Train to Pakistan 2004: Passage To Pindi

Veeresh,

``He uses a term, ``baunee``, which means first customer of the day in India too.``

This is most surprizing. This term is ``Bhowni`` refered to as the first offering to the Godess Bhawani (Kali/Durga). Was this a Hindu driver? The idea is drivers etc request not to haggle for the first fare, since it goes as an offering to Bhavani.

you can always trick folks by using ``Amrit Kokum`` (creme de kokum) syrup in place of creme de cassis and make a konkani kir royale..

http://cocktails.about.com/library/recipes/blkirroyale.htm

make sure to use kokum at the bottom of the flute and to pour champagne slowly, so that shades of an intense color show up from bottom to top. reminds me of developing color on face of the actress in passion in milan kundera movie (lightness of being?).

Note: this drink is strictly for looking. do not drink else it spoils the mood.

Veeresh,

You are forgiven too for... as a teenager I got my first lesson in maintaining cars from you... treat it as gurudakshina :)

{real punjabis love `thara`}

`thara` can cause blindness i hear. : )

Veerish Jee

Came late. I was away to Pindi & Lahore for a few days.

Once again a very authentic peep into Pakistani life at a level - train, bus addas, rickshaws etc - that even many Pakistani Chowkies may be out of touch with. The real feel indeed is with those flies, heat, smelly co-passengers, beggers, no toilets, shoe shine/clothes gone - and that need for shower every three hours. The accurate lay of the land.

Train & bus fares in Pakistan are low. Even Dost-Mitter pointed it out. But packaged touristing is not well organized. Either you go high style, spend a lot of money & stay comfortable. The other choice is planning your own itenrary, thus consuming more time, using the available public transport and remaining rather uncomfortable.

But using Airports, 2-3 star hotels & rent-a-car is as good as seeing a documentary. It is too sanitized.

Your pictorial presentation is flawless, interesting and picture-perfect - I hope in the coming episodes you give us some analysis of Pakistanis thought process - their thinking on different issues.

Since there’s been an unexpected interest in kokum, I might as well mention that it’s known as ‘kodampuli’ further down the west coast of India. It figures prominently in several of the fish dishes of Kerala – at least the ones that my community makes. That may be the reason that it’s sometimes Englished as ‘fish tamarind’. It’s quite likely that its acidity serves a preservative function. At any rate the fact that it’s favoured by sideways-head-wagging golliwogs ought to make it quite unsuitable for consumption by Punjabis.

Indiajourno 20 - good to make contact, have sent you an email otherwise veeresh@chowk.com works as well . . .

Jang 21 - the kokum juice I had included a piece of fermented bark which (a) cut out the taste of the beer and (b) gave it a lovely colour and (c) induced a feeling of weel being. Most of all, it was rocking slighly in a swimming pool at 800 metres looking at the ocean on the horizon. Hard liquor would have spoilt it and wine is not the correct mood. besides, beer played a large part in my evolution as a shippie, so.

Aha-snark 22 - the Multan trip seems to coming adrift. Sad.

Yossarian 23 - just because you are the hero of my favourite book and philosophy, you are forgiven! Yes, my mistake, the juic comes from the fruit. But the fermented bar floating up and down carbonating makes all the difference.

HP 24 - yes I went to the link. Ishtiaq Ahmed is a grand writer, probably fits in the ``I went and had sex with their poodle on their lovely carpet while drinking a 300 year old single malt so all is well with India and Pakistan`` genre. I don`t blame Lahoris wanting to be like Delhi, dreeams come cheap, when actually on dust quotient alone they are more like Mandi Gobindgarh. The truth is that it requires a non-Lahori to write about Lahore actuals on date. They may start with the Wagah - Lahore train via Mogulpura instead of going on and on and on and on about Food Street and a channel in the middle of a road and Anarkali and old family buildings. I got rent-a-building and rent-an-old-chacha and rent-a-hug-and rent-copious-tears in memory of Aunty-this and Uncle-that scheme ready here in India for any visitor from Pakistan in collaboration with a chowkie for the anticipated wave of Pakistanis going to visit soon..

