- 6 weeks ago
The episode "Punjab, India" is the second episode of Season 3 of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, which premiered on April 13, 2014.
In this episode, Bourdain explores Punjab, a region known as the Sikh Holy Land and India's agricultural breadbasket.
He begins his journey in Amritsar, where he samples vegetarian cuisine at roadside dhabas, including the Kesar da Dhaba, a backstreet eatery renowned for its Punjabi thalis.
Bourdain also visits the Golden Temple, participates in a Gurpurb festival, and explores Chapslee Estate and a free community vegetarian restaurant.
The episode delves into the region's history, including the impact of British colonial rule and the post-colonial aftermath.
In this episode, Bourdain explores Punjab, a region known as the Sikh Holy Land and India's agricultural breadbasket.
He begins his journey in Amritsar, where he samples vegetarian cuisine at roadside dhabas, including the Kesar da Dhaba, a backstreet eatery renowned for its Punjabi thalis.
Bourdain also visits the Golden Temple, participates in a Gurpurb festival, and explores Chapslee Estate and a free community vegetarian restaurant.
The episode delves into the region's history, including the impact of British colonial rule and the post-colonial aftermath.
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TravelTranscript
00:00We've got a lot of people.
00:02Hello!
00:04Hello!
00:06Hello!
00:08Hello!
00:10Oh, hi!
00:12Hello!
00:14Hello!
00:16Hello!
00:18Hello!
00:20Hello!
00:22Hello!
00:24Hello!
00:26Hello!
00:28Eat it back at all, eat it back at all.
00:30Fuck!
00:30Fuck!
00:31Fuck!
00:33It was fun!
00:34Eat it back at all, eat it back at all.
00:37Fuck!
00:38Eat it back at all, eat it back at all.
00:41Hold on, eat it back at all, eat it back!
00:45I took a walk through this beautiful world.
00:51Felt the cool rain on my shoulder.
00:56Just bouncing in here in this beautiful world.
01:03I felt the rain getting colder.
01:09Sha-la-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
01:23This house came to be built by Dr. Blake, who was in the East
01:29This house came to be built by Dr. Blake, who was in the East India Company service.
01:57My grandfather came to be nominated to the body called the Council of State, which used
02:03to be a part of British India.
02:06It was another time, one that few still remember.
02:14The India before partition, when these rooms, this house was part of the seat of power.
02:22I had the privilege of being born in this house, upstairs.
02:32This was the Maharaja's bed, I mean his chambers at present.
02:36And it was a routine that we'd all parade up into my grandfather's room to wish him good
02:43morning.
02:44And then we'd all come down for breakfast.
02:50The walls tell a story.
02:53Many stories.
02:54There used to be a lot of animosity, there were two very divided classes in India.
03:01So there was a lot of tension between the ruled and the rulers.
03:08But that was a different time, you know.
03:12Now I think back and it's more like a fairy tale.
03:31Day one in northern India, near the Pakistan border.
03:52This is Amritsar, the Indian Punjab's largest city.
03:58Population about a million.
04:02This is a part of India I've never seen, a place I've always been curious about.
04:07Home to some pretty legendary cuisine.
04:09In Amritsar they have a say.
04:13The best food isn't cooked in people's homes.
04:15You find it on the streets.
04:39Punjabis are known for their adventurous spirit as brave warriors who spread throughout the
04:43world bringing great food with them.
04:57In fact much of the good stuff we refer to simply as Indian food comes from here.
05:03The Punjab of the early 20th century saw some of the most violent resistance to British rule.
05:29And when the British finally cashed out in 1947, they carved off a huge piece.
05:34What is now Pakistan.
05:38And it remains a potential flashpoint for conflict.
05:42But that's easy to forget when you first smell the food.
05:45Qasar da Daba, Daba meaning side of the road food stall.
05:59And there are like countless Dabas to choose from in this town.
06:03But this one is legendary.
06:05See Tony eat vegetables.
06:08Mmm.
06:09And like it.
06:10You eat around this part of the world, Punjab in particular, get used to eating a lot of
06:15vegetarian.
06:16Chickpeas, doug.
06:17And India is one of the few places on earth where even for me, that's not a burden.
06:22Ooh, what's that?
06:23Oh, I'll take that.
06:24Yeah, right here my good man.
06:26Mmm.
06:27That's good sod.
06:29In the Punjab meat or no meat, you're almost guaranteed a free-for-all of intense colors,
06:36flavors, and spices.
06:41Unlike some of the joyless vegetarian restaurants in my sad experience, the vegetables here are
06:46actually spicy, all taste different, different textures.
06:54And served with extraordinarily good bread.
06:56It's got this multi-tiered crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle.
