I have been going to this exhibition since past couple of years. But the change has been noticeable since last year, I think. There wasn't too much of a variety either in the food court or in the stalls put up by the sellers last year. So I was keen to find out what the scenario is this time around. As soon as a friend informed me that the exhibition is on, I headed to reclamation on the first Sunday.
It was close to 1pm by the time we reached so the first stop was, obviously, the food court. Major disappointment! No stall from the state of Rajasthan. My dreams of tucking into rich smooth Moong Daal Ka Halwa evaporated into thin air. :-( There was no stall from Delhi either - so goodbye chaat and kulfi. Everywhere you looked you could see Mutton Thali, Chicken Thali, Tambada-pandhara rassa (white or red mutton curry) from Kolhapur, Sawaji mutton (a very spicy mutton preparation from Nagpur region of Maharashtra) and assorted other non-veg offerings. The stalls selling vegetarian dishes were few and far between. My past experience has been that the non-veg food served here isn't piping hot. Plus I don't like the idea of eating chicken with bones in public. So I steered clear of stalls selling non-veg items. Instead, we headed for the one selling spicy Kolhapuri Misal with bread. The misal, as per their advertisement, was very spicy. But I think it was average in its taste department. The jaggery puranpoli was okay. The Solkadhi that we got from nearby stall was a bit on the saltier side. All in all, the food was nothing to write home about.
With the lunch taken care of, we headed towards the main exhibition. The first stall was selling, luckily for us, mawa pedhas and Kunda (a specialty, usually from Belgaum) - only thing was the Kunda that they were selling wasn't from Belgaum. Never mind that. The sample was good enough and we ended up purchasing both. More stalls followed and our shopping bags grew heavier with assorted varieties of rice, chips, spices etc. After a couple of isles, the stalls began to feel repetitive. How many times can you see spices, pulses and pickles? This was the case last year as well. We just kept moving on in the hopes of coming across the lovely Halwa from Keral. But no such luck :-( I am not sure why there aren't more food items from other states on sell.
I was very reluctant to go into the isle from Kashmir. Don't get me wrong. I am not against Kashmiris or anything like that. It is just that the recent violence in the valley and their demand for independence is too fresh to forget. The message written on the road - 'Indian Dogs Go Back' - is pretty hard to erase from one's psyche. I agree that the people doing that and the people selling their stuff here could be different. Not all Kashmiris think that way. But what if they do? Then why should I spend my hard-earned money on anything that they are selling? But mom wasn't having any of it. 'We will just look' was her mantra. I wasn't paying any attention to even the stalls selling any jewellery items lest I get tempted to buy something. 'Oh, they have lovely collection of rings' mom had come to a stop in front of a stall. Reluctantly, I retraced my steps. One of the rings caught my eye and I loved it. It was only after I purchased it without bothering to haggle that I remembered that I had vowed not to buy anything. I didn't look but I know that mom must have grinned from ear to ear.
It's hard not to love Kashmir, isn't it?
It was close to 1pm by the time we reached so the first stop was, obviously, the food court. Major disappointment! No stall from the state of Rajasthan. My dreams of tucking into rich smooth Moong Daal Ka Halwa evaporated into thin air. :-( There was no stall from Delhi either - so goodbye chaat and kulfi. Everywhere you looked you could see Mutton Thali, Chicken Thali, Tambada-pandhara rassa (white or red mutton curry) from Kolhapur, Sawaji mutton (a very spicy mutton preparation from Nagpur region of Maharashtra) and assorted other non-veg offerings. The stalls selling vegetarian dishes were few and far between. My past experience has been that the non-veg food served here isn't piping hot. Plus I don't like the idea of eating chicken with bones in public. So I steered clear of stalls selling non-veg items. Instead, we headed for the one selling spicy Kolhapuri Misal with bread. The misal, as per their advertisement, was very spicy. But I think it was average in its taste department. The jaggery puranpoli was okay. The Solkadhi that we got from nearby stall was a bit on the saltier side. All in all, the food was nothing to write home about.
With the lunch taken care of, we headed towards the main exhibition. The first stall was selling, luckily for us, mawa pedhas and Kunda (a specialty, usually from Belgaum) - only thing was the Kunda that they were selling wasn't from Belgaum. Never mind that. The sample was good enough and we ended up purchasing both. More stalls followed and our shopping bags grew heavier with assorted varieties of rice, chips, spices etc. After a couple of isles, the stalls began to feel repetitive. How many times can you see spices, pulses and pickles? This was the case last year as well. We just kept moving on in the hopes of coming across the lovely Halwa from Keral. But no such luck :-( I am not sure why there aren't more food items from other states on sell.
I was very reluctant to go into the isle from Kashmir. Don't get me wrong. I am not against Kashmiris or anything like that. It is just that the recent violence in the valley and their demand for independence is too fresh to forget. The message written on the road - 'Indian Dogs Go Back' - is pretty hard to erase from one's psyche. I agree that the people doing that and the people selling their stuff here could be different. Not all Kashmiris think that way. But what if they do? Then why should I spend my hard-earned money on anything that they are selling? But mom wasn't having any of it. 'We will just look' was her mantra. I wasn't paying any attention to even the stalls selling any jewellery items lest I get tempted to buy something. 'Oh, they have lovely collection of rings' mom had come to a stop in front of a stall. Reluctantly, I retraced my steps. One of the rings caught my eye and I loved it. It was only after I purchased it without bothering to haggle that I remembered that I had vowed not to buy anything. I didn't look but I know that mom must have grinned from ear to ear.
It's hard not to love Kashmir, isn't it?
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