Encounters of the non-veg kind.

Being born in a Vaishnav Brahman family from Narayan Peth Pune, next of the kin to much-maligned Puneri Sadashiv Peth Brahman tribe, even words like 'meat, fish, chicken' were aeons away, forget about getting near the actual thing. Devouring them was actually considered the sin of the severest kind. Those who 'Ate' were looked down upon, and were treated as if they were from a lower stratum and it was made unashamedly apparent by kinking the noses. Somewhere down the line animosity started diluting over the years, at least in my family, maybe my father was instrumental in doing so. He was sort of rebel in the generation which was neck-deep in the rituals of religion. He was atheist in the '40s ! Eggs were the first to enter the kitchen from the back door. Initially boiled only. But to dispose of the shells was a task by itself. Wrapping them in layers of papers before throwing them in the common dustbin was a work of great skill and art! Omelet was strictly no no as it gave away the secret by emanating the smell 'THE' smell. It too was overcome and then started the real encounters of Non-veg kind!
Actual conversion from staunch veg to non-veg came much later. Almost like a baptism into a new religion. It was literally adventure tinged with curiosity about the forbidden sin. Don't remember exactly when I tasted the real non-veg for the first time, but definitely remember what it was.  Prons. The prons. Don't know whether they were cleaned properly or not but my guts went into overdrive after consuming them, even though a small morsel and the results were disastrous, to say the least!
But after dealing with the first encounter like a victor, it then was a limitless voyage into unforeseen territories, conquering every port on the way. Chicken is the easiest port to win for the beginners. It comes under the section fowl and we had bizarre fowl in Malaysia. Just opposite the condo where we stayed in Lang Kawi, there was this small shanty like food stall which served authentic Malaysian food. Never fond of hackneyed and bland 5-star fare, we always preferred such joints when on vacation, to have the real flavour of the place. He served a bird named Piyu, not bigger than an outstretched palm, coated with some batter and deep-fried in its natural pose, that is, wings spread out, legs in their place with claws daringly open, neck stretched and beak in its place on the intact head! We wanted to try it but the valour fell short for 3 days, in succession. On the day to leave we gathered all our wits and ordered 'Fried Piyu'. Well, it was definitely not a disaster but not a great shake either, it's flesh was sweetish but tough to chew. All in all 'THE' adventure went insipid like a toothless tiger!
Red meat comes as lamb, pork, beef, veal and mutton as we Indians call it, and the ways to cook it differ so much that it may make you like or dislike it, on how it is done. Once on a flight, I was served beef unknowingly as the stock of chicken got over and because the flight was longish, more than 9 to 10 hours at a stretch, I had to make with it. It turned out to be rare done! Harder, I tried to chew it, slimier it became and then it was rolling in my mouth just like a rubber ball most undercooked! I had to gulp it down with glassful of water. It made me vow, No 'Rare done' again! But 'Gulati Kababs' served in restaurant 'Jaffran' are so delicious that they just melt in your mouth making you forget that it's red meat, always tough one to chew and swallow!  
Seafood from crabs to squid to different fishes was difficult fort to win to start with, mostly because of the smell. But in a short, while I started doling out opinions with elan like a seasoned gourmet describing pluses and minuses to the last detail.
I don't understand why Indians like bones? World over, meat or fish is always served boneless. So stringent is the dictum that if you find even a small fishbone in a fine dining dish, the chef loses his job! And really to take out the small bones in a fish-like 'Karli' is so cumbersome that it's better not to eat it!
Had heard about 'Sushi' and 'Sasha-mi' so many times that I was just longing to taste these Japanese varieties of non-veg delicacies. Abroad they are categorized as fine dining so are extremely expensive. The dilemma was that if you don't like it, a handful of dollars were going to be a waste. And Emi came to my help, Japanese wife of my school chum Girish who stays in Canada.
A ball of Rice cooked in vinegar is rolled in a seaweed paper along with either raw or cooked fish, meat, crab or anything that you fancy, dip it in wasabi or any other sauce you like and relish the concoction. Unfortunately, the very first morsel that came to my share contained partially cooked head of prons! Neither I could gulp it down as I could not look the prons into its staring eyes, nor could I throw it away for fear of insulting Emi, as I only had asked to serve it specifically. And in difficult situations, it's said that God helps you. Here my daughter turned out to be that God. ' Give it to me Baba' and that prons with prominent eyes staring at me, quickly vanished into her little mouth and I heaved a sigh of relief!
I should have learnt a lesson. But history teaches you a damn.  In all South-East Asian countries,  they serve you a dish of fish that you select live, from the water tank to be absolutely fresh. While on a tour of either Thailand or Malaysia we decided to try it out. It was so fresh that, only devoid of viscera it was practically, entirely intact with its fins, tail and even the eyes in their place!
I nudged my daughter and said,
' Saana , it just winked !'
'Come on Baba, how can it ?'
' I swear, it winked, look, his eyes are so bright.'
'Whatever, we all are going to feast on it, if you too want to, go ahead or close your eyes and ignore his !'
I did the same and to tell you the truth it was awesome!