This is a blog post from
December 10
Dear Diary,
I made a new friend today. Her name is Ammu. She is one foot tall, chocolate-brown with white eyepatches, and has a tail that never stops wagging. She is officially my new best friend. But please don’t tell Poo and Rads about this. They’ll stop talking to me for sure. Poo hates dogs. Apparently her neighbour’s dog growls at her every time she passes their gate. So she’s concluded that all dogs are evil. Rads, oh she’s scared of everything with tails. Ok, tigers, lions and rats I can understand. Dogs also, maybe. But squirrels and rabbits! That’s just too much.
Enough of those two. Back to Ammu.
I was walking back from the grocery shop when this bundle of brown came bouncing up to me, her tail going round and round like a helicopter’s wing. To be honest, I was a little scared at first. All the dogs I have played with so far are house dogs. I’ve always wanted to play with the dogs in the neighbouring street but everyone keeps warning me that I’ll catch a dreadful disease and die. So somehow I control my temptation. Those dogs don’t look friendly anyway.
Today was different.
After the rotating tail had slowed down, I hesitantly bent down and patted her head. She squealed like a human baby. I looked around, the street was empty. So I sat down to pet her properly. The minute I sat, she rolled on her back. Sandy once told me that dogs love belly rubs. Sandy is famous for making up stuff but I decided to take a chance on this one. Oh how she loved it! Every time I’d take off my hand, she’d squeal. It’s damn difficult to say no to a voice like that. After a while, I realised that I HAD to go home with that stupid milk packet or else get a looooong lecture from Amma.
Rushed home. Dropped off milk. Rushed back.
Guess what?! Ammu was waiting in that exact same spot, as if she knew that I’d be coming back.
There’s something about Ammu. It’s as if we have known each other all our lives. We talked for a bit. She’s a good listener. I told her about Poo, Rads and my other friends at school. (Enemies also.) She seems to agree that Vicky is a good-for-nothing pompous idiot who deserves to be banished to an island far, far away for the rest of his life.
Today’s a happy day. Ammu is the BEST THING that happened to me EVER. She’s promised to meet me at the same spot every evening.
How do I know, you ask?
Well, I just know! There are some things in life you can’t explain. This is one of them.
Yours covered-with-Ammu’s-kisses,
Nila.
x
Dear Diary,
I was right. Ammu kept her end of the promise. Same place. Same time. But we found a better spot now, near that dead-end bungalow. That uncle opens his gate only twice a day, so our secret is safe.
x
Dear Diary,
Something very interesting happened today. It has got me thinking about so many things.
It all started with Poo’s lunch dabba. Aunty had packed an extra dabba of Chicken 65. (Please, please don’t tell anyone at home that I eat chicken! They’ll banish me to an island far, far away for the rest of my life.)
Lunch break. Corner of the playground. Chicken 65.
Gauthami didi was passing by. She’s really sweet. Sophia didi’s best friend and the FUNNIEST person I know — more than Sandy and Najju Paati combined. Didi smiled at us, so I ran up to her, held out the dabba and asked if she wanted the last piece. She smiled again and said no. I kept insisting, thinking that she was feeling shy to rob us of our lunch. She kept smiling and saying no.
“Why, didi? This is too yummy,” I said.
“I’m sorry, Nila. I’m vegetarian,” she said.
I told her that even I was a vegetarian at home and that I wouldn’t tell anyone that she ate chicken.
“Actually my parents eat chicken”, she replied.
When she saw my confused look, she explained that she had chosen to be a vegetarian. I was even more confused. “Nila, once I realised that they too have a life like ours, I felt bad about eating them. So I stopped.”
I was just about to tell her that the same logic applies to vegetables and fruits, but the bell rang.
So I just popped that last piece into my mouth and made a mental note to never offer chicken to anyone, even if I like them soooo much.
Later in the evening, I was telling Ammu about this while giving her belly rub. You know what, Gauthami Akka is right! Plants DO have a life but animals have a life that is MORE like ours.
Take Ammu and Puliya.
I love Puliya. She’s my favourite tree ever. Best hugger in the world. But I’ve never felt bad when I eat the bits of tamarind that fall off Puliya.
As for Ammu, I DEFINITELY can’t get myself to eat bits of her.
x
Chicken 65 again. I tried to make up some excuse and run off but Poo and Rads forced me to finish lunch first. So I sat there as Poo opened her dabba. Those juicy bits of Chicken 65 stared at me, begging me to eat them. Poo passed the dabba to me. I said I was full and passed the dabba to Rads. They both looked at me with a ‘What’s got into her today’ face. I hurriedly changed the topic to Sandy’s latest conspiracy theory about how all grandfathers in the world are injected with a small dose of Hitler’s blood on their 65th birthday. But because the dosage is so small, they can’t do much evil except sit at home and shout at everyone within hearing distance. Poo and Rads laughed and laughed, spattering Chicken 65 all over each other. They hate Sandy but they love his conspiracy theories.
x
I have been thinking of this whole vegetarian vs non-vegetarian thing. If the person is a non-vegetarian, it’s probably because that’s what they’ve eaten all their lives. That’s what their grandmas and great grandmas have been cooking. And even if the grandma decided to go vegetarian, the grandpa would probably fight and shout until she HAS to cook chicken for dinner. It’s not that all non-vegetarians hate animals. In fact, I can make a loooong list of animal-eaters who love animals.
And if a plant-eater wants to eat plants, so be it. It might be because thier moms cook only vegetables. Or because their religion tells them to eat only plants. I can make an equally loooong list of vegetarians who hate animals.
People eat what they eat for various reasons. Telling them what to eat and what not to is not fair. Their life. Their choice.
For now, I am going to try really, really hard to be vegetarian for sometime. Not that Ammu would mind, just that I want to give it a shot. Dunno how long this will last. Chicken 65 is too yummy. Still, try I must.
Yours determination-ly,
Nila
