Is Mushroom a vegetarian food or Non-veg?

Ever wondered? I have this Sri Lankan colleague who started arguing with others at work that Mushrooms are non-veg and that she is not going to have mushrooms because its Saturday. That got me thinking, are Mushroom's really a veg or non-veg?

Mushrooms are not conceived in a womb, Mushrooms do not feel pain when you pluck them off, so they have got to be vegetarian. Also, they dont yelp when you throw a stone at them. Even Egg's dont yelp, so can it be a vegetarian too?
The counter argument is, they are thriving fungus! So, it has to be non-veg. The argument obviously is insufficient to be able to conclude weather or not mushroom is a vegetarian or not.

I started doing a bit of research (now you know what I do on free-time at work) on this and found a link to Srimad Bhagavad Gita: http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/bhagavad-gita-6-16.htm
According to Krishna or Krishna consciousness, if you will, don't indulge in over/under eating.

Food is divide in to 3 types according to Gita. Now it is up to us to decide where each food falls.

Saatvik (goodness): Milk, honey, vegetables, rice, lentils etc. If you ask me, eggs are also vegetarian. They are unfertilized by sperm isn't it? Also by definition, you are not causing pain to the egg when you make an omelet (just like you don't cause pain to carrots when you dig them out of soil). No offense to anyone, this is strictly my opinion. In my definition, egg falls into Saatvik category.
You might argue that we need to classify food based on cell-structure not where it comes from. I would not agree because when Gita was being written or when Krishna was defining Saatvik food, He didnt consider cell structure. If He did, we would have found some texts suggesting the same. Anyway, back to types of food.
Does it mean that it is time to redefine what "vegetarian" is?

Rajasik (Passion): Anything which is hot (chili-hot) and spicy falls into this category. From what I understand, there is no clear definition of which foods fall under this category.

Taamsik (Ignorance): Meat and meat products fall under this category. It always surprised me that, we Hindus give so much importance to religion, peace etc, yet Bhagavad Gita (or rather Kurukshetra) itself is a justification of why war is essential at times. Of course I fully believe that it is the Holiest of text's till date, yet the irony is not lost on me.

Another thing is, how many of us realize that its not about veg or non-veg but its about not killing animals for our wants/needs? For the same reason even leather cloths should also be a strict No for a practicing vegetarian. can we live without eating meat? Yes. But do I propagate that eating vegetarian food is the way to go? No. I am not against eating meat...and I don't try to persuade those who do to consider my perspective.

Its up to you, the reader to decide where Mushroom falls. It obviously does not fall under Saatvik, but it could be either Rajasik or Taamasik.

So, it is not possible for us to arrive at a blanket conclusion that Mushroom is a veg or a non-veg item.

Disclaimer: My intention is not to offend anyone. If I come across that way, let me know and I will edit my post. These views are just my views. So, you will have to let me know if I offended anyone, since that's not my intention.

From 9 to 19 to...errr

ha ha! I wish I could remain at 19 but I am not! We all grow up don't we? In the next few weeks I would be celebrating my birthday. When I was in my train last night, lost in thoughts as usual, I started reflecting on how I have changed over a period of time. If I were given a chance to go back change my life, I would not change anything except a few things here or there. But then, without bad experiences would I be still the same person that I am right now?

Over the years I have realized that no one but I am responsible for my own happiness. I have to learn to be happy irrespective of what the circumstances are. Usually I would have choices in the worst of the circumstances. Sometimes I get angry...only some times. Other times I just let it be. I have also learned that its OK to be angry and its to get tears in our eyes. Its OK, because I say so. It might not be the same with anyone else. This happens to me every time I have a fight with anyone!

I have learned that it is not possible to make everyone happy because some of them just do not want to be happy no matter how much we try. So, either brood over the fact that they are always upset or just let it pass...I have to make a choice. Usually I do let it pass. Usually we tend to apply this at work.

What I feel about myself is important to me.

I learned that people come as a package. Its OK if the person I am interacting with has a few 'flaws' (if you want to call that). Every quality in him/her defines what they are. Attempting to change them would only wreck them and the outcome might not be what you wanted to begin with. If I value the person as a whole, I should accept the person, complete with the qualities I do not like in him/her. Of course its not easy. But, we have to learn to accept the fact that they are a different person. I cannot and should not expect them to be like me or expect that they should agree with me every time. This happens all the time in friendships.

