An art lost in history

"Today a reader. Tomorrow a Leader" - Margaret Fuller

Hey, have you checked out the latest Hardy Boys collection? Nah! I am more into Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie. Does this sound familiar to us?

In most traditional and royal residences one of the most magnificent object of desire was not the hanging chandelier or the leather diwan, it was the book shelf.  They believed knowledge is power. In fact a person’s aristocracy was valued by the collection of books one would keep immaterial whether they were read or not. 

People resorted to becoming members of libraries which was another way of being recognized among the elite class.

Reading in a whole became not just a hobby but a necessity. As children took admission in schools, boys took admission in colleges and men started becoming lecturers in universities the need and way of grasping knowledge was by browsing through as many books and scholastic articles available. I still remember that I used to get Rs. 25 as pocket money every day. 

By the end of every month I would definitely make a trip to College street to buy story books and novels (even if they were second hand). Soon I had made friends with Ray, Doyle, Shirshendu, Blyton. This was followed by the wait for Kolkata’s biggest book fair which used to take place at Maidan (now changed to another location). At that point of time books were the only medium through which one could escape from the world of reality and delve into the world of fantasy. Time so no boundary and words seemed never to end. Every plot seemed so real as though you had become a part of that story or would reminisce the character.

As technology took the forefront, we slowly started to lose patience in reading a story. And took to watching the telly which followed with hitting the theatres. While we would enter a Crossword or a bookstore it would be solely out of a sense of window shopping and end up buying a book or two. This would then straight find a place in an already stuffed bookshelf with books that were only purchased but never opened. Because, now we have made new friends, with Netflix, Facebook, Instagram and Kindle.  And, these friends control our levels of intoxication since when we start using them, we forget about time and move on to binge watching.

We have lost our commitment to these hard pages that we so eagerly used to stare that. We have forgotten how we would find happiness in getting ourselves lost in every word, expression and the skin of the character. Most important we have stopped giving value to all those who still believe that the pen is mightier than sword.

Today we do not have the patience to read an entire book, in fact we find a way to rush through the book, probably by just reading the synopsis and deciding whether the story is intriguing or not. It’s time that we stop not judging a book by its cover because reading is an art and we must value all those who painstakingly till date take time out to write.

This World Book Day, let us for once let go a series on Netflix and rather delve back into the mysterious Poirot or the wizard of Hogwarts, Harry Potter and actually take an equal interest in completing the book because its not very late that this marvelous art will get lost in the pages of history.

When Nature says, ‘I need back my space’…

India is a country where one will find a mix of nuclear and joint families. A nuclear family would be a family comprising of 3-4 members while a joint family would comprise over six members. But the common thread that binds these families is contact. In today’s generation both husband and wife are working five days a week in some cases six days. So, weekends are meant to let go of yourself which usually resort to a potluck with friends, or being at the movies and finally ending it with a dinner at a decent restaurant.

But, imagine those moments when your parents or your near ones had requested to give them a bit of your time. You would retort back and say, “Mom, it’s the weekend and its my time… Give me some space”. While you would rush out of the house your parents would return to their own world of thoughts and melancholy. And then arrived an invisible ghost in the form of a guest. Well at first, we couldn’t recognize this person until it showed its true colors. 

Today as I write this article, we are almost nearing a month of the lockdown in order to hide from this guest. In a world where we are all caged, there comes a new terminology in place, ‘Social Distancing’. So, now you suddenly find that in a two-bedroom apartment you have been asked to confine yourself to a room that looks like a cage to you - Well that is your bedroom! And to top it, you find a lot of new faces roaming around in your house with whom you have barely had the time to even say ‘Hello’ - well they are family! Further more people have resorted to taking psychological treatment as the absence of social interactions have been hurting their physical and mental well-being.

Now imagine if you were said to live out of that one bedroom of yours with another six members? Sounds shocking. Well in the gallows of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum house, is home to over a million lives. 

Day in and day out they stand in a queue with the dream that they would be able to fill in their bucket of water to get at least a day’s bath. Contrarily, there will be a serpentine line at the ration shop with the dream that they would be able to arrange for a day’s meal. At the end of the day when the members return to that room it is ‘HOME’ to them! So, how would you explain them what social distancing means and how would they for that matter follow this norm?

