Nostalgia- Fond Remembrance of Your City

Kanpur Delicacies

Hometowns for sure carry too much of nostalgia with them. The memories attached to them make us want to revisit the place time and again. Their memories are amazingly transportive. Just a thought and the sentiments attached to even the smallest thing of that wonderful place take us down the memory lane from where we are, to where we wish to be. I belong to the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Known for its leather throughout the world, it also offers great food, especially sweets. I am a big time food lover and an explorer. To my memories, food has the greatest contribution. The intersection of food and nostalgia is not only for me but also for the anthropologist and other scientists, a popular topic. Whether it is immigrant’s homesickness for their cultural food ways or the emotional distress that may underlie poor but comforting food choices, one’s mind always has a strong connection between nostalgia and food.

As the city lies in the great indo-gangetic plains, it has a wide range of temperature variation - the hottest summers and cool winters. Food here too varies with the seasons. The nostalgia of the hometown is so strong that wherever eat lime-ice, just a lick takes me back to the days when we ran through the hot streets barefoot to stop the vendor selling what we call “makku” or “baraf ka gola”. Summer days just wouldn’t feel complete without we friends licking lime ice together in the middle of a summer afternoon. The city has in store a sack full of delicious sweets to offer. The world famous ‘Banarsi ke Laddo’ is the cities gift to us; it melts in your mouth to give a lasting happiness. Trust me; just one won’t help curb your sweet tooth pangs.            

 

The memories of steeling these from my grandmother’s secret cupboard will always keep these laddos close to my heart. To give you a sigh of relief from the scorching heat of the sun there also exists the very famous ‘kulfi’- “The Badnaam Kulfi” or “Thaggu ki kulfi” as we call it. As a child we were awed by the way he made kulfi (the Indian ice-cream) with milk without freezing it in the refrigerator. A man used to churn milk kept in a container, kept inside a box full of ice and salt which was churned and churned to give us this wonderful delicacy.

The city has so much in store, to all of which I have uncountable memories attached, that anyone would want attend at least once for its food. The lip smacking ‘chaat’, is another thing to which not only I but a whole lot of Kanpur-ites will have nostalgic connections. Nostalgic evocation through traditional cuisine is one thing we all natives have predominantly.

We as children, as soon as our vacations began, sat together to make a list of which dish we would eat on each day. Our list was extensive and it was so much fun eating it together. Those were the days of no stress and only enjoyment. During summers essentials on the list were ‘pani puris’, ‘kulfi’ and ‘makku’, and for the winter list we had ‘Malai Makkhan’, ‘Hot Jalebies’, ‘ hot kebabs and biriyani’ and the like.

Malai Makkhan is one thing found only in a few towns of U.P. It is meticulously prepared during foggy dawns. It has been my favorite ever since vendors sold it on a cart, moving around the lanes, singing its name in a tune which is still the same. I can clearly recall. As soon as we heard his voice echoing from a distant corner of the lanes, early on winter mornings, we ran out of our beds, throwing the blankets away. With eyes half open, we stood in the lane waiting for him to arrive with a glass in our hand for the chilled milk he brought in limited quantities. My dad always grabbed an extra serving for me to eat latter in the day. All the children in the neighbourhood stood together waiting for the vendor, and after eating comparing how much each ate.

The list of nostalgic connections to my hometown is very exhaustive. Having spent 20 long years of my life in that city, there is a special importance that the place holds and will continue to hold in my heart, no matter how small a place it is on the world map. It has varies place which make me proud every moment. My alma-mater, The St. Mary’s Convent, is one place in the city I will always be obliged to. The city has grown over the years, just like us but for the years to come it will continue to contribute to my treasure.

-Varija Khanna

Batch 2013-18