A 4.45 am delectable ‘lunch’ spread with NTR remains a cherished moment

I was quite young at that time with a healthy appetite. Enthusiastically encouraged by a hospitable NTR, I had a hearty meal, and, after returning to the guest house, slept for six hours like a log!

The culinary art and the strange results that can arise from its practice have also been subjects of other works of fiction, such as movies and plays.

For instance, in the Telugu movie ‘Rendu Rellu Aru’ (1996), there is this husband who lives in eternal dread of being asked by his wife to sample her latest creation from a cookery book! The way he succumbs to his wife’s persuasion out of love for her and the contortions he goes through after tasting a morsel of her new dish, make for hilarious situations in that movie.

There is no context in the activity of human beings about which Shakespeare has failed to create a memorable scene in his plays. In Macbeth, three witches fill their cauldrons with bits of real and mythical animals, plants, and even people, to create a spooky recipe. Their idea is to use that grotesque concoction in a magic ritual to conjure deceptive apparitions that will lure Macbeth, the hero of the play, to his downfall.

Ranking high in my memory in the context of delectable spreads, is the unique experience I had with the legendary NTR early one morning in Vijayawada.

It was 28 May 1983, his birthday and the day on which the annual conference of the Telugu Desam Party workers was held. Political stalwarts from across the country, including M G Ramachandran, Ramakrishna Hegde, Farooq Abdullah, L K Advani, Jagjivan Ram, Maneka Gandhi, C Rajeswara Rao and Sharad Pawar were present, among others.

On a personal basis, on account of our relationship from years ago, when I was a child actor in a movie starring him, I agreed to translate into English the Telugu speech he dictated to me. Although not an early riser by habit, I woke up at 2am in a nearby guest house and met him at 4 o’clock as desired by him. Dictation and translation over, he smiled in appreciation at me and said ‘shall’ we have ‘lunch’? I did not know where to look! Lunch? At 4:45 am? But being the trained civil servant that I was, I cheerfully agreed and the repast commenced. The most imaginative gourmet or foodie could hardly have imagined the spread that followed. It was a dream come true meal for a South Indian foodie with everything from dal to the fame avakaya pickle via sambar, rasam, aviyal, papad, deep fried pumpkin wafers, you name it, and it was there. I was quite young at that time with a healthy appetite. Enthusiastically encouraged by a hospitable NTR, I had a hearty meal, and, after returning to the guest house, slept for six hours like a log!

Another experience, which will remain for long in my memory, is the time when I, as Secretary to the governor of Andhra Pradesh, had dinner at the Iranian Consulate General in Hyderabad. As I watched, totally mesmerised, guests eagerly helped themselves to a cooked whole leg of lamb marinated in rich South Asian spices, and yoghurt or ‘tandoori raan’, also a legendary signature dish in the famous Karim’s in Old Delhi.

The one experience which really broadened and widened my understanding of the eating habits of people from different parts of the world was during a visit to Thailand when I was the managing director of the fisheries development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh. As I stood outside a restaurant, a veritable menagerie of seafood, fish, oysters, and lobster, among others, was swimming around in a big glass case with customers being invited to choose the one they wished to be cooked for the meal to be had inside. It was a first-time experience for me, combining fascination with mild revulsion. I was, at that time, undoubtedly fond of non-vegetarian food, but to watch the creatures alive one minute, and on my plate the next, was something I had never experienced before.

Another meal, equally exotic, and strange, was the one I partook of while accompanying the Union Minister of Agriculture, Sompal on an official visit to Iraq. Travelling from Amman to Baghdad, we stopped at the border of Iraq to be welcomed by the minister’s counterpart for lunch. I watched wide eyed while chunks of beef were placed on cold flatbread, chapatis, as we would call them, spread on the table. Little else was on offer, except a green salad, fried rice, and lentil soup. Once again, I had to overcome the challenge of satisfying my hunger pangs with that menu.

Meanwhile, for the discerning Andhra palate, the mouth-watering collection of recipes offered by the great Telugu writer, Malati Chandur, in her book ‘Vantalu Vantakalu’, can give the best chefs a run for their money.

Going by the book can, however, often result in a disastrous although unintended product. I remember when my brother was newly married, my sister-in-law was still a greenhorn at the art of cooking and often used books to prepare meals. So much so that a neighbour, after having dinner at my brother’s place the previous night, dropped in on his way to the office the next morning, just to tell my brother to inform my sister-in-law that he was still alright!

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)

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