Laudable Efforts Being Made To Preserve Traditional Indian Cuisine, Culture
LUCKNOW || The Coronavirus pandemic has brought about a paradigm shift in Indian thinking, it seems to be more focused on the inward perception rather than the outward. Sporadic efforts in the past to preserve and support local Indian cuisine and culture, in fact, the entire lifestyle appears to have come sharply into focus.
“A sustainable world which holistically connects people globally to our culture and heritage is more relevant today” said . Babeeta Sakxena: the initiator of 'Let's Give Back' which she started four years back. She was one speaking at Sunday’s Mission Upbeat, a one-hour weekly Zoom and Facebook Live, initiated by Kishwari Connect under the aegis of Talha Society during lockdown.
Working towards reviving Bhartiya Sabhyata (Indian traditions) through both art and science is what her NGO aims at.
Laying stress on sustainability livelihood Babeetta , an army officer’s wife based out of NOIDA said that she is preserving the traditions of culture by organizing food festivals, youth interactions as this she finds a simple way of connecting and going back to one’s roots. Living by example she says tries to don the sari and ethnic jewellery and observes the festivals in the traditional manner.
Seconding the views of Babeetta, a mainstream journalist turned corporate professional and food blogger, Tarannum Manjul truly believes that food sure has a way of pulling people towards it.
Tarannum recalled how her first newspaper assignment for Times of India’s Backbeat page was to cover an Avadhi food festival in the city. It was a unique experience for her a Delhiite who had barely been six months in the city. Two decades later she is a pucca Luakhnawi. After print and television journalism, she is now delving into new media.
Her passion for food has led to her become a part of two big projects where she is taking Lucknow food to the world.
Seems that the flavours and taste of the first food assignment still linger on, it was that which made her take upon herself the task of telling the untold stories of Lucknow food to the world. She is of the firm opinion that hundreds of food tales are lying untold in this region of Nawabs and that she must tell them through her pen.
It pains her no end that there are many great cooks and their cuisines lying unseen simply because these amazing cooks do not know how to market themselves through the internet or social media platforms. “I want to tell their stories to the world,” says she with a determination that makes it sound like a resolve.
During the Pandemic, Tarannum also discovered the great cooks among many housewives who seems to have confined themselves to home cooking. These stories too she will weave and let the world into cuisine secrets lying untapped.
The last segment of Mission Upbeat session like every week was devoted to poetry aptly titled ‘Talaffuz aur Hum” The guest for this Sunday was Dr Rukhsana Lari, Ex principal of Karamat PG College hailing from the renowned family of Maqbool Ahmed Lari , an Indian social worker, philanthropist, Urdu litterateur, founder of Mir Academy, Lucknow, chief financier behind Lucknow’s Lari cardiology.
Lari’s nazm -- Bhooli huee yaado ko zara taza kijiey took the viewers on a journey of authentic Awadhi cuisine as she recalled the food initiated in Nawabi era but which still continue to tickle the taste buds of all connoisseur of cuisine.
This weekly 60 minutes journey of motivation and inspiration was conceived and presented by Kulsum Mustafa, senior journalist and founder and chief functionary of Kishwari Konnect.