But there is yet a great insight to this thought of Social Distancing. It’s the thought of giving one their

own space. Over the year’s mankind has made way for fulfilling its own plans and in this manner, it has not bothered to think whether it has by mistake encroached over someone’s space. Over time, it has even taken advantage of such spaces and have misused it by not maintaining it, instead littering it with dirt. Well, this space that we are talking of belonged to Nature.

Today, while lives are being lost there are even more lives which are being saved. And, mind you God isn’t saving them! But normal human beings just like you and me in the form of doctors, nurses, police personnel have forgotten what it seems to be at home with family. When they return in the dead of the night to their respective homes, after ensuring people are safe that the law is in order, they yearn to at least have someone to be near them or speak to them and greater need has now become for us. We feel to be with our parents and with our near and dear ones but now that space has been taken away from us by Nature’s order.

Ironically, the way to one’s survival is to keep one distanced from the rest immaterial of the relation you have. Further more while now Nature has shown its true colors, we are not even being able to enjoy the best of Nature. And, the reason is that over the years Nature has been shouting aloud requesting us for something and we have been ignoring it. Today we have journeyed back to the same situation, just that this time we are requesting Nature the same thing - Please give us back our space!

Happy April Fools Day

"Once destroyed, nature's beauty cannot be repurchased at any price" 

                                                                                                     - Ansel Adams

Billion years ago, when the world was building up God gave mankind a unique gift. A boon to us and had asked to preserve it and nurture it from time to time. He had said that the way you show your respect to it accordingly it shall reciprocate to you. We know this unique gift as NATURE. In the beginning we started to enjoy its fruits, compliment it and then made an attempt to expand it. But as mankind grew its needs started to grow and it then started to slowly find ways to use Nature until it forgot its own duty and promise made towards its upliftment. Instead, it started to sacrifice Nature in order to fulfill its own needs.  



It marked an end of an era of Nature and began the era of construction in its various forms. Gradually, this reached a level where human beings noticed that there is a dearth of space to continue fulfilling is needs. So, we started to make space by cutting trees.

Mankind discovered that this was a new way of progressing its race even though it meant exploiting Nature and ‘fooling’ God by telling him that we are doing this for the betterment of Nature. Over the few decades we realized that we could not only use Nature for the progress of mankind but also use it to begin trade and business. 

Meanwhile, in order to keep God happy (for a while), we decided to make some parks and wildlife sanctuaries not for animals to live but for mankind to enjoy seeing these animals caged!

Over a time, empty spaces converted into construction site and some unknown areas converted into beaches. So, we now took the next step of making it dirty and in helping achieve this we created a deadly weapon - PLASTIC.

We took this invention further by using this extensively and then throwing it away either on the road or better in the sea. Till now while we had quite beautifully killed Nature’s guests on land, we decided it why should marine life also not get a taste of it too. This led to poaching and fishing and it made great money.

We set foot by starting to poach animals and sell them to other nations. Next, we would kill animals and make business through various means. On the flip side we decided that to take out an entire forest so that we could construct buildings for people to stay not thinking where Nature and its guest would stay. 

In the meanwhile, God had been observing all this and was extremely shocked and he questioned us why are we doing this. What happened to the promise of protecting Nature?

So, you were all fooling me all this while? And, to that we responded by a very wryly smile. “The problem was that we stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized that they were inside us”. (The Joker)

Today, as we are in a war, God has returned us the favor and taken what it had owned from the very beginning. But before it did return us the favor it introduced a little anarchy, upsetting the established order and made us experience how it feels when you play with Nature and its guest. The result is utter CHAOS! Well, yes, we had thought we had been fooling him all this while but God had its own agenda. 

It played its cards well and today we are bowing against its force but in silence. And, as he continues to open his wrath in this manner, he wishes us all ‘Happy April Fool’s Day’!

The Invisible Indian Wonder Woman

Wonder woman is not a fiction... Its state of a mind. 

My parents recently celebrated their Ruby Anniversary (40 years) of being together. These forty years were filled with ups and downs, verbal fight outs followed with emotional and sentimental outbursts from both ends. But what always remained is the love and respect. Next day my mother would meticulously again arrange the meds that my father had, keep the sweets aside or just give him one sweet (as we Bengalis cannot end a meal without it).

