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Delhi
Thursday, February 5, 2015

SOCIETY

CAPITAL CHECK

TABLE FOR TWO

LUKEWARM RESPONSE TO
INTERNATIONAL BICYCLE &
FITNESS EXPO-2015 P2

PAEAN TO PALIKA BAZAR, DELHI'S

FIRST AIRCONDITIONED
UNDERGROUND MARKET P3

FAISAL KHAN ON REVIVAL

OF KHUDAI KHIDMATGAR
AND FOOD P4

Admit two

Some hits, some misses

India Art Fair, in
its seventh
edition, was a
mixed bag

Living
Reliving
Gandhi
Haku Shahs solo show of
abstract and figurative
paintings dedicated to the
icon portray the Gandhian
era in correct form. Feb. 5,
Art Konsult, Lado Sarai,
Delhi, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Rise Of The
Indian Tiger
To celebrate the
encouraging numbers in
the tiger population,
National Geographic
Channel is telecasting a
week-long special
documentaries. Till
February 8 at 8 p.m.

The
Expendables-2
In this sequel the mercenary
group Expendables comes
back to avenge the death of
their lost teammate.
February 5, on Sony Pix at 9
p.m.

Born Out Of
Fire
Works by Princess Pea
weavingnarratives of
contemporary gender
stereotypes with
mythologies of the feminine.
Till Feb. 18, Exhibit 320,
Lado Sarai, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Exhibitions
Cocos Nuciferas by MD
Deleep and Spirit And
Matter Three Artists
Three Generations by Ilona
Lovas, Anna Makovecz and
Villo Turcsany. Till Feb. 27,
Hungarian Information and
Cultural Centre, Janpath,
New Delhi, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SHAILAJA TRIPATHI

ndia Art Fair (IAF), the

event that transforms
the Capital into an art
hub in the freezing
months of January and February came to a close on February 1st. In its seventh
edition, the fair one of the
biggest art affairs in the country featured 1,100 artists,
3500 works and 85 galleries
in its four-day outing at NSIC
Grounds in Okhla. Lets get a
sense of what clicked and
what didnt, this year.
Bizarre wasnt in
Unlike earlier editions, the
fair was clearly devoid of gimmicky and bizarre works.
They were there but fewer in
number. So, was the focus on
quality this time? Cant say.
Some gallery booths with the
kind of art they had displayed,
were far from it.
The appointment of Girish
Shahane as the artistic director is a well-meaning step in
this direction and its results
reected in the Speakers Forum that boasted speakers
like Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of the Sharjah Arts Foundation, British
artist Jeremy Deller, Julian
Stallabrass, writer, photographer, curator and professor of
Art History at The Courtauld
Institute of Art, London, Jitish Kallat, Artistic Director of
the Kochi-Muziris Biennale
2014, Salima Hashmi, Dean,
School of Visual Arts and Design, Beaconhouse National
University, Lahore etc.
Absence of major international galleries
Though there were galleries from the UK, USA, France,
Spain, Italy, Portugal, Russia,

MYRIAD HUES (clockwise from above) Gallery Continua booth at India Art Fair; Dhruvi
Acharya and Chitra Ganesh working on a collaborative painting; visitors at Delhi Art Gallery
booth; Rahul Kumars ceramic installation

Singapore, but major names

like Lisson, Hauser and
Wirth, White Cube havent
made appearances for sometime now. Amongst the biggest galleries that were there
were Gallery Continua of Italy and New York-based Aicon.
But IAF would have you believe that there is nothing
amiss as the focus is on the
region. There was a stress on

Among the few

outdoor projects
featured in this
section were by
Veer Munshi,
Francesco Clemente
and street artist
Daku.

Pakistan with a panel dedicated to the art from the

country. Gallery Art Chowk
from Karachi had also set up a
booth in the fair.
Outdoor projects
Among the few outdoor
projects featured in this section were by Veer Munshi,
Francesco Clemente and
street artist Daku.
Serenity of Desolation, a
life-size wooden replica of a
typical Kashmiri house by
Veer Munshi, lay toppled at
the fairs entrance reminding
the visitors of the oods that
ravaged Jammu and Kashmir
last year, Clementes tent installation Taking Refuge
had its interiors painted with
Buddhist iconography whereas the exteriors bore colourful applique work with gold
embroidery. In the space between the main parking and
the exhibition area, Daku had
etched onto about 100 metre

of the road the repeated slogan This is commissioned

vandalism.
Materials on display
Amongst such diversity its
difficult to pick a couple but
still Rahul Kumars installation Circle Uncircled
comprising 101 ceramic
plates of different sizes and
colours shone through.
Supported by Gallery Alternatives and India Foundation
for the Arts, it was a 24x10 ft
ceramic installation.
Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmeds carpets were also
unique. Called Shapeless,
Ahmed uses the traditional
household object like carpet
in his art, redening the object and exploring the language.
Amongst the classics
Kolkatas Akar Prakar had
done a sort of mini-retrospective of Ganesh Haloi which
stood out, so did the solo of

Talking acting
Vinay Pathak
talks about the
pros and cons of
image trap and
the process of
getting into a
character.
ANUJ KUMAR

Watching Vinay Pathak as the

aging Gour Hari Das makes
you wonder what an opportunity can do to an actor. One
caught up with Ananth Mahadevans lm on the freedom
ghter who took on the Indian bureaucracy for recognition at the ongoing Indian
Panorama Film Festival at
the Siri Fort Auditorium.
The lm comes as a welcome surprise because after
Bheja Fry, Vinay was almost
condemned as a comic actor.
When you do a certain kind
of role and I am not condemning our industry it
happens everywhere your
image becomes bigger than
whatever you are and that
sells and perhaps thats why
we have business of cinema.
So when Ananth came with
this character I was shocked
and asked why me. It is an
actors dream to play a freedom ghter, who is still alive.
He said he saw me in Pappu
Cant Dance Saala and found
there were certain things that
complemented his vision. I
didnt see the link but I was so
elated and that I didnt care to
go into the details, says Pathak sitting in the green room of
the auditorium.
CM
YK

