Food on trains from and to Surat
In the absence of air connectivity, its train tracks that link Surat and Surtis to various cities around India.
While the chugging experience tends to last from anything between a couple of hours to an overnight journey, Surtis who are foodies by nature find it hard not to munch away in between stations. Mice and roach infested coaches do not deter the determined diners at nights neither does the hustle bustle of day time duress within over packed compartments hamper taste buds .
A lot of locals and migrants carry disposable boxes from home, armed with comfort food for cravings, but with their entire hygienic home made theplas, puri bhajis and moong bhakri tiffins, they still find it hard to resist railway food.
Unlike reheated cold food which tastes like cardboard which is available on most domestic flights (barring a rare few), train food is a rung above in the case of hot service. Attendants smoothly saunter in and out of bogies, perfectly balancing tea trays, lazy lunches and dinner treats.
While luxury express trains like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi put up showy trays, teacups, flasks and plates; cattle class compartments have their own exclusive specials which the A C coach riders have no access to.
A brekkar enroute to Mumbai in your first class coupe will comprise of seasonal fruit, fruit juice, service tea, cornflakes with hot/cold milk option, eggs made to order or cheesy omlettes, cutlets with boiled veggies, all served in style on a flexi table .If you are Goa bound, there are direct trains that serve South Indian fare like upma (served steaming hot in a casserole) Idlis and Medu vadas with Sambar and coconut chutney accompaniments.
Meanwhile, the jam packed regular coaches has vendors tempting the travelers with their hot pokoras, dal samosas, batata wadas, poha and masala chai.Aluminium kettles with their spouts clogged with a wad of newspaper offer instant rejuvenation to the tired tourist scrambling for space.
Lunch on the Amritsar-Mumbai Deluxe has its Indian masala chicken curry as the most popular item on track. Commuters enjoy it along with a runny mutter paneer gravy, glutenous yellow dal tadka and thick rotis tightly wrapped in foil. With papad and achar to tickle the taste buds.
Tea time treats on trains that come in from the North have samosas and sweetsmeat while Mumbai bound ones have Kachoris. Dipped tea bags brings little relief to masala chai lovers, often attendants give in to request and provide a ginger-mint special.
Evenings on trains to and from Surat can be spent sipping on tomato soup which is generously accompanied with bread sticks and a cube of butter. The August Kranti is reputed for its special dinner that consists of continental grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and boiled vegetables on the side. The egg curry on Jaipur Express is amazing, though little can be said about the cuisine on other Rajasthan bound trains.
Often, one can hop off to catch a special local treat at station stops like Dahanu has fresh white jamuns and masala chana dal mixed with uniformly chopped onions, chillies and a sprinkle of lime juice, Vadodra has hot dal wadas with killer fried green chillies, Abu road is popular for freshly sliced cucumber, carrots and earthen kullads filled to the brim with rabdi, Chittorgarh has spicy poha topped with crunchy Ratlami sev, Ajmer has hot mirchi bhajiyas stuffed with a tangy hot potato filling.
Being Mumbai born, I am quite snooty about my Vada Pav treat. The heavenly taste of spiced potato nestled in crunchy gram batter, teased with ginger and chillies, sandwiched between buttery bread that has been layered with tear jerking red chilly garlic paste is not surpassed in any other town. I tried the Surat station version yesterday, it looked decent enough and just as I bit in, I noticed the newspaper it was wrapped in.There, drenched with oil was the column I wrote last week .Needless to say, it was difficult to swallow the first morsel eaten from my own words.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Panjarapol : Surviving Pataliputra's Prototype
The ‘Rampurva Bull Capital’ is India’s outstanding sandstone depict sourced from Bihar. It adorns the Rashtrapati Bhavan beneath Lutyen's dodecastyle portico. Built during Emperor Asoka’s regime (350BC) it has the words ‘Panesu Saymo’inscribed on it .The closest translation of this Pali script in Sanskrit means ‘sarveshu pranayshu samyamah ‘ meaning ‘all living creatures are equal’. It represents the veterinary profession as one of India’s best heritage.