I dont have to agree with everything the other person says. Its OK to disagree respectfully. At the same time, I should not expect that the other person should agree with everything I say either!
I do tend to get busy at times, I learned that making small efforts like baking cookies on a Sunday morning would come a long way.

Sometimes I do not think what I say. This happens when I am with someone very close to me. I should learn to think twice even before opening my mouth in front of someone who is close to me also.

More to add...later.

One Fine Day...

Days when my husband works night shift and a regular working weekday for me:

4:45 AM: Alarm went off; I snoozed it and went back to sleep.
4:55: High time I get up; else I would miss my train to work.
5:30: Finished shower, hair-dry. Sit for break fast, pack my lunch bag.
5:45: Lock the door and set off to work.
5:47: Forgot the train pass. Come back home to grab it.
5:50: Miss the bus. Come back home.
6:15: Get the bus, get the train.
7:15: Change from train to bus again
8:00: Reach work and start working.
4:40: Get the train, reach home at 6:10 PM

6:10 PM: fresh-up a bit, change and have dinner.
6:30: Heat the water for Dal and rice for next day.
6:40: Get the dal and rice going. Chop onions for curry/fry
7:00: Get started with making curry/fry. While its being done...
7:15: Get a load of laundry started. Chop veggies for next day.
7:30: Finish off the curry/subzi. Get a glass of wine.
7:40: Get the tadka ready for dal. Oops, forgot the salt. Add a little salt and sambar powder.
7:45: Unload the dishwasher filled with clean dishes. [Michael Scott's voice from Office booming in the TV]
7:55: Go back to the basement, transfer the washed laundry in to drier. Come back upstairs. realize you forgot to switch off the light near the washer. go back downstairs again. I will have to put away the clean cloths only tomorrow.
8:10: Load the dish washer with dirty dishes. Wipe off the sink and kitchen counter.
8:25: Pack my lunch and snack box for next days work.
8:35: Clean the stove. Ouch, its still hot!
8:45: Water the indoor plants. Yes, little bit, every day.
8:50: I just cleaned the living room yesterday but still there is a bit of dust. Let me do it now.
9:00: Compost bag and the recycle bag are full. Change both.
9:10: Switch off all the lights, take the untouched glass of wine upstairs to the bed room.
9:15: Switch on the TV. Finish off the wine. Oh no...I didnt iron my cloths for next days work.
9:25: Finish off ironing my cloths.
9:30: Send a nite nite, miss you message to husband.
9:31: Get a reply from husband. Nite nite! Hope you relaxed. (me: sigh)
9:32: Fast asleep!

Next day, 4:45, my day starts all over again. Oh did I mention that its a day in Nov or Dec? If it were in Summer, I water the plants/grass outside for an hour. If its a snowy day, I get up at 4:30 AM to shovel the snow! When did life become so busy?
That's why I love it when my husband is not working night shifts. He helps a lot with cooking and almost always drops me off at work. I get to get up at 5:30 the days he is not working.
I have absolutely no idea how i am going to fit in kids when they do arrive!

On a lighter note...

Of  late I have been seeing plenty of old Bollywood movies. I was kind of surprised to deduce some interesting analogy. Its to do with rape scenes. Thing is, most of the 1980's movies had at least one rape scene. Be it Padmini Kohlapuri or the professional rapist, Shakti Kapoor. Only during a rape scene the camera is zoomed at the woman's cleavage or all her agony is captured. But when it comes to two people in love kissing each other, all they show is 2 flowers bumping into each other. Why?

Not many movies are complete without a rape scene. More often than not, the entire movie is based on a rape scene, as if there is no other better story line. Villain rapes (or attempts to) hero's sister. Hero takes revenge. Or, Villain attempts to rape heroin and then hero saves her. They fall in love. You get my drift?
What bothers me is that, is it really true that rapes have become part and parcel of Indian society? If yes, why is it shown in such a way that no deductions are made?
There is nothing funny about a rape; yet so many movies revolve around this. Strange, dont you think so?