In the hindsight, he adds,

Bheja Fry helped him. The
lm gave me liberty to tell
different stories. It was only
because of Bheja Fry that I
could produce Dasvidaniya.
When Straight, which dealt
with homosexuality, was releasing we knew that it was
not going to open well but the
very fact that it got released
was because the market believed in me.
Ananth and his team
havent done anything extra
to energise Dass story to reach out to the young and happening. Milkha Singh was an
energetic lm, retorts Pathak leaving the rest to our interpretation. Main chapal
performer hoon. (I am an
agile performer). I can jump
all over the place in 60 seconds. That is something that
comes easy to me. But here is
somebody who is real, who is
not quick but is energetic. He
has a sense of humour as well
but he doesnt push it and a
lot of times he himself
doesnt himself realise that
he has said something funny.
There are so many situations
in the lm where you could
say that this could have been
a clich; this could have been

It was only because

of Bheja Fry that I
could produce
Dasvidaniya

Nilima Sheikh by Gallery Espace. In an interesting layout,

Vadehra Art Gallery had created a little room lled with
some works by master artist
M.F. Husain. A cloth canvas
work of Husain was stretched
across the length and breadth
of this room which also had a
video showing some rare
footage of the artist. Delhi Art
Gallerys booth evoked the
ambience of a museum tracing the history of modern art.
There were walk-throughs,
audio-aids etc. Gallerie Ganesha had brought a rare untitled watercolour, almost
100-year-old, by artist M.K.
Parandekar
Food court
In a bid to take the experiential aspect of the fair to a

different level, this year the

list of restaurants at the fair
went on to include high-end
spaces like Hungry Monkey,
rooftop lounge bar, cigar
lounge. While it was appreciated by some, a few were
critical of the idea questioning the presence of so many
restaurants in an art fair.
They thought it brought on
more chaos.
Visitors and sales
More than 80,000 visitors
attended this edition of the
fair and IAF claims sales 25
per cent stronger than the
2014 edition with six sell-out
booths. The gures according
to IAF indicate that the top
two per cent of collectors
spent over Rs.30 crores collectively.

Wings to
imagination
used for a laugh track. How
we have breezed through
them was the challenge for
writing.
Das had a huge impact on
the team. I met him only
four-ve times and I told
Ananth that I dont want to
bug him. He is a pleasant old
man. I just watched him. He
is not an unusual old man. He
is a type. I could draw parallels with my grandfather and
so many other old people
whom I know. He has a very
thick Oriya accent. Initially,
we tried it but it felt jarring. It
almost looked as if we are
making fun of his accent. It
was a creative call that lets
keep it to simple Hindi. You
wont be able to nd a simple
man like him. He is the secretary of the society where he
lives but he doesnt take an
auto to get the documents
photocopied. He walks down
the road and when somebody
asks him he says in matter of
fact manner that this is societys money and he cant use it
on himself. And then he
would add, is bahane chalna
ho jata hai. He doesnt aunt
his benevolence. Plus his diligence towards work and his
conviction is infectious. We
are missing it these days. For
me the struggle was how I
should portray it that is
doesnt feel melodramatic.
Pathak, who has done commercial stuff like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with Shah Rukh
Khan, says for him there is a
constant struggle to hit the
right note. Getting real is the
most difficult thing. There is
a superstar, who says yaar
main kitna cool hoon, jaise hi
camera shuru hota I cant be

Shailendra Singh
on the book
about his
brainchild and the
Sunburn festival
K.S. ROSHAN MENON

THE ORIGINAL Vinay Pathak with Gour Hari Das

myself. There is something

true in it and I am not making
fun of him. In our training
school the rst thing we
struggle with is how to control our hands on stage. It is
human nature the moment
you know ve people are
looking at you and you have
to walk from point A to B
suddenly every step becomes
heavy. Every actor has a different way to tackle it. Some
energise it, so you dont actually see the process. Some
are able to nd a balance. Like
I marvel how Irrfan manages
to do it right every time. He is

the only Indian actor I know

who doesnt have an item gesture. He doesnt have a stock
mannerism.
According to Pathak, right
intentions dont always help.
When I was doing television
and the 9 p.m. shift would get
stretched to 9.30 because of
my insistence for perfection,
the director would tell the
spot boy to clap after the next
take so that all could go home.
So, the spot boy would clap
are sir kya shot diya but I
would know in my heart that
it was rubbish. The point is
the actor should not get car-

ried away and continue to

value diligence.
Pathak will now be seen in
Sriram Raghavans Badlapur.
He also pushes the boundaries. He keeps on challenging
me and I keep on challenging
him. This is our second lm
together after Johnny Gaddar
and given a chance I want to
be part of his every lm.
As for acting with Varun
Dhawan who comes from a
different school. Before the
shoot batiya lete hain. We
talk about our schools and
then actors nd a way to communicate.

It is not a precise description

of Shailendra Singh. Yet, if
one searches for words, audience and passion do certainly
spring to mind. A movie producer, a music acionado who
is responsible for some of the
biggest names in the world of
Electronic Dance Music to
nd their way to India, and
now a second time author,
hats certainly seem to be
aplenty in Shailendras professional wardrobe.
As the man behind Sunburn, Indias premier electronic music brand, the move
to chronicle the journey of its
progression into one of Indias hottest intellectual
properties seemed logical and
by the word on the EDM circuit, much awaited. With
The True Story of Sunburn
out in the bookstores, electronic music in India might
just have found its poster boy,
and its biggest fan. The genre
of the book that I have written is non-ctional and inspirational. The whole idea gets
inspired from the fact that a
lot of people do things in their
life but they don't articulate
them and therefore it is difficult for young people to get
inspired if these stories are
not archived. My rst book

Shailendra Singh at the

launch

gave me condence to archive

my story, says Shailendra.
His reason to do Sunburn
was that India is not a land of
intellectual properties but a
land of young people.
Therefore, I thought that I
should articulate the Sunburn story in my second book
and re up the imagination of
every young dreamer in the
country that if you can dream
it you can do it and as long as
you have the passion you can
run the mile, he adds.
To be honest, to be able to
talk about the book, Sunburn
is what keeps me going. I create next levels to challenge
myself. Of course we make it
different every year by doing
whacky things, like bringing
about a giant wheel at Sunburn.
Being able to articulate a
party scene into an intellectual property which is glocal
(his innovative way to refer to
Sunburn, a global enterprise
with local origins), into a
book, it is a buzz, comments
Shailendra about the responsibility for the dynamic event
Sunburn.
ND-ND

p2

METROPLUS

City scan

VARIETY

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Taking a hike

Star track

Paddling to glory

The recent International Bicycle & Fitness Expo-2015 saw the participation
of leading bicycle players but the response of the crowd was lukewarm
Anil Kapoor gives credit to cycling for his fitness

S.M. AAMIR

Cancer
awareness
To create awareness about
cancer in our society, the
Indian Cancer Society, a
community-based volunteer
organisation, recently
organised walk-cumcyclothon for children as
well as adults at Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium.
Chief of the Naval Staff
Robin Dhowan agged off
the event. He appreciated
the enthusiasm shown by
children and others. Rise
Against Cancer attracted
over 1,000 participants,
including cancer survivors,
patients, caregivers,
youngsters from schools
and colleges, NCC cadets
and naval personnel.

