Bits and pieces: BARBECUE AND BARANBARA FROM BISSAU

Bits and pieces: BARBECUE AND BARANBARA FROM BISSAU: Time for an update since I last posted pictures of my Bubaque trip from the Land of Eder on my FB wall. The monsoon is on its last legs,...

BARBECUE AND BARANBARA FROM BISSAU

Time for an update since I last posted pictures of my Bubaque trip from the Land of Eder on my FB wall. The monsoon is on its last legs, and the next six months promise a lot of travel, probably to neighbouring Gambia and Senegal as well. It is now almost two months since I arrived, and about three weeks since the Bubaque stay.

Whenever I talk to people back home, none fail to ask me the mother of all questions : “How are you eating?”.  Well, I cook myself, absolutely unassisted, and have no problems with it. I keep on ending making differently- tasting food of the same recipe! But I am happy, and there is this snap of Chicken Stew ( Bengali style) and a fried rice with lots of pudina, lemon rind and juice and parsley as well. And today when I went to buy pudina or mintleaf as I thought it would be understood, the girl with exquisitely braided golden locks showed a bunch of what I have known as pudina and another of a much sharper aroma, nearer to the spearmint mouth freshners we buy. I bought both of them. Later on, a while "wiking", I found that the species is not distinct, and actually contains thirteen to eighteen variations.

During the last month, I attended the Nigerian Independence Day celebration at the local ECOMIB ( a joint military force of West African nations overseeing guarding of vital installations ) centre. The March Past was nowhere near what any CRPF company could do with even eyes closed, but the bonus was watching a few folk dances. Here is one glimpse, against a palm tree loaded with numerous nests .

The South African Independence was a drinks and dinner affair, with lots of translated speeches. I took the opportunity to get myself snapped up in my resplendent red silk kurta against a tourism promotion poster of the Rainbow country. It was hosted at hotel, now called Ledger, and a kind of a flex of this name flutters over the old neon , and during sharp gusts of wind, the original name is seen in bold red- Libya. Yes, it was one of the string of properties owned by the Gadaffi.

There were two barbecue parties, both Brazilian, particularly South Brazilian as its chief cook, my UN Police colleague, Wagner says to point out the difference with Northern parts of Brazil. Wagner is Cavalry officer from his country, and he loves nothing better than organize the barbecue which starts with a lot of bread and mayo followed by various cuts of chicken, pork and beef as you can see on the grill with a lot of beer thrown about- and of course music.

I, too, tried to  promote Indian spices, and ended up inviting 15 friends. Cooked alone, the whole of last Saturday, and the smile you are seeing on the faces of this united colours of United Nations group was before the food was served, In balancing the sourness of too much tomato in the mutton curry , I had put a lot of red pepper ( and anyway, Wagner had asked for Rreal Spaicey Indeean fooood) . The Chicken Kasoori Methi did not need juggling , and I had whipped up a raita to moderate the hotness quotient , and even prepared a salad of mushrooms tossed in a vinaigrette of white vinegar, olive oil, mustard paste and black pepper. Lightly sauted greens was another dish in my desire to be more considerate. Well, seven could stand up to, a couple didn't even go beyond the raita, while the rest ate, and probably repented for the next two days. Wagner's tongue, after the first mouthful of mutton curry, was spluttering incoherently like cumin seeds thrown in overheated oil.

Everyone here , whether from Ghana or Senegal or Portugal , curses the "traffic sense" of people of Guinea Bissau, especially the drivers of White and Yellow Mini buses ( not as big as the Brown and Yellow of Kolkata) called Toca Tocas. I just wonder what they would say when they visit Kolkata, Patna or Benaras. So far, I have not undertaken the driving permit test of the UN, and I am having no problem. I sit comfortably, and derive immense pleasure from the discomfort of my colleagues. 

Most of the shopping is done on the streets, and it is not uncommon to see a woman suddenly stop, bend forward, flap about and around a large piece of cloth, and her baby is slung across the back, someone told me it is called baranbara. In India, children are usually held in arms , feel the warmth of their mother's bosom, but most important, as I was instructed when I first held my children in my arms, it is necessary to place a hand behind the neck to prevent injury to the spine. The African children balance their necks on their own! I  read somewhere  that the invention of the technique of carrying children on their backs had freed the women in their foraging pursuits about 50, 000 years ago, facilitating long distance travels that could explain the large scale migrations from Africa .

Names of shops have always fascinated me, whether it is the string of Lakkhibabu’s jewellery shops in Kolkata or Murdering-English signs in Rajasthan. Here, I was fascinated with one, and my only connect to cricket. No cricket is played here, though in the other West African country I had worked over a decade ago,  Sierra Leone, I had seen some cricket. One of the good cricketers there also played golf with me at the Freetown Golf Club,  and his swing reminded more of a clobber towards mid on than the purist’s , but he played to a handicap of 12. However, Sierra Leone was British colony, Guinea Bissau is ex Portuguese - so neither cricket nor golf.

Guinea Bissau is home to a large number of fruits. Many of you don't probably know that one of its main forex earners is export of cashewnuts ,largely managed by Indians who visit the country during the harvesting season. The cabaceira, here, bears a fruit as large as a water melon. I haven't tasted one as yet, but just sharing a picture I clicked after attending a Media briefing session at Hotel Azalai. Next week I am off to Kere  Islands, and hope to reconnect on my return.