MY LIFE AS A VEGAN

Being a vegetarian was a big issue for me in the late 80s. Now in every part of the world, I don’t think this is a challenge at all. In fact, it is quite the reverse. The world is understanding veganism and have come around to its health benefits and discovering it as a way of life.

During my first official visit to Germany, in connection with a product development study, my friend Hans Werhonic, had arranged lunch at a place called ‘Cercle de l’Union”l- it means ‘The Circle of Union’, originally a conservative political club where Hans was a member. It was run by Jean Pierre Corpataux, a butcher, a cook, eccentric and above all a well-known painter and artist. You may find below, one of his beautiful paintings displayed at that place. He got an entry into the Guinness Book of Records for making the longest blood sausage. I have been informed that it is still going strong, and is now called ‘Hotel de Ville’, and this club is apparently rented out to the family now running the restaurant. When I visited this restaurant, I saw a board right at the entrance, displaying an Indian and another county flag. I understood this was their respectful practice every time an official guest was taken to their restaurant.

No matter where I went or looked, I saw the details of their entry to the Guinness Book of Records as the maker of the longest blood sausage.  This made me very upset as Hans knew very well of my food habits. Seeing and sensing my body language, he told me “don’t worry Shivaram, I have made arrangements for your vegetarian meal”. This obviously gave me a bit of relief as I was indeed very anxious. Subsequently, Jean Pierre personally brought the special item he had gotten made for me. It was a pizza-like dish with cheese and vegetables without onion/garlic (as is my preferred taste) and dressed with a variety of pulses. It looked a lot like our South Indian Uthappam to me. It was so very tasty that I ordered one more. Thus, my belly was full and I left the restaurant, happy and satisfied with the care and love I received from my friend. This mark of respect is clearly etched on my mind as our beautiful such memories of life’s journey.

Hans as I call him is Swiss, now retired from business and an advisor to the Swiss parliament. He calls me by my first name Shivaram after spotting this little detail in my passport while processing a visa to Europe. No one, including my children, knows this as my first name. 

 

A similar thing happened many times during seminars and meetings, especially at Nairobi, Kenya, where the attendees were whites, Africans and a few Asians who mostly were meat and fish eaters. Many of the times, our meals used to be in different venues at the city centre. Once, there was an international seminar arranged at a beautiful restaurant called Carnivore at Langata on the outskirts of Nairobi. This place was called Karen, which was dominated by whites during the British Rule. Karen was a very beautiful town with large mansions with acres of farmland and posh clubs. An award winning film called ‘Out of Africa’ was shot at this place and a very nice museum called Karen-Blixen stood in memory of the film. This Carnivore hotel, where our lunch was served, was as well-known for its variety of meat preparation. I was informed that you could name any type of meat and that would be served. I was helpless and once again my friend came to my rescue and told me not to worry. A special dish would be served to my requirement. And true to his promise, a pure vegetarian dish, similar to our Kerala AVIAL was given to me with rice and curd. Typically, during seminars in the city center, when it was lunch time, I used to skip and return home for meals.

But in Saudi Arabia, where I stayed alone for six months, it was indeed a nightmare. I managed my food during this stint with just Arabian specialty cheese bread Quboos, banana and a pint of milk / butter milk. Occasionally, my very close friend Sarma and his wife Dr.Jayashree brought some sumptuous meals to me. I must confess those moments always seemed like an oasis in a desert. 

Am I glad, the world has moved on from those struggling days even though I was blessed with great food by my sensive friend Hans.