Holocaust Day
To honour the memory of
Holocaust victims, Alliance
Franaise de Delhi in
association with Embassies
of Israel, France and the
United Nations Information
Centre organised a
memorial event. The event
started with a short
memorial ceremony for
school students from
various schools of the
Capital.
The students wrote
messages hung outside on
barbed wires as a mark of
respect for the Holocaust
victims.
The lm The Last Korczak
Boy was screened.
The International Holocaust
Remembrance Day is held
on January 27 as a
memorial day for the
genocide that resulted in
the death of millions of
Jews by the Nazi regime
and its collaborators.

or the rst time ever, Delhi saw a bicycle expo recently.

Having hosted a
mobile expo as well as an
automobile fair in a big way,
Delhi hosted the rst edition
of International Bicycle &
Fitness Expo-2015 at Pragati Maidan.
It was amusing to see that
Delhiites got to witness such
a large number of bicycles,
of varied colours and prices,
all under one roof. However,
judging by the crowds response, one can say that Delhites were not exactly falling
over each other to attend the
bicycle show. The response
of the common man was lukewarm. Even the response
of the international participants was cold.
At the expo, which was inaugurated by Vijay Sampla,
Minister of State for Social
Justice and Empowerment,
the section showcasing foreign bikes wore a deserted
look on the rst day. This
despite the fact that the
event was talked up as an
international exposition.
However, the bike expo
had its pluses. It attracted
nearly all the big players in
the market like Hero, Atlas,
Avon and Firefox alongside
some bicycle parts manufactures.
They presented before the
visitors a wide range of options ranging from bicycles
meant for kids, girls, boys,
budget cycles and tness
equipments like treadmill,
cross trainers and tness
bikes.
Most of the bicycles displayed were between the
price range of Rs.2,500 and
40,000 and some exclusive
sports bicycles were priced
more than one lakh each.
Bollywood icon Anil Kapoor, who was the guest of
honour at the launch, was
visibly happy to see the bicycle expo and recalled the
times when he was growing

Performing
arts
Inside Out, a performing
arts workshop of theatre
maestro Alok Ulfat, was
recently held in an
imaginative way at
Sarvodaya Enclave in Hauz
Khas.
Twenty participants came
together for three day
event to explore the artist
within them through the
medium of drama and allied
arts. They used their
imagination,
communication skills to
demonstrate their talent at
the workshop, which
prepares individuals for
acting.
CM
YK

up.
I was born in a suburb of
Mumbai which is known as
Chembur. It was a moment
to cherish whenever a bicycle came in our building, we

used to gather around it. Cycle was an aspirational thing

then like cars and mobikes
these days. A cycle has its
own benets, it can take you
to the bylanes and on the

It was amusing to see that Delhiites got

to witness such a large number of
bicycles, of varied colours and prices, all
under one roof.

other hand helps in improving your tness level.

Speaking on the occasion,
Pankaj Munjal, Co-Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Cycles Ltd. said,
This is the rst time that
Indian cycling and tness
industry is witnessing an
event with a diverse conuence of players of varied
yet interlinked industries."
He also told the gathering
that in the coming Budget
the Union Government
might abolish the excise duty on budget cycles.

inters cause
everyone to shiver.
In the past few decades, a
rise in the quantum of
patients reporting to
cardiology OPD,
Emergency admission and
invasive procedure has
been observed due to the
chilly weather.
There is an increased
demand on the body to
generate heat to keep the
body warm. That is why
the metabolic rate of
everyone goes up. We tend
to eat more and at same
time we eat more fried and
junk food. In our country,
which is a land of many
religions and castes, most
of the major festivals fall in
the winter season. In fact,
winter is a good time for
lazily snuggling in bed and
wearing warm clothes.
This is why we have high
calorie intake to maintain
our fuel supply to generate
heat. When the imbalance
in input versus output is
tilted towards input we
gain fat weight, and our
lipid prole and bad
cholesterol start going up
in blood levels.
All this causes extra load
on the working of our heart
which has to pump harder
and faster to keep the body
functions going. Most of
the population, which is
healthy, can tolerate this
effect of climates but for
people, who are borderline
cases of heart ailment or
proven patients of cardiac
problems, will start
showing symptoms
requiring medical
attention.
Some of thesymptoms
are:
The patients suffering
from heart problems may
feel chest heaviness, pain
on the left side of the chest,
jaw line or behind the
chest.
Besides this, day-to-day
routine activities may
leave patients breathless
and tired. Lethargic and
feeling of not feeling well

FITNESS FREAK Anil Kapoor uses cycle as a cardio

over 50-year-old actor manage? There is security as

well as the ugly traffic Mumbai is notorious for. While
shooting for lm My Wifes
Murder I was playing a lower middle class guy. So I
decided not to use Mercedes
Benz and BMW. From my
home to the shooting destination it takes one and a half
hour to reach in a car. But I
used to reach there 15 minutes earlier. But I would be
sweating like anything and
would take a bath before

giving my shot.
Anil doesnt have time for
gym. Through cycle I am
able to do cardio. I exercise
six days a week and my
input matches my output.
Whatever I put inside my
system I am able to take it
out.
I think the Government
needs to promote cycling in
a big way and we would like
to promote such a cause. I
use cycle for going to my
office, meeting my friends
and shooting.

Unconventional notes

Safe beat this winter

W

To commemorate Mahatma
Gandhis martyrdom, the
Sasakawa India Leprosy
Foundation observed AntiLeprosy Day.
This year, Rising to Dignity
Awards were presented by
Suresh Prabhu, Union
Minister of Railways,
presented to all-womens
enterprise for making coir
ropes in Odisha; a group
from Andhra Pradesh,
suffering from disabilities
yet does dairy farming,
cycle rickshaw pulling and a
group from Odisha which
moved from begging to
goat rearing.

