Category Archives: Travel & Tourism

Kababs, kulfis, qormas: Forgotten recipes from Shah Jahan’s kitchens get a second life in this book

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , ,

NEW DELHI :

‘The Mughal Feast’ by Salma Yusuf Husain recreates the Persian recipe book ‘Nuskha-e-Shahjahani’, providing a glimpse into a bygone era of pomp and show.

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in his court | Google Cultural Institute/Wikimedia Commos Licensed under CC BY Public Domain Mark 1.0].
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in his court | Google Cultural Institute/Wikimedia Commos Licensed under CC BY Public Domain Mark 1.0].

The silver twilight of Mughal civilization began with Shah Jahan. Delhi was now a sanctuary of an urbane, sophisticated court which had taste, even elegance. By early 1730 the city had absorbed various elements from neighbouring regions and witnessed a mingling of international as well as national strains and an interchange of ideas, customs and food.

The Portuguese relationship with the Mughals had already been established a long time back, along the trade routes. Hence the imperial kitchens, besides Indian ingredients, saw an additional ingredient brought by the Portuguese – the chilli. The chilli was very similar to the long pepper, already in use, and therefore did not look too unfamiliar to royal chefs, but had the hot taste. Other vegetables like potatoes and tomatoes also appeared on the scene and the food of the Red Fort became rich in colour, hot in taste, and varied as compared to the bland food of its ancestors. Qormas and qaliyas, pulaos and kababs, and vegetables in different garb, besides European cakes and puddings, adorned the table.

Cooking and serving food in the royal kitchens was a riot of colours, fragrances, experiments, table manners and protocols. The emperors usually ate with their queens and concubines, except on festive occasions, when they dined with nobles and courtiers. Daily meals were usually served by eunuchs, but an elaborate chain of command accompanied the food to the table. The hakim (royal physician) planned the menu, making sure to include medicinally beneficial ingredients. For instance, each grain of rice for the pulao was coated with silver warq, which aided digestion and acted as an aphrodisiac. One account records a Mughal banquet given by Asaf Khan, the emperor’s wazir, during Jahangir’s time to Shah Jahan – though no outsider had ever seen any emperor while dining except once when Friar Sebastian Manriquea, a Portuguese priest, was smuggled by an eunuch inside the harem to watch Shah Jahan eat his food with Asaf Khan.

Once the menu was decided, an elaborate kitchen staff – numbering at least a few hundred – swung into action. Since a large number of dishes were served at each meal, an assembly line of staff undertook the chopping and cleaning, the washing and grinding. Food was cooked in rainwater mixed with water brought in from the Ganges for the best possible taste. Not only the cooking but the way the food was served is interesting to note – food was served in dishes made of gold and silver studded with precious stones, and of jade, as it detected poison. The food was eaten on the floor; sheets of leather covered with white calico protected the expensive carpets. This was called dastarkhwan. It was customary for the emperor to set aside a portion of food for the poor before eating. The emperor began and ended his meal with prayers; the banquet ran for hours as Shah Jahan liked to enjoy his food, spending long hours at dastarkhwan.

With the passage of time, indigenization in the cooking style became obvious and certain Indian ingredients, like Kashmiri vadi, sandalwood powder, suhaga, betel leaves, white gourd, and batasha, and fruits like mango, phalsa, banana, etc., were used to give different flavours to dishes.

The arrival of every dish was a ceremony and history will never forget the pomp of those times, along with the flavours which remain only in the pages of handwritten manuscripts of those days, such as Nuskha-e-Shahjahani. Not only the imperial kitchens of the emperor, but also the bazaars of the city were charged with the smoke of different kababs, and the environment was filled with the fragrance of nahari, haleem, qormas and qaliyas. The array of breads was dazzling. Festive occasions were never complete without baqarkhani, kulchas and sheermals. Sharbat ke katore and kulfi ke matke added colour to the scenario. The city of Shah Jahan was a paradise of food with the creations of local and foreign chefs.

This luxurious way of serving and preparing food continued only till the time Shah Jahan ruled, as his son Aurangzeb did not believe in luxury, pomp and show. Unfortunately, the last years of this great emperor were unhappy. Deposed by his son Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in Agra Fort and remained there for eight years until his death in 1666. Legend has it that Aurangzeb ordered that his father be allowed only one ingredient of his choice, and Shah Jahan chose chickpeas. He chose them because they can be cooked in many different ways. Even today, one of the signature dishes of North Indian cuisine is Shahjahani dal, chickpeas cooked in a rich gravy of cream.

QALIYA KHASA DO-PIYAZAH

LAMB COOKED WITH ONIONS, GREEN GRAM AND VEGETABLE | Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS
Lamb, cut into medium-sized pieces 1 kg
Green gram (moong dal), washed, soaked for ½ hour ¼ cup / 60 gm
Ghee 1 cup / 250 gm
Onions, sliced 1 cup / 250 gm
Salt to taste
Coriander (dhaniya) seeds, pounded 4 tsp / 20 gm
Ginger (adrak), grated 4 tsp / 20 gm
Beetroots (chuqander), peeled, cut into medium-sized pieces 3 cups / 750 gm
Turnips (shalgam), peeled, cut into medium-sized pieces 3 cups / 750 gm
Carrots (gajar), scraped, cut into cubes 3 cups / 750 gm
Rice paste 4 tsp / 20 gm
Saffron (kesar) 2 gm
Freshly ground to a fine powder:
Cinnamon (dalchini) ½ tsp / 3 gm
Cloves (laung) ½ tsp / 3 gm
Green cardamoms (choti elaichi) ½ tsp / 3 gm
Black peppercorns (kali mirch), ground 1 tsp / 5 gm

METHOD
1. Heat 100 gm ghee in a pan; sauté the onions and lamb with 2 tbsp water. Add the salt, pounded coriander seeds and grated ginger; cook, on medium heat, until the lamb is tender.
2. Add the beetroots, turnips, carrots and green gram with enough water to cover; cook the vegetables on low heat.
3. When the vegetables and lamb are fully cooked and at least 1 cup water remains in the pan, remove the pan from the heat and separate the lamb pieces and vegetables from the stock.
4. Temper the stock with the remaining ghee. Return the vegetables and lamb to the stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice paste and mix well.
5. Add the freshly ground spices and mix.
6. Transfer into a serving dish and serve garnished with saffron.

