The world of pakoras and wadas in Nashik

Once in Nashik, I was forced to get used to snacks that were totally different to what I had been used to in my days in Kolkata and Kanpur. In fact, I had to reset my taste buds and learn to appreciate different variations of fried stuffs like the pakoras. To me pakoras were concoctions of vegetables that were dipped in a batter of besan and deep fried. The vegetables that lent themselves to being transformed into delicious mouthwatering snacks were could be slices of potatoes, brinjal, or finely cut onions, or cauliflowers. The first three had many takers in Kolkata while the fourth one was a rage in Kanpur.
Anyway, in Nashik, I came cross other varieties like the sabudana and fries made out of pulses. Here the generic name for all such fries was wada – therefore batata wada meant a fry where the potato was the main ingredient. Potato in Marathi was batata. Similarly, there was the sabudana wada and the urad dal wada.
Incidentally, the sabudana wada and its khichdi version were meant usually for the days of fast. Yes, the local Marathi people observe fast on certain days of the week and on these days, the eating joints would serve these snacks.
Of course, I cannot forget the bread pakora – it was nothing but slices of bread dipped in the batter of besan and deep fried. The frying would not be uniform – some would be over fired making it more like biscuit. Others would be under fired – the end product would be soggy.
It was most unfortunate that the culture of rolls (egg roll, chicken roll, mutton roll), which is the delight of Bengalis, had not invaded the kitchens of Nashik. Neither did the north Indian culture of chats and golgappas . The nearest to chats was the bhelpuri – a sort of mixture that was popular in Mumbai. It was similar to jhalmuri of Bengal where fluffed rice would be mixed with a number of unique ingredients and a dash of mustard oil and served in paper cones or packets.
But, alas, the vegetable chops, mutton cutlets, kabiraji cutlets, fish fries and other fast food delicacies unique to Bengal were nowhere to be seen. (to be continued …)

Lesson in how to manage a cosmopolitan work force

Most of the technicians in the factory had been trained in-house in the TTC (Technical Training Center) and they came from different corners of the country. However, the General Manager was a senior officer of the IAF and hailed from Kerala, it was but natural that a majority of the technicians were Malayalees.
Alongside them were people from Bangalore because that was the only place where people were available who had some sort of experience in manufacturing aircraft. Moreover, since the factory was in Maharashtra, there were many Maharashtrians. And then there was an assortment of technicians from others states like West Bengal, Bihar, UP, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh. It was a big cosmopolitan family and everyone worked as a team. Most of the supervisory staff was officers from HAL Bangalore and they joined hands to ensure that the work proceeded as per plans. The work was new to all of us and, hence, everybody cooperated.
Tea was served twice – once in the morning along with snacks. Snacks were necessary because most of the workers were unmarried and therefore had to have their breakfast in the tea time itself. Breakfast usually catered to the local tastes like batata wada, onion pakora, bread pakora, urad dal wada, sabudana wada, poha etcetera.
The second time tea was in the afternoon – only tea. No snacks.
Well – as is human nature, I became pally with the Bengali boys. They were technicians, I was a supervisory staff. But, when the tea came, we would have our tea, crack a few jokes and puff cigarettes together.
One day, my boss called me aside after tea time and gave me one of my first lessons in management. He did not make any reference to my taking tea with the technicians. He only smiled and said – ‘workers are like a source of fire. If you go too close, you will be burnt. If you stay too far away, you will miss the warmth. You must decide the distance.’
My boss had not graduated from any IIT, he did not hold any degree in Engineering but he was knowledgeable about the ways of the world and spoke from experience. (to be continued …)

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