EVERYDAY at around four in the afternoon, the office would start to smell like a crematorium. That’s the time the first batch of chicken breasts and legs would enter the flaming tandoor and come out semi-singed at the nearby Rajinder Da Dhaba. The finishing touches to them would be given later when the orders started pouring in at around seven. From then on till beyond midnight, it would be a big, boisterous party in the parking area outside the office. What would add extra zing to the party at the Kamal Cinema shopping complex in Safdarjung Enclave, where both these august institutions flourished, from fledgling enterprises to become iconic brands in the last 30 years, were the four thekas or booze shops (only two now because of the botched-up liquor policy of the AAP government).
From our second-floor office, we had a vantage view of Rajender’s kitchen and were privy to many of its trade secrets. I won’t get into the details of their marination process and cooking methods here, but there was an old saying—nobody ever fell sick after eating at Rajender. Anything that enters the fire and brimstone of those tandoors, anything that passes the agnipariksha, has to come out purified.
Denne historien er fra August 11, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra August 11, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Criminal Amnesia
The focus may have now shifted to the Kolkata gang rape case, but questions about the sexual violence in Manipur since May 2023 remain unanswered
To Rape A Wife
Survivors of marital rape face twin hurdles: a lack of legal framework to deal with these cases and the social stigma that comes with reporting them
A City Violated
Public outburst of anger over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata has left the Mamata Banerjee government puzzled, worried
The Forest of Loss
From a legal perspective, justice appears to have been served in the 2017 Gudiya rape and murder case at Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh. But several questions persist
Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds
Muhammad Iqbal Shah's 14-year-old cousin was gang-raped and murdered at Handwara town, Kupwara, in 2007. The family is still trudging along the long road to justice
She Must Have Been Afraid
The 2012 Delhi gang rape is reflective of a systematic failure to cleanse the societal malaise
The Burning Woman
UP has the highest rate of crimes against women, and the district of Unnao has seen some of the State's most gruesome cases
Naked (vs.) Justice
On March 14, 2006, Latabai and her son, six, were paraded naked in a village in Solapur. Less than six months later, four members of a Dalit family were paraded naked; mother & daughter were allegedly gang-raped
Songlines of Chambal
How do the residents of Sheikhpur Gudha, Phoolan Devi's village in Uttar Pradesh, remember her: as a survivor, a rebel, a leader?
Don't You Remember My Story?
A child gang rape survivor's 12-year long ordeal in Sikar, Rajasthan shows how calls for punishment of perpetrators don't always mean empathy for the victim