BIKING BONANZA A fan takes a selfie with Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor at the International
Bicycle & Fitness Expo in New Delhi PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

Unlike his contemporaries

who aunt their bulging biceps and washboard abs, Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor has
never shown any inclination
for building a muscular body
and showing off a Samsonlike physique.
Despite not treading the
beaten path, the actor continues to look younger, agile and
tter than actors and people
of his age. It goes to his credit
of having a long career and
playing leading roles with
heroines a few years older to
his daughter Sonam.
So what is the secret of his
youthfulness and energy?
The actor has a rare passion
for cycling to remain t.
Doesnt it sound a bit outdated considering that a majority
of guys in the lm industry
believe in working out in a
gym.
Cycle se mujhe khas lagav
hai. When I lived at Chembur
in a kholi, we shared a common bathroom. We were not
even living in a building; it
was just a chawl. My entire
childhood has been spent
there.
Whenever some neighbour
used to bring home a brand
new cycle Anil like rest of his
friends would get mighty excited. It was aspiration for
every kid. These days, people
want to become owners of
fancy cars but we had as much
passion for owning a cycle.
And when I nally got one I
started using but left it when I
had passed my youth.
Hindustan mein cycle ki
bahut ahmiyat hai. But we
need to encourage more people to use cycle for their everyday work. Imagine you can
cross
difficult-to-navigate
lanes and pass one destination from another. For the
past nine years, I have been
using less of my cars and
more of my cycle.
Mumbai is known for its
big traffic. So how does this

Wellness

DEEPAK KHURANA

Anti-leprosy

MADHUR TANKHA

less water and also sweat exponentially in winters,

one must have control
lesser. Therefore our
and drink in moderation.
heart needs special care
Though drinking makes
in winter and this very
you feel warm initially,
simple and workable
too much causes harm in
guidance will help
the long run besides
everyone to enjoy food
being addictive.
and healthy body at the
Adequate protection:
same time.
Eat intelligently:
Wear warm clothes, take
Though there would be a warm uids and consume
food with good nutrition
shift in the eating
value to protect you
pattern of fatty foods, it
against throat and chest
can be modied to
ailments, which
roasted or grilled stuff.
precipitate cardiac
As the taste will be
problems. During
enhanced and the ill
workout you will feel
effects of oily food done
warm and sweaty but
away with, the nutrition
keep your clothes on.
of the chosen food will
Climb stairs: A simple
be consumed.
activity of climbing stairs
Increasing roughage,
rather than taking the
high bre diet, good
lift helps and does so
protein diet and limiting
much for our heart. The
carbohydrates will be
important in maintaining heart pumps and beats
faster leading to
the weight during the
exercising of heart
winter season.
Workouts: Going for a muscles.
Regular health checkmorning walk well
up: For people who have
covered in warm clothes
is a must as the morning a history of cardiac
ailments or are at high
breeze with dew can be
risk as they are over 40
dangerous for the young
years should have regular
and the old.
Get going: In cold it
preventive check-ups to
becomes a tough task to
help prevent any tragedy.
go for a workout but you
Drastic climatic
can opt for indoor
changes also takes its toll
activities like yoga,
on body functioning.
aerobic, tennis, zumba or Blood sugar and blood
set up a gym at home.
pressure go up. Kidney
A day out: Motivate
patients also need to be
yourself to go for some
careful regarding their
EARLY BIRDS Morning walkers need to be adequately covered fun sport activities in
water intake and urine
daylight on open ground
in winters PHOTO ARUANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY
output and should get
with family and friends.
regular check-ups with
may also warrant a visit
Binge in control:
Due to cold climate,
their doctors.
Though the consumption
to a doctor.
people tend to feel less
of hard liquor goes up
The youngsters and
thirsty and thus drink
older generation may be
exposed to frequent
During winters we have high calorie
throat infections which
may lead to heart valve
intake to maintain our fuel supply to
infection.
generate heat. When the imbalance in
All the fatty food and
junk food consumed will input versus output is tilted towards
soon start showing its
input we gain fat weight, and our
effect on body mass
lipid profile and bad cholesterol
known as fatty
deposition. This would
start going up in blood levels
also result in thickening
of blood which results in
(Director Cardiothoracic
clogging of blood vessels
and Vascular surgery,
in heart, brain and lower
Rockland Hospital)
limbs.

Papon talks about

the independent
music scene in
the country
DEBASREE PURKAYASTHA

Papon steals your heart with

his soulful voice every time,
whether it is his recent Tamil
or Bollywood releases; his independent music on MTV
Unplugged or the musical
journey through the valley of
Kashmir in The Dewarist.
Given his busy schedule, I
had to settle down with a telephonic interview. It was late
in evening when nally the
telephone rang and he instantly put me at ease with his
familiar voice and cheerful
greetings. Our conversation
started with an apology note
as he said, I am sorry for
keeping you waiting for long.
It has been quite a schedule; I
have been travelling and recording for a while.
Born and brought up in a
musicians family in Assam,
music came naturally to Papon. He started his journey
with an Assamese album Junaki Raat about a decade
ago. I never really planned
anything. I was exposed to
music since birth and I would
sing, write and compose but it
was not until I was in Delhi
that I realised this is what I
want to do in life.
Although music has always
been part of his life but it was
his rst Bollywood number
Na aye ho na ayo ge that
opened up the horizon for
him. It is lovely to be singing
for Bollywood. Unfortunately
it has become a benchmark, a
platform which gives you
maximum reach. It is amazing the numbers of people
then recognise and follow
your work.
However, the talented musician rmly admitted that he
didn't really struggle to get in
to the industry. It is tough in
general but if you are good
Bollywood will nd you, he
said. The lyricist-musiciansinger has over the years collaborated with several artistes across the globe.
Talking about his recent venture in Tamil industry, Papon
said, Very delighted to be

able to sing in yet another

language. A song titled Happy Birthday for Valivayan is
released; recorded another
with Anirudh Ravichander. I
was surprised when Anirudh
told me he had me in mind for
two years and now nally as
we collaborated I hope together we created good
music.
Papon added that artistes
have their own creative hunger and platforms in the form
of live shows like MTV Unplugged have opened up a
small window for all the musicians who want to experiment
and
showcase
something new. There was
no scene for Independent
music in our country 10 years
ago. Now there are festivals,
few outlets but yet we didn't
really have achieved anything. Although, MTV is trying to push the envelope but
we have a long way to go, he
lamented. As I continued to
ood him with questions I
couldn't help but imagine
him sitting in a comfortable
chair with a guitar in hand. As
he patiently answered my
questions I let imagination
make the rendezvous go live.
For Papon, nature gives
him motivation and every
kind of music thrills him. I
drew a lot of inspiration from
Nature, he continued. I am
alsoa big fan of ghazal, so that
inuenced me a lot too. Jagjit
Singh has been a great inspiration in life, his work excites
me. Other than that The Fundamentals and a lot of other
musicians all over the world
have inuenced my work, he
said.
ND-ND

p3

METROPLUS

Admit two

SPECTRUM

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Capital check

Bazar memories
A paean to Palika Bazar, Delhis rst air-conditioned
underground market