NARANJ PULAO

ORANGE-FLAVOURED LAMB CURRY COOKED WITH RICE | Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS
Oranges 4 big / 6 small
Rice 4 cups / 1 kg
Yoghurt (dahi), whisked 1 cup / 250 gm
Lemons (nimbu) 2
Sugar 2 cups / 500 gm
Saffron (kesar) ¼ tsp
Ghee 1 cup / 250 gm
Salt to taste
Dry fruits as needed
Green coriander (hara dhaniya), chopped as needed
For the yakhni:
Lamb, cut into pieces 1 kg
Ghee 1 cup / 1250 gm
Onions, sliced 1 cup / 250 gm
Ginger (adrak) 4 tsp / 20 gm
Salt to taste
Cinnamon (dalchini), 2 sticks 1˝
Green cardamoms (choti elaichi) ½ tsp / 3 gm
Coriander (dhaniya) seeds, crushed 4 tsp / 20 gm
Cloves (laung) ½ tsp / 3 gm

METHOD
1. Peel the oranges carefully so that the case remains intact. Remove the segments and keep aside. Sprinkle salt inside the case and float them in whisked yoghurt for an hour. Remove the cases from the yoghurt and wash with cold water. Boil the orange cases for a minute. Remove and keep aside.
2. In another pan filled with water, squeeze the juice of one lemon and boil the orange cases again. In case lemon is not available, boil in thin yoghurt liquid, simmer to make them tender.
3. Make yakhni with the lamb pieces and all the ingredients mentioned. Temper the stock with cloves.
4. Parboil the rice and keep aside.
5. Prepare a sugar syrup of one-string consistency; keep aside.
6. Remove the seeds and the skin of each segment and coarsely chop and mix with the yakhni. Take 1 tbsp cooked rice and mix it with saffron. Cook on low heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
7. In a separate pan, spread the yakhni, evenly pour 3 tbsp syrup and simmer, when the syrup is absorbed, spread the rice and pour some ghee. Cover the pan and put on dum. While serving, transfer the pulao into a serving dish and place the orange cases over it. Fill one case with almond halwa, another with pistachio halwa, another with saffron and orange rice and another with salted minced lamb*. Garnish all with dry fruits and chopped coriander.

*You can buy almond halwa, pistachio halwa and salted minced lamb at a grocery store, or make them separately. You can also choose your fillings as per your liking.

GURAK KABAB

CHICKEN STUFFED WITH MEAT AND SLOW-COOKED ON CINNAMON BED | Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
Chicken, cleaned, washed, skinned 2 (700-800 gm each)
Onion juice ½ cup / 125 ml
Ginger (adrak) juice ¼ cup / 60 ml
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil 3 tbsp / 45 ml
Lamb, minced 400 gm
Onion, medium-sized, sliced 1
Coriander (dhaniya) seeds, crushed 1 tbsp / 15 gm
Ginger (adrak), chopped 1 tbsp / 15 gm
Saffron (kesar), dissolved in milk 1.5 gm
Yoghurt (dahi), whisked ¼ cup / 60 gm
Cinnamon (dalchini) sticks to cover the bottom of the pan 8-10
Ghee ½ cup / 125 gm
Black gram (urad dal) flour ½ cup / 125 gm
Freshly ground to a fine powder:
Cloves (laung) 1 tsp / 5 gm
Cardamom (elaichi) 1 tsp / 5 gm
Black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch) 1 tsp / 5 gm

METHOD
1. Prick the chicken all over with a fork.
2. Marinate the chicken with onion juice, ginger juice and salt; rub well inside and outside the chicken and keep aside for 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a pan; add the minced meat, onion, crushed coriander seeds, chopped ginger and salt. Stir and cook until the meat is tender.
4. Smoke the cooked mixture.
5. Fill the chicken with the minced lamb and tie both legs with twine to keep the shape of the chicken intact.
6. Mix the saffron and ground spices with the yoghurt.
7. Apply the yoghurt and saffron mixture all over the chickens evenly.
8. Spread the cinnamon sticks on the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken on the cinnamon bed and pour the ghee around.
9. Make a semi-hard dough of black gram flour. Cover the pan and seal with this dough.
10. Place the pan on low charcoal heat and cook on dum for 4 hours.
11. Remove the cover, take the chicken out, cut into four pieces and serve over the mince.

BAQLAWA

LAYERED SQUARES GARNISHED WITH PISTACHIOS | Yield: 10

INGREDIENTS
Egyptian lentil 1 cup / 250 gm
Ghee 1 cup / 250 gm
Ginger (adrak) 4 tsp / 20 gm
Salt 8 tsp / 40 gm
Wholewheat flour (atta) 4 cups / 1 kg
Kid fat 4 tsp / 20 gm
Sugar 2 cups / 500 gm
Pistachios (pista), pounded 8 tsp / 40 gm
Freshly ground to a fine powder: 
Cinnamon (dalchini) ½ tsp / 3 gm
Cloves (laung) ½ tsp / 3 gm
Green cardamoms (choti elaichi) ½ tsp / 3 gm

METHOD
1. Boil the lentil until soft. Remove from heat and drain. Fry the lentil in little ghee with ginger and salt. Then add enough water to cook the lentil, ensuring that it is not mashed and each grain looks separate. Sprinkle the ground spices and smoke the mixture.
2. Knead the flour into a hard dough (in summer one part ghee and two parts kid fat is used while in winter the proportions should be equal).
3. Divide the dough equally into small portions. Roll each portion out into a thin poori, apply ghee and dust with dry flour, sprinkle the lentil mixture lightly and cover with another poori. Repeat the process with 5-7 pooris.
4. Shape them into squares and secure the edges with water.
5. Heat the ghee in a pan; deep-fry the squares. Remove and keep aside to cool.
6. Make a sugar syrup and soak the fried squares in it. When the syrup is absorbed, sprinkle pounded pistachios.

