Amongst the many things I really, really miss from my childhood days, one is road & train travels. Agreed, they still exist and, in a way, in much better avatars. But only those from around my age group can understand what I am trying to say…… We no longer see those tree canopies’ covered highways, no more stopping periodically to allow the car engine to cool down, no more train journeys where you could lie down on your berth and enjoy watching the world go by through the open windows ( the a/c coaches nowadays, with their dark, tinted window panes, make it impossible to see anything outside)…
But most of what I miss is those packed picnic meals we used to carry with us, with ‘chatai’ & ‘surahi of water’ , ‘pattal & done’ (a woven bamboo mat, clay jug of water & disposable plates etc made of leaves). Universally, across the board, the menu used to be more or less the same. … “ sookhe matar ki subji, chatpate masala aalu, aam & mirchi ka aachar, with pooris/paranthas”… the more well to do also carried a big thermos flask of masala tea, which would only be lukewarm when consumed, but still enjoyed.
If travelling by road, these meals would be consumed anywhere under a suitable shady tree. If it adjoined a farm, with a Well to supply fresh water, even better.
On trains, the meal would be consumed with scores of other passengers watching you. They were always invited to join. Some politely declined, others joined in with their packed tiffins, and it all ended as a big food carnival. And friendly fellow travellers for the rest of the journey.
Our children will surely shudder at such impromptu bonhomie with total strangers 😉 😉
Today, I plan to share the recipe of those two dishes with you folks…Heeng wale Matar ( Dry peas with asafoetida flavour). Sookhe aalu, the other life saving picnic dish, follows soon.