Where We
Come: From,
Where We Go
Uddipana Goswamis book
with illustrations by Pankaj
Thapa has 30 tales that
come from the seven sister
States of Northeast India.
The tales that have been in
circulation orally for
generations cover the
gamut of North-eastern
culture, vividly imagining
the genesis of our world,
our ideals, identities and
artefacts telling about
what happens when it all
ends, and sometimes,
questioning the end itself.
The Westland publication is
priced at Rs.395.

ZIYA US SALAM

In & Out Of
Theatres
A collection of vignettes by
Dr. Brijeshwar Singh, an
orthopaedic surgeon, that
capture his life and work
wherein he shares glimpses
of gruelling shifts, insane
working hours and
sometimes dramatic,
sometimes heartwrenching patient
encounters.
Each interaction between
the doctor and a patient is a
story.
Published by Supernova
Publishers it is priced at
Rs.295.

alika Bazar is the

stuff memories are
made of. It introduced Delhiites to
an air-conditioned underground market; gave us the
experience of a mall many
decades before we saw a
mall in the city. For less
privileged among us, many
summers ago in the early
80s, it gave respite from the
heat and dust of the city with
its cool precincts. As youngsters, we would head to Palika Bazar for some window
shopping, plenty of cooling.
And not a little ogling.
There were some of us
who hopped on to a phutphut the earlier version of

shared autos now so popular in the NCR which

linked Palika Bazar with
Chandni Chowk, the other
haven of shoppers in the
city. The phuts-phuts made
plenty of noise, added to the
air pollution but served a
vital purpose: on the one
side, they connected the
four major cinema halls of
Old Delhi Moti, Kumar,
Majestic and Jubilee, on the
other, they swayed by the
cine orchestra of Connaught Place Odeon, Plaza, Regal, Rivoli. And
between these age-old delights of the silver screen
lay Palika Bazar with its
little under 400 shops arranged in a circular pattern.
To a youngster, or to a rst-

timer, it conveyed unique

thrills with its unique layout of shops. You started
from a shop, a few minutes
of leisurely walk later, you
found yourself at the same
spot! Some shops sold
clothes, others electronic
gadgets, some dished out
street delicacies, others
shoes and belts. Some were
proper shops with a counter, salesmen and the stuff.
Others displayed their
wares on a hangers the
entire range could be lifted
and packed in a minute at
the end of the day. The
rates quoted for apparel
were exorbitant; a little bargaining, a little perseverance usually brought the
prices down by half.

The best though were the

shops selling audio and video cassettes. People looked
around for cassettes of lms
which could scarcely be

In this book by Adam

Merrill, readers learn how
to make the ve
fundamental choices that
will increase their ability to
achieve what matters most
to them besides helping
them to increase their
productivity and develop an
inner sense of fullment
and peace.
The ve choices are simple
but require a radical shift in
mindset.
Priced at Rs.599 it is
published by Simon &
Schuster.

Andaman
Islands: In
Wonderland
Dr. Tilak Ranjan Bera
reveals the natural, cultural
and human wealth of
Andaman Islands through
his personal experiences,
extensive studies and
explorations of the region
for over 15 years. It
captures the various moods
of the terrain and its rich
heritage in different
seasons.
Niyogi Books publication is
priced at Rs.1750.
CM
YK

the days of yore. Today, the

fancier malls and multiplexes have dislodged it from its
numero uno slot. Yet, it has
its stories, its own charm.

ONCE A NOVELTY
Everyday scenes from
Palika Bazar
PHOTOS: V. SUDERSHAN

Promising start

Unforgettable seven

Ajay Pandey talks about his maiden foray into the genre of
thriller writing with Resonance

Seven continents, seven days, seven half marathons.

Uma and Krishna Prasad recount their unbelievable feat

S.RAVI

The 5 Choices

found elsewhere. Alongside

these simple pleasures lay a
furtive trade of lms of
baser variety.
That was Palika Bazar in

For his debut novel Resonance (Westland), Ajay Pandey has used a natural
physical law, namely resonance, and weaved around it a
real life threat possibility of
dam destruction. For this Indian Revenue Service official,
the novel was a natural progression considering he
wrote short stories and articles during his student days.
A National Geographic
channel show on mega oods
of biblical proportions, which
transpired during the Ice Age,
struck a chord in the author.
The river Clark Forks ow
was blocked by an ice dam in
Missoula valley 15,000 year
ago creating a deep lake.
When the blockade broke, it
led to a gigantic catastrophe.
Thinking about it later I wondered what if something like
this happened in the subcontinent. This was the beginning of the plot, story and the
characters, says Ajay. The
thriller format came naturally to him since he is a great fan
of works in this genre, including that of Robert Ludlum. I
had been reading them for a
long time and so deeply inuenced I was that I used to create my own stories and
narrate to my sister. I always
wanted to write a thriller.
The choice of resonance, a
phenomenon in physics
which caused the collapse of
the Broughton suspension
bridge in Britain and the Angers bridge in France, as a tool
to destroy a dam is not devoid
of reason. Dams can collapse
due to earthquakes and the
best attempt by humans to articially create one was done
by Russians when they exploded a 50 mega tonne thermo nuclear bomb which
resulted in a reading of 4.6 on
the Richter scale ineffective on a dam. Resonance is
the only possibility for this
purpose, explains Ajay. He
adds, Other factors which in-

SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO

MAKING A MARK Ajay Pandey with his debut novel

uenced me were the Indian

intelligence outts perception about threat to dams
after the 26/11 Mumbai attack and the possibility of
under water attack using
submarines. Besides the

