While she silently watches

Early this year on a flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai, I was seated next to an big-bodied and middle-aged Indian couple. I was on the isle seat. Time went by, and the battle for the armrest between me, and the man on my left, became more intense. Then came the food trolley. The airhostess asked the couple if they would like some chicken or vegetarian. “Pure Vegetarian” they instantly replied in unison. So she served them the food of their choice. Then the airhostess asked me “and what about you sir, would you have a vegetarian too?”. I said “No, I would like a non-vegetarian meal”. “Well here you go Sir, enjoy your meal”, she said politely as she kept the tray on my table. As the trolley strolled to the other passengers, I gently opened the foil and the aroma of the chicken gravy and the rice filled my nostrils. I thanked God for the food and began to enjoy every bite of the tasty chicken. Halfway through the meal, I began to have a strange feeling as if I have been liberated. I suddenly found that I am no longer struggling on my left side. The armrest was absolutely free. I could feel the couple next to me looking at me with sneaky eyes. They also would close their nostrils with the tissue paper from time-to-time. Well, I enjoyed my meal and after the clearing of the trays I went to sleep. I felt as if I was seated in the business class with all room to myself. The couple next to me had decided to cozy-up together. The man obviously did not want his hand to touch mine because of my non-vegetarian choice. And I enjoyed the rest of my flight enjoying the benefits of discrimination meted out to me by my pure vegetarian co-traveller.

Our feet walk over mother earth.
We make divisions and make a trade out of her.
We divide her waters and humiliate her very nature,
With objects she cannot digest.
We gibe into her huge and sharp machinery.
We rub stinking dung into her broken body
And mix it with awfully rotten and decayed leftovers.
Then we penetrate her very babies into her broken bosom.
We faithfully douse her with water.
Her share of spa-moments do not last too long.
We then rip the crop from her very flesh.
Cutting them into pieces to cook over hot fire.
We also consume it uncooked like cannibals.
While she silently watches.

No wonder, most of the wraths

of mother earth are irreversible!