I am a vegetarian. By birth. Not by choice. Ask my parents and they might tell you that vegetarianism was never imposed on me. Eating meat was always an option, though strongly discouraged. Growing up in a hill station, we were usually the only vegetarians in our social circles and parties always meant looking for that one vegetarian dish on buffet tables piled high with meat dishes of every kind. When my parents went to enrol me in boarding school, I was to be the only vegetarian in the entire hostel. After much deliberation, my parents enrolled me as a meat eater with an assurance from the boarding mistress that a vegetarian option be provided to me, if I desire. I am embarrassed to admit here that I never once tried meat during my entire hostel life. Every time I was asked "would you like a vegetarian option?" I responded in the affirmative. Now I realize that this wasn't purely by choice. The anti-meat conditioning all through my formative years was so strong that I h