ODE TO UNDHIYU..............
As winter sets in, spreading its blanket of chill across the western belt of our country, it brings with it different meaning to different cities. Ahmedabad, 275 kms North of Surat is celebrating with cultural programmes in open air under starlit skies .Its people, are enriching themselves in the wealth of poetry, dance,drama and musical recitals. Mumbai, 275 kms South of Surat is celebrating winter fashion in style, whilst by lanes within Bandra are warming up with pre Christmas marketing. Surtis on the other hand, are celebrating winter with what they do the best-preparing Gujarati gourmet delights. Surtis are foodies and every season brings in with it a special menu for the trimester.
All roads leading in to Surat from Vapi onwards will see smoke billowing from roadside stalls .The farm labourers from the Tapi to Vapi belt prepare a little known dish called the umbadiyu in winter. The umbadiyu is a darker,smoky cousin of undhiyu.Made with wild black papdi from village Bhata, along with yam, sweetpotato, brinjal, it is marinated with ginger and chilli paste then baked in a clay pot which is sealed with aromatic leaves of Kaler and Camboi.
This pot is buried in a hole in the ground, covered with hay and cow dung cakes and burnt for about 40 minutes small portion of this delicacy is put in an earthen kullad at the mouth of the matka to check when its done. This sampler is fondly called a 'daakan[witch]'Umbadiyu is served with green chutney and buttermilk,often relished by the roadside.
The Parsis from Udavada add on eggs and pieces of chicken to the same and call it adadiyu [not to be confused with adadhiyu of Daman which would mean 375 mls of alcohol].
Winter's batch of Sugarcane crop will be put to good use ,grown in the numerous tiny villages that surround our town,carried out proudly in a jingling procession of decorated bullock carts to various sugar factories. Salempak, Methipak, Khajoorpak, Gunderpak are sweets prepared to fight the winter chill. A special khadiya-mundi mutton is prepared in most Khatri homes.Fresh garlic will be chopped for' lasan nu kachu' as well as be sprinkled over vegetables and various egg preparations. Of course our king green millet-Ponk will be much awaited. But over and above all these preparations,the meal that is considered as the ultimate meal in Surati communities is 'Malai,puri and undhiyu'.Many homes in Surat traditionally invite family and friends in winter for the same,the preparation is often marinated overnight for all the swad to sink in.
And this dearies is my salute to the unbeatable,irresistible exclusive Surti preparation that does not taste as good anywhere else ,the world over
–The undhiyu –
'O sweet creatures of Katargaam's creeper vine.You, the green papdi tender as one would ever find,with fragrance that lingers on the fingers that string you,
Surrounded in the richness of yam from Puna Kubharia,plantains ,potatoes,sakariyas,stuffed wild brinjals and what have you ,
Enriched in flavour by seaseme oil and green garlic,prepared on the sim, marinated in a chilli ginger paste; with supple fenugreek dumplings that enhance your taste.
While asafetida and ajwain are tempered to tease,as taste buds tuck in coconut and corriander,thoughroughly pleased.
The epitome of Tapti cooking ,a gourmet's delight ,an art to achieve,an exotic treat,a taste impossible to beat..............here is to you,'O Surti Undhiyu!'

Tapi Town Tattle-The two words that are taboo in friendship henceforth?----Dost,Aana!

STONE AGE TO SPACE AGE..................
For all us wishful Moonrakers out here, Chandrayaan 1 seems to be making dreams come true. Exploring boldly into the final frontier where few men have gone before, to the land of lovers -the Moon .While mere mortals rejoice with the celestial pictures it sends back, very soon, we Surtis will be able to observe the Moon, Space and various Planets through our own Hubble adaptation..................
If you’ve noticed, there is a majestic piece of architecture coming up at the corner of Citylight .With its lofty Cuddapah stone exterior and an interior that will boast of one of the country’s most modern Planetarium and Art mueseum.At present the project is called the Science Centre.
By midsummer next year, the SMC is hopeful to shift and inaugurate the Sardar Vallabh Patel museum and planetarium from Chowk to Citylight. This area originally was part of the Panas cotton farm project that was once a walker’s paradise .Panas agriculture farm still exists albeit now has lost its quaint old charm to more modern roads and crazy traffic flowing within the fields of cotton crop.
Many famous ancient observatories around our country were made in the early eighteenth century by Sawai Jai Singh the second. Known as Jantar Mantar, they still exist in Jaipur, Delhi, Varanasi and Ujjain. A clever politician and keen astronomer, Jai Singh owned all the land between Delhi and Southern shores of Gujarat including Surat, from where he sent out a fact finding scientific mission to Europe.
The museum at Surat was put up in the premises of the Leiy Weaving Shed at the East end of the Mecca Bridge, just across Victoria Garden [Gandhi Baugh].The then collector of Surat-Mr.Winchester,organized setting it up and it was named after him. Locals would call it ‘ajayabghar’or’jadughar’.Housing stones that depicted various phases of the Moon, ancient text, sandalwood carvings,porcelain,stuffed animal,bird species, exotic marine fossils ,exclusive jari and lace work, it used to generate a lot of curious visitors then.
Post Independence, it was revived and renamed Sardar Vallabh Patel museum; inaugurated by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri on 6-5-1956.Unfortunately, along with the city, it has faced a number of floods in 1959,1968,1970,1998 and of course the most recent and worst-2006.The museum has lost unretreivable valuables in these floods. The department of Museology of M.S.University of Baroda and the National Museum of Delhi have been most helpful in reviving what was left.
Since its inception, the most valuable artefacts on display have been donated by the philanthropic gentry of our large hearted town. As the SMC prepares with state of the art equipment for the new planetarium, the museum in its new avatar will display more than 8000 specimens and is open to donations by us citizens.
Once upon a time SMC had decided to shift it to the fort but now, the museum and planetarium will hold a coveted place in Tapi town.Soon, the Sun, Moon and stars won’t be out of reach for us Surtis.
Tapi Town Tattle-In these days of recession, President Obama has changed the three golden words from ‘I love you’ to ‘Yes, we can’!