And, this routine has been still in existence till date as I am writing to you this. When I was born my mother used to complete the household work, drive miles to reach office and when she is to ensure my homework was done and the list is endless. In exchange, I would either get irritated because my play hours would get limited, my dad would ignore her at times because it was his time to watch some English/British soap opera on the telly. At the end there was no one to listen to this woman.

Today as we hit 2020 and needless to say that the principal of women whether married or not has only one thing in her mind - CAREER. And while we or some dedicated members of the ‘Male Chauvinist Society’ (MCS) recite only one motto that the lady of the house should first look at the house and then at herself need to be silenced. We have always ignored rather I must say taken these women for granted both in our personal and professional lives.  The story unfolds itself in 2016 when a guy like me decide to end the world of ‘Bachelorhood’ and donate my freedom to the lady who will be the jailer of my life - at least that is what I had in mind.

People say including me that every man has a typical image of a wife that he desires and vice versa. Let me tell you that list never existed in reality either ways. But, then one fine morning I noticed that I had to rush to office, the breakfast was not made, the clothes were still in the washing machine and if I am lucky today I would just be able to get a pair of smelly jeans, a t shirt thrown in some mystic corner of the cupboard and one wet inner wear that would get dried eventually!  When I returned home, I asked my wife why she did not make breakfast and ensure that I had one set of clothes for my office wear. Her response has since then made me ask her this question as my first and last one till date.

When we marry, in our tradition are asked to tell our mother that we are getting a ‘dashi’ (helper) for you when we used to usher the lady we are marrying in the house. Surprised? Shocked? Startled? … want to break my nose? Well I too share these same expressions when I was told this and so while everything was done in its traditional manner, I ensured that I never uttered these words while getting my would-be wife. And, instead I declared in the utmost clear voice I could that Ma I am getting your daughter to this house! Yes, it shocked, surprised and made some of my old class ideological suckers go silent, but that was it!

As the plane set its foot at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, I ushered her into my 1 BHK flat in the secluded place of Malad, amidst the hustle bustle of a life she was never used to. - MUMBAI. Today as we complete four years of our adventure filled marriage, it has been a drive on the highway filled with road blocks, romantic moments, and some really nasty moments. But she took each day in her stride kept forgiving me, kept encouraging me and most importantly has always been there by my side. Most importantly, I never bothered about the house because I hardly used to be in it, thanks to my Ad Mad world where the instrument CLOCK does not exist!

Today, the year is the same but my inner world has changed. The breakfast is made, the clothes are clean and the house has become a place to live. And it has been possible just for this one God sent human being… - A daughter to her parents, a sister to her brother, a wife to her husband and a daughter in law to her in laws. But she is something much more than this which we, especially men fail to recognize and respect. She is a Woman. She is a Wonder. She too has dreams which she or people like her of for that matter even my mother have had to sacrifice or let go in order to keep our lives in order. And, now the question that we men need to ask ourselves is that how do we justify ourselves as the ‘better half’ of our ‘better half’?

Well, this time spent at home has made me understand the answer to this. As we were all ‘locked down’ due to the current circumstances, I was immediately directed by my ‘Home Minister’ to make a list of things that need to be completed within this time. While, I hardly bothered to hear her, however just to avoid her banter I pretended to note down the list. Until, I was speechless seeing the same and it’s at that point of time that I realized that while we all have duties and responsibilities to fulfill at our workplace, there is an equal ‘scope of work’ completed by the lady of the house who actually does not even have a designation.

The kind of targets which to some of us seems quite ‘Menial’ or as I would usually tell my wife ‘tuk taak’ (miscellaneous) but otherwise are worst than the ones given to us by our bosses. So, I was asked to complete these all by myself and the reason being that she wanted me to just understand how easy and ‘menial’ these called jobs were. It’s just been a week or more since the lockdown and trust me the kind of work I have completed will probably be the most difficult targets of my life… And such targets which were set by this lady herself and are completed also by herself on a daily basis which goes unnoticed and unappreciated.

