Inderjit Badhwar: The Kitchen
27. September 2017 16:07
The feast of green coriander, bitter gourds and moong dal – north India’s staple lentil that looks like a hellish yellow porridge but tastes like heaven when cooked with love – and mustard greens with dollops of white home-churned butter served at the table over which he presided in formal coat and tie would at his command the next day turn into a banquet of partridge cooked in sherry, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Cauliflower with white gravy, fricasseed chicken served with roasted potatoes and carrots topped with parsley, French onion soup, steak and onions, baked fish, deviled eggs, Russian salad with home-made mayonnaise, caramel custard, fudge brownies. These table habits have become part of family memory, along with Papa’s letters of admonishment and advice to his family –stand straight, develop character, tolerate others, learn not to hate, be compassionate, respect precision in language, be charitable, do what is just, respect knowledge, adore books, respect eclecticism, believe in the rule of law, get married and bolster your husband’s career, learn how to wield a rifle and shotgun. Don’t shoot at a sitting duck or partridge. If you cannot allow yourself not to believe in, then at least doubt God.
Inderjit Badhwar at the Prague Writers' Festival 2017:
Monday, 13 November - Reading
Wednesday 15 November - Conversation
Tickets
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