MughalCookBook02MPOs18may2019

Excerpted with permission from The Mughal Feast: Recipes from the Kitchen of Emperor Shah Jahan, a transcreation of Nuskha-e-Shahjahani by Salma Yusuf Husain, Roli Books.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Magazine> Book Excerpt / by Salma Yusuf Husain / May 18th, 2019

Rifath Sharook, Mohammed Abdul Kashif Played Lead Role in Designing World’s Lightest Satellite

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Education, Leaders, Science & Technology, Transport, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

Karur, TAMIL NADU :

Rifath Sharook (Photo: Rifath’s Facebook profile)
Rifath Sharook (Photo: Rifath’s Facebook profile)

New Delhi :

On January 25, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) successfully injected Microsat-R and Kalamsat-V2 satellite into their designated orbits. Two young engineers who played lead role in designing and building world’s lightest satellite Kalamsat-V2 are Rifath Sharook and Mohammed Abdul Kashif.

They were part of a 12-members team of Space Kidz India- a group which trains aspiring space students. The group was being led by 18-year-old Sharook who hails from Tamil Nadu. Sharook is the youngest student of the team. Giving the credit of building the satellite, the media called him one-man army.But Sharook rejects to take credit solely.

Apart from Kashif (lead engineer), those who are in his team include Vinay S Bhardwaj (design engineer), Yagna Sai (lead technician) and Gobi Nath (biologist).

They were all working on rocket and space technology under the mentorship of Chennai-based Srimathy Kesan, who is the founder of Space Kidz India.

Sharook who hails from Tamil Nadu’s Karur is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Space Kidz India. Sharook’s father, Mohammed Farook, was also scientist. When he was in Class V, his father had left for heavenly abode. He was interested in space since his childhood.

“My dad was also a scientist. He’d do independent research on astronomy. We’d spend hours watching the space through a telescope,” Sharook was quoted by rediff.com as saying.

Talking about the Kalamasat V2, Mohammed Abdul Kashif said “We have produced a new electronic architecture for this satellite that ensured that it was lighter, smaller, more economical and consumed less energy while functioning like any other communication satellite”.

He added “There are a wide variety of uses it can be deployed for. But with this launch, we are only testing the technology and seeing how it operates”.

The satellite was 64 grams, 3.8 centimeter-cube-sized and it is world’s lightest and smallest satellite. It was made through the competition ‘Cubes in Space’ which was a collaboration between NASA and ‘I Doodle Learining’.

Muslim boy Sharook and Kashif played larger role in building the world’s lightest satellite and it was named also after a Muslim scientist A P J Abdul Kalam, who was the president of
India.

source: http://www.caravandaily.com / Caravan Daily / Home> Indian Muslim> Indian Muslims / by Caravan News / February 04th, 2019

Neglected and lying in ruins, ‘world’s smallest mosque’ cries for attention

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Once the land on which the Jino-ki-Masjid and the Dargah was build was to the tune of 600 acre.

JinoKiMasjidMPOs24apr2019

Hyderabad :

Located a stone’s throw away from the Dargah Hazrath Syed Shah Imaad Uddin Mahmood Al Hussaini, a nondescript structure stands out in front of the scenic hilltop on the banks of Mir Alam tank. This Qutub Shahi structure, popularly known as the Jino-ki-Masjid, may well be the ‘smallest mosque’ in the world.

Less than 10 sq m in area, this structure has the traditional elements of Qutub Shahi architecture including turrets and a big arch, under which there is a small space for devotees to pray. However, although it is located within the complex of the Dargah, the small structure stands dilapidated. The lime plaster has given away at various places, revealing the skeletal brickwork underneath.

The turrets are also broken at places, and so arch. The way to the mosque is also rocky, with no clear path. The mosque’s state could very well pose as a risk for visitors. The mosque gains importance as the Dargah complex was home to Syed Shah Imamuddin Husaini alias Mir Mahmood Nimatullahi, one of the oldest sufis of Hyderabad. In ‘Landmarks of the Deccan’, its author Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami wrote, “He first came to Hyderabad from Najaf (Mesopotamia) during the reign of Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah and stayed on this hillock.”

Mahmood had laid several buildings erected on this hill. “The mason who worked here were paid over and above the wages and the pregnant women-labourers were paid double the wages,” Landmarks of the Deccan said, adding that since no one knew his source of income, “it was a general belief that the Saint had some supernatural means of income”.

Once the land on which the Jino-ki-Masjid and the Dargah was build was to the tune of 600 acre. However, now, with time, most of it is occupied with houses built on one side of the hillock. The place comes alive during Urs, usually held on the 13th Shaban of the Islamic Calender, which was on April 19. During that time, many visit the Dargah, and hence it becomes important to conserve and repair the ‘smallest mosque’.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / April 23rd, 2019

After two years, century-old Ma Hajiani Dargah restored to glory

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

Worli – Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

MaHajianiDargah01MPOs23apr2019

Conservation architect Vikas Dilawari’s work on Worli shrine is a significant chapter in the city’s built heritage

Cocooned in the shielding hold of the bay, just off the arterial, traffic-clogged road that hugs the coastline, is the 111-year-old Ma Hajiani Dargah, restored to its former glory. The restoration of the building began in November 2017 and was completed by conservation architect Vikas Dilawari on April 19, which also marked the eve of Shab-e-Baraat.

The dargah is one of the lesser-known spots of quiet in the city, often interchanged with the more popular Haji Ali Dargah, a stone’s throw away. Built in 1908 when Sir George Sydenham was the Governor of Bombay — primarily in Porbandar stone and basalt ashlar plinth — it is an ideal example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. Subtle influences of the colonial style of construction are evident, particularly in the ornamental work. “This is a very unique building. It is a magical place, of tranquillity, at the tip of the land on a natural rocky outcrop, elevated so gracefully,” Mr. Dilawari said.