The choice of
resonance, a
phenomenon in
physics which
caused the collapse
of the Broughton
suspension bridge in
Britain and the
Angers bridge in
France, as a tool to
destroy a dam is not
devoid of reason

breaking in of Roosevelt
dam computer system in the
U.S. resulting opening of its
ood gates, too played a
part. Thus threat perception to dams is for real.
The depiction of working
of agencies like Intelligence
Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing and Central Bureau of Investigation reects
Ajays
association
with
them. It is honest as it is
based on my training and
experience with them. Besides IRS officials do interact with different agencies
from time to time. The
gadgets and equipment used
by them too are descriptive.
Though not part of public
domain, these agencies have
access to many sophisticated
wares designed for their
work. This entailed a lot of
research on my part. It was
also required for description
of places like Swat, Lahore,
etc. in Pakistan which I

had not visited for which

I read more than eight
books. I was familiar with
the Indian and U.S. locations, says the writer. After
nishing the rst draft in 56
days, he took nine months
to research in order to make
the narrative interesting,
relevant and realistic.
Interestingly, the good
and bad characters belong to
either side of the border
hailing from all denominations though some have grey
shades. He confesses that
the reason to keep a main
character in Resonance
alive was deliberate in order
to provide a twist and enable to gure him in next
works. Happy with the response to his maiden book
which has made to the
bestsellers list on many
sites, he is ready with a
thriller on international
scale involving Israel, U.S.
and India.

On October 2, 2014, Krishna

Prasad Chigurupati turned
60. He wanted to make the
year a memorable one. A marathon runner, he yearned to
cross yet another milestone.
He and his wife Uma have already earned their place in
the Guinness Book of World
Records as the couple that
ran marathons in seven continents within a calendar year.
Ice marathon at Antarctica,
North Pole and volcano marathon are some of their
achievements.
Krishna Prasad brainstormed with his friend and
marathon runner/event organiser Richard Donovan and
the latter formulated the rst
World Marathon Challenge,
which will have participants
running seven marathons
across seven continents within seven days.
Krishna Prasad is an early
riser and began waking up at
3.45 a.m. instead of his 5 a.m.
routine to prepare for the
challenge. I joined him but
didnt understand where all
this was leading, says Uma.
Later, Krishna Prasad revealed that he had entered
both their names for the
World Marathon Challenge.
Uma felt it was foolhardy to
take on such a challenge and
opted out, only to join much
later. Then, the couple decided to participate and run half
marathons at all the seven
events.
They explain how at each
destination, they changed into running gear on the ight
so that they would be ready
for the run soon after landing.
We would reach a destination, complete the run, and be
back in the airport in time to
take the next ight to the next
continent, says Uma.
Marathon runners adhere
to a specic sleep schedule
and diet before a run. Here,
they had to make do with food

FOR THE LOVE OF RUNNING Krishna Prasad Chigurupati

and Uma at Antarctica

at the airports or airlines.

We began eating at the
airport so that, once on
board, we could fall asleep
and be fresh for the next
run, says Uma. The World
Marathon Challenge began
on January 17, 9.30 a.m.
Syndney Time, when they
began their rst run at
Union Glacier, Antarctica,
after which they moved to
Punta Arenas, Chile, South
America. The third run was
in Miami, fourth in Madrid,
fth in Marrakech, sixth in
Dubai and seventh in Sydney. The adrenaline rush
kept us going. We got energetic with each run, says
Krishna Prasad.

We ate at airports
so that, once on
board, we could fall
asleep and be fresh
for the next run

The couples feat is humungous when one factors

in how marathon running
has gained popularity only
in recent years. European
runners participating in
marathons in the North and
South poles get to practise
in special, giant freezer
zones. When we ran at Antarctica for the rst time, we
had no prior exposure. We
were told precisely how
many layers of clothing to
wear. You have to run at a
certain pace; slowing down
or halting can cause sweat to
get frozen. The fall in body
temperature can lead to
frost bites, says Uma.
Krishna Prasad is 60 and
Uma, 53, and they admit
they didnt take medical
clearance for the World
Marathon Challenge. Most
doctors in India would shoot
down such an idea. Since
weve been running for
years, we went ahead, says
Uma. She has recently begun
strength training apart from
yoga while her husband believes in yoga for both
stretching
and
muscle
endurance.
ND-ND

p4

METROPLUS

FOOD

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Whats cooking
Hot dogs
festival
Smokeys BBQ
and Grill has
brought a whole
new variety of
hot dogs in its
menu. The
festival brings
the American
food in the most
traditional and
customary way
and features hot dogs around the globe, apart from those
that are available on the regular menu. Besides there are
four different sizes available. There is s+uper boy with
rookworst pork sausage and chilli pork, mammas boy,
stuffed with tossed chicken in reshampatti chilli and
smoked chicken sausage, big daddy stuffed with chunky
tenderloin and bacon avoured with red bhawnagri chilli
and paprika and Smokeys spicy ball dog, stuffed with juicy
lamb and parmesan meatballs tossed in Smokeys special
spicy meat sauce and grill veg and couscous hot dog all
four in 10. The 8 hot dogs include crispy veg dog, grill
chilli dog melt, Andhra style tenderloin chilli dog, spicy
chicken hot dog, bacon wrap pork sausage etc.
For those who want a taste there is dog sliders that is there
are four to a plate, perfect for sharing and delicious mini
meals. At Plot 2, VIPPS Centre, Masjid Moth, (GK-2) (
(011-41435531/9560264048) and Cyber Hub 16,
Cyberhub, Cyber City, DLF Phase 2, Gurgaon (01244966321/ 9899407151) from 12 noon onwards. Price
starts from Rs.480 (excluding taxes).

New outlet
Enjoy the taste of
Persia, Arabia and
Turkey at the newly
launched restaurant
Suaana by Cherish.
The restaurant serves
lavish and authentic
Arabic delicacies in
the royal middleeastern culture
amidst handcrafted interiors and traditional hospitality.
The menu includes Lebanese lemon lentil soup fattoush,
tabouleh, khayar bi laban, Peshwari barra, chicken shish
taouk, chilo kabab, chicken shawrma, Iranian mahi kabab,
chelow kabab, jawaneh dajaj mali, gosht Peshwari, paneer
aur kimam ke kofte, laham kabsa, Iranian pilaf, rose kheer,
baklava among others.
Located at A-37 Vishal Enclave, Rajouri Garden
(7834880000/ 7834990000). Meal for two Rs.2000.

