The Buddha

Stephen Grellet, Quaker Missionary

Though there are variants of this quote, I prefer the use of "fellow creature" because it embodies all creatures on earth, which makes sense since the author was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (also known as Quakers) that practices vegetarianism and veganism as a reflection of the Peace Testimony, extending non-violence towards animals. 

We don't need to be a Quaker or a Christian or a Muslim or a Jain or a Hindu or a Buddhist to be good and kind to our fellow human beings and to all the non-human animals we share this planet with. After all, we are all Earthlings, citizens of the planet Earth!

Be vegan.

Non-human animals value their lives as much as we value hours.

Let peace reigns in our hearts and it begins on our plates. 

I Am a Vegan Anarchist

I am a vegan anarchist because meat consumption is just one of the symptoms 

of a larger evil that pervades our society, which is capitalism.

The disease of capitalism erodes compassion and makes humans see, not only other creatures, 

but also other humans, as commodities which only have value for the profit that they may fetch 

in the market, regardless of all other considerations. 

A capitalist mind-set, not only prioritizes profit, but also terminates 

everything else that it sees as not marketable. 

Since values are arbitrarily set by the market, 

in a capitalist system, a large proportion of the planet’s beings, both living and non-living, 

are arbitrarily discarded, as the market sees no value in their existence. 

And the ones that are seen as valuable are most often seen as valuable only for their final value of profit, thereby leading to horrific holocaust-like conditions for all their existence 

until their ruthless extermination in the name of generating profit.

I am a vegan anarchist because when an animal or human being or a tree is tagged 

to have this value or that much value, it becomes a one-sided world - a world that is run 

by people whose personal interest is always put at the top, 

regardless of who suffers or dies. 

A road worker works hard so the rest of the world could have a pleasant journey 

or so goods could reach their final destination without getting rotten but is paid meagerly. 

Why? 

Does his life and work least important among other kinds of work? 

Definitely not! 

The same goes to the life of a pig or any other animal. 

Does a pig’s 6-month life worth 10000 rupees? 

No! 

But the capitalist mind would say so! 

Only a vegan anarchist recognizes that all earthlings have inherent value of their own, 

that the pig’s life is invaluable - a value that can be determined by nobody. 

It can neither be sold nor bought. It cannot be traded for anything else. 

And as long as people put a monetary tag to anything, 

whether it’s  natural resource or human and non-human living being, 

exploitation, in any form, 

will never cease to exist.

Capitalist systems breed exploitation over cooperation, 

perpetuate control over empathy, 

and drive cruelty, death and destruction over love, life, and protection. 

Hence, I am a vegan anarchist because anarchism is the necessary solution 

for transforming the world into veganism. 

Potato-Tomato Dish: Simple & Quick No Oil Recipe

If I were to get rid of one thing that I do every day that is cooking. Fortunately, I only cook once almost all the time except in some rare cases when we have great stuff like mushrooms (it's a rarity around here) or when my husband and I feel like eating extra. When it happens it's always light. 

Like this recipe.

And this recipe is for two people. 

~my share~

What are needed?

• 2-3 medium size potatoes (washed thoroughly, never peeled and thinly sliced)
• 5-6 ripe tomatoes, preferably round variety because they're juicy (chopped)
• salt to taste (I used a pinch since we're used to it already)
• red chili powder, according to your preference (I used half a tsp.)
• lemon juice, optional (I use it when it's too spicy for us)
• 1-2 tbsp. poppy seeds, optional (I generally add them because we have them and they induce sleep
• half to 1 a glass of water

What to do?

• In a deep pan, add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes
• Add salt and potatoes. Mix and cover on a low flame.
• After a few minutes, add red chili powder and poppy seeds. Mix again.
• Add little water at a time.
• Cook until the tomatoes get smashed and the potatoes get cooked.
• Check the taste.
• Let it cool a little bit and serve.
• Add lemon juice just before it is served. (Heat destroys vitamin C in lemon juice, but for the purpose of enhancing taste, lemon juice ca be added when the dish is still hot.)

~this time, this dish was eaten alone~

Serve alone or with roti!

~This one is with black and white sesame seeds. What a great way to eat sesame seeds!~

• When I make it for lunch, we usually have this with roti and our roti is not the usual roti. It's made of whole wheat flour which is grounded in a bigger grain, meaning, it's not refined at all and it's full of bran (fiber) then with it are mixed grounded flax, melon seeds, and watermelon seeds (readily prepared with vitamin B12 so we won't be ingesting B12 in one go), sesame seeds and zero salt.   
• Most of the times we eat this dish with one small roti each. Sometimes, half each of one big roti.
• Our cooked food, especially with rice or roti or chapati, vegetables always weigh more than the roti. For example, for 1 roti we will have it with a big bowl of vegetable dish.

This recipe can certainly be modified. 

Do let me know in the comment section below. 

Use the section of what do you think of this recipe, too!

Enjoy!

Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd. (THDC Koteshwar Hydro Power Project)

The Koteshwar dam is on the Bhagirathi River located downstream of the Tehri Dam in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. KHEP dam is an important part of the Tehri Hydropower Complex that serves to regulate the Tehri Dam's tailrace for irrigation purposes and water load balancing. 

KHEP dam as seen from Pokhari - Koteshwar road. The photo was taken in November 2016.

 There are two roads to reach Koteshwar from Rishikesh. First is through Narendra Nagar -Chamba - Gaja -Pokhari -Koteshwar road. From Chamba, one can go to New Tehri directly. Second is through Devprayag - New Tehri road. Koteshwar from Devprayag is around 40-45 kilometers and deviates at Chaka village. Along the way, you have to ask the road to Chaka because there is another road that goes to New Tehri bypassing Koteshwar road. It's easy to reach Koteshwar once you reach Chaka. Everyone knows Koteshwar dam.

Up-close

The upper houses of KHEP colony. The right line of houses is CISF line where CISF constables and next ranking personnel along with a few of THDC staffs are housed. Below this line is a two building, eight flats for higher officers of THDC. Most employees here come from B.Puram. They don't stay here in the colony.

KHEP township taken a little out of the temple. Just below the BSNL mobile tower is KHEP's dispensary where, as of this time, two doctors (one CMO and one ACMO) are managing the dispensary along with three nurses, pharmacist, lab technician, assistant lab technician, and other hospital staff.

 The entrance to KHEP from Bhagirathipuram. There's a checkpoint ahead. Just state your business, whether visiting or just passing, and you're good to go.

P.S. Keep visiting my blog for more pictures.