Lounge Loves: ‘Past Continuous’, 'Hun Hunshi Hunshilal' and more
Also featured, trying a classic Punjabi pairing with 'karela' and Chef Anahita Dhondy’s recipes for babies
Armed Against Dissent
Last week, I watched Hun Hunshi Hunshilal (I am Hunshi Hunshilal), a 1992 Gujarati musical political satire, at a screening by VHS (Versova Homage Screenings). With the English title Love in the Time of Malaria, the movie is set in the fictitious land of Khojpuri, where Dilip Joshi’s gentle scientist invents an onion-based cure that his paranoid king (Mohan Gokhale) weaponises against “dissenting mosquitoes”. Renuka Shahane plays Joshi’s colleague who presents the side of the mosquitoes. Directed by Sanjiv Shah and written by Paresh Naik, the film is dense with sly political references. The subtitles by Ruchir Joshi and Sunil Shanbag carry that wit beautifully, as does Rajat Dholakia’s score, especially Hawa Hai, sung by Raghubir Yadav. What stayed with me is how relevant the film is even after three decades. —Shephali Bhatt
To Eat Or Not To Eat ‘Karela’
I can eat almost anything, but give me ucchhe/karela, and I will turn my nose up. But it clearly has a fan following, especially at a table recently where everyone got talking about the many ways they enjoy eating bitter gourd—steamed and mashed with mustard oil, stuffed and cooked with spices and a wee bit of jaggery, or just fried with salt and turmeric to a crisp and so on. And here I was, staring at a plate of baked naan topped with minced lamb finished with a slice of fried karela, served by chef Rijul Gulati of Indian Accent, Mumbai. I wasn’t aware keema and karela is a classic combination, and is a north Indian speciality, typically in Punjabi homes. In Pakistani cuisine, it is ground beef and karela. Who would have thought? —Rituparna Roy
Chef’s Recipes For Babies
Chef Anahita Dhondy’s year-old Instagram page, @babybitesbyanahita, started a month after her son was born. Although she largely focuses on baby food, she shares a poem or two and recommends clothes and books. I found it just before starting solids for my baby. Her meal plans corresponding to different months, fun recipes like biscuits for toddlers, and handy tips, such as freezing strawberries for off-season, are reasons I keep coming back. Side note: I check with the paediatrician before starting new foods—Dhondy said she introduced chicken after her son turned six months, but the doctor asked me to wait until nine months. With babies, it’s best to cover all grounds. —Jahnabee Borah
Baggage Break
Getting a bag off a belt at the airport is often the last irritant of a long flight. But if you have to wait near belt No.9 at T2 in Bengaluru airport, veer off to look at Past Continuous by Shanthamani Muddaiah, Santosh P. and Shakeel Ahmad. Strips of silk waste, rubber tyres and multi-coloured threads form the yarn for this neon-lit loom, an installation that tells you about Bengaluru’s silk weaving history as well as the irreversible changes urbanisation has wrought. Like elsewhere in the country, weavers have had to abandon their craft, see high-rises come up on land that held looms, and take up manual labour or open shops. It’s a wonderful paradox of an installation, a meditation on craft, a comment on migration, a reminder of what the city was, and a moment of contemplation to slow you down after a journey. —Shalini Umachandran
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