“Ghatia Sharabi” have taken over this thread. Ghatia sharabi Punjabis! Try some quality scotch.

They should just line up the border with cheap sharab and ugly women and all will come. (real punjabi love “thara”.)

To put this thread back on track.

“A small diversion from the Lahore connection was a visit to a Hindu family, the Goels, who were very close old friends of the family of Pakistani cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. Mrs Pushpa Goel told me that during the last Pakistani tour of India, Inzamam had expressed a desire to visit his parents’ original home in Hansi, district Hissar, Haryana. This had not been allowed by the Indian government, but Mrs Goel’s son had contacted Inzamam at his hotel and met him. Back home, Inzamam told the story to his parents and his father immediately remembered Puspha Goel and her parents. They had saved their family during the riots. Mrs Goel was invited to visit Multan in 1999 to attend Inzamam’s wedding. She told me she was overwhelmed by the hospitality she received.”

Veeresh
--
``kokum`` is the bark of a tree
--

If I remember correctly, kokum is derived by drying a small purple tomato like fruit. I had one kokum tree in my front of our home in Udipi... aah! I miss the the kokum juice so much...

now that we have come down to discuss the girly drinks, have you tried the clara (70% beer & 30% lemonade)... nice summer drink.

``oye pencho maadercho fakir dee fudee dee aulad, tu phosdee de kur kee ryaa hai, tainoo malang dee tharrak chad gayee hai?``

Wow. that`s the best Panju abuse I`ve heard in years. I`m seriously considering adopting that as the signature for my emails...

Great stuff, veeresh .... keep the travelogues coming. And remember, if you do go to Multan, you`ll have to write another one for us :)

Veeresh Sirji,

I am getting really suspicious. Are you not allowed to drink due to medical or other reasons? What vile drinks are you suggesting? Kokum Sarbat with beer is a new low. If you were really drinking, you would stick to 1) rum-n-coke (or monk and t-up) 2) cashew pheni-n-limca 3) single malt straight-up 4) famous grouse n club-soda 4) red wine 5) beer.

The fact that you are always talking about all these strange things reminds of khushvant singhs explaination when he wrote his book about his flings with many women (i forget the name..i was sold it an an airport in india by the stall owner asking me to buy it as it may get banned). He felt some gratification out of writing long tales in his non-participating old age. So, come clean, or start dinking again.

dear mr malik,
have seen your bio and have figured we are related...i knew who your father was...and if my information is correct you are my father`s first cousin...he is late bhagwan dass malik`s son...
i am a contributor to this site too and like you am a pakistan watcher, my interest in pakistan stems out of our family`s roota there...
i tried getting your info from dr a.c. malik, but he seems to have lost it...
i wish to get across to you...
you can reach me at amanmalik000 at hotmail.com

aman malik

Satyamvada 4 - on re-reading your post . . . well, I do agree on one thing, that a large segment of the media in both India & Pakistan seem to go by an established line, wherein access to conferences and junkets would be denied them if they went by any other line!

``Oh, I am tooooo busy with conferences to check on facts for myself . . .``

#10
``thank you so much for the recipe of the manly mango suicide. i think i`m going to go to my neighborhood bar, and have the bartender put it together for me. : ) ``

Please reconsider, that stuff will make your hair grow in unmentionable places :-)

#8
Seriously Hamid-bhai arent you overdoing it with both the Gin and the Tequila? I think I`ll give it a shot but sans the whiskey and gin.

Veeresh-ji

The kokum-beer combo reminds me of Berliner style Weiss Beer (Wheat beer). Is is often drunk ``mit schuss`` ie with either green or red syrup in it :-)

Veeresh
Nicely written.

I once visited the engine room of a ship. It seemed very close to hell on earth - unrelenting deafening sound, unbearable heat and above all, the sickly sweet smell of oil?. All to keep a puny thing afloat in the huge ocean. The guard rails on the decks also looked miserably inadequate. I have to say sailors are amazingly brave people, even those who donot go into the engine room.