BOOKING OPEN 2BHK/3BHK FLATS at Gurgaon, Noida, Noida Extension, Greater Noida Cont: 9419101229, 94191-76665 ENTRUST REALTORS & CONSULTANTS SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/magazine www.jammuproperty.com CHANGING TASTES OF JAMMUITES Lalit Gupta Excelsior-Rakesh From a sleepy transit town of 1950s-60s, Jammu, the primate city of the region has witnessed a great transfor- mation. Alongside the phenomenal urban sprawl, the Despite the mushrooming cityscape has also undergone a sea change in the culi- nary sphere. Over the last few years, Jammuites, especial- ly the Gen next has begun to relish exotic cuisines. A lot of lavish restaurants and has changed - not just in food but people's palates and tastes as well. food courts, Jammuites, While the recently opened international food chain out- lets in the city like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Café Coffee Day, Dominos, Smoking Joes, etc as moderately fashionable in particular ladies, take family restaurants are seen as a haunt of the upper-mid- dle class youth who have money to spare, it is the road side eateries serving whole new range of fast foods, which are pleasure in trying out the defining the new taste of Jammu’s burgeoning brigade of teenagers. This silent revolution in the cultural landscape is a total road-side delicacies. No contrast from days of roadside squatting neighborhood vendors and small kiosks selling pakoras, dwaraas, seviyaan, boiled black grams, raitaas, seasonal kanji, jal- one is embarrassed of jeera, etc. Now the list includes momos, thupkas, chowmin and soups. Dished out by roadside vendors operating from picking up a quick bite rehris and improvised outlets, these fast food items not only cater to the changing taste buds of new generation but also an expression of food as a social ritual. on the streets. The samosas and various kinds of handmade breads like parathas and puris along with Punjabi favourites, such as golgappas, chhole-bhature or chhole-kulche, tikki and dahi bhalla, remain favorites with older generations who But it is the fast foods like momos, thupka (a Tibetan grew up in a conventional fare of sugar-heavy and oily diet, courts, Jammuites, in particular ladies, take pleasure in try- thas, or bread and omelet, is popular breakfast for students noodle soup), chowmien, sandwiches, wraps and rolls, par- the new types of fast foods are being savored by high school ing out the road-side delicacies. No one is embarrassed of living in hostels and office goers. The reasonably priced taken by mobile lot of youngsters between the traditional and college going students as a gesture identified with picking up a quick bite on the streets. Rather, it' is a com- lunch served at number of dhabas compromising of roti, modernity. mon practice to gulp down golgappas or eat kachaloos, dal, kari, vegetables or non-veg mutton and chicken cur- meal hours—is in high demand. This new food trend as Surprisingly it is ‘momos’, the morsel-sized food item while doing shopping in old city areas like Kachhi ries, remains a standard choice for everyone including the symbol of multicultural sensitivities and cosmopoli- which is giving competition to and easily beating the good Chowni, Pacca Danga, Fattu Chowgan, Purani Mandi etc. thousands of pilgrims coming to holy cane shrine of Shri tanism, is also increasingly becomes a major emblematic Mata Vashinodevi ji. old pakora and samosas among the younger generation Jammu’s unique importance as the winter capital of the substitute for the native culture. Jammu. From high-end restaurants to roadside stalls, it state, industrial hub, centre of education, destination for The Kashmiri wazwaan, previously confined to the Res- WORD OF CAUTION has become ever-present in the city. Sellers of these can latest medical facilities, has made it a truly a regional idency Road area famous for hotels like Cosmo, Premier Fast foods, per se, can be incredibly healthy meals, be spotted in the markets of old city, in colonies located in metropolis where Dogras , the original inhabitants are shar- and restaurants like Naaz, Moughal Darbar, etc, is being depending on the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the south and west of winter capital like ing space with Kashmiris, Gujjars, Paharis, Bhadarwahis, served at different hotels and non-vegetarian dhabas of cook. However, the term has, in recent times, become Gandhi Nagar, Shashtri Nagar, Trikuta Nagar, Chhanni Kishtwaris and Ladakhis. Living in a melting pot of cultures, the city. Unlike the olden times when ‘Ojari’-offal and ‘khar- almost synonymous with junk food, which is only appeal- Himmat to Janipur and Roop Nagar. the city dwellers of Jammu are showing a remarkable trait ode’-trotters and boiled eggs, were few non-veg items sold ing to the palate, loaded on unhealthy calories and has Some five years back, not many locals knew of this dish, of lapping up alien culinary habits. by roadside vendors, the growth