Whipped cream has never been called up to fight a war. But in the fight for Ukraine, cream, eggs and sugar are being pressed into action in Delhi. At Alma Cafe in Noida, a cheerful and welcoming spot far from the trenches in Ukraine, the weight of the offensive against Russia fell on beetroot soup.
Borscht—befittingly deep-red, like blood—was served up at the cafe in March as a spark of resistance during a cultural festival organised by the Polish Institute, Delhi. The soup, ably assisted by pierogi—new moon-shaped dumplings with mashed potatoes and cottage cheese, and mlynci crepes stuffed with tender lamb— held up admirably and pushed the frontier forward.
A year after the Ukraine-Russia war began, Ukrainians living in Delhi have chosen to fashion their personal grief into a political weapon. Pain diplomacy, practised in a powerful and effective way.
“It is incumbent on us to spread our culture,” says Olga Syrovatko, an artist who conducted a painting workshop at Alma Cafe in March to introduce people to the style of Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko. “So that people can see we are unique and not Russian. They understand who we are.”
At the heart of the battle is culture. And it is aam aadmi ambassadors who are leading from the front. The mission: to reclaim the Ukrainian identity and keep the world focused on the devastation. It is a battle fought on foreign shores that the 200-odd Ukrainians in exile in Delhi are determined to win.
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