Hyderabad, Sept. 11 -- Let me tell you a short fairy tale. Once upon a time, humans ate to survive. End of the story. Why, you ask? Look at us now. Food, which was to sustain us, now defines us. We found religion, we created castes and politics, and we somehow added food to the mix. We even started putting people into boxes according to their dietary choices. And if that wasn't enough, now we are labelling ourselves too, with detailed captions!

The vegetarian nobody could explain

Out there, it has been scary for someone like me or my schoolfriend Siraj Ahmad Kidwai. Coming from non-vegetarian communities and growing up in the late 1970s-80s, we were the odd ones out for not eating meat. Siraj says he was initiated into vegetarianism by ...