Surat’s Sizzling Street Treats

Ashleshaa Khurana

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The monsoon finally made its date with Surat, albeit a month late; but, that has not been a deterrent to Surat’s foodies who are fond of munching in the rain and even otherwise. From secluded pockets around Tapi town function roadside kiosks that add a crunch to your regular munch and make you want more. Here are a few such sizzling street treats that won’t burn your pockets but will set your tongues on fire with their fiery flavours.

Bread-rolls by Champa at Parle Point. This is the onerous labourer’s breakfast joint near Ambika Niketan bus-stop. The rolls are crunchy crusts of bread wrapped over a bed of steamy mashed potatoes spiked with mustard seeds, chopped green chillis, coriander leaves with salt to taste and turmeric for colour. Served with runny sweet and spicy gram flour chutney which will make you lick your fingers and click your tongue.

Piping hot soup at Nakhuda Nasta Centre,Rander. At the corner of teen batti char rasta near Chunarwaad Masjid,this place functions from sehri to iftar time – 6 a.m to 7 pm, other than the khowsuey and other yummy delights written about before, it serves bowls of vegetarian and chicken soup which is heart warming and filling. Garnished with crunchy bits of spring onion greens, fried garlic and crispy wheat strips you have to sip and slurp this one to believe how good something so simple and light can taste.

Sai Ragda Petis on Tower road, opposite Hariharan Pustakalay .Functioning from just beside the Mahidarpura police station, the stall here is set up only 4 pm onwards. I discovered this hot favourite via true blue Surti Manoj Singapuri whose camera lens loves Surat .Don’t be fooled by the docile looking heart shaped potato petis , it is packed with spice infused gram dal, the chilli level of which will remind you of Bhut Jolakia- the world’s hottest pepper. This is doused with a serene smooth ragda to calm your taste buds simultaneously. Topped with uniformly chopped onions, and fine sev over which a tongue teasing tamarind relish is drizzled. In case you ears begin to smoke with the chilli, they also serve hot soft gulab jamuns .

Masala corn on the cob at Lakeview Garden,Piplod. This is easily Surat’s most under-rated rain treat. The boiled corn is American, the heat provided to it thereafter is on a tin stove filled with burning coal embers. Once the smoke sets up its flavours, the ‘bhutta’ is rubbed with lemon juice,salt and red chilli powder. Wrapped in lime green leaves, one bite and you are in juicy heaven!

Mayur Bhajiya, Nanpura . I found It because #Foodoholic Prakash Anandani was tweeting while eating there .While it deserves an entire column; today’s recommends with the rain are its oomph la la tomato and chilli pakoras. The veggies are slit, within them is stuffed a spicy filling with a hint of sugar,next they are dipped in entirety in a gram flour batter and deep fried .These seemingly innocent looking bhajiyas have layers of flavours to be discovered once you bite in.

Surat’s jaman during the rainy season will surely get into ‘sulag sulag jaye mann’ singing mode.Devour these and set fire to the rain .

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Surat: Epitome of Gujarat Model

Ashleshaa Khurana

As ‘the Gujarat Model’ becomes the centre of political debate this election season, no other city in the state stands as significant as Surat. Last week, our city was judged as India’s best city to live in for the amenities it offers its citizens . For Surtis, it has always been the way of good life they have lived since ages.This is a trend that Tapi town has been following since centuries. Development is ingrained in the basic roots of this district and its denizens and overcoming all odds that have come its way ,Surat has managed to outshine all other Indian cities when it comes to progress, here is why :

Trade : A globally renowned port, with extensive amounts of commodities including textile and precious stones,exported out of and imported in here, Surat was one of the major money spinners of India as early as the fifteenth century.Surat’s markets were called ,”as populous as those in London” by Peter Mundy . With its constant international and national visitors of the mercantile community, many of whom settled here, it was a cosmopolitan centuries before Bombay, Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta.

Finance: Records state that Surat’s local businessmen from Surat like Virji Vora, Hari Vaishya, Mulla Abdul Gaffur who bankrolled the administration be it Mughal or British, lending lakhs of rupees in those days to the governing authorities, so that the city would have a steady governance to enable the traders to function better in their business. Surat’s shroffs controlled the price of the bullions and decided the rates at which gold from around the world would be exchanged here.

Infrastructure:  Built in 1510,Gopi Talav ,the city’s much celebrated lake had enough capacity to provide water to the entire city and a system to collect rain water ,as well cisterns to purify it from mud and dry leaves. Sir Thomas Roe , the English diplomat who obtained farmans for the English to trade in Surat in the 17^th century wrote how ,”Surat is the fountainhead and life of all East India trade. The road to Swally (Suvali) and the port of Surat are the fittest in all the Mughal’s territory.  The Surat-Agra-Delhi business corridor existed even 400 years ago as a major trade route! Edward Terry, chaplain at the English Factory of Surat penned,”Surat has luxurious summer houses with garden walks, fountains and bathing places that the wealthy merchants of Surat have built for them outside the city. Jari and textile industries took advantage of electricity as early as 1920’s thanks to Surat Electric Company.

