When the great poet Allama Iqbal waxed eloquent in his famous poem, “Saare Jahan Se Achcha Hindustan Hamara”, he had in mind something in our national psyche that no invader was able to erase or decimate. For instance, our myriad traditions. Indian traditions are deep-rooted like the mangroves (whose roots go deep down and come up as well) and no tsunami can uproot them easily. Take the family...
Imagine this in sepia tones: A middle-class Maharashtrian family huddles together for a meal and everybody is in raptures over the mother’s garlic chutney. Every time the garlic chutney was served, it drew “oohs” and “aahs” from the extended family and friends. The enterprising son, Vijay Pathare, a mechanical engineer by training, then felt that this garlic chutney tasted so good that it...
It is hot. It is red. It is burning. With 400 known varieties around the world, chilli is the dominant spice in any Indian’s daily diet, thanks to Vasco da Gama.
Everyone who remembers elementary school history knows that Vasco da Gama discovered the spice route to India. It is never mentioned that he brought chillies along, thereby adding awesome firepower to the culinary variety of...
