"THE PUNJABI CHULHA "-THE QUAINT LITTLE RESTAURANT RUN BY TWO LOVERS WHO LOVE GOOD FOOD AND SPREAD LOVE

Ali Peter John

I am sitting in a place where good and home-like food is the first love and passion of a young couple who nourish this place with their love and care . The young man Gary Singh born in Jammu and brought up in Chandigarh and his sweet wife Aman Preet Kaur is from Delhi . They met in Mumbai , their hearts had better meetings and the meetings led to an arrange marriage which ended up as a love story .

 

Gary ,an admirer of Salman Khan was drawn to Mumbai by his love for his favorite hero and even tried to be an actor.His wife was interested in being the talent behind all the glamour and glitter . The two kept working and they were sensible enough to know that the way up could be tough and so put their heads and hearts together and started this little hotel which would satisfy their own ambitions and give people who look for and crave for good food . The husband continues to be an admirer of Salman and his mission , Being Human , but has his heart in food which has inspired him to have some of the most delicious dishes on the menu of "The Punjabi Chulha ", where I see the triumph of the labour of love .

My two visits to this little heaven on earth is reason enough to know why I love this place and why I who have seen the world would recommend it to my best friends and even my enemies who love good food in a heavenly and peaceful atmosphere . For those who are genuinely intrested, "The Punjabi Chulha" is situated in Oshiwara , next to the police station and is the midst of a place were I know some of the best people in the film industry and others live and the way the popularity of this little heaven of food is growing ,I can safely predict a good , sweet and even spicy future for it ,and for the two lovers whose brainchild it is .....

As I get out of "The Punjabi Chulha" in a good mood after tasting some very good food which I have not had in Mumbai for a long time ,I see a name plate in the neighbouring building next to this little heaven . The name reads "Bharat and Dorris"and my mind goes into a flash back like Gulzar goes in most of his films ....

I was free to do what I liked when I was in screen before it could be mutilated by some wicked spirits who couldn't understand why "Screen"was loved by millions and was the Bible of the film industry for more than half a century.....

I was once asked if Madhuri Dixit could be teamed up with Amitabh Bachchan and I had said that their are coming together could create a sweet sensation . My opinion made news and was even telecast on some important channels , but nothing practical happened , except for the director Indra Kumar announcing his decision to make a film with them for Amitabh's ABCL ....

But , my idea continued to nag me and inspire me .
I decided to give my idea a shape by trying to get a photo session done with Amitabh and Madhuri .....

I talked to Amitabh and he instantly agreed and said ,"I am a great fan of the beautiful lady and would be highly honoured if she agrees to be photographed with me .It is her time that matters , because I am a jobless actor and have all the time in the world ".I next went to Madhuri and told her about how Amitabh was excited to do a photo session with her . She couldn't control her happiness and neither could her old parents and her entire staff .

The session was fixed to be shot inside" Prateeksha " on a Tuesday starting at 11.am sharp.There were any number of photographers who were literally dying to do the dream shoot , but I opted for my young photographer R.Krishna who was once an assistant of the genuis of a photographer , Santosh Sivan of the South who was a favorite among legends and was M.F.Husain's first choice to shoot all his films .

I reached "Prateeksha "at 10.am and found the gates of "Prateeksha "thrown open which was a sight I had not seen before.I saw Amitabh sitting fully ready for the shoot and dressed in one of his finest suits and the first thing he said to his security guards was "darwaza pura khol do, aaj hamare ghar mein duniya ki sabse khoobsurat rani aa rahi hai ".He kept sitting in his favourite chair and kept saying "Ali ,I am ready , where is the great heroine "? Madhuri who was supposed to reach at 11.am did not reach even till it was 12.noon and I could see Amitabh who was always very particular about time growing restless .It was 12:30.pm , it was 1.pm and Madhuri had still not arrived even though she was living only five minutes away from "Prateeksha" . Amitabh was going more restless and both my pressure and tension were rising to breaking point .I kept running between the gate and Amitabh and he said , "don't worry Ali , she is a big star , she will take time but she will come ".

There were no mobiles those days and I kept calling Madhuri's residence and I kept getting messages like "abhi aa rahi hai" abhi nikaltee hai , abhi nikal rahi hai "but she did not still arrive till it was 2.pm .In the meanwhile ,a very calm Amitabh asked his man to bring down his music system and even his piano and kept listening to the kind of music he loved.
He skipped his lunch and told his staff ,"hum toh rani ke aane ke baad hi khaana khayenge".

Madhuri arrive at 2:30.pm and she and her mother profusely apologised to Amitabh saying that Madhuri's make up team of Bharat and Dorris Godambe had come late and that was the reason for the delay . Amitabh behaved as if nothing had happened and made Madhuri and her mother feel totally at home and even took them on a round to see his house and in between he kept embarrassing Mrs.Snehlata Dixit , Madhuri's mother by saying things like ,"maaji , aapki beti kitni saant hai , mere bachhe toh saitaan hai . Aap Madhuri ko mujhe dijiye aur mere dono bachhe aap lekar jaaiye "and both Madhuri and her mother did not know where to look .

But once the shoot began , they were through professionals and my photographer Krishna had the time of his life and Amitabh suddenly looked at me and said ,"ye tumhara photographer zaroor apni Diwali ka kotta pura kar raha hai" .It was his way of telling me that the photographer would sell most of the photographs to all the cheap mazagines in the country and even in the neighbouring countries .

And what Amitabh said came true because only two months latter , my photographer had made a fortune by selling the same photographs to hundreds of mazagines .

However , that session is one session I can never forget all my life like it has been prove when I am just standing on the second step of " The Punjabi Chulha" which is another experience in my long book of experiences .

Thank you " The Punjabi Chulha" and the lovable couple

I think I could sit here , have sips of hot tea with ginger in it and write the whole day and end the day with a last cup of tea and than go home as a fully satisfied man and a charged writer