MaHajianiDargah02MPOs23apr2019

Over the years, the dargah’s neighbouring plots of land were sold to private developers. The towering Samudra Mahal — a piece of prime real estate — was where the residence of the Scindias of Gwalior once stood, before being demolished in 1960. “Until a few decades ago, the Mahalakshmi temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, and the Ma Hajiani Dargah would have been the beacons along the coast of Bombay. The proliferation of high-rises without appropriate urban design is certainly impacting the pristine setting, and this might change further with the introduction of the impending coastal road,” Mr. Dilawari said.

A nautical past

The dargah is the site of three graves: Ma Hajiani, Haji Ismail Hasham Yusuf, and his son, Sir Mohamed Yusuf, draped in red and green brocaded chaddars and rose petals. The Yusuf family has been eminent in shipping trade and philanthropy in the city. Haji Ismail Hasham Yusuf founded the Bombay Steam Navigation Company in the late 19th century, and established the erstwhile Marine College at Rashid Mansion in Worli as a charitable institute, later moved to the island of Nhava and still functional as Training Ship Rahaman.

The mausoleum is built in honour of Ma Hajiani, a saint believed to be the sister of Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. The Haji Ali Dargah, houses the tomb of the latter. According to legend, they died at sea and their bodies were washed ashore, a few metres from each other. They were then buried at the respective spots they were found. Subsequently, two tombs were built — Haji Ali for the brother and Ma Hajiani for the sister. At the Ma Hajiani Dargah, women have always been allowed to access the maqbara. Women frequent in large numbers, making offerings of red or green glass bangles: red indicating one’s wish for marriage, and green for offspring.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Khorshed Deboo / Mumbai – April 23rd, 2019

Meet the forgotten dhow men of Malabar

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Transport, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

Malabar

A vivid piece of maritime history is hidden in the memories of the cooks and deckhands who once sailed off the Malabar coast

By noon, the sun would heat up the vast blue expanse through which they sailed at great risk to their lives. By evening, when salt and dirt clung to their bodies, the skies would turn crimson, symbolising streaks of revolt. Later, weather permitting, the shimmering stars would give them clues to the voyage that lay ahead through the inky waters of the Arabian Sea, often to the Persian Gulf. On the shore, they would unload the goods they had loaded on to the wooden dhows: timber, bamboo, coconuts, tapioca, tiles, salt, sugar, fertilizers. And sometimes, hidden among the cargo, people . Being smuggled to the far shores.

But even when they returned to their homes in Kerala,  none of the deckhands of the dhows wrote about their experiences; in fact they actively strove to forget this tempestuous period in their lives that ended when better transportation facilities arrived. It’s been nearly four decades since these traditional vessels with their distinctive masts set sail from the Malabar coast, either along the coastline or farther afield. But it’s only now that the world has begun to hear the stories of these intrepid men, an integral part of the maritime history of peninsular India.

And this is thanks to a photo artist from Kerala’s port town of Kodungallur, around which scholars speculate the ancient Muziris harbour existed until destroyed by the 1341 calamity. K.R. Sunil’s photographs, a series titled ‘Manchukkar — The Seafarers of Malabar’, captures the faces of 34 deckhands. It was on show last month at URU Art Harbour in Kochi. Through them we learn of the misery of people caught in a vortex of exploitation and unshielded from nature’s furies.

Bare frames

The faces are stark, the frames bare. But every black-and-white image tells a story. Of how poverty forced pre-teen boys to pack themselves off in an uru or sailing vessel on long-distance voyages battling rough seas and uncertainty for weeks on end, and then return home — if lucky — only to set off on another strenuous voyage. Years would pass, the boys would turn into middle-aged men. Then, seen as worthy of nothing else, plagued by ill-health, they would be sent home, discarded like boats with rotten hulls.

T. Ibrahim is now 80 and lives an unremarkable life in Ponnani, a fishing town in Malappuram district. He considers himself fortunate to have lived this long. As a youth, he recalls how he once sailed a dhow laden with tiles and a dozen sailors that got caught in a storm on its way to Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. Ibrahim joined his panicked colleagues and began jettisoning cargo. The vessel sank nevertheless. “Some of them managed to get away on a lifeboat. Ibrahim and four others held on to a piece of wood and floated for two days,” says Sunil, recalling his meetings with Ibrahim.

Ibrahim's ...
Ibrahim’s …

The youngest in Sunil’s photo series is also called Ibrahim, or simply Umboocha. Now 53, the man from Kasargod, along the Karnataka border, had his final sailing trips on motorised dhows in the 1990s. Memories of manchu, as the boat is called in his part of Malabar, where people also speak Tulu and Kannada, still make him shudder. Their vessel once sank during a cyclone when they were bound for Iran. They roped together emptied cargo barrels and drifted on the improvised float for three days. Rescue came, but they landed in jail: all of them had lost their identity documents.

Siva Sankaran, also from Ponnani, remembers that his first trip on a dhow to Bombay took seven weeks instead of four days. Reason: bad weather. But tempests were just one part of the deckhands’ ordeal, says Sunil. From starvation to sexual exploitation to unhygienic conditions to taxing work hours, the voyages were invariably hellish. “Circus in the seas,” is how Abdul Rahiman, 68, recalls them. “One had to climb 50 feet up on swinging ropes to set the sail. You may have to do it deep in the night, when the boat is violently rolling,” Sunil quotes the sailor as recalling.

The artist’s first trip to Ponnani was in 2014, though it was only two and a half years ago that he turned his focus on these deckhands of yore. “As a child, I had heard a lot about Ponnani. We had country boats with merchandise travelling there from Kodungallur.” The town charmed him on his first visit and inspired several more. The next time he brought his camera along. A photo series from these trips was shown at the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Steeped in pathos

Then, four months before the biennale, Sunil stumbled upon an old man singing a song to his friends. “There was something curious about its lines and the tune steeped in pathos. I thought I should explore more,” he says.

This was T. Ibrahim and this wasn’t the only sailing song he knew. He had learnt several from Rasakh Haji, a merchant of essential oils who owned the boat in which Ibrahim was a deckhand. Haji had a talent for creating songs and had composed one about the dhow. They sailed together from Mumbai to Kerala and “the ditties seeped into Ibrahim too,” says Sunil.

Most deckhands began their careers as cooks (pandari) when they just 11 or 12 and were routinely sexually exploited. Those who moved up the ladder became deckhands or khalasi. The capable among them rose to become captains or srank.

