A TASTE OF SINDH
Condé Nast Traveller India|June - July 2020
My grandmother’s recipes, tales of her short-lived yet idyllic days in Sindh and survival stories of Partition tether me to my homeland.
Shradha Shahani
A TASTE OF SINDH

It felt like a punch to the gut: “Your grandparents are from Sindh. You’re Pakistani. You don’t belong here.” My classmates didn’t know any better when they made these remarks. Nearly 15 years later, those words are still loud and clear in my mind.

Being Sindhi meant having Sindhi kadhi on Sundays, my surname ending with ‘ani’ and dancing to “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar” at a wedding. But I was clueless about the bigger questions: Where did we come from? What are the origins of our food? My knowledge of my roots started and ended with the Partition of India and the world’s largest recorded cross-border migration when Hindus from Sindh in Pakistan were among the millions displaced.

Things took a turn in the summer of 2017. I was to leave our family home in South Mumbai to pursue a master’s degree in Chicago, but on one condition: I learn how to cook. My mother is a consummate home chef, but she is impatient while teaching. I had no culinary instinct. I panicked while turning on the burner! So after failing to teach me how to crack an egg, she packed me off to the place she mastered cooking: my grandmother’s home in Mumbai’s suburb of Andheri.

For my grandma, Vidya Gobind Samtani, preparing a meal wasn’t just to stave off hunger; the rituals of the kitchen comforted her. It never occurred to her that I wasn’t as ecstatic to spend an entire afternoon over a hot stove. But she was warm and patient, and when I’d make a mistake, she’d pat my back with her floury hands. That was enough to keep me there.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June - July 2020 من Condé Nast Traveller India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June - July 2020 من Condé Nast Traveller India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER INDIA مشاهدة الكل
Made In Nagaland
Condé Nast Traveller India

Made In Nagaland

From home textiles to jewellery, clothing, and more, here are the 10 Naga craft brands you need to know. By Sohini Dey

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
TOKYO RIGHT NOW
Condé Nast Traveller India

TOKYO RIGHT NOW

As impossible to pigeonhole as ever, the Japanese capital is buzzing with fresh influences and new ideas

time-read
10+ mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
RAISING RAI: WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS
Condé Nast Traveller India

RAISING RAI: WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS

Raghu and Avani Rai on connecting via worlds seen through their lenses.

time-read
4 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
GILDED WATERS
Condé Nast Traveller India

GILDED WATERS

Paula Hardy boards one of the last remaining dahabiyas on the Nile for a different perspective of Egypt's storied river

time-read
3 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
THE GIRL WITH GRAND DESIGNS
Condé Nast Traveller India

THE GIRL WITH GRAND DESIGNS

Gauravi Kumari is part of Jaipur's new creative set that is bringing fresh perspectives to the city's design legacy.

time-read
6 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
A FACE FOR ADVENTURE
Condé Nast Traveller India

A FACE FOR ADVENTURE

Retooling the iconic Rolex GMT-Master II for fresh explorations.

time-read
1 min  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
THE GRAND seduction
Condé Nast Traveller India

THE GRAND seduction

Palermo's chaos, swagger, and temperamental charm cast a hypnotic spell.

time-read
8 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
Rhythm Divine
Condé Nast Traveller India

Rhythm Divine

Wherever you go in Gwalior, the myth and magic of Tansen are inescapable, as Sam Dalrymple finds out.

time-read
8 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
IDEAL WORLD
Condé Nast Traveller India

IDEAL WORLD

Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan explains why he went ahead with the publication of Bethlehem, his celebratory cookbook.

time-read
6 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25
NUJUMA, A RITZ-CARLTON RESERVE SAUDI ARABIA
Condé Nast Traveller India

NUJUMA, A RITZ-CARLTON RESERVE SAUDI ARABIA

On alittle-visited Red Sea archipelago, the Middle East’s first Ritz-Carlton Reserve reflects both untapped nature and hyperreal modernity, finds Noo Saro-Wiwa.

time-read
3 mins  |
November - December - January 2024 - 25