Beyond The Goal

At Phagwara station, we virtually dragged ourselves out of the train. The rush was overwhelming. It was a Saturday, and most Delhiites hop onto this particular train to head to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. But unlike our co-passengers, we got off at Phagwara. Traveling with a group of young footballers, we wanted to visit the pind (village) where football is next to religion. We had so far heard about the football cultures and traditions of Calcutta, Goa, and Kerala. But Punjab seemed different. As the bus weaved past vast agricultural lands on our way from Phagwara station to Rurka (about 15 km from Phagwara), we were thrilled. It was the end of April, yet the heat was tolerable. Rurka, a village in Tehsil Phillaur in Jalandhar, is entirely different. It is quiet, serene, and sleepy. Neighboring villages include Bundala, Kahna Dhesian, Dhinpur, Bir Bansian, and Pasla. In fact, Hans Raj Hans’ song “Pind Diyan Galliyan” comes alive as the bus moved deeper into Rurka Kalan, which ...

Nahari I was sad to hear the death of Mohammed Rafiquddin, 60, legendary nahariwala, who was popularly known as Kallu Mian in Old Delhi. I had tried nahari at several   pockets of Old Delhi including Bada Hindu Rao and Quraishnagar, but I was convinced none could beat the taste that’s available at Kallu’s . Nahari involves slow-cooked meat along with bone marrow and garnished to taste and was first developed during the Mughal Empire. I was introduced to the dish by some Walled City football fans. I was also told ‘a plate of hot and spicy nahari can give you relief from the biting Dilli ki Sardi’, which, in fact, turned out to be so true after those visits at Kallu's.  It became a daily routine to walk down to the eatery at No. 80, Chattan Lal Mian behind Delite Cinema along with my elderly friends after covering the Vijayans and Okories at the Durand Cups, DCM Trophy's and I-Leagues, held during the Capital's coldest months. Kallu smoked ...