The Anarchy by William Dalrymple

The Anarchy: By William Dalrymple, A Book Review by Nazia Tanwir

“We still talk about the British conquering India, but that phrase disguises a more sinister reality. It was not the British government that began seizing great chunks of India in the mid-eighteenth century, but a dangerously unregulated private company headquartered in one small office, five windows wide, in London, and managed in India by a violent, utterly ruthless and intermittently mentally unstable corporate predator.” – An excerpt from the book

So I happened to read this book by my fav author William Dalyrmple, couple of months back and it left quite an impact on me. Because of many reasons actually.

The kind of research and detailing that has gone into this book, is nothing short of spectacular to say the least. William specializes in the history genre and most of the themes of his previous books are India based. Be it, “Delhi, the city of Djinss”, “The white Mughals” or the “The last Mughal”. Each one of these is a Masterpiece. This particular book will change your whole perspective and pre-existing notions about the subject. Even a person who is least interested in History as a subject would be left mesmerized.

The Anarchy is the real story of the genesis of EAST INDIA COMPANY from a small Board room in London  and its journey finally culminating as an imperial ruler in India spanning over 200 years.  How the company started in UK with very noble trade intentions/agenda and how its objective transformed over the years into something which bordered on greedy and ruthless commercialization. How a humble trading company metamorphosed into a political and military power?! This transition of the company from trade to conquest is what the book is all about. It will definitely leave you with a tinge of sadness as you turn over the last page, because any story that talks about pillage, plundering and shameless looting of a nation is definitely cringe-worthy. Imagine, your current company where you are working, entering into a new GEO with the mission of providing services and slowly gaining political mileage and military momentum in a very crafty and foxy way and ultimately becoming the ruler of that country.  So, this is what actually happened to our country from 1600s to 1800s. It all started very innocently on the pretext of helping the Mughal rulers collect taxes from people and gradually turned into something more sinister, transforming itself into an aggressive colonial power.

So this book is an absolute page-turner and you will find yourself carrying it with you everywhere, because your can’t just put it down without finishing it at one go. All those characters that we studied in school history, starting from the mightly Mughals to the likes of Lord Mountbatten and Robert Clive, Simon of ‘Go Simon go’ fame etc have been fleshed out so well, that you actually visualize them as real living breathing personalities  in front of your eyes. Either you love them, or you hate them …but you cant just NOT be in awe of them.

This was the first company in the world that became the very model for our present day multinationals who try and dominate governments in the countries they operate through direct/indirect levers. The author does mention though, that Indians were smart enough to de-code the British game quite early, but were never able to gather enough support or coalition amongst themselves to overthrow  the British. The native powers in India were all divided, the Mughals, marathas in the west and the mighty Tipu Sultan of the south. All of them were divided and hence were conquered. So my key take away from this book is the importance of having a united front. Especially in today’s new order of things, at a time when prevailing Indian politics is once again relying heavily on the divide-and-dominate policy of the British conquerors, it is almost heartwrenching to learn from The Anarchy that Indians lost as a civilisation solely because they allowed themselves to be divided.

William Dalyrmple is truly an author and researcher par excellence.

Will leave you with a good news that this book will be made into a web series soon! 

Till then, to all my bibliophiles... cheers!

How to cook Biryani like a Masterchef!

On popular demand, I am posting the recipe for Chicken Biryani. It’s very easy and even an in-experienced cook can prepare it in a jiffy.

Soak some long-grained rice for an hour or so. After that take 2-3 spoons of ghee and fry this soaked rice for 5-7 mins and keep it separate.

Prepare dry masala and wet masala.
The dry masala needs to be hand-pound. Not ground in mixie, pls note. Otherwise you will not achieve the required  coarseness. It includes Badi elaichi, Chhoti elaichi, black pepper, jai phal, star masala, gota dhania, gota jeera, bay leaf, cinnamon and Jaitri.The wet masala contains Ginger, garlic, dry red chilly.

Fry some dry-fruits like cashew, raisins with onion and ghee and keep it separate.

Take a cooker and add couple of spoons of ghee. Be generous. You can’t cook Biryani and be stingy with ghee at the same time. Just saying!
Then add a spoon of sugar. Once its caramelised, add finely chopped onion. May be 2-3 medium sized onion depending on how much you are cooking. If it’s 1kilo chicken then 2-3 onions are good. Once the onion is lightly fried, add ginger garlic paste. You will know it’s done when the masala leaves oil. That’s the time to add chopped tomatoes. Add salt. Once tomatoes are cooked, add the chicken and fry it properly. Add chilly powder, dhania powder and jeera powder. Do add yoghurt and pudina to it while cooking and some part of the dry masala too. Once you smell the aroma emanating out of it, it’s time to shut the lid of the cooker. You might want to add couple of spoons of water before closing the cooker. Every cooker has its own share of eccentricities, but 3 whistles would be good.

Take the rice and boil it till it’s cooked 90%. Add ghee and black pepper and cloves. If chicken is 2 kilos, then 1 kilo rice would be good.