1.76 lack crores...

I never knew, until 3 days ago that there is a denomination called, 1.73 Lack Crore. This can happen only in India; one person in a party does something stupid which costs the government money and the DMK leader extends full support.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/go...in-court-65756
I had a huge argument with one of my friends regarding corruption in India. He maintains that every party is corrupt (which is true) to some extent; this time it has gone too far. But just because some other party is less corrupt doesnt mean they are any noble, are they?

I am reminded of a joke. A man walks up to woman in bar and asks.. "Will you sleep with me if I gave you a million dollars?". Woman looks around and says .. "Ok." He then asks "What about for $20?" And she answers "$20? What do you think I am??" And he replies "We have already established what you are - now we are just negotiating!"

We do not respect the Auditors revealings and still await on the fate of IT minister Raja; we let go of a child molester, Rathore after a teenage girl has lost life; we let go of Kalmadi after the games; Kasab is still alive....

What is happening to India?

Freedom of speech, gone too far...

Yes, I am talking about the renowned author, Booker prize winner (for God of Small Things), Arundhati Roy. I always felt that Ms. Roy is after the media-lime-lite but this time, the freedom of speech has gone a bit too far.
To say that, "Kashmir has never been an integral part of India" is the most stupidest thing I have ever heard. Its like, chopping your own foot with an axe!

Here is my take on this issue. What Ms Roy is saying is correct when it comes to, poor, young women getting raped (recent case Asiya and Nilofer), Kashmir under constant pressure from all sides, and the heart-broken families who have lost their loved ones in the name of war. BUT, the solutions (or the lack of it) is what makes me wince. People of Kashmir want, "insaaf" from Indian government is what Ms Roy claims. I ask, freedom from what? Doesn't she realize that, the moment Kashmir is declared as "not-a-part-of-India", our neighboring countries would occupy the land in no time literally massacring every single citizen?  I would give Kashmir like maybe 5 minutes before it is completely occupied, from the moment it gets its so called 'freedom'. I cant believe that Ms roy seriously believes that India is actually causing more harm to Kashmir-state than good.
How come, she has not given a single moments thought about scores of soldiers who were killed, trying to (and succeed) protect Kashmir? The word traitor comes to my mind, but I will refrain from saying so.

I think Ms Roy is aiming to be Aung San Suu Kyi. House-arresting (or any kind of restrain) her would only get her more sympathy and more media attention which I think is what she is after.
If it were up to me, I would completely ignore her.
Just like the media, she never sticks with one single issue until it is sorted. After crying her heart out with Pokran issue, she went after issues over Narmada, literally hijacking the spotlight from Medha Patkar.

One thing every politician should learn (in my opinion) from her is her smartness. She is rich, yet, is always seen amongst poor. She makes statements which would get her killed in any other country, yet, makes them in such a way that no one really can say a boo to her.

Her extraordinarily good writing skills is something I always admired. Agree that almost every article she writes is grossly exaggerated, but usually she has a point. Of course, the solutions (again the lack of it) is something different altogether.The carefully built self-image is something every politician should learn.

How Life Changes...

I don't know why I am in a reflective mood lately. Maybe because of Diwali preparations or it could be anything. I started thinking about how we used to shop for Diwali around this time of the year. I could be wrong but in olden days I felt that Diwali was somewhere in early Oct? Now its November.

My mother passed me on one of her jewelry sets for my marriage. My Mother In Law passed me on "puliaaru" (Lord Ganesha's stone murthi) after getting married. This was given to her by her MIL. How days go by and how years rollby!
All the Diwali sweets/snacks my mom used to make then, I am now making at home. Soon there will children, they grow up and it would be my turn to pass on what I had been given. It would be their turn in no time...

In this wide space, where does life stop? Does it matter how happy we are right now(or how sad) when we look at the bigger picture?

Anyway, we decorated our home for Halloween. Here are a few pictures.Below is the picture taken when we went pumpkin picking in a near by farm. Rows and rows of them!

My flower vase in the dining room :)

No :) its neither my hand nor my husbands :) Ha ha! my home is haunted!!!

I bought so many candy this year for trick or treat. Do you like my decorations for Halloween?