A Sehri walk through Old Delhi...

25th June 2016

All excitedly i swipe out of the office at 4:58 PM and step out into the real world burning like a furnace! All day's work on a Saturday had already drained the energy and instilled a bit of stress to the mind.

As i was going up in the lift i was charting out the plan for the rest of the day.

"Okay... I m stressed now!
No sleep for straight 24 hours is like pouring ghee into fire...
Let's catch some sleep till 7:30..."

Being finicky about time management, i was doing all this planning in my head while the lift was reaching the 7th floor!

5 hours later...

I am sitting in front of Gate No. 5 of Chandini Chowk Metro station, watching two street hawkers talking to a street dog. It appeared as if they were returning home for the day & was catching up with their friend at work. Spend my next 10-15 mins watching such scenes unfolding in front of Gate No. 5 until Anubhav Reached.

So all this Prologue was for the Sehri Food walk organised by Delhi Food Walks (delhifoodwalks.com), i attended.

My host for the day was Anubhav & Taleha.
Since much research wasn't done on Sehri, DelhiFoodwalks or these guys my walk turned out "AWESOME" than my expectations.

The walk started with a "brief" introduction by Taleha on Ramadan, Sehri & various customs during Ramadan .

We started our food walk with first stop at a Lime juice shop which is over 100 years old, the owner was ecstatic while serving us lime juice & sharing the story of journey so far. Over the next 5 hours of walk around the enigmatic Purana Dilli we had around 9 food stops and had food from some of the oldest shops in Delhi-6.

As we walked through the narrow alleys & streets of Chandini Chowk i was drawn to the festive energy of the Ramadan unfolding before me, There was no exhaustion or tiredness, they were overshadowed by excitement i was experiencing. Every shop we stopped, they welcomed us with open hearts and served the food with love. 

"Old Kheer Shop" since 1880

Starting from lime juice to kebabs, sandwiches, haleem, nihari to kheer i tasted the best of them served at old Delhi through this walk. Icing on the cake was i had my first Paan at the end of the walk!

Haleem

Beef Kebab

Egg cheese sandwich in making

Mango Ice cream

Every time i visit Purani Dilli she is offering something new & making my love for her growing!

As movie Lunch box says "Dil ka rasta pet se hokar jata hai" (The way to heart goes through stomach). This walk will remain close to my heart.

Thanks to Anubhav (delhifoodwalks.com) for organizing such an experience & Gautam for letting me know about the Sehri walk.

Adios... i have sleep to catch... zzz...

Sleep is God, Go worship...

I envy the man. Look at him... having a peaceful sleep in the midst of this chaotic world. More than half the world goes into sleep carrying the load of the stress from their life, Anxious over tomorrow and worrying about yesterday. For every animal in this planet sleep is as necessary as air, water and oxygen. I pray for all those souls with caffeine in their blood, all those insomniacs,  to die tonight and rise up tomorrow to live a new and meaningful life...

Because

“Sleep is God. Go worship.”

"Aste Bochor Abar hobe"

"City of Joy" always welcomes me with the  visually magnificent sea of yellow cabs at the Howrah Railway station. This time i was in Kolkata to indulge in the festive mood of Durga Puja.

                             

The 5 day long Durga Puja has rendered a completely different image to the city since my last visit 2 months back. The city roads were all illuminated with different designs, making the city look completely bejeweled. My host in Kolkata was my college mate, Deb. After freshening up & a sumptuous delicious meal from Deb's mother, we headed out to explore the Festive Kolkata.

                            

The main objectives of the day were Pandal hopping & eating out. The Pandal is the display of Goddess Durga. The activity of visiting these pandals is known as Pandal Hopping. The whole city hosts a large number of pandals and it takes a lot of patience, stamina and festive spirit to visit as many pandals as possible. The best time to do pandal hopping is night. Another interesting fact is that each pandal has a unique theme. Built in grand scale, pandals are exceptional work of art. The decoration of the pandals are no less, with use of lights and interesting artifacts, like one of the pandal was decorated with paper cups. Another interesting fact is that each pandal has a unique theme. The festival is considered incomplete without food. Pandal hopping gets more motivating with the presence of food stalls in and around these pandals. From Puchkas (Gol Guppa) to momos i tried everything.

Bengali's are known for their love for art and culture and Durga Puja is yet another occasion when you can see its manifestation in almost everything from the pandals to decorations, cultural evenings and of course ethnic dresses. People dress up to the occasion and look fantafabulous and gorgeous.

That fact that i belong to a different state never came in way of celebrations. That is what city does to you, it embraces each and everyone who comes into its fold and makes you feel special. The ending notes when Goddess Durga is immersed in the Ganga on the final day of the puja is "Aste Bochor Abar hobe" meaning next year it shall happen again.

Yes next year also i'll be definitley visiting Kolkata during puja. It was an heart warming experience seeing the magnitude of festivities in "City of Joy"