Page 63 - seniors today november 2020
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The fish curry of Bengal is not the fish curry of anywhere else, even if Bengalis themselves may fight endlessly over it
from Indian mythology and stories to Communism in common although no one
frighten children. And as it happens, Non- knows how much Communism is left in
Bengali North Indian men. They are terrified Bengal... Our fish and rice is our fish and
of these Bengali women who have special rice. It’s everywhere. It cuts across caste and
powers to enslave them. I guess these men religion. The fights which are inevitable will
never grew up from children’s stories. This break out over recipes, the exact composition
is another important characteristic of the of panch phoron or whether fish should be
Bengali: to make derogatory remarks about lightly fried or left raw before being added to
Non-Bengalis. the gravy and so on. And whether this fish
It only gets worse. Woe betide (archaic is better with that recipe. Our vegetarian
English phrases: very Bengali) any Non- dishes are also enhanced by fish and
Bengali who dares to criticise the alu in crustaceans. The order in which we eat is
Calcutta biryani. This is a staple of this of paramount importance – bitter, fry, dal,
mutton-and-rice delicacy. Many parts of veg, veg plus (not veg), fish, meat, tart, sweet
India have their own version and good luck (ro-sho-go-llo or preferably not). No mess on
to them. I mean they are edible, some can be a plate for us. Wars can also break out over
delicious, but they do not compare. There this.
are many stories about this biryani with its Wars can break out over anything. That
potatoes (and boiled eggs), Wajid Ali Shah’s old joke about if you have a group of five
exile to Garden Reach outside Calcutta, Bengalis you will soon have three political
some budgetary problems, a creative chef, parties is definitely true. So, while all
whatever. Make up your own. The alu’s ours Bengalis might be secret Commie-inspired
and it’s staying. Smug in its superiority. jhola-bag carrying revolutionaries, a
Delicious in its denseness. lot depends on what kind of Commie
You eat fish and rice, no? We are also revolutionaries they are. Marx, Marx and
the same. Most Bengalis will smile Lenin, Marx, Lenin and Stalin, no Marx only
magnanimously when they hear a Stalin, Lenin and Stalin, none of the three,
Non-Bengali make this remark. No, Trotsky alone, Trotsky’s gardener, Fidel
actually. There is no one like us. Not even Castro, none of the above. There could be
mighty Kerala, with whom we also have parties, fronts, blocs, blocks, and all these
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #17 | NOVEMBER 2020 63
