“Why Sudha Murty’s vegetarian foibles must be defended”, First Post, July 29, 2023:
“Infosys Foundation chairperson and now successful writer and Padma Bhushan awardee Sudha Murty’s well known simplicity sits uneasy with many people given her family’s fabulous wealth. But the fact that “strict” vegetarians like her are equally strict about the provenance of their crockery and cutlery should not strike anyone as casteist or objectionable. It is literally a matter of taste. Murty’s only crime was to be frank about her phobia.
Murty’s avoidance of garlic is also a matter of taste, although she connects it to being vegetarian. In many schools of vegetarian cookery garlic is avoided, not merely because of its supposedly ‘rajasic’ and ‘tamasic’ heating quality but because its smell tends to overpower other subtler aromas. For those who love garlic, its strong odour is a plus point; for others it is exactly the opposite. Even some Indian meat-eaters also abjure it.
It is precisely because of Murty’s privileged position, perhaps, that she revealed her predilection rather than become intimidated by the prospect of an imminent social media backlash and stay silent. Many vegetarians take their own food and implements when travelling; Murty and her spoon and packed food are no exception. It is a natural instinct of self-preservation and Indians of all dietary hues carry comfort food when going to new places…..”
Read the full article at Firstpost.com