Abdul Lathif thought himself lucky to become a deckhand at 17, but is now repulsed by the memories. “The boat’s woodwork was always infested with roaches and scorpions. You would see them floating even in the drinking water. We were covered with lice. The winter winds gave us mouth ulcers,” he trails off. “After unloading the goods, we would appy a mixture of oil, lime and ghee to the boat’s keel to prevent barnacles. The work was done standing in a slush of mud and human excrement.”

C.M. Ummar was a young man during the 70s when he crewed in dhows carrying people looking for work in West Asia. Illegally. “A couple of hundred job-seekers would be taken aboard along with the cargo. You’d hide them with a tarpaulin. And in the high seas, another boat would come to fetch them,” he recalls. “Sea-sick, they would sometimes plead to be taken back home. Getting them back was equally dangerous.”

Deaths weren’t uncommon — whether from falling from the mast or from disease. Hussain, 64, recalls a friend’s demise: “With a heavy heart we offered prayers, and buried him at sea with a rock tied to his body.”

The primary duty of Muhammad Koya, 81, was to smear kalpath, a mixture of coconut-fibre, cow-dung, sawdust and ghee, on the keel to plug gaps. “It involved holding one’s breath under water for long periods; the job affected Koya’s hearing,” notes Sunil, who is now in the process of making a documentary on this bit of “ignored history”.

Floating bodies

P. Ummar is 20 years younger than Koya, and recalls how armed pirates would sometimes rob their cargo. “Such encounters were common along the Maharashtra coast,” he says. Koran, now an oracle for the traditional Theyyam dance in Kasargod, talks of the dead bodies he saw floating near the Bombay port during his manchu days. He suspects this was from the smuggler-customs encounters.

Kochi, Kerala, 07/02/2019 : K K Khadher, from the series 'Manchookar - The seafarers of Malabar' by K R Sunil. Photo: Special arrangement
Kochi, Kerala, 07/02/2019 : K K Khadher, from the series ‘Manchookar – The seafarers of Malabar’ by K R Sunil. Photo: Special arrangement

K.K. Kadar talks of how seasoned sailors would read signs of impending danger in “unusual changes in the colour of seawater, the rising froth, intertwined sea-snakes, dead fish…. they were indicators for the crew to prepare themselves for eventualities,” he says. Today, he is a public worker, and preoccupied with the 80th anniversary of a historic beedi workers’ strike that had once been held in Ponnani.

T.V. Moideenkutty ...
T.V. Moideenkutty …

For T.V. Moideenkutty, too, life is calmer. The 54-year-old lives on the tranquil shore of Ponnani with his family in a tile-roof house. He started life as a cook in a dhow and then worked as a deckhand for eight years. At least it staved off poverty, he says, smoking a beedi.

Life on the dhow taught him a lesson: the value of drinking water. “I learned the word for water in many languages, especially before hitting ‘Hindistan’ during our Mumbai voyages,” he says, retying his mundu and tucking it in at the waist.

The lighthouse near Moideenkutty’s house stands tall with its gas flasher scanning the ocean. Standing outside URU gallery, I can see the sea dotted with gleaming new-age ships filled with crew and cargo heading out to harbours around the world.

The Delhi-based journalist is a keen follower of Kerala’s traditional performing arts.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu> Voyager> Society / by Sreevalsan Thiyyadi / April 13th, 2019

A Muslim princess in a temple

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism,

Srirangam, TAMIL NADU :

In 1674, Shivaji crowned himself king, with classical ritual in full display. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
In 1674, Shivaji crowned himself king, with classical ritual in full display. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

By accepting the concept of the Thulukka Nachiyar, within the temple, was a space created to locate the newcomer Muslim within the world of the orthodox Hindu?

India is a mosaic of many curious tales. But very often, seemingly incongruous elements that reside in the realm of fable and myth end up lending an ironic congruence to the concrete world of men. Throughout Indian history, whenever politics has found itself at an awkward crossroads, a generous fabrication of mythology has helped ease the process. One prominent example is Shivaji’s—the Maratha warrior had emerged as a powerful force in the late 17th century, with armies, treasure, and swathes of territory at his command. But rivals painted him merely as an over-strong rebel, so that in addition to power, what he needed was legitimacy too.

The answer to Shivaji’s woes came in 1674, when he decided to crown himself king, with classical ritual in full and extravagant display. A genealogy was invented connecting him to an ancient royal line, and retrospective rituals permitted him to take his place as a “pure” Kshatriya, when so far Brahmins had deemed him inferior in caste. It was a masterstroke: Shivaji now towered over other Maratha clans in status, while simultaneously alerting his Mughal enemies that he was no longer a “mountain rat”—he was an anointed, lawful monarch.

As a society too, India has been capable of negotiating disruptive changes through the invention of tradition. Reading scholar Richard H. Davis’ work recently reminded me of the bizarre, clever and typically Indian ways in which this was achieved. When Muslim might arrived in India in the form of invaders, a new chapter was inaugurated in the story of our subcontinent. The old order fell, and a different structure was fashioned. One way in which the elites on both sides tried to rationalize, in their respective world views, these painful changes is through what historian Aziz Ahmad called epics of conquest and resistance. Thus, for instance, we have Muslim accounts that exaggerated the “destruction of infidels”, when, in reality, even the terrifying Muhammad of Ghor’s coins prominently featured the “infidel” goddess Lakshmi, countered by Hindus with their own stories, the case of Padmavati preferring fire to the embrace of a Muslim being one such. Rhetoric was amplified on both sides, legends and tales competing for narrative dominance to come to grips with changes under way on the ground.