07:00It's a whole different experience.
07:02If this was what vegetarianism meant in most of the places that practice it in the West,
07:07I'd be at least half as much less of a dick about the subject.
07:11Look, hippie, if you made bread this good, I might eat at your restaurant.
07:15Mmm.
07:16Around here, one of the first things you notice that's different from the rest of India,
07:38turbans.
07:39Everywhere.
07:41The symbol of self-respect, bravery, and spirituality for Sikh men.
07:48Amritsar is the home, the spiritual center of the Sikh faith.
07:52The world's fifth largest and maybe most misunderstood religion.
07:57In the heart of Amritsar stands the majestic golden temple.
08:01The Sikh equivalent of the Vatican.
08:04Sikhs are fundamentally against any caste system, believers in religious tolerance.
08:15But they are just as fundamentally warlike when it comes to defending their principles
08:19and what they see as their territory.
08:26Welcome to Golden Temple.
08:29Today is a Guru Pura, one of the most auspicious days of the Sikh calendar.
08:43Pilgrims from all over the world come to worship, walk the perimeter, and bathe in the holy pool.
08:49All are welcome, of any faith or caste, to remove their shoes, wash their feet, cover their heads, and take part in a simple meal.
09:00So hard to wash the Kristoffaltresики instead of getting hijos together with these footsteps.
09:05So what do you think, sure?
09:06You're along with the Pharisee-bal?
09:08If you were next to your colleague.
09:11In support, the Adventist is instrumental in building on Shugwas keep in touch with theī-bal?
09:13Of course we're doing but therefore is something to exploit theSL.
09:14Of course he's the ark as aTTOh Outside eat the food Teraz academic perder.
09:19Where do you think they are?
09:20So what Ileigh?
09:21What are you thinking next to Henaiko is at Hensa?
09:22Well I can't see so.
09:23It's my friend, you know?
09:25He has seen the evidence as aだ diary.
09:26As an old womanaka, you canisesti broadcast,
09:27or knows how to and see how to make things easier.
09:29this is the longer a free vegetarian meal served to many thousands of visitors from every walk of
09:39life every day of the year they serve 16 hours a day 16 hour a day for how many years to finish
09:47with 300 years 300 years everyone doing the cooking the serving the washing of thousands
09:56of metal plates and utensils are volunteers the sound is extraordinary we have a teaching that
10:19everyone should serve all three things money mind and body right should be served to other people
10:25free of cost and that's what we do walking me through it all today don't want sing now a religion
10:34that's so concerned with tolerance where does the grand Punjab military tradition come from because
10:40it's a very very powerful so powerful people so hard-working people every sec you see if he is
10:47baptized he wears a small soul in our profit when we get baptized he says you must protect yourself you
10:53must protect others and you must protect your country so that makes us what we are
11:23morning the smoke from countless burning fields covers Amritsar in a thick haze
11:53the ancient art of pelwani evolved from Indian wrestling techniques that date back to the fifth century BC
12:06training is rigid as this is not just a sport but a way of life
12:17wrestlers live and train together and have strict rules of diet and personal conduct no smoking no drinking no
12:31contact with women I took high school wrestling actually so that I could get out of gym class I was a dirty dirty fighter
12:55it is an all too natural segue between the aggressive posturing of opposing bodies of pelwani
13:11and this the entire border between India and Pakistan has only one crossing
13:21here at Wagga every sunset the border is officially closed with this bit of national theater
13:33wearing nearly duplicate uniforms the Indian military and Pakistani Rangers
13:42partake in a game of theatrical contempt clearly it's a popular show
13:50so where are we we are right next to Pakistan India and Pakistan were once one country ripped apart
14:07in one of the hastiest ill-considered partitions imaginable beyond there no more fence no more fences so
14:14it's once you get past there yeah you can go straight into Pakistan if you want yeah so the problem is the
14:20thing is India is trying to stop people from coming in the infiltrators you know drug dealers and treasuries
14:25who day is working on a documentary about the India Pakistan border right no one wants to go into Pakistan no one
14:31wants to go and no one wants to in their right mind wants to go into Pakistan well really that's a fairly
14:36decisive statement so put they put up the fence but the fences on the Indian side yeah it's 150 meters from
14:44the border right so beyond that fence still Indian farmland yes so people who live over here can farm over
14:51there and form over there the Punjab is a fertile region in an otherwise very dry country this is India's breadbasket with over a billion people currently residing in India every inch of fertile Punjabi soil has
15:06great value these are people who owned land over there yes then they put the fence yes suddenly
15:12your life became difficult exactly they are restricted by many things they can only grow some kind of crops
15:17and they can't farm more than eight hours in a day how long does it take to get back and forth the border
15:23security force man's these gates so they have times you know when they can enter and come out
