Restaurants Are Turning India’s Historic Moments And Memories Into A Feast Of Shared Heritage

The month of August is when the country’s collective nationalist ruminations come to life and are subtly woven into the ushering in of the year’s big festivals. This fervour is driven by key historic moments during India’s fight for independence, such as the Quit India Movement anniversary on August 8, the anniversary of the Kakori train robbery on August 9, and, most importantly, India’s Independence Day on August 15. These big emotions are expressed through cultural connection, appreciation of heritage, and preservation of the past.

As a nation, as much as we gained with our independence, we also lost a lot thanks to the partition. Before we lose track of the shared heritage, there is a lot that needs to be rediscovered and remembered—an effort that the team at Ikk Panjab, Delhi-NCR and Punjab-based restaurant, has diligently been pursuing. Early in August, I travelled to Chandigarh to experience first-hand how discovering lost flavours can also lead to learning and appreciating the fluid idea of belonging, the power of memories and the importance of resilience. Rajan Sethi, MD, Bright Hospitality shared that we as people cannot be immortalised in just grand structures and tomes. It is in moments of levity and love that are inherent to pursuits like gastronomy and art that the power of provenance comes through. Ikk Panjab is known for serving undivided flavours of Punjab and hosted a special experience, 1947: The Taste of What Remains, that did just that.

In a gathering of like-minded cultural enthusiasts, storytellers, creators, and guests, the courtyard of Ikk Panjab Chandigarh became a stage for storytelling that tied food, poetry, and music together. Familiar dishes like Kadhi Pakoda, where onion pakodas float in seasoned and tempered yoghurt and besan sauce, soaking in flavour, comfort you, while dishes like Lahori Sajji, a barbecue technique where simple spices mingle with the smoke, present an enigma from the past. The dining experience was layered with poetry by Amy Singh, as words from her poem, Daak: To Lahore with Love, a poem that inspired a cross-border letter-writing movement, echo the longing of a world locked out for a people of shared history. The musical melody came with the voice of Des Raj Lachkani and Group. The octogenarian’s soulful voice pierced the balmy summer evening in Chandigarh as he sang timeless folk and Sufi traditions of Punjab. He carries forward a three-generation musical legacy. The trio was supported by independent singer Simi Bedi, who seamlessly blended Sufi, folk, semi-classical, and contemporary Bollywood influences. The juxtaposition of the two distinctive vocal styles was an apt example of how the past needs to shape the present for a brighter future.

It is not the first time a food business has found itself at the heart of cultural continuity. Mumbai-based two-month-old Golpoh by Chef Bilkis Khan is tracing back the Sufi influence in the east. As wandering Sufi philosophers found themselves in the Rarh regions of Bengal, now modern-day Hooghly, Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia, they made the region their home. Khan’s genealogy is linked to the earliest of these philosophers, who also had a deep influence on the region’s Baul music that explores humankind’s relationship to God, and its pursuit of spiritual liberation. The Sufi influence on the kitchens is what Khan is unravelling with her cloud kitchen. “My food is not only Sufi, but it is also influenced by the cultural food of the Rarh region of Bengal,” she says.

Her family recipes showcase the freshest of the land’s produce and is a unique coming together of local tastes with Mughlai influences. Dishes still find their roots in dals, freshwater fish, seasonal greens, and flavoured with panch phoron, nigella seeds, poppy seeds and mustard seeds, while adding finesse and nuance from Mughlai kitchens in the form of qaliyas, qormas, biryanis and pulaos. As a result, a Mishti Pulao becomes nuts-and saffron-studded Mumtaz Pulao, a stomach-sinking chicken rezala becomes much lighter and more delicate, and a Pabda Maacher Jhal, a revered Bengali fish dish, has more depth and character.

‘Khidmat’ and ‘langar’ were a Sufi tradition, Khan shares, where food was cooked with prayers and served to travellers, passers-by and anyone in need. Service is an indelible part of the hospitality ecosystem, food businesses have the unique opportunity to help their communities. The 12-year-old The Bombay Canteen (TBC) Independence Day Daawat has been giving back. Every year, founders Yash Bhanage and Sameer Seth host a community-style lunch that stays true to TBC’s ethos of celebrating India’s regional cuisines while bringing people together for a meaningful cause. This year, the duo, along with the Hunger Inc team, decided to focus on the financial capital’s deteriorating ecology. The pledge, ‘Make Mumbai Green Again’, is to help with the city’s goal of increasing its green cover to 40% by 2030. They worked with WRI India as the knowledge and technical partner, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) and nature: re, an initiative by RPG Foundation.