Such a great read. I got to know the community pretty well while we were living in Colombo where Bohra orthodoxy rules with the kind of all pervasiveness that really surprised me. In a stunning example of the interdependence between religiosity and food that you describe so vividly, I found the bohra mosque in the city had a daily tiffin service that families could subscribe to at a nominal cost! Apparently this was to ensure that women had no excuse to evade their daily mosque visits . :)
Glad to know you got to see it first-hand. Yup, the priestly dominance is all-pervasive - and to an outider it must all appear bizarre. Thank you for reading :-)
Hilarious and true, Shaukat. You ask a bohri about a certain event, the response will inevitably be about the cuisine. At Ashura the Kicchro was tasty, ask about any insights into the lecture and you get a glazed look. Milad is judged by the quality of the karmo, specifically on the amounts of maal aka almonds and pistachios. Maulana Ali’s majlis is a waste of time if the khir is not drowned in cream or the puri layers are not fine and voluminous- the list goes on. You have nailed it - forget about lofty ideals, Reformists just need to up their kitchen game!
Enjoyed reading it, Shaukat. Food, facts and food-associated-facts! Faith, allegiance, worship...and food. All linked. And it is true that the better the food that awaits you, the faster the tears flow in majlises...in anticipation! ;))
Haha - “korma for us is karmo with an identity crisis” fun read!
“In our kitchens, we continue to remain prosaic, using the same mandatory masalas for meats, fish and vegetables and anything else that might show up on the kitchen counter.” - so true, that would be me 🙂
I have the book - Daal chawal palidu - bought it so I could pass on Bohra cuisine tricks to my kids - wishful thinking!
Nice read Shaukat Bhai. Bohras from Udaipur will identify with it. I liked the 'covered them with tents...to cover their corpulent bodies...'. Deen and Dinner go together for us. The 'Urban Bank AGM' is called the 'Urban Bank nu Dinner'... but we love our community as much as humble and innocent they are. I remember being in the masjid at Deira in Dubai on my first Ashoora. The sound and agony of the frenzied 'maatam' on dasmi raat suddenly came to a stand still and was replaced by the mumins clamoring for their 'thaal' as soon as it was announced that food is being served. I could not believe that emotions could change color so quickly... in the blink of an eye.
Such a great read. I got to know the community pretty well while we were living in Colombo where Bohra orthodoxy rules with the kind of all pervasiveness that really surprised me. In a stunning example of the interdependence between religiosity and food that you describe so vividly, I found the bohra mosque in the city had a daily tiffin service that families could subscribe to at a nominal cost! Apparently this was to ensure that women had no excuse to evade their daily mosque visits . :)
Glad to know you got to see it first-hand. Yup, the priestly dominance is all-pervasive - and to an outider it must all appear bizarre. Thank you for reading :-)
As always, well written.
Love the way the article ends, "Still, we are hard pressed to find soap or a napkin. But what is not hard to find is dignity and a straight spine."
Hilarious and true, Shaukat. You ask a bohri about a certain event, the response will inevitably be about the cuisine. At Ashura the Kicchro was tasty, ask about any insights into the lecture and you get a glazed look. Milad is judged by the quality of the karmo, specifically on the amounts of maal aka almonds and pistachios. Maulana Ali’s majlis is a waste of time if the khir is not drowned in cream or the puri layers are not fine and voluminous- the list goes on. You have nailed it - forget about lofty ideals, Reformists just need to up their kitchen game!
Enjoyed reading it, Shaukat. Food, facts and food-associated-facts! Faith, allegiance, worship...and food. All linked. And it is true that the better the food that awaits you, the faster the tears flow in majlises...in anticipation! ;))
Haha - “korma for us is karmo with an identity crisis” fun read!
“In our kitchens, we continue to remain prosaic, using the same mandatory masalas for meats, fish and vegetables and anything else that might show up on the kitchen counter.” - so true, that would be me 🙂
I have the book - Daal chawal palidu - bought it so I could pass on Bohra cuisine tricks to my kids - wishful thinking!
Nice read Shaukat Bhai. Bohras from Udaipur will identify with it. I liked the 'covered them with tents...to cover their corpulent bodies...'. Deen and Dinner go together for us. The 'Urban Bank AGM' is called the 'Urban Bank nu Dinner'... but we love our community as much as humble and innocent they are. I remember being in the masjid at Deira in Dubai on my first Ashoora. The sound and agony of the frenzied 'maatam' on dasmi raat suddenly came to a stand still and was replaced by the mumins clamoring for their 'thaal' as soon as it was announced that food is being served. I could not believe that emotions could change color so quickly... in the blink of an eye.
Once again... nice read.