Education : Surat was the seat of the learned Jain Bhataraks since the 14^th century.One of India’s earliest universities the Arabic IBO University,originally founded by the 43^rd Dai Syedna Abdeali Saifuddin in 1814, is located in Zhampa Bazar,home town of the foremost among litterateurs Kavi Narmad, Surat had a world class library –The Andrews Library way back in 1850,stacked with tomes from around the world ,even though India’s literacy rate at the time of Independence was only 12.2%

Agriculture and animal husbandry: The Encyclopedia of Indian Agriculture include Fryer’s accounts the 17^th century describing Surat’s fields growing in abundance potatoes and brinjals .The Portuguese brought in the cultivation of potatoes which they called ‘Batata’ as we still do.Abu Fazl’s early records praises the pineapples, pomegranates, custard apples,mangoes and oranges grown here.  While the hundreds of little villages which surround Surat grew in abundance everything from cash crops like poppy, to sugarcane to cotton, the city has had Panjarapol since more than 250 years now where the best of the veterinarians attend to cattle needs.

CHURNING OUT LAUGH RIOTS

Ashleshaa Khurana

Leaving Surtis hysterical with humorous performances, The Comedy Factory team made its debut in Surat last Saturday. The audience bent over their belly buttons laughing till they cried watching and listening to the first ever stand –up comedy show in Tapi town of quality calibre.

Brainchild of Manan Desai – an ace performer of dead pan humour , an intelligent mind with a poker straight face, The Comedy Factory renowned for its insanity around Gujarat found new fan following for their playful and mischievous dialogue while shooting down hilarious point bullets at existential and metaphorical buzzing bugs of present day topics. Team member Ojas Rawal, the specialist at researching local flavour focused on food and human behaviour encapsulating it brilliantly with the culmination of western and Indian mannerisms.

In for a funny treat, Surtis had the added advantage to watch winner of CEO’s Got Talent- Atul Khatri at what he does best-make people laugh. He found Surat’s audience as receptive as that of Bombay,Delhi and Bangalore. Amidst unending claps and whistles, he rendered dirty-hairy jokes about Sindhis, snack –shop tourism of Gujaratis and issues over toilet tissues. Weaving audience participation within his pieces to make them even more live wire. This CEO of a computer company, who found his calling in stand up comedy and has been short listed as one of the country’s most promising artists at that, Khatri said ,” I actually suffered from stage fright as a kid and although was never trained for this began it to make life spicier and increase my own confidence. It requires real guts. On stage one is up there, alone and knows he has to deliver the value of the audience’s money, engage them in an interaction, and ensure that the risky material in a joke does not offend, even though it is always at someone’s expense. Stand up comedians perceive even serious problems differently, with unique presentation. Within 30 – 35 minutes they begin strong, keep up the fizz and end with a grand high.”

Ace of The Comedy Factory base -Smit Pandya won the audience applause and hearts with his desi flavoured fun takes. Spontaneous, free spirited, the clarity of his diction and voice modulation match up to that of Paresh Rawal. Pandya a theatre artist since the age of 11 is a lecturer and his Masters degree of Social work along with his mirth has helped him save three suicidal youngsters. With thousands of clicks on his Youtube performances, he makes sure his acts do not get monotonous.” Stand up comedians intertwine current topics into acts so that audiences can identify with them. We constantly upgrade ourselves to lift the genre and quality of entertainment. Manan and me have therefore begun the ‘Improv comedy ‘acts  .”

Managing director Vidya Desai points out that while profits are not the main motive, “The Comedy Factory is a platform where artists from all over India unite to bring a cosmopolitan flavour of English and regional comedy ,social and political issues, and acceptable adult content to the audience.”

Event partner Prakash Hathi said,”I have seen few things in life are better in actuality than on screen –this was one such event. Extracting humour out of everything, the way these guys connected with business minded Surtis was amazing.”

Freelance media consultant Hetvi Choksi said,”Am not a stand- up comedy lover and was forced to attend by a friend but I enjoyed it to the extent that my jaws were hurting post the show. I haven’t laughed so much in a live event and am looking forward to more in future.

  What Women Want

International Women's Day 2014 is themed on 'Inspiring Change'

Centuries after neurologist Sigmund Freud failed to psychoanalyze what it was that women want, and more than a hundred years of International Women’s Day celebrations later, modern man is still clueless about what it is that women want.

Maybe be it would help a little if we began with what men want. Peace, love, joy, money, power, sex,success and adventure would wrap all that an average man would desire in his life. The truth is, women are no different and require all of the above equally.

But here is where the rules of the game differ when it comes to men and women. She goes through PMS, labour and childbirth, yet is called the weaker sex because she is naturally inclined to be more emotional and sensitive. She runs home, hearth, handles saas-bahu issues playing both the roles, and raises the children while he is called the man of the house. She multitasks and steps out to earn but has to constantly protect her reputation in doing so. Men who go about womanizing are called ‘dudes,’ women who find it in their heart the capability to love more than one man are immediately branded being sluts. If he raises his voice for anything, he is a hero, if she has the courage to do so, she is a ‘burn the bra feminist who wants to be a man ‘

International Women’s Day is a special day designated for women to come forward seize the day to pledge and promise themselves first, and their mothers, sisters and daughters that they will be the change they need to see. Whether it is women in space, more lady pilots, more leaders, more activists amplifying for women’s rights to issues ranging from abortion to commercial sex workers, with every advancing generation, women are getting one step further towards their goal, breaking barriers the globe over.

What women need to do is think global and act local. Even as they love to adorn themselves , they need to be beyond being just an object of beauty seeking appreciation. Women need not cite a hero among them, for they all are one, just the way they are, all they need to do is realize it and never give up on themselves ,especially when all others do.

 That is why IWD is important. Happy Women’s Day.Celebrate being you, just the way you are.