Lealyan Thomte
Its not unusual for people to talk of food or eating habits in a kitchen. Normal, for the simple reason that the environment demands it. Most work places or offices in Denmark have their own kitchens. And free coffees. For the employees to store their lunch in the fridge or to warm it up in the oven. And almost all of them have kitchen appliances for use including cups, spoons, plates and what not. Larger ones have canteens and cafes all under the management.
Therefore, whether one is there for a quick get-me-up coffee in the morning, reading the morning headlines or for a short break in between paper works or whatever is that you are doing, it is the kitchen. You drink, smoke and talk. Unless, of course you wanted to commit long and gradual suicide in silence. Dragging yr cigarettes. Blowin off a guilt ridden puff downwards.
It was one summer morning that I happened to sit there. Drinking a black coffee to nurse my head and its clarity, when my colleagues, munching on a free bread & butter spoke about food. Not surprising. I do not normally have breakfast. Even though many may preach that it is the most important meal of the day. I do not doubt the many. I just do not care nor like breakfasts.
And as a colleague gingerly spread butter over a bread, top it with a cheese - my other side took over. So, I surprised the table by announcing -'You know guys..people in India eat dog meat'. HA! I let that sink in while I slowly flicked the ash of my cigarette into the ash-stray bowl.
'What?. No. It is in China people eat dogs. Not in India. Indians eat 'rotis' and 'daals'?, protested and African from Ghana - as if very well informed. 'Thomte, you must to be mistake..I tell you'..he continued. Then the group joined in - well how can Indians eat dogs? Impossible, shameful. Land of Ahimsa, Gandhi, Hinduism and the birthplace of Bhuddhism. Never heard of it. Are you sure, Thomte???
The coffee had cleared my head by now. I took centre stage. 'Yes we do. Sadly. Not the India you know of..or the Rajasthan, Goa, Shimla, or the Sai Babas, the Gurus or the Monuments or Taj Mahal. Theres an India, in the North East - states like Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram - unknown to the outside world, where the inhabitants do not or cannot afford butter, milk, bread, cheese chicken or even potatoes...and where dog meat happens to be one of the most expensive meat in the market. A delicacy...' I explained.
Doubts, unbeliefs, amazements all rolled into one for a perfect misreading of facial expressions. Nevertheless, I can read 'YUCK' on one of my colleagues lips. 'Barbaric' I can read in some. Complete astonishment and abandoned bread and butter, I can see as well in others as I refilled my mug of black coffee. I sat down. Took a sip.
Then Lee, a Chinese colleague said, 'Yes, it taste really good. Dog meat'. Ice cold statement. No wonder the Chinese are known for eating snakes. Their markets are filled with those slithery reptiles in the winters. Snakes. Lee explained the Chinese's belief that snake meat actually helps to keep the body warm. I dunno. I'd eaten snake too. All I know is that there are too many bones, fish like though.
As we spar back and forth, I'd realised that none of my colleagues are even remotely aware that the Koreans also consider dog-meat a delicacy. They called it Boshintaang. And almost 3 million dogs are killed each year for consumption. I am sure you will remember the international outcry over the Koreans eating habits during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. The Korean authorities had to actually close down all the 'boshintaang' restaurants in and around Seoul.
A pol-col answers to why people eat dogs, cats, monkeys or snakes is difficult to come by. But on the other hand, we know why certain people eat certain meats or avoid others. One very clear reason being the diktats of their religious beliefs. Like a Muslim will not eat pork. Why? You tell me. Or a Hindu will not eat beef while drinking milk and enjoying all the dairy products.
The less discussed or talked about can also be the cultural or traditonal convictions. Geography. Or, it can simply be just a gastronomic choice. Eat your greens, let me eat my red. Who are we to judge? How can one, or a governemt or any agency enforce eating habits or what to eat or not. Not necessarily on health grounds. When reasons such as religious beliefs or faith enters your kitchen and the gastronomic world - I am lost.
Is pork unhealthy or is beef detrimental to your health. No- if consumed moderately. Did they taste bad. No. Unless one is a very very bad cook. Does dogs , cats, monkeys or snakes have the same nutrinional values? Yes. They are rich in protein like all other meat. And they are animals. Read Genesis or the Pentautech in the Bible : Chapter 1. verse 26 - adopted by the Muslim, Jews and Christians alike.
(I have read a theory on why the Hindus do not eat beef..but lets leave that theories to the authors)
The sad truth and the reality is - regardless of ones faiths, beliefs, religions or whatever one is into - people aka humans eat first and foremost to survive. Just imagine you are lost in a deep jungle. In the midst of a famine or Mautaam. No food. No water. Close to death. Your hungry. You need to eat. And suddenly, you catch a monkey or a squirell. Or a wild pig. You are a Muslim, Hindu or Seventh Day Adventists . Or that you cannot drain the animals blood off. HALAL as in Muslim, Judaism or as some denominations in Christianity like the Church of Christs - weirdly enough practices
Now your beliefs and faith are working against you for reasons you never knew or can justify. Or maybe its against your morals as a human. But your body needs to survive. Will you eat that damn animal to survive or not?
