Best of the Maldives: Jain Vegetarian - Kurumba

Happy Paryusana!

Paryusana is the “most important Jain festival”. It is a feast after 10 days of fasting. Mind you the ‘Jain vegetarians’ aren’t exactly gorging themselves in food in the normal times so I imagine that Paryusana must be particularly enthusiastic for them.

‘Jain’ vegetarians follow a very strict regimen based on their philosophy of “ahimsa” literally translated as "non-injuring". The notion of ‘karma’ is central with their belief that every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is seen as act of violence (‘himsa’). As a result, even root vegetables (eg. potato, onion, garlic) are excluded because the ‘uprooting’ of them is seen as a violent act. The food they do include is referred to in Sanskrit as 'sattvic' food which means that it is “based on the qualities of goodness, lightness and happiness.”

A very common question on TripAdvisor Forum is the availability of vegetarian food. Not just from the surging growth in guests from India and the sub-continent, but also around the world where vegetarianism continues to grow in popularity as a part of a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle.

With vegetarian dishes being quite prominent in the region, a vegetarian always has a broad range of choices at the Maldives resorts. But Kurumba went a step further to create a special range of Jain vegetarian dishes. The Jain menu was implemented by prior Food and Beverage Manager Dave Minten and includes such delicacies as…

• Cabbage with mixed Capsicum (above)
• Cauliflower and Green Peas (below)
• Cottage Cheese with Green Chili Tomato (bottom)

Wishing you all goodness, lightness and happiness on Paryusana.