[nukkad] [Fwd: ]

[Ninad Chhaya <ninad@bom4.vsnl.net.in>]

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NAVNEET_A wrote:
> 
>         > SOURCE OF SILVERFOIL USED IN SWEETS
>         >
>         > A couple of years ago, Indian Airlines, the domestic
>         > air-carrier of India had issued instructions to its
>         > suppliers to
>         > supply sweet without silverfoil called VARAKH.  Do you
>         > know why ??? Can't we follow this example ???
>         >
>         > Silver is widely used for various purposes in the market
>         > today. Silver is considered precious and its utility is
>         > enormous. The reason behind this is that silver reflects
>         > back 95% of the light energy that falls on it. Silver foils
>         > are also used in sweets, arecanut and pan in India. The
>         > silver foils used for edible purposes is called VARAKH
>         >
>         > So what's so special about VARAKH? This is what I would
>         > like to bring to your notice. If you keenly observe this
>         > VARAKH under a microscope don be perturbed if you happen
>         > to see traces of blood, stools and saliva of a cattle or OX.
>         > Are you surprised, as I was when I read this? There is no
>         > ulterior motive behind this mail. Please read this mail to
>         > decide for yourself after knowing the process that is used
>         > to manufacture this VARAKH.
>         > VARAKH is a silver foil and we have no second questions on
>         > this, but to prepare this VARAKH important parts of the
>         > CATTLE/OX is made use of. Intestines of Cattle/OX are
>         > obtained from the slaughterhouse. This is obtained after
>         > butchering to death the cattle/ox for beef and the part,
>         > which cannot be consumed: the intestines are pulled out of
>         > the animal and handed over to the manufacturers of VARAKH.
>         > Before handing over the intestines, they are washed in the
>         > slaughterhouse to get rid of the blood and other remains
>         > on these intestines in the limited facility that is present
>         > in the slaughterhouse. We are not sure how neatly this job
>         > is carried out  Intestines are cut into small pieces and
>         > then are bound together as pages in a notebook.
>         > A silver block is placed in the middle of these bound
>         > intestines, and the whole thing is placed in a leather bag
>         > and
>         > sealed. Experts, who know how to make VARAKH, pound the
>         > bag with wooden sticks, till the entire bag flattens out.
>         > The
>         > silver block would by this time be turned into silver
>         > foil. This Silver foil would now be separated from the
>         > intestine pack and will be placed on paper. This is
>         > VARAKH, which reaches the market ready for use. Even staunch
>         > vegetarians, who shy away from egg, unknowingly consume
>         > this as a part of sweet, pan and arecanut. Some unknowingly
>         > consume this because of the additional taste that VARAKH
>         > provides.
>         > Now the question is "Why the intestines of the cattle/OX?
>         > Why not something else?" The reason behind using the
>         > intestines of the cattle/ox for preparing the VARAKH is
>         > because of the elasticity of the intestines. They do not get
>         > cut even after a severe pounding.
>         > This aspect is brought out in the magazine "Beauty without
>         > cruelty" and the Television show of Maneka Gandhi, "Heads
>         > and Tails". In India, on an average an estimate indicates
>         > that 2,75,000 kilos of "VARAKH" is consumed. Can you
>         > estimate how many cattle/ox are sacrificed for just a bit
>         > of taste?
>         > If you are surprised as I am, after reading this article
>         > please inform as many as possible so as to ensure that we
>         > unknowingly don't consume beef.
>         >
>         >
>         > I would like to thank the authors of this article in
>         > Taranga, a weekly magazine in Kannada, for enlightening us.
>         >
>         > Source: Taranga Magazine
>         > Authors: Nafiza Joseph and Shailaja N Raj.
>         >

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