The butcher did it

A recent conversation with my parents unearthed a nostalgic gem from our years in Bokaro. This is post #2 in my series on understanding meat eaters.

My older brother (S) was seven. We had our first cousin (let’s call her “IP”) living with us that year. She was six. I was too young to remember anything.

My uncle (and IP’s dad) would drive down from Jamshedpur every few weekends. During one of those trips, he brought something to eat for the kids.

S & IP: “What is it? What is it?”

Uncle: “Surprise! Try it first. It’s yummy.”

Uncle (as S and IP started chewing): “It’s meat…”

S promptly spat it out.

IP: “But Dad, S tells me you get papam if you eat meat!” (papam in Telugu means sin)

Uncle: “Silly! Only the person who killed the animal gets papam! Not you, me or anyone who eats it!”