Page 32 - Masala Lite Issue 159 March 2024

32 MUSINGS OF AN AUNTY WHO DRINKS FROM HER SAUCER

The One Who Wants for Nothing is the King of Kings

Dolly Koghar muses on those early days when pockets were small, but hearts were big!

We Punjabis, besides being Whereas many other families, including the joint As I go along my journey
loud, chatty and a hospitable family into which I was born into, lived in similar I’m reaping better than I’ve sowed
lot, are also thick- homes next door, in pratoo lek-yai, the big iron gate, I’m drinking from the saucer
blooded (i.e. cholesterol the entrance of which is the present ATM. ‘Cause my cup has overflowed…
prone) foodies. All three
characteristics well satiable Our elders relished their early morning and …May we never be too busy
over a cup or two, or more, evening chai on a thara, a To help bear another’s load
of garma-garam masala chai, rectangular wooden dais, Then we’ll all be drinking from the
which is welcome any time of placed immediately outside saucer
the day to any Indian; with every every home in both those When our cups have
home boasting a unique brew, with lanes which served as a overflowed
their own signature blend of masalas. much-needed respite
It’s also a given, to avoid acidity, that chai from the oppressively So, their spirit of
mustn’t be consumed without accompaniments – a small homes and sharing and caring
little mithai or halwa, but with caution to diabetes, the many people wasn’t because
we skip the sugar in the tea. However, a savoury is living in it. That was of the size of their
a must, and what better than the chickpea-batter where one sat and watched the passers-by and the homes, which were tiny and shared by two or three
fritters, pakoras; whose taste varies from home to drama unfold, and also where any neighbour who generations; nor was it the size of their pockets; they
home and community to community? Pakoras are needed a shoulder to cry on or to do bak-bak with were migrants and earned little, and very honestly,
especially necessary if the gup-shup with whoever was welcome. It was on those very thara that we with the sweat of their brows. It was their expanded
dropped in announced or unannounced is getting diapered-kakos; and the preferred and implored for, compassion and encompassing brotherhood which
juicier, and we’re bashing and thrashing everything bare-bummed kakas, the boy babies; first sipped helped our community thrive and survive till where
including the Maker of our destinies, after which chai, from the edge of the saucers into which the it is today. The tears and laughter of those migrants
like Pontius Pilate, we nonchalantly shake off the adults had poured the piping-hot chai to cool it. amalgamated as one, they joined their heads to
crumbs of the biskut and our guilt, by saying, sanoo This was way before we grew into the snobbish, crease out community discords, and they willingly
kee, “not that I care nor does it concerns us,” closing ‘educated’ generation who’d turn up their noses opened their pockets and hearts to raise a dowry to
our animated discussion with a 15-minute-long and denounce it as a countryside and uneducated help get the community daughter married off. No
goodbye at the doorway. bumpkin, dihaatee, unpurr and gawaar mannerism! shortage or hurdle was too large to overcome; no
one was alone, or forsaken or forlorn. Their cups
But tea wasn’t just about a cuppa for the early But when I came across the poem “Drinking were not large, neither were they overflowing, but
Punjabi migrants who lived in Phahurat to be near From The Saucer” by John Paul Moore, which is they knew how to share; how to pour out a little
the Guruduwara. Their small, simple, two-storey well worth a read, the simple ritual revealed the from whatever little, however meagre it was, to help
homes adjoining each other, lined the pratoo lek-lek profound and humanitarian spirit that was the their neighbours tide over their moment of difficulty,
(small iron gate), which has stayed as is, except the hallmark of our simple and uneducated elders. The something everybody faces some time or another.
gate’s now been replaced with a vegetable vendor. few lines below well summarise this point:

We want to offer those who enter Starita
a unique gastronomic experience: soft
wheat flour, natural leavening, hand-
rolling, Made in Italy ingredients. And
cooking in a wood oven, which for us
is a philosophy, something to defend.
On the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000
we paid homage to Pope John Paul II
with our pizza, delivered in a typical
stove formerly used for transport.

OUR METHOD NOW INTRODUCING:
Over the years we have received recognition from newspapers and food guides such as The
Guardian, Gambero Rosso, Michelin Guide, and today more than ever we want to convey HOMEMADE PASTA: SEAFOOD DISHES:

the dedication and passion we put into every dough • Tagliatelle • Seafood soup
This is Starita, which invites you to rediscover festive and full flavours, a method made of • Tagliolini • Pasta seafood
simplicity and wisdom, a place where you can feel at home. • Ravioli • Tuna steak
Join us at Starita to discover new vegetarian dishes such as Tomato pesto & Pesto genovese • Tuna tartare
• Salmon steak

Ground Floor, Oakwood Residences Thonglor, 113 Sukhumvit Rd,
Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110 Bangkok, Thailand 10110

MASAL A LITE ISSUE 159 - MARCH 2024