human soul and the 'significant seven

7/29/2019 Human Soul and the 'Significant Seven'

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HUMAN SOUL AND THE SIGNIFICANT SEVEN

amous playwright Shakespeare once said, If music be the food of

love; play on. Music touches our soul in strange ways. It is indeed

the food for the soul; all of us have felt it and as an admirer of musical

instruments, I could write pages depicting this idea. But today, I am not

going to do that. Instead, I am raising the question; can food be the

music for the soul? The creation of music starts from the seven basic

notes or swaras. To resolve the question I have raised, I shall take you to

a journey where I shall try to relate these notes with various foods. Born

and brought up in a Bengali family, my choice of the dishes will closely

relate to the Bengali cuisine, more specifically to the platters associated

with fish.

It would be very unlikely that you live in West Bengal and do not

like fish. Beyond any doubt, irrespective of community and irrespective of

age, the Bengali cuisine is curtailed with the absence of fish. Starting from

Rui, Katla, Ilish, Pabda; there are numerous varieties of fish you could find

in a Mach Bajaror fish shop. Endless number of dishes would have fish as

principal ingredient. If you try to compile the recipes of all the dishes

related to Rui, you would end up with a huge volume of a book let alone

the all the other fishes in swarm. From this huge pool of choice, I have

handpicked a few of my favourite platters temptation is on the way, let

us begin!

The very first delicacy that comes to my mind is fried fish, more

commonly known as Mach Bhaja in Bengal. A simple name, a simpler

preparation and yet it is the most appetizing starter I can think of. The

first impression of fried fish is of course the welcoming aroma, which itself

is unique in its superiority. The golden yellow tint and mishmash of softflesh and crispy bones would give completeness to your pleasure as you

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contentedly devour your snack, with occasional seasoning of lemon juice.

Savouring every single thought about fish fry, I attribute to it the first and

foremost swara in music, namelySa.

Lentils are among the staple diets in Bengal, so next in line would

beMacher Mathar Daal. It is a very popular dish, prepared by combining

lentils, usually moong, with the head of Rohu or Katla fish. With its

creamy appearance and ginger-clove-cardamom flavourings, Macher

Mathar Daal is one of its own kinds. Served with steamed rice, it

constitutes a favourite main course meal and so, it can be found as a part

of the feast in occasions like Jamai Shasthi, Bhai Phonta and even

wedding parties. Without any hesitation, I declare Macher Mathar Daal as

Re in our venture towards the soul.

Rohu or Rui is one of the most affordable fish you would get in

Bengal. So, I cannot help mentioningRui Macher Kalia Rohu Fish Curry

in the list. Again, a very simple but most delicious platter, and also, it is

very commonly cooked in Bengal. Sliced potato, chopped onions and

simple spices like turmeric powder, chilli powder and cumin powder are all

that you will need to produce the exclusive taste of the curry and what

you would obtain is the best way to finish a decent meal. It looks as if we

have found our next swarGa.

I simply cannot afford to skip Ilish or Hilsa in my description,

especially when it is the most popular fish in most parts of Bengal and is

also the national fish of Bangladesh. Any form of Hilsa, be it simply fry, or

mere curry, would bring to you a divine sensation of contentment.

Furthermore, when one combines mustard sauce with steamed Hilsa, even

divine falls inadequate in describing it. Sorshe Ilish is probably the most

magnificent discovery of Bengali cuisine. Unique in its taste, unique in its

exotic mouth and eye watering flavour, Sorshe Ilish is one amongst my

top favourites. I therefore place this fantastic dish at the centre of our

journey, paired with the middle swarMa.


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Talking about steamed fish, I now introduceBhetki Macher Paturi

as the Pancham swarin our voyage. Paturiis a typical practice of cooking

fish, where fish fillets seasoned with spices, oil and green chillies are

wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed or baked, traditionally overcharcoal fire. Originated at Dhaka, it has now become one of the signature

dishes of Bengali cuisine. In fact, Bhetki Paturi is a popular serving in

wedding parties. Having Bhetki Paturiis itself a unique experience first,

you have to loosen a thread to release the wrap, then you carefully unfold

the banana leaf, taking care not to rip it, and inside lies the yellow-white

mass, soaked with spicy gravy, topped with a green chilli, waiting to serve

you with pleasure!

As I proceed to the next swar, I rummage around my collection to

present you with an all time favourite Bengali dish Chingri Macher

Malaikari. Served with steamed white rice or sweet Pulao, this is one

classic preparation of prawn that I would die for to have in my lunch or

dinner. Even the thought of the prawns, cooked in rich spiced coconut

milk makes me salivate. The heads and the shell of prawns add to the

taste of the delightful meal. No wonder, Chingri Macher Malaikariis one of

the customary servings in most of the festive occasions in Bengal.

Reaching at the final note Ni, I am going to talk about a rather

uncommon fish delicacy. Popular among the people of east Bengal, Chital

Macher Muitha is a lip smacking preparation, cooked from minced Chital

fish. Well, it has a very lengthy recipe and requires lots of patience to

cook, mostly because minced fish is usually not available readymade. You

have to first manually peel the flesh off the skin, mix the minced fish with

smashed potato and spices and boil the mixture in Muitha shapes

(dumplings). Once you have got the dumplings, you have to fry them and

only then you are ready to cook the curry. But the uniqueness of its

flavour and taste probably compensates the efforts involved in the

cooking. This is particularly one of my favourite dishes and of course, I do

not have to bother about the cooking process, as long as my mom

prepares it on my birthdays!


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At this point, let me stop and reconsider what I have accomplished

throughout the last seven passages. I have associated seven swara with

seven aspects of Bengali cuisine; but does that make any sense? What is

the point of merely combining two facts unless they collectively portraysome profound meaning? Now, sit relaxed and think once again of the

dishes I have just described. And when you think of them, try to associate

with them the musical notes just as I did. If you are lucky, you may have

the feeling as if you are listening to a Masterpiece of Mozart, or a concert

of Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma. Believe me; you will not understand this

argument by simply reading it. No, instead you will have to feelit.

And I have felt it. I have been staying at the Indian Institute

Science Campus, away from my home, first time since two months. All my

Bengali friends here have complaint about the absolute absence of fish

from the mess menu during the first few weeks, while I bragged that I

was not facing any problem due to the same issue. Or at least I thought

that I was not having any trouble. Then one evening, while I was strolling

towards the mess for dinner, something unusual happened. Without any

notice, I sensed the presence of an unmistakable aroma. Before I could

have I second thought I was racing towards the mess complex. And there

it was freshly fried Bangra fish, served for the first time in the mess.

Regardless of all my bragging, music did rain inside my mind.

It took me a whole month of detachment from the food I loved to

actually appreciate how much I loved it. Fully aware of the fact now, I feel

pretty confident in concluding that food is, indeed, the music of the soul.

-Mayukh Nath

human soul and the 'significant seven

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