Sometimes I feel that if my family had a coat of arms, it would depict a plate heaped high with food, surrounded by the motto ‘Jamvaa Chaalo Jee’ – the literal meaning of the phrase is a mild ‘let’s go to eat’, but the actual interpretation when used is closer to ‘Let’s Head for the Food, Troop’. Few in our clan can resist tasty food, and all are willing to travel the extra mile for good food, especially of the used-to-be-alive, i.e. non-veg variety.
I have a cousin who seldom wakes up before 9 a.m., even on a working day. Yet this person gets up at 4 a.m. to catch a train at 5:45 a.m., travels four hours sitting in a chair - car when he could be cosily curled up in bed, another hour suffering numerous jolts on bad roads in a rickety auto – all to reach an obscure village called Soranda that is famous for the quality of Parsi food served at it’s Gambhars (community meals where everyone eats as much as they can and pays whatever amount they want to).
This same cousin and his brother are a walking-talking encyclopedia on sources of food in Bombay. From the pao-bhaji at Sardar (Tardeo) to the golas at Girgaum Chowpatty, seekh kababs at Sarvi (Nagpada) to Biriyani in Byculla, Chinese in ‘Legacy of China’ (Saat Bangla) to rajma-chawal at Guru-da-dhaba, Goan Sauasages in New Martins (Colaba) to Shawarma in Picadilly (Colaba), they’ve been there and eaten that. Mention the kind of food you want to eat and the area you are in, and faster than you can check burrp.com or call just-dial, these guys have the answer – and they can suggest different places as per the capacity of your wallet !
I have a cousin who seldom wakes up before 9 a.m., even on a working day. Yet this person gets up at 4 a.m. to catch a train at 5:45 a.m., travels four hours sitting in a chair - car when he could be cosily curled up in bed, another hour suffering numerous jolts on bad roads in a rickety auto – all to reach an obscure village called Soranda that is famous for the quality of Parsi food served at it’s Gambhars (community meals where everyone eats as much as they can and pays whatever amount they want to).
This same cousin and his brother are a walking-talking encyclopedia on sources of food in Bombay. From the pao-bhaji at Sardar (Tardeo) to the golas at Girgaum Chowpatty, seekh kababs at Sarvi (Nagpada) to Biriyani in Byculla, Chinese in ‘Legacy of China’ (Saat Bangla) to rajma-chawal at Guru-da-dhaba, Goan Sauasages in New Martins (Colaba) to Shawarma in Picadilly (Colaba), they’ve been there and eaten that. Mention the kind of food you want to eat and the area you are in, and faster than you can check burrp.com or call just-dial, these guys have the answer – and they can suggest different places as per the capacity of your wallet !
Not only do we all love our ‘bhonu’ (food), those of us who marry, find spouses from families that love food as much, if not more. Which is great for my conscience ! Whenever I consider cutting down on the amount of non-veg I eat, I think of a relative-by-marriage who eats non-veg at every single meal. Often his wife coaxes him to eat some subji and dal to by cooking it with chunks of meat added in. Dinner at their place is often a blissful experience - there will be a dish of fish / chicken, and then there would be subji with meat in it or dal with meat in it. What more could one ask for in a meal ! (Except maybe roti stuffed with kheema.)
A few years ago, I decided to go on a high altitude trek in the Himlayas. I was not trekking too high – only upto 13,500 ft, but given my lack of both physical fitness and trekking experience, my parents were quite worried about my safety – whether I would survive the cold, altitude sickness, be able to walk so much, climb so high etc etc. However this relative was worried about only one thing : “But are you sure you will be able to survive without non-veg for two weeks ?!”
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
1 comment:
Nice read this. :)
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