I recently remembered a person from a workshop on campus at Georgia
Tech. He was very good at fabricating
metal components useful in our projects.
Big guy. He used to have a pencil-thick
scar across the width of his neck. He told me he got it in a knife fight in a
bar. I always half believed him. He had a hobby. He used to collect statues
and things shaped like hogs and pigs. It
was quite a fantastic collection. Piggy
banks. Mugs shaped like a hog. Metal
statues. Wild Georgia hogs. Bristly,
large with huge canines.
The reason I remembered him was I recently bought a little “Lucky
three legged Pig”. Made from terracotta
( “Mud”). Cute as hell. From Chile. "Chanchito".
As large and old as India is, I have never come across
anything that depicts pigs as lucky or cute and lovable. One avatar of Vishnu is the “Varaha”. A wild
boar. Ferocious and terrible. In
general pigs are viewed as unclean animals, much like the middle east views
them. Both Judaism and Islam prohibit followers
from eating pork. I wonder what the
Chinese think of them. They are an
important part of their cuisine. Food
for thought aye?
Homer Simpson on pigs:
Lisa: “I’m going to become a vegetarian”
Homer: “Does that
mean you’re not going to eat any pork?”
L:“Yes”
H: “Bacon?”
L: “Yes Dad”
H: “ Ham?”
L: “Dad all those meats come from the same animal”
H: “Right Lisa, some
wonderful, magical animal!”