Friday, December 28, 2007

Exotic Menu


We are a group of content people, self sufficient in almost every way.
In our society there is neither religion nor caste; neither politics nor diplomacy; neither competition nor greed. To us, nature is everything. We would be happy to be left alone.

But life has been very unfair to us all the way.
People from another community seem to have taken us for granted.

Just a few hours after I came into this world, I was separated from my mother. They did not bother to tell us why. I was allowed to go near my mother only sparingly. I used to be hungry very often but with time I realized that I had to be content with a little milk that I drank whenever I was with mother.

They barged into our midst one day and took my father away to work in the fields. They sold him to a rich guy who whip lashed him all the time. He was going to be their slave forever.

I was crossing the road to reach the other side of the fields and I was hit by a speeding truck. I was badly bruised. I was moaning and groaning with pain. No crowd of people gathered around me and there was no first aid. The culprit just drove away and the cops did not have a problem with that.

The atrocity reached it’s peak last week. They tied the limbs of my mother and slaughtered her. I believe somebody was willing to pay for her flesh. They did not even try to soften her pain. She was neither given anesthesia nor any pain killer. Her wailing and weeping was heart rendering.
A tiny needle prick hurts so much! Oh! What pain and suffering she must have gone through, as they severed her body parts one by one!
She bled to death in front of my eyes. They flayed her skin and tore her into pieces. They roasted her on fire and devoured her with a smile on their faces. The gory scene is still fixed before my eyes.

There was no funeral. No last respects were paid. Nobody weeps over her death.
Life goes on as I wait for my turn.

What have we done to anyone?

I, the protagonist of this story am a cow. I could be a sheep or a pig or a chicken. The story still remains the same.

A glaring cruelty is screaming for attention. Will someone help us please?

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BE A VEGETARIAN.
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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very touching! I also heard this from somebody that at some place they take fresh fish out of water, while its still alive, scrape its scales holding its head, dip its body in the hot boiling oil and then serve it as a delicacy and the poor fish is still alive. Even I wonder how human beings can behave this ruthless!!! But I'm not surprised because when human beings are not kind to their fellow men and women, what more is expected towards these poor animals.

Sowmya Chakravarthy said...

Both of you do me a favour. Be vegetarians and ask all your non veg friends to spare a moment to read my appeal in this space.

Dear srs, we do earnestly want it all to stop and we contribute towards the same in our small ways. Thats for a start... :)

Pramod Shankar said...

The food chain - a natural, balanced, innocent system that is intrinsic to nature - is all about animals eating other animals for food, apart from eating plants.

The lion that we call majestic, the hawk that we call regal, the tiger who we all try to protect - all eat other animals. They are innocent; it's in their DNA, in their natural selves to prey on meat.

So how can we be sure man is any different?

If we should be so wary of taking a life, we should not kill the mosquito that bites us. We should spare the cockroach, and not use 'Lakshman Rekha' or insecticide. Do we know know that vegetarians eat food that's grown in farms that use insecticides that kill insects? Are the lives of these insects, mosquitoes and cockroaches worth any less than those of a chicken or a bull?

Let's observe animal rights... even in places where they are farmed or harvested for food. But to condemn non-vegetarianism... I don't know if I agree. For one thing, I just love the taste of fish.

Sowmya Chakravarthy said...

To use food chain as a justification for eating meat would be smart but not correct.

The very essence of the human evolution is the differentiation of man from the rest of the animals.

We are different from the animal community in at least a hundred ways.

1. Every animal lives for its own self and finds its own food. We, humans in contrast, strive for the well being of others. All the old age homes, orphanages, Dharmashalas, NGO's are a proof of this fact. In the animal community, it is absolutely survival of the fittest. A weak or a wounded animal that cannot find its own food eventually starves to death. Other animals do not stop to help.

2. Certain animals devour their own young ones which is unheard of in the society of men and women.

3. We identify endangered species and try to save them from extinction. I know we are responsible for most of the damage, but the ones who strive to protect the environment are also amongst us. Animals would not be able to do much to save other species. I am sure even before man, certain species on earth became extinct. If man had existed during the dinosaur period, he would have saved it from extinction ;-)

4. When certain stray asteroids came close to our orbit and threatened to collide with earth, it was man who sent weapons to space to destroy them. Animals would be absolutely helpless.

I need not mention other differences like our social constructs, our spiritual inclination, our being endowed with intelligence etc.

At one time, we claim that we are social beings, having marched far ahead of animals. We think, we laugh. We not only have emotions but also understand other's emotions. We assume responsibility for life on earth. We empathize.

At another time, we use food chain as a justification to kill, to inflict untold pain upon hundreds of thousands of animals. (We also use the animal society as a defense whenever we become polygamous, commit adultery etc.)

There is a glaring incongruence between the two stands that we take. That's why I say that to use the food chain as a defense is smart but not correct.

Pramod Shankar said...

We have different points of view; about morality, faith, religion, and even the essence of being human.

I did not intend to use the food chain as a justification. I eat non-veg because I relish it and don't find it wrong.

However, I don't intend to say that my stance is the universally correct one; nor do I preach my belief to everyone. I also respect your view.

But just out of curiosity: in your view, is it OK to use a leather handbag, or leather shoes, belt or sandals, since these too come from slaughtered animals?

Sowmya Chakravarthy said...

It is ceratinly not OK to use a leather handbag, or leather shoes, belt or sandals. I dont have any leather accessories....

In fact eating meat is less cruel than using leather goods. You eat to fill your stomuch but killing animals just to be more fashionable is very very cruel..

Titus Abraham said...

a very brilliant way of depicting the ways of the present world.. but curious.. for every things there's a reason behind.. i mean in the sense what made u write this.. did u witness something glaringly bad.. or was it the whole worldly routine.. ?

Sowmya Chakravarthy said...

Hey Titus,

Thanks.
I did not witness anything gory. But I hear very often about all the goriness in slaughter houses which is enough to make me weep...

And then I have had enough of people taking pride in eating meat and making fun of grass eaters...