Historians have enough reason to believe that India’s veterinary hospitals were first established in Asoka’s regime ,where wards were put up to treat and shelter animals both indoors and outdoor, medicinal herbs were provided for and at times even imported via sea route from other countries. Historians also believe Surat’s Banniyan Hospital is one amongst the survivals of its prototype at Pataliputra, founded by the Maurya Monarch* (* V.A.Smith-Early History of India).
While the Europeans called it so in their books because it was run by the Banniyans (Vanias) in Surat, this hospital which has been mentioned in many European and American history books is none other than the one we know as ‘Panjarapol’- the institution on Ghodod road that tends to all animals and birds which take ill; providing them a safe asylum.
The official status of this historical hospital states it to be more than 250 years old. During Aurungzeb’s regime, a cow could not be slaughtered in important places like Surat.According to an account, the Hindus payed butchers a fixed amount to spare cattle. Any attempts made by the English merchants to obtain beef were strongly opposed and would lead to mayhem. In 1608, an intoxicated Englishman named Thomas Tucker killed a calf which led to a riot of sorts in Tapi town. (Journal of John Jourdain 1608-1617)
J. Ovington has mentioned in his travelogue how Surtis considered charity towards animals as an act of great virtue. Diseased, lame, infirm cows, buffaloes, dogs, horses, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, monkeys, poultry, pigeons, birds and turtles found refuge and relief at the Panjarapol. In the ancient times, part of its land was used to cultivate medicinal herbs and grass for cattle graze.Ovington also mentions a hospital for fleas, bugs and vermin which existed next to it in the 17th century. The Encyclopedia Britannica states that this ward which was meant for rats, mice and insects,’ frequently hired beggars from streets for a stipulated sum to pass a night on the express condition of suffering them to enjoy their feast without molestation. Every night a poor fellow suffers himself to be preyed upon, while being strapped naked on the cot.’
Present day, Panjarapol has 7000 creatures under its roof. It has the lowest death rate in the country at 0.3-0.4 %, as well as the most modern hospital for animals in India with extremely qualified vets and state of the art facilities for x-ray, laparoscopy, sonography, cardiogram, endoscopies, blood serum analyzers, photo microscope etc.
The Nandini hospital here which has conducted thousands of life saving operations on various animals recently began its ‘Mission anti plastic’. Rescuing stray cows brought in by the SMC, it has conducted 50 operations to remove plastic and other toxic waste from the stomach of these speechless animals who suffer silently. Almost 35-50 kilos of plastic bags along with blades, iron nails, bottle corks, paper clips, straws etc find way into the stomachs of these cows via garbage on roadsides. The plastic melts within the cow’s stomach and starts lining it as well as the intestines affecting food absorption which leads to the cow turning anorexic. Such cows tire easily; losing their glossy sheen and suppleness, before ultimately dying a slow, painful death.
The least we can do to preserve our heritage of kindness towards these living creatures is to begin disposing garbage responsibly and stop using plastic bags.
Historians have enough reason to believe that India’s veterinary hospitals were first established in Asoka’s regime ,where wards were put up to treat and shelter animals both indoors and outdoor, medicinal herbs were provided for and at times even imported via sea route from other countries. Historians also believe Surat’s Banniyan Hospital is one amongst the survivals of its prototype at Pataliputra, founded by the Maurya Monarch* (* V.A.Smith-Early History of India).
While the Europeans called it so in their books because it was run by the Banniyans (Vanias) in Surat, this hospital which has been mentioned in many European and American history books is none other than the one we know as ‘Panjarapol’- the institution on Ghodod road that tends to all animals and birds which take ill; providing them a safe asylum.