World
street food
fest
Hiatus at its World
Street Food Festival
presents some
popular road side
fare from every
corner of the world.
The variety offered
includes Spanish
churros or the hot dogs, Mexican tacos and sh and
chips,Sri Lankan devils chicken with hoppers, Old Delhi's
famous biryanis/kormas,jalebi and rabri, Rajasthan's daal
bhati churma, Bihars special litti chokha to name a few.
From February 6 to 8 at Qutab Hotel, Shaheed Jeet Singh
Marg, Katwaria Sarai,Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi
(8527827878/8826386969/011-41787878). From 12
noon to 1 a.m. Meal for two: Rs.1000 plus taxes.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Table for two

Dishing out an option

Frontier Gandhis 125th birth anniversary falls today. Faisal Khan, who revived his organisation Khudai Khidmatgar in
India, takes the opportunity to underline that just like water, love towards others is necessary for survival
SANGEETA BAROOAH
PISHAROTY

he
times
have
changed.
Also
changed is the look
and feel of New Delhis Triveni Terrace Caf,
once a popular joint of Mandi
House artists and citys activists. With time, faded jeans,
kurtas and jholas have pretty
much given way to smart
dressing here. Bar stools have
replaced the low wooden
ones too. Thank God, its tasty
toast and club sandwich can
still be found on the menu.
Thank God, one or two activists sipping chai from gilas
and talking about bringing a
revolution can still be spotted.
I am with one such person.
Though he would rather be
more specic and call himself
a Khudai Khidmatgar. Faisal
Khan, the man who revived
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khans
welfare organisation Khudai
Khidmatgar (KK) in India
some four years ago, is keen
to talk about what is on the
agenda to celebrate Frontier
Gandhis 125th birth anniversary on February 6. Though it
is a little after lunch time, almost every table is taken
here.
The air is thick with conversation, one overlapping
another. A corner is taken by
some familiar faces from the
electioneering Aam Aadmi
Party, sipping chai, huddled
together in a chat.
Luck favours us too and
there we are, occupying a table now, and sipping chai
from glass gilas too. Keeping
the tasty toast for another
day, we ask for a plate of poha
and palak patta chaat, two of
the four new additions to the
menu.
At once, Faisal gets down to
talking about the line up for
the anniversary celebration.
There is nothing planned in
Delhi. We have a membership
drive in Bangalore along with
a book launch to mark the
day. It is a book on Frontier
Gandhi translated by Dr. Jivanandan. Then, on February
7, our volunteers would meet

LOOKING BACK FOR INSPIRATION Faisal Khan at Triveni Terrace Caf, New Delhi PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

at Pachora in Jalgaon (Maharashtra) for a sadbhavana

conference. He also lists
some recent events of KK as a
build up for the anniversary
celebration. On October 2,
we launched our 100th district unit at the Sabarmati
Ashram in Gujarat. Some 50
members from various communities joined that day. Also, on the same day, we
started a 100-day peace
march from Kanyakumari
which culminated in Chennai
on January 12.
Till date, Faisal states
proudly, KK has more than
10,000 members covering 110
districts across the country.
He calls it a good progress
highlighting, For any orga-

nisation to make a difference,

it is important to not only
have cadre but dedicated
ones. We have to do a lot of
screening before inducting
anyone into the organisation
simply because we have to be
sure that the person is willing

When Khan sahib

would read the
Quran at Sabarmati,
he would borrow
Gandhijis spectacles

A time-tested combination of ingredients to whip up a

wheat-based bisi bele bhath

The Bulldog Caf-cum-Lounge is worth a repeat visit

because of good food, ambience and service
OSAMA JALALI

Storm Bar & Grill, East of Kailash goes Mexican by holding

the Mexican & Margarita Food Fiesta.
Executive Master Chef Sunil Tomar brings delicacies
including crispy mushroom spinach and avocado
quesadillas, black bean sweet, potato enchiladas, blue corn
nacho's with guacamole, classic chicken and cheese nachos,
chicken enchilada casserole, chicken taquito with salsa and
guacamole, creamy chicken with chile casserole, taco and
chicken crock pot to name a few which can be paired with
classic Thai margarita, orange and cilantro margarita and
peach and jalapenos margarita among others.
Located at F 39, East of Kailash, New Delhi, from February
2 to 17, 12.30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Meal for two is priced at
Rs.3000 (exclusive of taxes).

Whenever I am on the lookout for a new restaurant I

just go to Hauz Khas Village
with closed eyes as every other day a restaurant opens as
well as shuts down in this
market.
This time I found Bulldog
Caf-cum-Lounge which is
spread across three oors and
terrace area as well. The place
is nicely done with simple interiors, active staff and a
humble chef. To enjoy the
weather I settled on the terrace with a much needed angeethi near me.
The extensive menu offers
a mix of tex mex and Indian
delicacies such as hotdogs,
burgers, pizzas, pastas, burritos, tikkas, kababs and all. I
started with a bowl of soup as
the weather was perfect to
enjoy the hot bowl. Lemon
coriander prawn it was but
was a tad spicy. The other
chicken variant and thyme
was excellent and I loved every spoon of it. I loved its subtlety and creaminess.
The soup was followed
with the salad which further
impressed me as it had that
freshness and the mix of textures and avours. Spicy honey chilli dressing gave the
veggies a nice zing. From
their quick bites section I had
ginger chicken and buffalo
wings and I must say both
were good. Buffalo wings
were one of the most succulent ones I have had in recent
times though ginger chicken
overpowered with spiciness
which suppressed other avours.
But it was their hot dogs
which will goad me to go

Coffee blends
The Chatter House brings specially brewed coffee this
winter. The assortment of scorching spiked and cold coffee
includes affogatto with a scoop of vanilla topped with a
shot of hot espresso, the lavazza tandem, an indulgently
light creamy coffee with a layering of iced java and cocoa
and the coffee bomber blending double espresso, absinthe
and gin. Those preferring simple coffee there are regular
like macchiato, caffe latte and americano among others. At
Epicuria Food Mall, Nehru Place, from 11.30 a.m. to 1 a.m.
(For reservations: 011-26237777/26238888).
CM
YK

GOT THE ZING! A delicacy on offer

again as they were made exceptionally well with a wonderful mix of stuffing. I had
spicy tenderloin and it was
just amazing. In Indian section their chicken malai tikka
was creamy and tender. I just
loved its texture while other
kababs such as seekh and tikkas were very ordinary and
there is a major scope for improvement there.From the