And, yet at the end of the day we don’t ask how her day went but rather ask what’s there for dinner! In fact, we don’t even think of surprising her until unless it’s an occasion in place but if you happen to notice that she always surprises you, either by preparing your favourite dish, or by adding something new to the pale wall that not only adds a color to your house but most importantly it brings a smile to your face. The next moment you just finish your dinner, get up and watch the telly while she ends up having food all by herself, clean the dishes and goes to bed all silently.

So, I am now taking this opportunity to thank all these powerful ladies of the house for looking after their better halves by sacrificing their interests and appealing to the ‘other halves’ to better themselves. And, most importantly thank God for sending us our own ‘Invisible Indian Wonder Woman’.

Sound of Silence

 "The quieter you become the more you are able to hear."  - Rumi

                                                                  

The honking of the autowallahs, followed with a siren and the cacophony of sounds that would probably had given Mozart or Beethoven a headache. This is how the people in the city of Mumbai is greeted.

How does it feel when the first sounds of the day are the notifications on your phone that does not seem to stop? It’s almost that your body is programmed to first check your messages as though that becomes the deciding factor of what your day will look like.  And, while that is not enough to barge your ears you will hear the blaring music of a typical Bollywood mix playing in the nearby locality as though it’s a ritual.

By the time you reach the station you are half famished as you find yourself semi- skating through the stairs and find yourself stuffed into a compartment. If you have found a place to sit man its your lucky day if not does not matter, the entertainment is about to begin. No matter how hard you plug in your earphones the sounds of the vendors will always catch your attention. Post which you will start getting calls from your clients so frantically as though it’s going to be the end of the world… Especially for those in the advertising/media industry and excuse my being biased.

For a musician one must be in an advertising agency or call centre. Just close your eyes and one can listen to the continuous ringing of cell phones. Most interestingly these come with some impeccable ringtones that will make Goddess Saraswati put an ear bud and for you well just record all these sounds… And their you have just made a new song! If that was not enough for you, please join a conference meeting. It's more of squabble followed even more of sugar injected in your body with cups of tea/coffee and at the end of the day the problem is always a mystery that remains unsolved!

We are now in a situation of a complete lockdown and we are cribbing about the problems we are facing. But did you realize that this situation has become a boon to us. Now the first sounds of the morning that you hear is the whiff of cool air.

The sound that you had completely deleted from your mind is the first wish of the day…. GOOD MORNING and GRATITUDE to the Almighty that you are alive. 

You can now feel free when you step out in your balcony because there are no cars, autos or buses, no blaring cacophony of songs. All that is there is the open sky with birds chirping, the thoughtless mind, the smell of pure air, the touch of surroundings and the only sound you can hear is the  Sound of Silence. 

A ghost to mankind. A friend to Mother Nature.

"Mankind can only disappoint Mother Nature for so long." -Anthony Douglas Williams 

Most of us or rather the world at this point of time is in a war to fight out the Invisible Guest. And, while we all are in a state of dilemma thinking when this guest will leave the world, we have probably unnoticed the change that this guest has brought with itself in this process. It has got us closer to each other. It has made us retrospect the meaning of family time and ‘me time’. But most importantly, it has made one point loud and clear. 

With the entire world in a lock down state there is one world who is enjoying this time. And that this Mother Nature. So where on one side where the world’s lifeline is slowly diminishing, Mother Nature is progressing. It has after all now regained its freedom from human beings, pollution and other deadly viruses that it had been bearing itself with in silence over periods of time. So, does that bring us to a point of introspection? Where environmentalists have been shouting out loud to keep our Earth clean, have we really been paying attention to it? 

It is not this guest that is to be blamed for entering our house, but it is us who are to be blamed for creating this guest. We have always been so engrossed with ourselves in our life running against time in a materialistic race that we have let go the softer moments of our life. We have forgotten about ourselves, our loved ones and most closely Mother Nature. Today, we are on the other side of a world filled with panic, fear and emotions, while Mother Nature is freely regaining its position what it had forgone. 

This guest has also taught us another big lesson and that is about Social Distancing. Today we have been locked down by this guest and we are getting so restless and anxious to somehow leave our den and meet our loved ones even if it’s for a minute, but cannot do so. Welcome to the animal kingdom my friends. For ages we have caged animals, who are a part of mother nature and have dominated their space. But today they have too regained their space and we are staring in awe at the progress of this evolutionary change. In fact, I will term it a Revolutionary change in Evolution. 