Fry some pudina leaves separately.

Take a big pot wherein you can layer rice and chicken and mix it later. Do the layering, put rice first and on top of it chicken korma, garnish with dry fruits and onion. Repeat this process. Make at least two such layers. On top of that before the lid, pour 50 ml ghee. Put the pot on medium flame for 15 mins. Ensure the lid is closed properly and airtight. We usually tie a wet cloth. When the cloth is fully dry, you know the Biryani is ready! This is called Dum mein rakhna.

Open the pot, the aroma should engulf your whole being and the home of course. Mix the layers. And serve with Raita.

If you are cooking mutton Biryani, then ensure the no of whistles should be 7-8. The logic is that the meat should be cooked 95%.

Enjoy!

Yakhni Pulao

Yakhni Pulao

Yesterday I was discussing on Instagram, the difference between Biryani and Yakhni Pulao and why the latter is closer to my heart. So taking this thread further.

Yakhni word first found its mention in the Persian journal “Ain-e-akbari” during the regime of Akbar the great. Abul Fazl was the great historian and author of this priceless journal.

Yakhni pulao is made by first cooking the mutton in the traditional way with lot of dry aromatic spices like cloves, pepper, cinnamon, badi elaichi, chhoti elaichi, etc and wet masala like ginger garlic onion paste. After it’s cooked, we need to add measured water to it. Once it’s boiling we add the pre-soaked rice. Don’t forget the pudina leaves before closing the lid of pressure cooker.

We used to eat this almost every Sunday during my childhood. My mom was an amazing cook and this was one of her trademark dishes. I spent a significant part of my childhood in the coastal town of Berhampur in Odisha. For picnics, we often used to go to the nearby Gopalpur beach and we used carry this Yakhni Biryani in steel wala tiffin-boxes. After frolicking in the silvery beach for sometime, we used to spread a bed-sheet  on the sands and the lavish fare of Yakhni was laid out. Such beautiful memories. I still remember my daddy’s dark green Bajaj scooter and how we all used to pile on it like sardines! I was the youngest so I used to stand in front of my Daddy holding the handle of the scooter!

Wish I had a pic of those trips... It’s interesting how some food item or flavours evoke such strong recollection of old forgotten

Ramadan...

What is it about Ramadan, that it fills your being with such warmth and goodness. It’s as if you are a transformed person with just day 1 of the fast.
I admit frankly that I was never a regular rozedaar till 2015. So how did this turnaround happen? I happened to be in US in 2015 for a two year stint and I got a roomie from Afghanistan who became my BFF and more of a sister now. Atefa sharifi. At her behest and encouragement, I fasted the entire month of Ramadan for two years. And it was such an amazing feeling! The whole camaraderie and doing sehri, iftari, offering namaz together and making preparations for Eid... going to Al-Markaz (Most famous biryani restaurant in Plano, Texas) for Eid feast... going for Eid-Milan party and what not! It turned out to be a memorable experience. After returning to India, I just couldn’t discontinue the Ramadan fasting. I feel purified and rejuvenated after Ramadan. I feel mentally and spiritually so strong as if I can handle anything that the world throws at me.
I am not an overtly religious person. But this is one thing which I try to follow every year.

Ramadan Mubarak!

The New Normal versus the Old Normal

Hmmm...So its day 10 of the lockdown in India and slowly this way of life is creating a feeling in all of us that this is the new normal. Unfortunately, of course. Especially for people like me. Who crave being around other humans, ones who look forward to the humdrum of India Markets...office foodcourts...what earlier seemed like a cacophony of noise has become my most looked forward to things now. The whole reason why I craved to be in India after my 2 year stint in US, was the hustle and bustle of Indian bazaars...the street noise of roadside hawkers...the liveliness of the Indian spirit, easy availability of things we love and cherish. Where I won't have to drive 10 miles to eat Samosa, where I won't have to go to a nearby town to buy Haleem during Ramadan ...where we share the Dish of the day with neighbours etc. Sadly with the onset of this terrible virus, all of the above has become only a dream now. 

Counting days to when this madness will end...waiting for a new dawn...Wherein I will wake up early morning and reach office by 7:30 AM, to have my favorite breakfast of Idli with Coconut-coriander chutney at my fav "By two" vendor in office FC. After breakfast, I will make a big glass of black coffee and sit at my desk to deal with the work for the day. When my friends will ping me for coffee break at Chai point and I would rush to meet them and exchange interesting data points/news of the day. Come evening, I will eagerly merge into Bangalore traffic and play my fav songs or call up my fav ppl on the way home. Will reach home and then me and my spouse will brainstorm on what to have for dinner. Sigh....All this and much more...Waiting for the day, when the above will be the new normal and not the present sequence of gloomy and endless WFH where I can't meet my friends...where a sense of melancholy threatens to overtake all my emotions.

Waiting for the Old Normal. Truly, deeply and madly.

#Weshallovercome