India, July 17 -- There is something to the theory that the older you grow, the more you regress to how you were as a child. Well, it's certainly proving true in my case.

Brought up in a very orthodox household, I grew up on strictly vegetarian fare. Forget about meat and fish, even eggs were forbidden to cross our kitchen threshold. But as a child, I don't remember feeling deprived in the slightest. On the contrary, I was very happy to scoff down the vegetarian food I was offered - and ask for more. This situation persisted well into my adulthood. I would visit friends who cooked meat at home, but was never tempted to try it. I would eat out at restaurants and stick resolutely to the vegetarian section.

It all changed when I met my now...