8 Fully Vegan Indian Families. Oh yes, they do exist!

It’s easy to go vegan, yes. But how easy is it to live in a house that isn’t? Does education spread at home too? Well, for these people, totally!

Some go vegan together, some inspire the rest of the family to go vegan. Whatever the route may be, the destination leaves them feeling totally pumped, healthier and happier. Take a look!

1. Mahafrine Powell

I still remember the day I turned vegan, not because I  changed my palette, but because it was a turning point in my life. I remember every so clearly my daughter who was already vegan at that time, insisting that I watch the PETA videos on the dairy industry, fur trade and other ridiculously graphic content and while I always considered myself an animal lover it never really struck me as contributing to any pain and suffering faced by these beautiful animals.

Soon after I spoke to my husband and I was surprised to see how readily he took to Veganism . In the beginning I wasn't sure how much of it he'd be able to keep up to as he works off-shore and although there is plenty to eat, a Vegan rigger was unheard of. Before I knew it, my whole family embraced Veganism which includes my husband, my three children, my sisters who were already vegetarian and my 9 year old niece. Family dinner and get togethers were more pleasant and enjoyable now that we had no dead animals at the table.

Around the same time we bought a farm in Umergaon which sheltered and cared for  care for 5 cows, 23 geese and 4 cats. It was only when my cows had their young ones did I realise that contrary to popular belief, cows only make enough milk for their calves. And no, their breast won't explode if you don't milk then. 

 We also had a pet goose that lived with us in our flat in Mumbai! Being in close interactions with these wonderful animals has helped us evolve as humans and reinforced our belief in compassion. Place your courage and kindness before your palette.

2) Asha Shivaram

I am a homemaker and part time volunteer. I went vegan around 2 years back. We have always been were vegetarians before. I saw a talk by Dr Nandita Shah on youtube called 'Health in your hands'. I was having several unexplained chronic health issues and every word of her speech made sense to me. I voraciously read and listened to any material I could find on the internet and within a month went completely vegan. Environment issues are close to my heart and watching the documentary Cowspiracy was the final nail in the coffin.

My family went vegan a month after me. My teenage daughter took a little more time but she too is a vegan now. Both of them experienced miraculous healing of eczema, bloating and headaches. We watched a lot of videos together to educate ourselves. The Vegan Bangalore group also patiently answered many of our questions and helped in our transition.

We feel we were living in ignorance before we went vegan. We all feel so connected now as a family. With the animals, with the world and all its resources. It is like a whole new world. I have also met some wonderful people through this!

3) Meghala Nair

I'm a Business Banker/Credit Analyst at the National Australia Bank. We went vegan as a family 3 years ago after watching the movie Earthlings. We went vegan bit by bit. Dropped all meat first, then fish, dairy and eggs. We never bought leather or animal tested products on purpose before but now we only buy natural or non animal tested highly biodegradable goods.

As a family we are now actively involved in animal charities, animal activism and vegan and Anonymous for the voiceless and Rspca and stop live export, etc. My mum’s cholesterol is normal, she has stopped taking meds for it! My sister who has PCOS is losing weight and is feeling healthier in general. As a family we talk and share and spread animal protection, animal activism info as well as info on healthier eating, etc.

We are also all fully paid up members of the Australian political party Animal Justice Party. It's only purpose is to improve the life of animals in Australia.

That's about it really. As a family we are just more in tune with the world and animals and our impact on both. We have rescued 3 cockatoos and 3 dogs and all live in our house.

4) Poonam Dhup Juneja

I am a teacher. In more ways than one.

I was an ovo lacto pescatarian who rarely ate fish with a lot of guilt three years back. I had no idea regarding the cruel practices in the dairy industry. When I first came across it on social media I was stunned with disbelief.  I did my own research online as well as practically, speaking to people running small dairies in and around my city. I found all of it very cruel and unethical. Within a space of two months, I removed all traces of dairy from my home. I was the one who went vegan first, and did put my foot down at home saying that I would not cook anything non vegan because I could see things others didn't and I found the whole experience traumatic. Thankfully everyone complied though the rest of the family would consume dairy outside home. Slowly and steadily, I shared all my research with my husband and children. My daughter came on board first, then my son and lastly my husband because he has a sweet tooth regarding dairy based desserts. Today all four of us are very happy with our choices and sleep well with the thought that somewhere we are contributing in our little way in lessening the animals suffering to some extent. It is my fervent wish to see animal liberation in my lifetime.

