1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I have been a vegetarian since birth. I had issues with gut health since a very young age. It resulted in what we call IBS - irritable bowel syndrome. The awareness of these conditions was rather poor and often brushed off as psychological issues.
Bad skin and gut health was a part of my growing years and continued into my post-pregnancy days. I stumbled upon an article in a magazine about a plant-based diet. I decided to give it a try and within a few months - it was a miracle. Skin cleared up and my constant urge to rush to the bathroom was all gone! After this, I began to experiment on foods that were triggered by IBS D and were able to successfully understand what worked for me and what did not
2. How and when did you decide to go vegan?
It has been more than a decade on a plant-based diet. During this time I started to get involved in animal rescue and started reading about the dairy industry. The suffering of non-milking cows, calves, and buffaloes was just unimaginable. I decided to go vegan. It’s been 7 years now
3. What led you to start your page on Instagram? Is there any interesting story behind it that you would like to share with us?
I wish there was! It was during phase 2 of our covid lockdown. I needed a project to calm me down and started uploading recipes. My objective was to showcase to friends and family that Indian food is predominantly vegan and with a little experiment/substitutions we can pretty much enjoy the whole variety. I never expected that I would get followed by people I did not know
4. How has being a vegan changed your life?
My life has changed because I have realized that being the voice for the voiceless is my passion and purpose.
It is humbling to be able to support and rescue animals in shelters in my city Bengaluru.
5. How is being a vegan different from being a vegetarian?
Vegans do not consume/ use animal products like dairy, honey, fur, leather, silk, etc.
6. What message would you give to someone who is considering altering their diet to a vegan?
Give it a try. You don’t have to switch overnight. Make it a journey and do it at your pace.
You don’t need to justify it to anyone. Every change and choice of ours makes a difference
7. As a chef, is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?
My experiments with tofu to make traditional recipes
8. What is that one cause you care deeply about and why?
Being the voice for the voiceless. This is my passion.
Humans are the most evolved species. We are capable of change if we set our minds to it. If we don’t stand up against mass breeding, torture, and slaughter of innocent souls, who will?
9. How challenging is a vegan lifestyle according to you?
The biggest challenge is ridicule from friends and family. If one can get past that ridicule to turn a deaf ear, the rest is easy.
10. Which is your favorite book/show and why?
Meenakshi ammal - cook and see.
First Indian lady to have a cookbook. She was a widow and fought all and any social construct to follow her dreams
Brief Bio:
Animals❤️VEGAN š±š§š³Tofu experiments in Indian food š„ Mom ❤️ is same in animals❤️adopt indiešFight IBSš©collab payment donated to the shelter
Interviewed By - Nimisha Dutta
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