of large number of kiosks little or no nutritional value. While healthy fast foods, such With floating population of thousands of daily commuters dishing out fried and tandoori chicken, mutton kababs and which is preferred by the people in Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, as salads or soy burgers, are recommended for a whole- coming to Jammu from adjoining villages, towns as far as varieties of fish item, speak of the growing tribe of non- Nepal, and Ladakh and some parts of Himachal Pradesh. some daily diet, unhealthy fast foods (junk food), such as Samba, Hiranagar, Kathua, Udhampur, Katra, for work, vegetarians amongst the city population. But a platter of momos which emerge out of steam along commercially sold burgers, aerated drinks, pastries and study, or on official business, there is a great demand for Gandhi Nagar, which has emerged as the address for with the accompanying tomato and red chili sauce guaran- food joints. With the result, today, the street vendors with brand shopping in the city, is also now a favorite haunt for candy are harmful, and should be consumed in moder- tees to make the taste buds transcend the flavors of oily tasty fast food delicacies to serve can be easily encountered foodies who during evenings gather around some of the ation. Children's appetite and taste -- notoriously difficult foods, has become a hit. Originally, these used to be a non- in and around the schools, colleges, office areas, and at best roadside food stalls in the city. The easy to eat to take to control -- can be severely affected by continual con- vegetarian delicacy, but are now available for pure vegetar- other places where people congregate. away fare includes varieties of soups, Kalaadi–Bread, nutri sumption of junk foods. The calorie-filled junk foods lead ians with vegetable and paneer stuffing. Along with customary puris served with chicken peas nuggets, chicken and mutton dishes along with tandoor to obesity, which aids and abets numerous, more seri- DespiteDREAMS the mushrooming of lavish restaurants and food (white channas), IN aaloos, and auria,SEARCH the stuffed nans, pran- baked Handi Biryani. OF Aous diseases.ROAD! Chetna Verma constructed which was later upgraded to a middle school," says forty eight years old Ahmad Hussain. Unfolding the tales of the changing times. Twenty-one year old Mohammad Hassan, sporting a During those three years, when there was no education, leather jacket and denims, is deep in conversation with a a trend emerged across the village where youth sought out group of village elders in more traditional attire, all squat- the livelihood option of being hired by the security forces ting comfortably in the verandah of his mud-plastered as porters. The trend became popular and so lasted through house. He is oblivious to the fact that this seemingly ordi- the decades. The third generation, to which Hassan nary scene represents an unusual milestone in the journey belongs, has managed to get some education. "In Class 6, of change that this border village in India's northern-most I was shifted to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Leh. With a region is embarking on. For this dusty, non-descript village poor educational background, it was really difficult for me in the Himalayan Ranges has seen much over the cen- to keep up with the rest of my class. It is a problem I con- turies, from its role in the historical Silk Route, to families tinue to grapple with, even in college," says Hassan who divided by the wars with Pakistan in this strategically-sen- is currently pursuing graduation from Government College, sitive region and the more recent Kargil War. The conver- Chandigarh and wishes to come back and work for the sation turns to the dismal state of education in the village, development of his village after his post graduation. to the dreams and aspirations of its impatient youth, and Hassan was fortunate enough to find a way to garner development and rights - all matters not usually pondered an education. Not everyone else in the village was as for- over in the struggle for survival in this challenging high-alti- tunate. After middle school, which offers no quality educa- tude terrain. The transition from past to present and a hope- tion, children have to go to town but there is no no road ful future becomes evident when Hassan's firm, young leading there. The so called road that connects strategical- voice responds patiently to the elders' raspy questions. ly-located Hunderman Brok to the rest of the world was Village Hunderman Brok, where this animated chatter conceived under the Central Government's flagship pro- is being witnessed, is not alone. Nestled in one of the most gramme 'Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY') picturesque regions, Hunderman Brok is merely ten kilo- during the tenure of the previous Government and was to meters uphill from the main Kargil town in Jammu and Kash- be completed in 2011-12.