One such fascinating story from the 14th century features a Muslim woman recalled to this day by Hindus as Thulukka Nachiyar (literally, “Tughluq Princess”), who is said to have fallen in love with a Hindu god. The outline of the story is as follows: When Muslim troops from Delhi plundered temples in southern India, on their list was the great Vaishnava shrine at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu. Temple chronicles show that indeed idols were seized, and, in this story, the processional image of the deity is taken to Delhi. The reigning sultan consigns the idol to a storeroom, while a local Tamil woman, who had followed the troops, returns to Srirangam and informs the temple authorities of the precise whereabouts of their deity. Dozens of priests now make their way to court, where, after entertaining the sultan with a series of performances, they request the return of their lost idol. The cheerful Tughluq king is happy to grant them this, commanding his men to go to the storeroom and fetch Srirangam’s deity. Everyone is, at this point, rather pleased with the turn of events, and we have every hope of a happy ending.

This is where the twist occurs. It so happens that the sultan’s daughter had long before gone into the storeroom and collected the idol, taking it to her apartments and there playing with the deity as a doll. The implication, however, is that by dressing “him”, feeding him and garlanding him, as is done to deities in Hindu rituals, the princess was essentially worshipping the image, winning divine affection. When the appeal from the Srirangam party is heard, the deity puts her to sleep and agrees to return south, only for the Tughluq princess to wake up distraught—she hastens to catch up with the Brahmins, who meanwhile have split, one group hiding the idol in Tirupati. Arriving in Srirangam but not finding the deity even there, the princess perishes in the pangs of viraha (separation).

Her sacrifice is not for nothing, though. When eventually the deity comes home, He commands the priests to recognize his Muslim consort, commemorated ever since in a painting within the temple. On his processional tour of the premises, to this day, the deity is offered north Indian food at this spot (including chapatis).

The story is a remarkable one, with an exact parallel in the Melkote Thirunarayanapuram temple in Karnataka, where, in fact, she has been enshrined as a veiled idol. Though it seems unlikely that a Tughluq princess actually came to the south head over heels in love with a deity, could it have been that there was a Muslim woman instrumental in having idols released from Delhi? Or is it, as Davis suggests, a “counter-epic” where the roles are reversed: Instead of a Muslim king chasing after Hindu princesses, we have a Muslim princess besotted with the Hindu divine. By accepting the concept of the Thulukka Nachiyar, within the temple, was a space created to locate the newcomer Muslim within the world of the orthodox Hindu? The truth might lie in a combination of these possibilities, but we can be sure that it is a colourful, revealing narrative with a splendid cast, telling us once again that while there were moments of crisis between India’s faiths, legend and myth allowed them to see eye to eye and move on to fresh ground—a lesson we would be wise to remember in our own contentious times.

Medium Rare is a column on society, politics and history. Manu S. Pillai is the author of The Ivory Throne: Chronicles Of The House Of Travancore.

He tweets @UnamPIllai

source: http://www.livemint.com / LiveMint / Home> Explore / by Manu S. Pillai / March 30th, 2018

Lady daredevil stuns in the well of death

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, Travel & Tourism, , , , ,

Etah, UTTAR PRADESH / CHATTISGARH  :

Rehana Khan, perhaps the first female stunt-woman to entertain the guests at Maut ka Kuan in Numaish, Hyderabad

28-year-old Rehana Khan
28-year-old Rehana Khan

Numaish has been an integral part of every Hyderabadi, where year after year one doesn’t miss to take a stroll around the many stalls and rides. Not just the stalls but also the well of death — or maut ka kuan as it is popularly known — has always been a crowd-puller. Kids and adults alike would be excited to watch men get onto their bikes and cars as they take a round of the near-vertical pit with walls lined by wooden planks, at a high speed, often giving the audience a high five as they ride up!

However, this year the crowd hooted and cheered, as a stuntwoman made her entry and joined the team for the first time. 28-year-old Rehana Khan, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has been performing stunts for the last six years and has been invited to be a part of Numaish for the first time.

Calling it her passion, Rehana says, “I would watch men do stunts on their bike and think to myself that if they can, then I can do it too. That is when I took it up as a challenge and started practising. It feels good that being a girl from a small town, I am doing something different, and not treading on the usual path.”

It’s been a little over two weeks and Hyderabad has welcomed the daredevil with open arms. “The audience here is very happy to watch my performance. They meet me after the show and I love the respect I have been getting. As girls have a bad (and clichéd) reputation for not riding properly on the road, when people see one attempt such deadly stunts, it leaves them in awe. Women feel happy and tell me that girls are not behind boys anymore,” she adds further.

Rehana stuns the audience at Numaish, Hyderabad
Rehana stuns the audience at Numaish, Hyderabad
Stunts take Rehana to different parts of the country — Ranchi, places in Bihar and Chhattisgarh and Assam among others — but it is the respect she is getting in Hyderabad that she will “cherish forever”.
Rehana started practising right after college and it took her about six months to perfect the stunts. “If someone wants to pursue a career in it, they would require proper training. You have to make sure that you have no dizziness during or after riding on the ground. It would take a while for it to go, but once you get rid of it, the path ahead would seem easy,” she says adding, “Girls should try to create their own identity and not bow down to the stereotypes of the society. In today’s time, they are not behind men and can work as hard as them or even more.”
Her husband is always by her side, encouraging and proudly watching Rehana perform the stunts. “My family sees it as a dangerous profession but at the same time supports it since it is my passion,” she says adding that the money a stunt-woman earns is decent but it is the respect that she gets that makes it all worth.
Rehana stuns the audience at Numaish, Hyderabad
Rehana stuns the audience at Numaish, Hyderabad
She entertains the audience from 5 to 11 pm every day with minimal breaks, but Rehana has no complaints and says with pride that she took the right path. “I wanted to be known for what I do, for the society to recognise me, to meet new people and to travel to different parts of the country showcasing my talent. Money is decent but what gives me happiness is to be among people, and be known for my talent. They respect you for taking up an unusual career. I must add that Hyderabad’s reaction has been very encouraging. I like it here,” concludes the daredevil, as she rushes to get ready for another show.
source: http://www.medium.com / Medium / Home / by Neha Jha / January 20th, 2019

Kerala billionaire buys Scotland Yard for Rs 1000 crore, turns it into 5-star hotel

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , ,

KERALA / Abu Dhabi, U.A.E :

A night’s stay in the hotel, which is set to open later this year, might cost up to Rs 8 lakh.