I will.
www.zogam.com
Its not unusual for people to talk of food or eating habits in a kitchen. Normal, for the simple reason that the environment demands it. Most work places or offices in Denmark have their own kitchens. And free coffees. For the employees to store their lunch in the fridge or to warm it up in the oven. And almost all of them have kitchen appliances for use including cups, spoons, plates and what not. Larger ones have canteens and cafes all under the management.
Therefore, whether one is there for a quick get-me-up coffee in the morning, reading the morning headlines or for a short break in between paper works or whatever is that you are doing, it is the kitchen. You drink, smoke and talk. Unless, of course you wanted to commit long and gradual suicide in silence. Dragging yr cigarettes. Blowin off a guilt ridden puff downwards.
It was one summer morning that I happened to sit there. Drinking a black coffee to nurse my head and its clarity, when my colleagues, munching on a free bread & butter spoke about food. Not surprising. I do not normally have breakfast. Even though many may preach that it is the most important meal of the day. I do not doubt the many. I just do not care nor like breakfasts.
And as a colleague gingerly spread butter over a bread, top it with a cheese - my other side took over. So, I surprised the table by announcing -'You know guys..people in India eat dog meat'. HA! I let that sink in while I slowly flicked the ash of my cigarette into the ash-stray bowl.
'What?. No. It is in China people eat dogs. Not in India. Indians eat 'rotis' and 'daals'?, protested and African from Ghana - as if very well informed. 'Thomte, you must to be mistake..I tell you'..he continued. Then the group joined in - well how can Indians eat dogs? Impossible, shameful. Land of Ahimsa, Gandhi, Hinduism and the birthplace of Bhuddhism. Never heard of it. Are you sure, Thomte???
The coffee had cleared my head by now. I took centre stage. 'Yes we do. Sadly. Not the India you know of..or the Rajasthan, Goa, Shimla, or the Sai Babas, the Gurus or the Monuments or Taj Mahal. Theres an India, in the North East - states like Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram - unknown to the outside world, where the inhabitants do not or cannot afford butter, milk, bread, cheese chicken or even potatoes...and where dog meat happens to be one of the most expensive meat in the market. A delicacy...' I explained.
Doubts, unbeliefs, amazements all rolled into one for a perfect misreading of facial expressions. Nevertheless, I can read 'YUCK' on one of my colleagues lips. 'Barbaric' I can read in some. Complete astonishment and abandoned bread and butter, I can see as well in others as I refilled my mug of black coffee. I sat down. Took a sip.
Then Lee, a Chinese colleague said, 'Yes, it taste really good. Dog meat'. Ice cold statement. No wonder the Chinese are known for eating snakes. Their markets are filled with those slithery reptiles in the winters. Snakes. Lee explained the Chinese's belief that snake meat actually helps to keep the body warm. I dunno. I'd eaten snake too. All I know is that there are too many bones, fish like though.
As we spar back and forth, I'd realised that none of my colleagues are even remotely aware that the Koreans also consider dog-meat a delicacy. They called it Boshintaang. And almost 3 million dogs are killed each year for consumption. I am sure you will remember the international outcry over the Koreans eating habits during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. The Korean authorities had to actually close down all the 'boshintaang' restaurants in and around Seoul.
A pol-col answers to why people eat dogs, cats, monkeys or snakes is difficult to come by. But on the other hand, we know why certain people eat certain meats or avoid others. One very clear reason being the diktats of their religious beliefs. Like a Muslim will not eat pork. Why? You tell me. Or a Hindu will not eat beef while drinking milk and enjoying all the dairy products.
The less discussed or talked about can also be the cultural or traditonal convictions. Geography. Or, it can simply be just a gastronomic choice. Eat your greens, let me eat my red. Who are we to judge? How can one, or a governemt or any agency enforce eating habits or what to eat or not. Not necessarily on health grounds. When reasons such as religious beliefs or faith enters your kitchen and the gastronomic world - I am lost.
Is pork unhealthy or is beef detrimental to your health. No- if consumed moderately. Did they taste bad. No. Unless one is a very very bad cook. Does dogs , cats, monkeys or snakes have the same nutrinional values? Yes. They are rich in protein like all other meat. And they are animals. Read Genesis or the Pentautech in the Bible : Chapter 1. verse 26 - adopted by the Muslim, Jews and Christians alike.
(I have read a theory on why the Hindus do not eat beef..but lets leave that theories to the authors)
The sad truth and the reality is - regardless of ones faiths, beliefs, religions or whatever one is into - people aka humans eat first and foremost to survive. Just imagine you are lost in a deep jungle. In the midst of a famine or Mautaam. No food. No water. Close to death. Your hungry. You need to eat. And suddenly, you catch a monkey or a squirell. Or a wild pig. You are a Muslim, Hindu or Seventh Day Adventists . Or that you cannot drain the animals blood off. HALAL as in Muslim, Judaism or as some denominations in Christianity like the Church of Christs - weirdly enough practices
Now your beliefs and faith are working against you for reasons you never knew or can justify. Or maybe its against your morals as a human. But your body needs to survive. Will you eat that damn animal to survive or not?
I will.
www.zogam.com
No comments:
Post a Comment