Christopher Hitchens has passed away. I have been affected by him and his philosophy. I might not subscribe 100% to his opinions but it is his suave, unapologetic nature and refusal to back down in debate have had an impression on me.

Tough to find somebody with his kind of intellect. Personally speaking, the biggest loss of the year. And there have been so many.

Here are some of his videos from Vanity Fair.

A rather funny account of a senior gentleman’s driving experience after an ‘L’ board was fitted on his car.

Even City bus drivers who usually rule our roads by laying down their own rules and breaking all others, have now stopped honking from behind me as they normally do even before the lights turn green. In case an occasional one still honks, ignoring my ‘L’ board, I have now perfected the art of getting my car stalled helplessly after a couple of brisk jerks, like a perfect greenhorn to buy time till the light changes colour.

The second and perhaps more pleasant outcome of sporting an ‘L’ board is that most other learners when they pass by my car now nod and smile at me in a spirit of camaradiere and brotherhood and also perhaps with the pleasure of seeing a person much older than them being in their league.

I have my share of pleasure too from this courtesy because, for some inexplicable reason, most learners happen to be pretty girls who would otherwise never even turn and look at a much older man, let alone flash a smile at him. I therefore feel like continuing to drive a car with an ‘L’ board till I retire from driving, which I do not intend to do in a hurry despite the rather daunting present day traffic conditions.

Now even I’m tempted to try this.

Recently, I came across an old Krish Ashok blog post where a vegetarian and non-vegetarian are debating their dietary habits, and which among the two is being morally upright. The vegetarian — who seemed to be losing the argument — appealed to tradition, and cruelty to animals. The non-vegetarian was using logic and science. I agree with the author that, in India, being veg or non-veg is a big deal of our identity. People in either camp may look at the other with suspicion or ridicule. Finding out that the other person is non-veg, or veg, can even be a deal breaker in relationships.

Being brought up in a vegetarian (tambrahm) family in Delhi, most of my childhood food memories are vegetarian. I had plenty of plant eaters around me in Delhi and I never felt out of place. Delhi, for me, is a great place for veg (and non-veg) food. Combine this with the yummy Kerala Iyer cooking at home, and my taste buds managed to remained satiated most of the time!

The first memory that I have of eating something non-veg was, ironically, with my Dad. We were at Wenger’s, and he gave me some Shami kabab to taste — and I remember liking it! But — fortunately, or unfortunately — it didn’t result in any further ventures into “forbidden” dietary escapades.

Later, when I started to work in Mumbai, there were many more NVs around me. Curiosity, peer pressure, lack of anything better, or too much alcohol, resulted in me trying out meat. It tasted alright — some soft chewy tissue, around bone — but didn’t really grab my fascination. And the smell of it wasn’t something that I was used to. This year I was in Stockholm for a few weeks; and being a believer in acting like the Romans do, I tried out more non vegetarian food: chicken, ham, bacon, beef, salmon, caviar, turkey are the ones that come to mind.

I still remain most comfortable with the Indian lacto-vegetarian cuisine. In fact, after doing some thinking, I have come up with some reasons why —

1. I like eating food which reminds me of my childhood :)
2. India is a great place to be vegetarian — probably the best
3. Meat smells sometimes. I don’t mind the taste, but the smell gets to me
4. The idea of growing animals like they are crops — their only purpose being to end up on our plate — does not appeal. It reminds me of that scene from The Matrix where a vast farm of human babies were wired up as the energy source to the machines.
5. Animals have a brain, nervous system. They have a sense of community and attachment to their offsprings. They can feel pain in many ways. Why kill them? Yes, many rodents die when grains and vegetables are cultivated, but that seems incidental. Killing an animal for food is a more deliberate act, and intuitively less appealing among the two, at least to me.
6. Animals in farms release more CO2 than all the vehicles in the world. Global warming, guys!
7. It takes 30kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef (boneless). If feeding the world is going to be concern, we need to look at more efficient ways of getting everyone this energy.

Last two points are attributed to this SciAm article

In the end we are all hypocrites. The chicken biriyani at Paradise in Hyderabad counts among the best meals that I have ever had.