yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

ODOC - Meat of the matter One District One Cuisine ( ODOC ) initiative of the Uttar Pradesh state government is in the news.  My initial reaction was that Uttar Pradesh has since long accorded food the priority it warrants. Today too, besides taste and variety, it respects seasonality, celebrates harvests, and prioritizes home-cooking – per capita usage of food-delivery apps here is way lower compared to other states! Why mess with the food when there is a lot else in the state that can do with some change? The sheer diversity of Khoya at Khoya Mandi Chunar ( Mirzapur district ) I then took a step back and read about the initiative. First, the number of cuisines (208) way exceeds the number of districts (75) so why is it one district one cuisine to begin with. Secondly, at-least half-a-dozen districts have Samosa as their cuisine or one of the cuisines. Samosa which is consumed across the country in millions each day and even tops the food-delivery platform lists! Third, at-lea...

Behind the Chai , Mithai and Paan in Banaras A slighted edited version appears in The Hindu . Warm thanks to friends at each of these learning spaces and Eesha. A lot has been said about Banarasi’s lanes being home to some of the finest chai, mithai and paan one can savour. Locals affirm that some of these older stalls and shops are, akin to the ghats, very much a part of Banaras' identity. Over almost a decade that I have put in at Banaras I have visited and revisited some of these stalls and shops. Initially I was blown away by the regularly high quality of the chai , mithai , and paan that permeated my senses. Some of the tastes, textures and smells I experienced here were new for me as were the sensations they aroused in my body. Over a period of time I realised that at these spaces perfection is the norm. As I put in more time I observed, and engaged with, the people who ran these spaces; people behind the perfection. These people, centred beings, live in the moment ( the ...

Hyderabad Hona! Recently we went to Hyderabad for a few days to attend an event, and as is our wont we ended up exploring food places as well. While Hyderabad has, during the recent years, expanded at no small pace, metro has made access to some of these easier. We went to the old haunts - Nimrah at Charminar, Grand at Abids, Alfa at Secunderabad, Bilal at Mozamjahi and Pista House, paid our respects, and had our fill. However, this time it was the relatively newer ( read as having come up during the recent years ) places that blew us away. One needs the audacity - to not just dream at the scale, at which these places operate, but to live those dreams, each day. These dreams also need a city that nurtures them, allows them to come alive. The dreams in turn harbour the capacity to redefine, to add flavour to, the city. Hyderabad and these places ( dreams in action! ) are made for each other! Hyderabad gives these places, businesses, that ‘something’ they  need if they are to stand o...