Chicken breast was

stuffed with spinach
with melted
mozzarella and
jalapenos served
with Lyonnais
potato which is
worth dying for

violence. This view is still

strong among some Muslims.
They dont know that Khan
sahib said he didnt learn
non-violence from Gandhiji
but from Islam itself. He said,
when the Prophet went to
spread Islam in the city of
Taif, people threw stones at
him. But he forgave them saying he would pray for them
too. Peace and non-violence
is at the core of Islam. We tell
people about this example
given by Khan sahib.
But there was no doubt
about a strong friendship between Gandhiji and him, underlines Faisal.
He relates interesting nuggets, When Khan sahib
would read the Quran at Sa-

A tryst with wheat

An angeethi,
some kababs
Mexican feast

to step out of the narrow

communal mindset and work
for peace. We then train them
on Sarhadi Gandhis ideals;
they take an oath on his 10
points.
On a cold afternoon, hands
cupping a warm glass of tea
add traction to the conversation. Faisal continues, We
are conscious not to turn it
into a Muslim only organisation, it is for everyone. We
work for humanity, education
for all, and peace for all. The
Indian Muslim League, during the freedom struggle, he
says, tried to dissuade people from joining KK by saying
that Khan sahab had nothing
to do with Islam and was only
a follower of Gandhijis non-

barmati, he would borrow

Gandhijis spectacles. Then,
a Gandhian told Faisal recently that though the food
at Sabarmati was vegetarian,
Gandhiji would quietly hand
out a few annas to him to take
out Khan sahib for a non-vegetarian meal sold near the
railway
station
in
Ahmedabad.
The man is now in his late
90s and lives in Bhavnagar.
With tears, he related me the
story, says Faisal.
In Faisals house in Jamia
Nagar, the situation reverses.
Digging in to a plate of poha
typically rich with fried peanuts, an affable Faisal says, I
share my house with a strict
Hindu vegetarian, a KK volunteer. So in my house, it is
mostly vegetarian fare. Also, I
travel a lot; much as I would
like to have it but it wont be
very easy after a chicken
jhangezi meal and jumping
into public transport.
One joins his full throated
laughter when he says,
When I have student volunteers visiting me, I usually
serve them a vegetarian meal
even if they are non-vegetarians. One chicken has only
two leg pieces. I dont want
anyone to feel bad that they
were not fed well by me.
This may be a humorous
example of peoples egos but
Faisal says he has to perennially deal with bloated egos
in public life.
It is pretty strong in people, some would not like
someone to be asked to sit on
the stage or address a gathering, some others would take
offence if his name comes at
the end of an address If
communal
organisations
keep KK gatherings on their
radar, and at times prodding
him to join them, so does
the Intelligence Bureau,
claims Faisal.
Taking a nal swig of tea
from his gilas, he says, I tell
them all, we spread only
pyaar mohabbat. Like water
is necessary for survival, like
offering water to someone is
insaniyat, so is offering love
to one another.

grills I had roasted chicken

peri peri and stuffed chicken
breast and both were cooked
to perfection. Chicken breast
was stuffed with spinach with
melted mozzarella and jalapenos served with Lyonnais
potato which is worth dying
for. What was noteworthy is
that the breast was not at all
dry and complimented the
creamy stuffing. Even the
chicken marinated with peri
peri and then roasted got the
spices to the core of the chicken.
From Indian mains they
have two non-vegetarian curries the butter chicken masala and the Rajasthani special
lal maas.
I cleared my palate with a
cup of green tea though desserts such as chocolate lava
cake, choco bull dog and bulldog custard were quite
tempting.
Meal for two: Rs.1500
plus taxes

RAKESH RAGHUNATHAN
PREETI MOHAN

Cooking is like love. It

should be entered into with
abandon or not at all. Harriet Van Horne
It was with this gay abandon that our cook at home,
straight from the heartland of
Andhra chillies, experimented with a Karnataka delicacy.
Bisi Bele Bhath translates to
hot lentil rice, but her recipe
for Godhumai Bisi Bele Bhath
(broken wheat-hot lentil rice)
transcends the literal, and
our cultivated notion of what
the dish represents. Weve all
grown up with versions of it,
often arguing on the minor
differences between the Karnataka stamped legacy, and
our very own sambhar rice.
But this version of the favourite trumped every variant we
had tried. The broken wheat
is not a healthy poor cousin
that tolerably replaces the
rice. It brings its own unique
avour and texture to the
time-tested combination of
ingredients that make a good
Bisi Bele Bhath. Its homogeneity helps it blend beautifully with the lentils and
vegetables into one indivisible whole, in contrast to the
traditional recipe that can
sometimes feel like an unhappily married combination of
rice and vegetables. Dont let
this cloud your love for the
old Bisi Bele Bhath, but revel
in the pleasure of re-discovering it all over again.
Photo and recipe by Rakesh
with inputs from Rama Raghunathan; introduction by
Preeti.
Godhumai Bisi Bele Bhath
Ingredients to pressure
cook
1 cup broken wheat
1/2 cup thoor dal

2 cups tamarind juice

extract
1 1/2 cups vegetables
of your choice
(carrots, beans,
cauliower)
3 cups water
Salt to taste
1tbsp oil
1 tsp turmeric
Ingredients to make a
paste
1 1/2 tsp whole dhania
3 red chillies
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp saunf
1/2 tsp whole pepper
3 tbsp coconut
3 to 4 chopped tomatoes
Method
1. Pressure-cook contents
mentioned under ingredients
for 4 to 5 whistles. Set aside.
2. Add oil to a pan and roast the
whole dhania, cinnamon stick,
saunf and whole pepper until
the raw smell fades out. Set
aside.
3. Fry coconut in the same
pan till golden brown.

4. Blend the roasted spices,

coconut and tomatoes to a ne
paste.
5. Add the ne paste to the
pressure-cooked dal and broken wheat mixture and cook
on low ame.
6. Fry cashews in ghee till
golden brown and season the
godhumai bisi bele bhath.
Note: We reduced the
amount of tamarind used
as the tomatoes bring the
required tang. You can decide the quantity of tamarind depending on how
sour the tomatoes are.
Make sure to enjoy this
godhumai bisi bele bhath
with a dollop of ghee! Avial
and pacchadi are great
accompaniments.
Preeti is a lawyer and writes
on food, the arts and culture.
Rakesh is a food
entrepreneur, photographer
and hosts his own cookery
show on TV.
ND-ND