It is high time that we realize the atrocities we have done on Mother Nature. Now, is a testing time for us to warn ourselves and preach others that the world does not just belong to we human beings. Mother Nature is also an important part of this family. 

If we do not learn to respect its existence it will show us the same reciprocation. This is just a beginning to the rise of a Ghost to Mankind…. But a friend to Mother Nature.

Kolkata - The Culinary Secrets of the City

A traditional Bengali Meal

Quiet jokingly enough but it still remains a fact that while others eat to live, Bengali’s live to eat. Whether a ritual or festivity or even just a cricket match every event ends up with one thing, hearty feasts which involves countless intricately prepared dishes. Well, Kolkata has always had a rich culinary heritage and is considered as a gourmand’s paradise, home to one of the most evolved cuisines in the East. 

Calcutta Fish Fry with Kasundi (Bengali Mustard Sauce)

Kolkata Style Egg Chicken Roll

While, today’s generation is hooked onto burgers and fried stuff, the young Bengalis are still connected to the inevitable spice of Jhaal Muri (Spicy puffed rice crispies), the sinfully delicious Chicken Rolls, or a battered Mughlai Porota and definitely Calcutta’s legendary Fish Fry with Kasundi (mustard sauce) because they perceive the taste of food that hits their soul! Probably this could be one of those reasons why Kolkata has still not been able to accept the McDonald’s or the KFC’s of the world and why food chains like Peetuk or Hanglas continue to impress the conservatively adventurous foodies. Even today, if you probably ask a Bengali irrespective of whether he is a foodie at heart or not, to choose between a kilo of gold and a kilo of Hilsa, it is not at all surprising that they would choose the latter any day! 

A typical Bengali who lives to eat!

People of Bengal and especially Calcutta have always had an unquestionable palate when it comes to recognizing the real taste behind any dish. In fact, during the recent food trials in Kolkata for one of our newly opened brands there was a couple who shared their critical feedback with me on the kind of ingredients and balance of taste. 

Food fiesta during Durga Puja

Probably, this is one of those reasons why anyone whether from a humble or evolved background is always well informed about a variety of dishes and one can actually witness this during the festive time of Durga Puja. But what is the most interesting aspect of Bengalis (including me) in every socio-economic class is their appetite and the pride of having ‘ombol’ (acidity).

Digene - A Bengali's Best Friend!

It is one of those very fascinating incidents from my college days. Being invited to a Bengali reception meant you required a big appetite in order to have all that is there in store. Unfortunately, the night prior to the reception we had decided to hit to a nearby restaurant for some rolls which ended up in all of us complaining of acidity. So, I had thought that the idea of going to the wedding would eventually get cancelled. But to my utter shock the following evening I found my friends all dressed and ready to roll. When I asked them what about their acidity attack one of them handed me a strip of ‘pink tablets’ what we quite famously know as antacids Digene and Gelusil. We all popped one and the rest was a food fiesta in the making! And as they say that history repeats itself it was not very long that I had been in Kolkata with my Chief Culinary Director to taste the food of Aminia, which is famous for their Biryani. We ordered a sumptuous portion of Kolkata Biryani and chaanp. My chef was just in the mood of tasting it while I apparently ended up completing the entire portion by which time I was almost to the edge of my appetite. While my chef was shell shocked and quite concerned of its after effects I gave him a pleasant smile and told him not to worry. It’s just ‘ombol’ and popped out my old ‘friend’, Digene from my pocket which was indeed lifesaving! No doubt why the market of digestive medicines in this part of the city is so big!

Grocery shopping - A ritual in Kolkata

An everyday morning grocery shopping or termed as ‘Baajar kora’ is like a ritual performed by every family in Calcutta. I remember when we used to all gather to dine and if the dishes were really delicious, my father would ask in the most concerning tone, ‘Aaj ke bajaar ta key coerce?’ (Who has done the grocery marketing today?).  While, I used to question myself as to what was so unique about going to a grocery until I actually accompanied him and it’s just a different world altogether! 