A view of the Great Scotland Yard (Photo | http://www.twenty14holdings.com)
A view of the Great Scotland Yard (Photo | http://www.twenty14holdings.com)

Kochi :

Malayalee billionaire Yusuff Ali, who bought the Great Scotland Yard, which served as headquarters for the Metropolitan police in London, has converted it into a luxurious 5-star hotel. The renovation that cost Rs 685 cr. (£75 Million) was done in 3 years.

The business tycoon, who is chairman of Abu Dhabi-based retail giant LuLu Group had earlier bough the iconic building in 2015 for Rs 1000 crore (£110 Million). The renovated hotel is all set to open later this year and will be managed by the Hyatt Group.

When asked about the property, Yusuff Ali said: “This is a very prestigious project for us as this is one of the most well-known property not just in the UK but around the world. We have not left any stones unturned to make this the most sought-after hotel while retaining the essence of the original building, so that each of our guests get a truly memorable experience”.

Great Scotland Yard has special relevance in UK history as it was chosen by the then Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel as the headquarters for the Met police in 1829. Even after the renovation, the essence of the original building has been preserved.

The hotel will have 153 rooms and the tariff per night is expected to go up to Rs 7,79,842 (10,000 euro). These suites offer guests picturesque views of Nelson’s Column, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, making it one of the most unique locations in London.

The luxury hotel that is steeped in British political history will include references to the famous criminals of the time gone by. In a secret whisky bar, a decadent chandelier made of glass shards will be a nod to the Forty Elephants, the 19th-century gang of women known for smashing shop windows to steal jewellery. There will also be artwork by prisoners and old military uniforms.

Adeeb Ahamed, Son-in-law of Yusuff Ali and the Managing Director of Twenty14 Holdings, the hospitality arm of Lulu Group said, “Renovating the Great Scotland Yard building and unveiling the UK’s first Unbound Collection hotel will bring a truly individual and world-class hotel to London.

“The Great Scotland Yard is really an important part of the fabric of London and it is a great opportunity for us to be a part of the culture and legacy of this great city and help in its development. The Great Scotland Yard will be an enriching landmark in Westminster as a high-end luxury boutique hotel that recaptures the history, culture and essence of the London of yore.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / March 26th, 2019

Shahjahan’s urs from April 2

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

Agra, UTTAR PRADESH :

The urs of Mughal emperor Shahjahan will be observed at the historic Taj Mahal for three days from April 2 next. Entry into Taj Mahal will be free for visitors after noon on April 2 and 3 while it will be free for the entire day on April 4.

Lakhs of  devotees will throng the 17th century monument during the three-day event and will pay homage at the graves of Shahjahan and his wife Mumtaz, in whose memory the Taj Mahal was built.

On the last day, a ‘saptrangi chadar’ (multi-coloured bedsheet ) will be offered at the graves as part of a ritual. Sandalwood powder will be sprinkled on the grave too.

The urs of the Mughal king Shahjahan is celebrated on the 25, 26 and 27th day of Rajab, which falls of April 2, 3 and 4.

The Shahjahan urs committee will meet here on March 8 to decide on the arrangement and preparation to be made for the urs.

Officials said that a notification was issued by the ASI on the urs of Shahjahan. The administration will prepare a fool proof strategy to ensure full security to devotees attending the urs.

source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home> State Editions> Lucknow / by PNS, Lucknow / March 06th, 2019

The rise of Miss Khan

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Travel & Tourism, World Opinion, , , , , ,

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL / London, UNITED KINGDOM :

From the desk of Sunday magazine to a celebrated chef now on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Asma Khan’s story is one of strength, confidence and ambition

The first British chef to make it to Chef’s Table, Asma Khan is also opening all-women kitchens in conflict zones in Syria(Ming Tang-Evans)
The first British chef to make it to Chef’s Table, Asma Khan is also opening all-women kitchens in conflict zones in Syria(Ming Tang-Evans)

It is a funny feeling when a colleague from decades ago becomes a success in a totally different field. And it feels even stranger when you find yourself writing a profile of somebody you once knew as a sub-editor.

In 1990, when I edited Sunday magazine, a young girl came to see me to ask if she could try her hand at journalism. She worked at Lintas, the ad agency, she said, and wanted to do something different but not entirely unrelated.

I hired her on the spot and all of us in the office thought she was very bright and articulate. Then, a few months later, she announced that she was getting married, resigned from her position and went off to live in Cambridge with her new husband.

And that, I thought, was the last I would hear of Asma Khan.

Wrong, very wrong.

A few years ago, she sent me an email. She was now a chef in London, she wrote. Not only did she organise private dinners at home but she was also running a pop-up in a pub in Soho. Why didn’t I drop in and try her food?

I had to search my memory to remember Asma (time to be candid!) and when I asked old colleagues from the Sunday days, they said that they found it hard to believe that she was now a chef.

Then, in 2015, my friend Fay Maschler, London’s most influential critic, wrote about Asma’s pop-up. It was an unqualified rave review and she rated Asma’s little restaurant serving Kosha Mangsho and Kathi rolls ahead of most of London’s fancy Indian places.

The day the review came out, there was a line outside the pub where Asma ran her pop-up. It began raining but the people still continued queuing. Asma and her cooks were stunned. But like good Indians, they felt bad for the crowds. So they made little bowls of rice with dal and distributed them for free to those lining up. The gesture did not go unnoticed and every night after that, the small restaurant was packed. It became the cool place to go for people who wanted real Indian food.

“Fay Maschler changed my life,” says Asma now. And indeed, the changes have been dramatic. A year and a half ago, the owners of Kingly Court, a new development off Carnaby Street in the centre of London, offered her a dream deal on a site for a full-fledged restaurant. The restaurant opened to glowing reviews and became a symbol of the new London. Nigella Lawson came. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, praised it. And Asma appeared on the list of the 100 most influential people in food in the UK.

Fay Maschler, London’s most influential critic, discovered Asma
Fay Maschler, London’s most influential critic, discovered Asma

But a few months ago, Asma received her biggest accolade yet. The Netflix series Chef’s Table has featured some of the world’s greatest chefs. It has the power to turn a chef’s life around. Gaggan Anand says that even more than all the honours and awards he has earned (two stars from Michelin, number one restaurant in Asia for an unprecedented four years in a row etc.), it is Chef’s Table that made people from all over the world fly in to Bangkok to eat at his restaurant.

