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the 'Fist' & the 'Pacifist'
Though my soul may set in darkness, it shall rise in perfect light,
I have loved the stars too fondly, to be fearful of the night.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Of Themes, Culinary GlobeTrotting and Solitary evenings...

Now that most of my work ‘work’ is over here at Grevenbroich, I often have the opportunity to leave office at the god blessed hour of six! On such evenings I chart a new leg of my ongoing culinary journey.

Yes, I arrange “theme” evenings for myself.

The guiding principle of such evenings is simple - try out a new cuisine and arrange the other elements of the evening around it. The first step obviously being choosing the cuisine and thence procuring it.

Last Friday for example I went Turkish - I ordered a portion of Mushrooms in Yogurt sauce, garnished with garlic and chilies. To go with that, from the supermarket I bought Turkish Pita bread, which is a cross between a Masala Kulcha and a Pizza. The spread, while not a king’s platter, was representative of authentic cuisine. To wash down the food, I bought a bottle of Blood Wine. Blood Wine is a produce of the hills beyond Bonn, its strong flavored and derives its name from its distinct blood red color and the Frankish legend of Dragon Slayers. The last element of the evening was the music - I played the Nazams of Faiz Ahmed Faiz sung by Abida Parveen.

It was quite an eclectic experience - Turkish food, local German wine and mystical music of the east. I layout the table and put out all the lights, the only light was that from the television which I had set to the Olympics with the volume muted. The evening was rather nice, a wonderful experience.

Spurred on by last week, I charted a new “theme” evening - Authentic Tortellini pasta and ham in a crème sauce, Alt beer to go with it and Bruce ‘the Boss’ Springsteen playing on my laptop. Another eclectic little experience - authentic Italian fare, a lovely local beer and the working-class songs of ‘The Boss’.

As I savored the food and sipped the beer, I laughed at these maverick evenings of my own device.

“…the mistaken heart, its delusions never end, the laws of reason enter the mind after much delay…embracing false hope with both arms, with all its might, to its breast. In the end one day, severing the umbilical cord and sucking the heart empty of blood, it flees; there is then a return to one’s right senses.
But the mind grows restless again…to embrace its next delusion.”

- Robbie T (Rabindranath Tagore)

'The Postmaster'

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