Tiretti Bazaar

Calcutta has been known for its cheap yet vibrant and historic markets that sell an array of local and colorful goods. But what it is most famous of is for its local markets. We have the New Market previously known as the ‘Hogg’ Market founded by Sir Stuart Hogg in 1874, has almost 2000 stores and sells one of the best produces of local cheese and bakeries. The Terreti Market in Kolkata’s Chinatown is another legacy in itself which houses the Chinese-Indian population of the city and is a famous Chinese food street. 

Gariahat Bazaar

But what tops the list is the most celebrated market located in Gariahat, most famously known as ‘Gariahat Bazaar’. This is almost considered as the mecca of Kolkata markets which houses from a hair pin to hardware and from fruits to the best of fresh seafood, meat and vegetables and much more. In fact, one could witness the kind of bargaining being done right in the morning which would give any stock market a run for their money! And to put the icing on the cake we also have the ‘father of all markets’, The Burra Bazar.

Burra Bazaar - Asia's Largest Wholesale Market

Helmed not only as one of India’s largest wholesale market in India but also the busiest. This a place where even Christopher Columbus might get lost if he didn’t have a map! It houses from jewelry to freshly ground spices, a dedicated fruits and vegetable market and a huge section for seafood and poultry. There’s a saying if you are in Calcutta and you have not visited the Burra Bazar you have not witnessed the pulse of the city.

Internationally, especially in parts of Europe, chefs are considered to be ‘Can Chefs’ as they rely on using their ingredients which are canned. In fact, I have to frequently travel to different parts of the world to source the best of ingredients for my restaurants. And believe me when I say that there is no better place than the city of Calcutta which sources the best of produce be it for vegetables, fruits or the breed of fishes, poultry, beef or pork including ‘Kancha Lonka’ (Green Chillies) which is one of the best in Bengal. Probably, that is one of the reasons why Indian chefs so frequently travel to this part of the city and are considered to be ‘Can Do’ chefs!

Another quite interesting fact of the food trends of Calcutta is that it changes with its seasons. During the summers when the sun is shining high and mighty the city prefers to switch to fresh vegetables and take a minimalistic approach to cooking.  I remember when I was a child during the summers my mother would cook us  Aam Tok Dal (Bengali Mango Dal) or a Shuktoni or famously known as Shukto (a Bengali styled Mixed Vegetable cooked in the most unique spices with creamy milky gravy) or a Shojne Shaak Chorchori (a medley of stir fried vegetables, like drumsticks, eggplants, red pumpkin and potatoes with a dash of mustard base)which is known for its anti-inflammatory/oxidant properties. And definitely a Rui Maacher ‘patla’ Jhol (Summer Fish Stew) served with steamed rice, because we Bongs’ cannot see a world without fishes! 

Come rains and the city finds one more excuse to begin feasting on some of the most sought-after delicacies. But at first it has to start with a cup of Gorom khurir chaa’ (A cup of hot tea served in earthen pots) This would be followed with an Egg Chicken Roll quite a must for the quintessential Bengalis. At home this was the only time when we would get to taste the Queen of fishes the Ilish (Hilsa) accompanied with Rice. Ah… the taste of which can give the French run for their money compared to the caviar they serve! But the most comfort food that every Bengali would definitely relish is the traditional flavor of Moong Dal Khichuri with Begun Bhaja. (Khichdi served with fried brinjal fritter).

Sun Yat Sen Street - Little China of Kolkata

The city may not really get cold but winters in Kolkata are something akin to a warm familial embrace - comforting and endearing. A ride to the Sun Yat Sen Street in central Kolkata for breakfast for a Fish Ball Soup or a plate of Crisp Wontons and Sweet Pork- Stuffed Bao or the best of Home-made Pork Sausages is not something to be missed. As the temperature dips further Calcuttans make it a point to visit the Nakhoda mosque area during the night to taste some of the best beef shanks and Nihari. This is also one of those times when every Bengali gets ‘sweetly infectious’.

The city’s myriad delectable treats will make any foodie never want to leave. From the fanciest restaurants to the high-powered chefs or revisiting the forgotten memories of relishing the city’s roadside delicacies can never be forgotten. But the greatest and secret ingredient in Calcutta’s food culture is humility that is needed to dedicate oneself to its craft. And given the city’s amazing culinary landscape there is humility in every morsel of food here - the secret to Calcutta’s food brilliance.