My bad. Networking is the buzz here! And, boy, did i fall prey! It was a not-so-quiet dinner in a posh restaurant. I look up the menu and all I could get was the vegetarian platter. Everything else had meat in it. So did I have a choice at all?!Besides I was terribly hungry! So I went ahead and did so. It was all good until I got my vegetarian platter which turned out to be a "badly cooked vegetables platter". All the spoilt consultants around me gave the look! And pop came a question - "So what do you do for fun? Eat vegetables?". (And this being part of my getting to know my colleagues) It was not my day alright. It is quite a deal being a vegetarian. Often asked am I, does your religion forbid you from eating cheese, milk blah blah.. Blahhhh blahh blahh! As if all that was not enough, they were sorry for me! Everytime I meet one of these colleagues who shared a table with me, I am greeted - " Hey! there you are, the vegetarian!". To these people, it is oh-so-hard to understand why I would be a vegetarian by choice at all!
Have been reading Shantaram. I had heard a million praises and read wonderful reviews. As the book unfolds I could not agree more how well the book is written. To me, it is not so much about the other side of Mumbai that is revealed as it is about how well the thoughts are articulated. Was I so narrow minded to think a convict could never write a thought provoking book? Well, yes, I guess. And now, I have a perspective. In a world that more or less clearly defines what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, I cannot help but be judgmental. Clearly, to me a convict so far was a person who could never dream big (and write so well). And here is this guy who has probably written the most moving and thought provocative lines. Boy, am I surprised to realize how narrow minded I am. I now do have another great book in my "Already read list". What is more important is how it has radically changed my thinking to a certain extent - That there are no demarcations between good and bad and that they always certainly are subjective. And yeah, I realized how judgemental and wrong I am!
Did I mention that I have not really made American and European friends. I have been here for over 17 months now. Not that I have to, but I want to! Turns out that any town in US has so many Indians around that sub consciously I have hung out only with them. And while I am at that, New York - where I will be spending most of my next 2 years(hopefully!), is filled with Indians! (Alright, alright,I hear all the "Duh"s). Yet, I cant stress enough! I meet all my good old Bangalore friends every now and then. I have no hopes of making any new friends at all there! So much for living in the U.S. of A.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Not so trivial
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18 comments:
I am vegetarian too and I can't tell you how much I agree with what you have written! Being a vegetarian is almost like being out of fashion...Why can't people realise that we are happy eating the garden...duh!!!
Now I know why you beg to differ;)
Esp. after reading your xp at the restaurant.
ha ha ha;) (Jus kiddin). I believe perceptions differ and I do respect yours.
Now after readin this post I'm even more determined to read Shantaram.
Thanks for the review.
Keep it rollin;)
PS: And who said you can't make friends with people in Bangalore anymore?;)
well that is strnage... a lot of ppl i've met are pretty open minded abt vegetarians... i guess u've just come across the "midwest" crowd ;)
Been reading shantaram myself... love the book. Hopefully can finish it sometime soon...
As for the last part, dont u think it has something to do with ur choice? If you wanted to get out of ur comfort zone u wud have. But dont fret, its not only you. Everywhere I go, I see the "desi crowd" oblivious of the locals (or as some of them actually said, the "foreigners"). Thats not the point of coming here... but am glad u see that atleast now.
aww! well I have vegetarian friends and I often marvel at their resilience in this country! Not to mention will power!
I'm a pure non-vegetarian and if it weren't for biological and health considerations I would never touch a green leaf in my life! but that's a different story :)
I can completely relate with the majority of Indian friends phenomenon. I guess we may have moved far away geographically speaking but we hardly ever move out of our comfort zones. I lived in Chennai for a year and a half and didn't make friends with even 1 local person! I have been in the US for almost 3 yrs now but I have I think 1 "American" friend... O! Well!
I dropped Shantaram after about 500 pages, after I read the preface and found out it wasn't an autobiography. It starts off well, but I always got the feeling the author was trying to overpower us with all that philosophy. Philisophy should be simple, not overpowering. Never underestimate the power of your own thinking.
he he...i myself am amazed of how someone can remain a vegetarian outside india
i am a die hard non vegi...but i myself had some problems adapting during a short stay in hong kong
n no firang friens...give it some time...u wil get them...if i am not wrong u r there for work...so u will make friends there
My room mate who is a strict PETA follower had to go through the same situation as you and he even gave up a chance of working in Denmark just cause he knew he wouldn’t get all the veggies there…. :) man isn’t it tough being a veggie…(I tried and maximum I could was 45 days) three cheers for all the veggies out there :)
m tryin to find a connect btwn d 3 paras in this post...vegetarian, shantaram and friends outside our social circle...hmmm...m a die hard non veggie, havent read shantaram n have friends livin outta igloos...so will candidly confess...have abs no idea wat u r talkin abt...except for mayb a perception abt eveythin arnd us which defines everythin else
Bangaloreans are still around alive :)
You'll get the vegetarian food at most of the western countries.. Look at the positive side here. Chinese people cook the vegetarian dish in pork oil..
Cheers
Al
@cp - atleast i dont expect them to be sorry for me! Dude, I am happy with my choices!
Scribbler - To each his own and yeah, SHantaram is a a must read..
@Zoxcleb - i agree to a certain extent..
Nutty - You are in the same exact situation.. somebody help me to make these friends!
@Saltwaterblues - Well, its after all a book and written by another person, another perspective..
@Anurag - Its really not that hard to remain a veggie here..
@Gowtham - I admire and like the encouragement!
@Mayz (or is it Maze!?) - Veggie, Shantaram and friends - hence 3 different paras.. Im sorry of that was hard to comprehend! I shall make a point to be much more clear henceforth and mark out the topic headings and blahh! That should help you comprehend better!
alameen - Pork oil!! I love and cherish chinese food, guess i wont gove it up anyways!
Oh..Veggies :)
LoL
Nice read!!!
Hey! When did you come to the US?!! Been long time I guess! So you're in New York?! Hopefully living there is a good point... very close to my heart!!
And you know, its difficult to make American friends here unless you've studied here.. because at work, the family people like to spend time with their families so it's usually in a city like New York where you will find single Americans, so there's a chance to make friends there..
Sorry for rambling on and on... btw, it's always good to leave your comfort zone and try something new! When you're young and don't have much at stake, it's a good way to live life! My previous post was all about that and since then, I've been thnking a lot about it and have reached some conclusions, like this.
Oh, and forgot to add.. no one has ever questioned me being vegeterian.. atleast no American... although they do ask questions like does your religion ban milk and cheese, they have never made fun of my vegeterianism! I am guessing the colleagues you're talking about are Indians... love to poke fun at veg people and love to get into other people's business!!
ohh not again!! another soul praising 'shantaram' and my di hasent yet finished it :-/
(what do u know--the woes of a younger sibling who has to wait starving in line for the hand-me-down while the big sister reads at leisure..hmpf!!)
another shantaram fan! join the club
Well being here in bangalore ...me as a vegetarian is looked down upon in the same way...Weird to hear you still dont have any friends there... by the way we are still alive(like bangalore wasnt wiped out any time)
@standby mind - Thanks!
@still searching ruchi - yeah, i will be in ny from april.. and yeh been here for more than a year and a half here..
Pri & Zee - Yeah, dig the book, totally!
Nishant- Blore was easier to deal with.. atleast people are not baffled cos u are vegetarian!
hmm there are 2 main reasons y someone is a vegetarian ... moral reason and health benefits ...
I know none of the Indian non vegetarians will take the moral shit so y don u just google for benefits of being a vegetarian and u ll know that there are actually pretty good reason y u shd stick to a vegetarian diet!
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