Kalena against meat for food

IT was an outspoken Kalena Maharaj who commanded the attention of everyone when she delivered a 45-minute lecture on “The consequences of meat eating on the Environment and the Human Body”.

She definitely impressed her audience and many of the participants sought her out at the end of the seminar at the Hindu Prachaar Kendra, Enterprise Village, Chaguanas, recently.  As she began her lecture, she grabbed the attention of her young audience with the question: “If we decide to walk into a meat shop and buy some lamb or chicken or any kind of meat for that matter, what are the consequences? “Not just the consequences of your wallet, and the recently killed lamb or chicken, but also the consequence on the environment.” Kalena was chosen to head the list of speakers at the seminar, organised by Dr Vijay Narinesingh of the Hindu Prachaar Kendra. She was selected from among a group of teenage students based on her public speaking ability. 

She admits  she was particularly interested in social studies while she was at the El Dorado North Hindu School.  “As a youngster I guess I am eager to learn about people. But I would like to do things that can affect people and make them think about life. I would like to do the necessary research and enlighten people about the ills of society,” she said. Kalena, a final year student at COSTATT, is pursuing an associate degree in management information system. However, she wants to study political science so she could become an analyst in political matters. When asked whether she would like to become a politician, she smiled and responded that time and circumstances have been the reason for many people jumping into the political arena and she would leave that question unanswered for the time being.

Based on her delivery of the lecture, one can conclude that Kalena will certainly make a good politician. She was able to convince the crowds that eating meat is wrong and that they should switch to a vegetarian life. “I was able to convince myself after research that meat-eating does affect the environment and as a result everyone should switch to a vegetarian life. I ate meat all my life and after this research I became a vegetarian,” she said. To drive home her point about the effects of eating meat on the environment she cited the destruction of the Central American forest and in particular the detrimental effect on the world’s great rain forest in Brazil.

Kalena said that she believes that there is enough food for all mankind through Mother Earth. “The Hindu philosophy teaches that killing an animal for the source of food is wrong. It is stated in the Vedas that food should come from Mother Earth,” she said. Kalena who is a devout Hindu attends the Kendra on a regular basis with her parents Pramechand and Virginia Maharaj and sisters Orrisha and Marici. Orrisha, who is an attorney and Merici, a secondary school teacher have been instrumental in assisting Kalena in her studies. According to her mom, Kalena is brave and bold when dealing with the public. “Kalena is a tomboy. She gets involved in cricket, swimming, tennis and all the other sports you could think of,” she said. She also noted that Kalena loves a challenge and would be quick to answer any one who is finding fault with her. Raviji, the spiritual leader of the Hindu Prachaar Kendra has been an inspiration for Kalena who praised the work he is doing with young people.