A TASTE OF TAMIL NADU

As the pandemic deals India a severe second blow, DEVANSHI MODY finds nourishment in the vegetarian renditions of authentic Thanjavur and Chettinad dishes.

- DEVANSHI MODY

“SAPTINGLA?” (“Have you eaten?”) is the single most frequently asked question in Tamil Nadu. Visit a doctor and it’s the first question their secretary asks. Book a medical procedure and medics ensure they don’t violate your mealtime, or indeed their own. Such is the significance of food in Tamil Nadu, rivalled only by temples.

We reach Thanjavur to learn that Raja Raja Chola’s stupendous Brihadeeswarar Temple has just shut due to the pandemic. But a trip to the state must perforce involve temples. So we find ourselves engaged instead in a culinary pilgrimage at the temple of taste that is Thanjavur’s vegetarian abode Svatma.

While many hotels have withered with the pandemic, Svatma’s plush foliage seems plenty nourished on magical elixirs. An elixir of sorts awaits me at the rooftop bar Nila, where the new general manager Suresh concocts seasonal cocktails including a deviously good mango daiquiri executed by Vimal, who remembers my postprandial idiosyncrasies from when we last met—five years ago. Then, Sentil Kumar hands me a rakish mango pina colada and directs my gaze to the bar window. I suddenly spot the Brihadeeswarar Temple. No, not because I’ve had a few, but you actually can.