize that I had been conveying a sense of self-sacrifice
("I would rather waste away than have an animal be harmed
for my sake") that didn't go down well. I realize now
that I would do better to show convincingly that it
is easy to be a vegan. Cut me some slack, will you!
It was, after all, only the first time that I was visiting
family since turning vegan.
Anil S.
Michigan
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