The official status of this historical hospital states it to be more than 250 years old. During Aurungzeb’s regime, a cow could not be slaughtered in important places like Surat.According to an account, the Hindus payed butchers a fixed amount to spare cattle. Any attempts made by the English merchants to obtain beef were strongly opposed and would lead to mayhem. In 1608, an intoxicated Englishman named Thomas Tucker killed a calf which led to a riot of sorts in Tapi town. (Journal of John Jourdain 1608-1617)
J. Ovington has mentioned in his travelogue how Surtis considered charity towards animals as an act of great virtue. Diseased, lame, infirm cows, buffaloes, dogs, horses, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, monkeys, poultry, pigeons, birds and turtles found refuge and relief at the Panjarapol. In the ancient times, part of its land was used to cultivate medicinal herbs and grass for cattle graze.Ovington also mentions a hospital for fleas, bugs and vermin which existed next to it in the 17th century. The Encyclopedia Britannica states that this ward which was meant for rats, mice and insects,’ frequently hired beggars from streets for a stipulated sum to pass a night on the express condition of suffering them to enjoy their feast without molestation. Every night a poor fellow suffers himself to be preyed upon, while being strapped naked on the cot.’
Present day, Panjarapol has 7000 creatures under its roof. It has the lowest death rate in the country at 0.3-0.4 %, as well as the most modern hospital for animals in India with extremely qualified vets and state of the art facilities for x-ray, laparoscopy, sonography, cardiogram, endoscopies, blood serum analyzers, photo microscope etc.
The Nandini hospital here which has conducted thousands of life saving operations on various animals recently began its ‘Mission anti plastic’. Rescuing stray cows brought in by the SMC, it has conducted 50 operations to remove plastic and other toxic waste from the stomach of these speechless animals who suffer silently. Almost 35-50 kilos of plastic bags along with blades, iron nails, bottle corks, paper clips, straws etc find way into the stomachs of these cows via garbage on roadsides. The plastic melts within the cow’s stomach and starts lining it as well as the intestines affecting food absorption which leads to the cow turning anorexic. Such cows tire easily; losing their glossy sheen and suppleness, before ultimately dying a slow, painful death.
The least we can do to preserve our heritage of kindness towards these living creatures is to begin disposing garbage responsibly and stop using plastic bags.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Voyage To Surat- J Ovington
Time Traveler In Surat
A good read in hand turns every travel trip into a two- fold adventure. Travelogues in particular, are perfect in providing the experience of a new culture. Such books encapsulate a different age in time while simultaneously enabling the reader to perceive it with the eyes of a writer.
Centuries since it was published in 1696, John Ovington’s travelogue-A Voyage To Surat in the year 1689, remains oft quoted a favourite and of the greatest possible value to historians and readers alike, who want a glimpse of Surat in the days of yore. Popular in the Australian National Library on one hand, this journal by an English Chaplain provides for case study to many Universities in the United States of America, on the other.
Considered one of the liveliest travel books, Ovington has been described as ‘a shrewd and practical observer of men and manners and by no means devoid of a sense of humour’, on his detailed account of Surat, as he saw it at the end of the 17th century.
Poet Laureate Naham Tate, famous author of the metrical paraphrase ‘The Psalms’, wrote a poetry on Ovington’s ‘Voyage to Surat ‘part of which reads,
’you have so lively Your Discoveries writ, We Read and Voyage with you as we sit, With you hoise Sail and reach the Indian shore; the real scene cou’d scarce delight us more.’
On 11th of April, 1689, Ovington set sail from Gravesend on East India Company’s vessel-Benjamin. While the first hundred odd pages provide for description of the exotic islands he visited en route from Madeira to Bombay, it is upon him embarking at Surat and the two and a half years that he spent there, that accounts for the true essence of the book.
Ovington’s profound and prolific proses provide a detailed and disciplined study of Surat’s contemporary life, customs, religious observances and politics. His diligent observation of the skilled commerce and cuisine that the town till date remains famous for, gives a picturesque glance of Surat city, whose bazaars, he wrote were ‘more populous than any part of London’.
