Enterprising (adjective) - marked by imagination, initiative, and readiness to undertake new projects

Some of my most vivid memories of  end of year  family holidays are at my grandmother's home. The first time I met her I was a recently emigrated teenager to India.

Petite, serene, and glowing with an inner strength and outer beauty. She seemed out of place next to my gangly grandfather, twelve years her senior, imposing, and so in command. For the 3 years I knew him, I don't recall him as ever 'lounging' about the house as many of his retired friends were prone to do. He lived long. He lived well. And then he died....of old age. He died well.

Which left my grandmother a widow in Bengal.

Unlike most Indian states, West Bengal is decidedly non-vegetarian. And, Bengali cuisine is decidedly elaborate fare, eaten with gusto in stages. As international food connoisseurs know, a typical full-course meal begins with a bitter appetizer and ends with a sweet desert, with a variety of chili-peppered, salty and tart tastes to torture and tantalize the good old taste buds in between.

West Bengal prides itself on its haute non-vegetarian cuisine and is one of the few parts of India where high-caste priests have no qualms about eating fish and meat. This stands in marked contrast to most of India where vegetarianism is the defining lifestyle.

Vegetarian food (Niramish) is not merely food for the body, but food for the soul as well. It's a fact of life in the Indian culture that one way to get connected with your spiritual self is to replace carnivorous food with a plant-based diet.

Indian philosophy expounds that all creation is part of one life. That one life force that highlights all of our lives is brought to the foreground by a spirit of reverence towards all life, and a benevolent regard for all living creatures. I think it's fair to say that most Indians don't consider a vegetarian a superior human being. They do, however, consider vegetarianism a superior way of life.

Are vegetarians miles ahead of everyone else in their spiritual and ecological understanding?  God only knows.

It's Bengal's widow who fascinates me.

Traditionally when a Bengali woman's husband died she was transformed in a heart-beat into a living shroud of who she used to be...... literally deprived of many of her human rights. Her hair had to be shaved off. She could only dress in the strictest of white saris. She gave up her jewelery and cosmetics. And, she was allowed to eat only the most limited vegan staples - epitomized by boiled rice and legumes - her meal for the entire day.

That's quite a  culinary change and challenge, to put it mildly. Necessity (and dignity) are the driving forces that cause her to transform this naked staple into something desirable and 'civilized' once again. Her ingenuity kicks into gear and she cleverly substitutes the meaty foods she has been denied with humbler elements of throw-away foods.

And then? She takes up her throw-away valueless veggie vagaries, and contrives to beat the system by exploiting the very food taboos placed on her.

She's on a restricted diet. It's her cooking that remains unrestricted.

Her survival strategy lies in turning herself into an indispensable (and invisible) presence in the family kitchen.

The world watches aghast and amazed as some of the most delicious zesty Bengali cuisine made from vegetable odds-and-ends such as khichuri, chorchori and chechki, is birthed in the pots and pans of a woman who intends to live all the days of her life....

Live long. Live well....

....cheating death of another victim.

Ironically, the social brutality that she faces leads to a direct and recuperative contribution to international cuisine.

I love the fact that in spite of, or because of,  severe food restrictions placed on her, she found a way to make a significant contribution to the international palate. Emotional stigma and taboo, real ritualistic restrictions on food and eating, falls into symbolic poverty were not enough to keep her brave and creative spirit malnourished. I say, there ought to be more like her!

It is that same enterprising spirit that so resonated with me when I landed on American soil many New Years ago.

I'm told vegans, along with those with a health restricted diet make up ~10 - 20% of the business population who attend corporate events and educational conferences. A small and growing percentage, and very food savvy at that. They have expectations....for themselves, and for their children coming up after them.

Expectations that event planners, chefs and banquet staff will meet their dietary needs with more than lettuce scraps from salad pickings, veggie burgers held together with egg binders, and deceptive mushroom ravioli loaded with creamy Parmesan cheese on the insides.

I think the good old Bengali widow's enterprising spirit is called for.

Perhaps, its really the good old American enterprising spirit that's needed to create respectful and healthy options.

No doubt, those who organize and cater corporate events have already caught on to this gastronomical trend - born in part by ethical standards, in part by medical necessity. Or, have they really?

As any discerning corporate decision-maker dealing with competing vendors would ask, 'what are my options?'

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