So far our trip to Bikaner in search of local flavours and stories has been very enriching and gratifying. The city has so much to offer in terms of culture and heritage. And food definitely is a prime area of it's lovely culture.
Hence taking our journey forward, in today's episode we are visiting the house Mr. Gopal Bissa, who is known for being the 'safa' and 'pagdi' guy from the city because he is an expert tying all kinds of traditional turbans from the state. We are extremely thankful to our host cum friend Gopal Singh Ji for arranging this lovely meeting.
On reaching his turban studio, Bissa ji made Anubhv try a few kinds of turbans and after these trials Anubhav settled for the orange coloured 'Bikaneri Pag' which is worn during this month. Next he adorned him with some traditional silver jewelries. Decked up in the traditional accessories Anubhav headed to the makeshift kitchen to see what was being prepared for lunch.
There he joined the two gracious ladies who were looking resplendent in traditional attire. With a broad smile, in a very short time they whipped up the entire platter that consisted of dana methi, papad ki sabzi, sangri, pitod ki sabji, roti ki khichdi, bedmi puri and fina roti. Gopal ji told us that these delicacies are a part of every celebration.
Soon it was time to eat and as per the tradition, food was served in a huge plate called thaal to be consumed by the hosts and guests together. So we sat down to eat from the same plate and it was so much fun. Talking about the dishes, we thoroughly enjoyed pretty much everything. The sabzis were predominantly tangy and spicy. Due to the use of some common spices their flavours were mostly close to each other. And not to miss the indispensable element of this platter was the Bikaneri bhujia.
After the toothsome meal and some rest, in the evening we accompanied Gopal ji to a goth or a fun get together. The notable things about the goth is that people gather together to bond over food music and other fun activities. And food is cooked by them only. The menu over here included puri, kheer and mogar ki sabzi. Before sitting down to eat we had a traditional music session led by Gopal ji. This was followed by the shared meal experience and another mesmerizing round of singing and music. Hope you enjoy the experience.