Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
DOWN MEMORY LANE
Those horse carriages and dhaba rotis
|
Want to know about Delhi’s famous ghoriwallahs? Take a trip with R.V. Smith
|
In Dev Nagar is the biggest centre of wedding horse contractors. Hiro Nand Sindhi and his family have been supplying ghoris (mares) for the bridegroom to ride to the marriage pandal since Partition. They picked on Dev Nagar to settle down after their
arrival from Sindh as refugees, because the area was sparsely populated and there was enough room for building houses for themselves and stables for horses. Even today you can see their white ghoris being groomed for weddings on the roadside.
Hiro Nand’s family has also expanded and so now they have branches in InderPuri and other West Delhi localities and also in South, North, and East Delhi. Keeping horses in this age is not easy because just as expensive as their feed is, so is the maintenance of the wedding raths or buggies pulled by two, and sometimes four horses, depending on customer demand. The wages for the grooms are also on the high side. Add to this the bakshish given to petty officials of various authorities (who have the power to penalise ghoriwallahs) and you can get an idea of the expenditure incurred. The lean season too is not less expensive. Besides mares, stallions have to be cared for as they are also in demand.
First family
The progeny of Hiro Nand, more used to Delhi ways, has now changed the name to Hira Nand and removed the “Sindhi” suffix. Rival ghoriwallahs have sprung up but this first family of horse keepers has managed to keep its reputation in tact. Closely linked to the ghoriwals are the dhabawaals. When weddings are not taking place, the servants of the ghoriwals eat at the dhabas – it’s cheap and convenient with the “eat now - pay later” facility there for the asking. Incidentally, dhaba roti makers are a breed apart. They are part of the dhaba and yet aloof in the sense that they don’t interact with the customers. There was Bhag Singh at Lachcho Ram’s hotel near Jagat cinema who just concentrated on making rotis, unconcerned with the rush being faced by the waiters. Even Bengali, the cook, exchanged some banter with the staff and the patrons but Bhag Singh just kept to himself, except on his off day when he would dress up, hang a camera and a pair of binoculars to go out sightseeing. Both the gadgets were toys and just for show as he hardly ever used them.
Motia in Nai Sarak made not only oven but chullah rotis also at the Vaishnav Bhojanalya. Despite the smoke and the heat he never lost his composure.
In Bara Hindu Rao and Matia Mahal there are his counterparts, Idris and Ballo, but they make tandoori rotis, unlike Chhutatn of Ballimaran and Raees of Karol Bagh who prepare roomali rotis over a tawa.
Hot, crisp rotis add to the flavour of the dal or curry and, if well-made, add to the appetite too. Still rotiwalas are a neglected, reclusive lot. To cook a dish is a one-time job, but not so with rotis. The tedious process of making them goes on and on till the dhaba closes. No great names are associated with rotis except of course that of Mirza Chappati, as Mirza Moghul, Bahadur Shah Zafar’s heir apparent was known, since he supervised the distribution of rotis in the Red Fort during the First War of Independence. But the man who serve the ghoriwalas are unaware of all this. To them the rotiwalas are the ones from whose stock of leftover rotis a finicky horse can be calmed with a mouthful during the off season for weddings. So Bhag Singh and his ilk are willy-nilly horse feeders too.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