Describing the Castle Green trade grounds and the ‘Kanchanis’-nautch girls who provided entertainment for traders by the river Tapi, John weaves the reader in the warp and weft of Surat’s rich silks, velvets, and taffeta. His text sparkles about the splendour of diamonds, rubies, sapphire and topazes; it is aromatic of spices that were shipped in and out namely nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon and mace.
It accounts how custom duty was charged at $ 1000 for an English ship of 400 tons. He describes how,’ Gold of Suratt is so very fine that 12 or 14 per Cent may be often gained by bringing it to Europe’, how silver had very little alloy in it, that 60 copper pice summed up to a Roupie and often bitter almonds were passed around as currency!
The crux of the commerce lay in the calm that the city functioned with.Ovington points out how despite of Surat being a conflux of several nations, this port from where Haj pilgrims sailed out, was a Mecca for universal merchants where foreign nationals such as Europeans, Arabs, Persian, Turks Armenians and locals merged in large numbers, yet, there was not a single capital punishment carried out in 20 years.
A good read in hand turns every travel trip into a two- fold adventure. Travelogues in particular, are perfect in providing the experience of a new culture. Such books encapsulate a different age in time while simultaneously enabling the reader to perceive it with the eyes of a writer.
Centuries since it was published in 1696, John Ovington’s travelogue-A Voyage To Surat in the year 1689, remains oft quoted a favourite and of the greatest possible value to historians and readers alike, who want a glimpse of Surat in the days of yore. Popular in the Australian National Library on one hand, this journal by an English Chaplain provides for case study to many Universities in the United States of America, on the other.
Considered one of the liveliest travel books, Ovington has been described as ‘a shrewd and practical observer of men and manners and by no means devoid of a sense of humour’, on his detailed account of Surat, as he saw it at the end of the 17th century.
Poet Laureate Naham Tate, famous author of the metrical paraphrase ‘The Psalms’, wrote a poetry on Ovington’s ‘Voyage to Surat ‘part of which reads,
’you have so lively Your Discoveries writ, We Read and Voyage with you as we sit, With you hoise Sail and reach the Indian shore; the real scene cou’d scarce delight us more.’
On 11th of April, 1689, Ovington set sail from Gravesend on East India Company’s vessel-Benjamin. While the first hundred odd pages provide for description of the exotic islands he visited en route from Madeira to Bombay, it is upon him embarking at Surat and the two and a half years that he spent there, that accounts for the true essence of the book.
Ovington’s profound and prolific proses provide a detailed and disciplined study of Surat’s contemporary life, customs, religious observances and politics. His diligent observation of the skilled commerce and cuisine that the town till date remains famous for, gives a picturesque glance of Surat city, whose bazaars, he wrote were ‘more populous than any part of London’.
Describing the Castle Green trade grounds and the ‘Kanchanis’-nautch girls who provided entertainment for traders by the river Tapi, John weaves the reader in the warp and weft of Surat’s rich silks, velvets, and taffeta. His text sparkles about the splendour of diamonds, rubies, sapphire and topazes; it is aromatic of spices that were shipped in and out namely nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon and mace.
It accounts how custom duty was charged at $ 1000 for an English ship of 400 tons. He describes how,’ Gold of Suratt is so very fine that 12 or 14 per Cent may be often gained by bringing it to Europe’, how silver had very little alloy in it, that 60 copper pice summed up to a Roupie and often bitter almonds were passed around as currency!
The crux of the commerce lay in the calm that the city functioned with.Ovington points out how despite of Surat being a conflux of several nations, this port from where Haj pilgrims sailed out, was a Mecca for universal merchants where foreign nationals such as Europeans, Arabs, Persian, Turks Armenians and locals merged in large numbers, yet, there was not a single capital punishment carried out in 20 years.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
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