____________________________________________________________

Asma Khan is Kolkata’s second contribution to the global food world

____________________________________________________________

There has been much heartburn in the UK that no British chef has ever made it to Chef’s Table.

So when Netflix announced that it had finally selected a British chef, there was much anticipation. To everyone’s surprise, they chose Asma.

The show airs later this month and as I told Asma, her life will never be the same again. She will soon be one of the world’s most celebrated chefs, the best known Indian chef in the UK and perhaps globally, with the exception of Gaggan.

Chicken samosas served with spicy sesame and red chillies chutney, and tamarind chutney ( Ming Tang-Evans )
Chicken samosas served with spicy sesame and red chillies chutney, and tamarind chutney ( Ming Tang-Evans )

As wonderful as all this is, a little voice inside my head kept asking, “How did Asma, the same old Asma from the Sunday desk end up becoming one of the great chefs to be featured on Chef’s Table? Had she been a secret cook all along even as she laboured over copy? Had she worked at some of the world’s best restaurants? Had she reinvented classic Indian dishes?”

The answer: none of the above.

The Asma story is so incredible that if you made a movie with this plot, you would be accused of asking too much of the viewer. Suspension of disbelief is okay, but Asma’s life takes us far beyond that.

Darjeeling Express started as a dinner for 12 guests at home and is now a hugely successful restaurant ( Ming Tang-Evans )
Darjeeling Express started as a dinner for 12 guests at home and is now a hugely successful restaurant ( Ming Tang-Evans )

She was born in Calcutta to a family with roots in nawabi culture (what we would call landed gentry, I guess). She had a standard middle-class upbringing (La Martiniere and Loreto) before going out to work (Lintas and then Sunday). Her parents introduced her to Mushtaq, a brilliant Bangladeshi economist who was a don at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge. Asma and Mushtaq had, what was for all practical purposes, an arranged marriage and she moved to Cambridge.

Beetroot chops, Bengali spiced croquettes made with British beetroots ( Ming Tang-Evans )
Beetroot chops, Bengali spiced croquettes made with British beetroots ( Ming Tang-Evans )

She was miserable. “I thought the Quran had it wrong when it described hell,” she recalls. “Hell was Cambridge.” She hated the cold, the greyness, the drab English environment (especially after the sights, smells and sounds of Calcutta).

Asma’s book, a collection of authentic Indian recipes
Asma’s book, a collection of authentic Indian recipes

Though her mother had run a catering business in Calcutta, Asma did not know how to cook. She could read copy, she could give clever headlines. But she had no kitchen experience. Fortunately Mushtaq had no interest in food.

So she turned to studying. She got a law degree, and then decided to do a PhD in law. By then, Mushtaq had shifted to the School of Oriental and African Studies in London so she applied to King’s College at London University. She talked the dons at King’s into letting her go directly to a doctorate without a Masters.

Black chickpeas (kaala channa) cooked with ginger and dried red chilies at Darjeeling Express ( Ming Tang-Evans )
Black chickpeas (kaala channa) cooked with ginger and dried red chilies at Darjeeling Express ( Ming Tang-Evans )

She chose, for her thesis, a subject that was as far removed from Calcutta as possible: how the UK handles the separation of Church and State. But even as she was discussing whether the British monarch should be ‘defender of the faith’, a hitherto undiscovered cooking gene deep inside her reasserted itself.

Chef Vivek Singh offered Asma a pop-up at Cinnamon Club
Chef Vivek Singh offered Asma a pop-up at Cinnamon Club

She began to make the food of her ancestors, going back to old family recipes. Eventually, cooking became such an obsession that she started hosting pop-up dinners. Her husband disapproved of the idea so she cooked the dinners when he was travelling. (“We cleared up the house so well,” she laughs “that usko pata hi nahi chala!”)

But her two children, who were not happy with having the house taken over by strangers, complained to their father and soon the jig was up.

Asma is nothing if not super confident, so she called such famous London chefs as Cyrus Todiwala and Vivek Singh to her house for dinner to try her biryani. Even though none of them knew her, they came anyway. They were kind and encouraging. Vivek Singh was so impressed that he offered her a pop-up at his The Cinnamon Club restaurant. She took her all-women team of cooks and won over the all-male Cinnamon Club kitchen team. (“I will always be grateful to Vivek for that,” she says.)

The all-women kitchen team at Darjeeling Express, London
The all-women kitchen team at Darjeeling Express, London

That gave her the credibility to do a full-time pop-up. Word of her skills got out. Fay discovered her. And the rest is the stuff Chef’s Table episodes are made of.

Now, with the success of Darjeeling Express, Asma is well-known in London. People make much of her nearly all-women team. (My wife, who came to lunch at Darjeeling Express with me, loved the female energy; she was sold on the restaurant even before the first dish arrived.) Asma is overtly political, speaking out about sexual harassment in restaurant kitchens, breaking the conspiracy of silence that women in the business have gone along with and has become a symbol of the success that Asian women can find if they overcome prejudice and their own apprehensions.

But ultimately, I judge chefs by their food not by their stories. And Asma’s was terrific. We had puchkas, Bihari phulkis (like pakoras), Kosha Mangsho, a Calcutta mutton chaap, kaalachanna, chicken samosas, beetroot chops and so much more. None of it was molecular or clever, clever. It was just excellent.

You will hear more about Asma in the months ahead.

After Gaggan, she is Kolkata’s second contribution to the global food world.

And you will hear about her in non-food contexts. She is opening all-women kitchens in conflict zones in Syria. As she says, “I don’t want to be remembered as a great chef. I want women to come to my grave and say ‘she changed my life’; that’s what matters.”

She is not short on confidence and ambition, our Asma. And I have a feeling that she will end up being the most successful person to ever emerge from the offices of Sunday magazine!

From HT Brunch, February 24, 2019 / Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch /Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Brunch / by Vir Sangvi, Hindustan Times / February 24th, 2019