Of course my life has taken a turn about for the better. The hope lies in the fact that I have managed to influence a few people and they give me hope to transition more people towards a compassionate life. All in all, I do feel more connected with myself and nature and there are very obviously spiritual enhancements too. Four of us are ethical vegans though we understand that health and environmental benefits are very good side effects of veganism.

5) Kala Krishnan

I am a homemaker. I had heard the term 'Vegan' before, but was not sure what it meant. I thought it might be something similar to the concept of Jainism. I was introduced to Veganism by my daughter-in-law, Shasvathi and her parents.

I used to think I was a very compassionate person, as I was a pure Vegetarian~ no animals were killed because of my food choices. I was simply not aware of the cruelty of the dairy industry. When I saw the various videos shared by Anand Siva & Vidya Anand on Facebook, it was a real eye opener for me. I stopped consuming milk and curd. I turned Vegan overnight!

I started to think: a cow is in so much pain after her calf is forcibly taken away from her immediately after birth; how could anyone be healthy/happy drinking that milk which is full of sorrow and grief?

After I became Vegan, I went without curd for about two months. I then tried making vegan curd at home, which was not very good. But I kept experimenting and trying out various new recipes shared  by vegans in Facebook, and now my family loves the curd that I make~ from rice and peanut milk.

About five months after I went vegan, my mother, as well as my daughter turned vegan too. Now, our whole family (mother, me, son, daughter and daughter-in-law) is Vegan and we are loving it. There's absolutely no looking back.

Physically and mentally, we have observed a difference; we feel lighter. We recently took blood tests and the results were simply stunning. My mother’s diabetes has gone down drastically!

6) Sunil Tinani

I am a digital marketer, writer and investor by profession and a CA by qualification. My wife, Inderjeet, is Ph.D. Physics and my daughter, Simran, is in her final year MS (Maths).

We have been vegetarian for over 20 years now, but we went vegan more than 3 months back. The awareness was sparked by my daughter, who was moved by animal suffering in the dairy industry. And when we found out about the truth, we couldn’t consume dairy as well.

We went cold turkey. Simply stopped everything all of a sudden. Gradually shifted to nut milks and butters and we totally love it.

Life is wonderful. Veganism makes us feel ethical and environment-friendly, makes us feel we are more responsible towards Mother Earth, makes us respect the rights of all animals.

We live a guilt-free, happy life.

7) Shriya SK

I am a communications professional who is currently a food blogger and writer.  Deeply influenced by family friends online, I turned vegan in 2012 after I watched Earthlings. As an animal lover, taking the ethical moral stand for animals was the obvious choice after watching that documentary. I was deeply moved by it and left a huge impact by it. Eventually, I helped my family go vegan too. It was a tedious process but I guided them every step along the way, patience is the real key. I love cooking and hence, making food interesting and healthy was step 1.                        

It then moved on to finding alternatives for things like leather, silk and personal care products. Most of all, I led by example and proved to them that this lifestyle is the best for us, the animals and we as the environment.

Personally, all our health combined has drastically improved. We all feel so much more lighter, adopt a way more healthier plant based lifestyle. From an ethical viewpoint, we all feel good that we are doing our part and try helping people make the connection and live happier lives.

8) Dhruv Rupani

I work as a Copy-cum-Content Writer. I went Vegan in April 2015. I watched a Hindi documentary called ‘Pyaari Zindagi’ and in it, saw human body parts being cruelly sold as meat flesh to other businesses by the underworld for their profits. I suddenly couldn’t trust the meat put on my plate and realized that if I want more right things to happen in my life, I couldn’t be a hypocrite by supporting any form of cruelty and so this was one right thing to do.

My mother was the first in my family to go vegan, which was around late 2013. She attended lectures by Dr.Nandita Shah in Mumbai and was interested in learning more about it and contributing on a full-time basis. She was suffering from lot of acidity issues and got increasingly tired of being prescribed medicines by doctors. Within a month or two of going vegan, she got rid of all medicines and seeing her progress, my father decided to turn vegan in mid-2014.

Veganism has made us more perspective-driven, also giving us a common goal to work towards as a family, though in our own ways.

I tend to spend more time with them now than friends since food becomes a sensitive issue while going out to eat. But it doesn’t feel much of a sacrifice. I have a vegan girlfriend now for nearly 6 months. Being vegan has made me take more responsibility towards my actions and realize that I need to contribute to the cause as much as any other aspect of my life for the better of the world. I have seen an increase in my energy levels, lost some weight and seen an improvement in my physical stamina.

Inspiring, isn’t it? Tell us about your vegan journey in the comments below!

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