15:36how much farther can we go before they start to get worried yeah I think they can just go to the pole
15:41when India and Pakistan were separated the attempt was to try to draw a line across religious lines exactly
15:49drained by the colossal task of fighting two world wars in 1947 Great Britain decided to end their nearly 200
15:57year rule over India in an attempt to prevent what the colonial saw as an inevitable civil war between Hindus
16:04Muslims and Sikhs the British Commission Sir Cyril Radcliffe a lawyer from Wales to draw up the new
16:11border he was given two months you know two months to the two months to divide the new country basically
16:16so he took the map and just to a line you know people died because of the displacement unofficially
16:22they say it's two million people you know when James fight the minos get trampled upon in one of the
16:28largest exchanges of populations in history many millions of people fled their homes almost
16:35immediately religious violence broke out on a mass scale this is exactly what the partition had been
16:42intended to avoid do people here still have families over there yeah they do when the line was drawn there were
16:49villages which were split into halves there are some houses where you enter from India and you exit from
16:54Pakistan really yes Wow this part of Punjab and that part of Punjab they're one state so the culture
17:00similar very similar well that's a popular metaphor for India Pakistan is twins separated at birth they
17:08were never twins I mean it was one one country you can say dismembered right if you cut a body in two
17:14they're not going to become twins right it's sad you know you you can see them I mean they're doing the
17:22same work as you're doing they dress the same they look the same but that you can't talk to them it is an
17:34ongoing struggle an enduring cause of paranoia visible all across the region two nations with atomic arsenals who
17:43have showed if nothing else a terrifying willingness to use them
18:13from the horrific 2006 train bombings to the militant attacks in Mumbai the threat of terrorism along this border is a daily concern
18:43want something good really really good when in Amaretzer something local regional iconically
19:13wonderful you can't say you've had the Amaretzer experience until you've had a little culture in your life
19:19culture this is the iconic dish of Punjab yes that's the speciality here
19:26culture a perfect little flavor bomb of wheat dough pressed against the side of a
19:42very very very hot clay oven slathered with butter and served with a spicy chole a chickpea curry on the side
19:51did I mention the butter
19:53delicious everyone in Amaretzer seems to be an expert on culture including this lady Navrup
20:06it's a chickpea curry and this is all radish very very very good generally speaking Punjabis are famous for being a warrior class
20:15taller bigger yes living still maybe not fighters so much but still eaters oh yeah big time yes the religion doesn't matter food is religion here
20:26first time in Amaretzer why do you feel in this place
20:35checking off my list of things to do in the Punjab I gotta score some animal protein
20:53it's time I'm going all Morrissey for like two days now and frankly that's enough I need chicken
21:07like we are in the ass end of nowhere here where am I it's known as beera chicken huh it's very famous for chicken
21:19when we're talking must-haves tandoori chicken is just that add some lemon in this you'll enjoy it
21:28oh man it's delicious this a type of establishment Daba Daba it's called Daba you know this is the most
21:35successful business here anybody you open the Daba tomorrow it will be a success but if you're you
21:40know if you're going to do chicken you better be good yeah it's a good place for that would you like
21:45to have something else there's a like a roti with a ground mutton or ground that's called naan that's
21:51butter now Kima naan mutton ball dough and the special ingredients magic hands and believe me when I tell
22:05you this shit is good so good that people snap it up the second it comes out of the tandoor of
22:11hey that's mine mmm is it good just sensational wow people do love their food definitely I love eating
22:24the movies and television in this country is fantastic thousands of films are made per year
22:32I don't even understand why what's going on I mean everybody dances and sings I don't get it
22:39would you like to have something else but this is good
23:09oh yeah
23:13wow
23:17oh yeah
23:20that's good thank you no nothing thank you it's delicious so good
23:39leaving the fertile plains of the Punjab behind I'm headed out towards the Himalayas and getting
23:51here at least the way I'm going hasn't changed much in the last hundred years all aboard
23:59this is going to be suboptimal seating yeah I don't think this reclines thank God they have relaxed attitudes towards prescription drugs before you enter the gateway to the Himalayas you better self-medicate
24:24meanwhile I've been like 24 hours without a bite of food I arrive it's like oh oh there's snacks on the way great get a bag of peanuts
24:39truth be told truth be told I'm an angry bitter man when I board I'm guessing there ain't a shonies or a P.F. Chang on the way
24:46it's kind of cute little train it's so little it's universal tours we're going to King Kong ride
24:53while my stomach growls I become the kind of traveler I warn against gripey self-absorbed immune to my surroundings
25:03but as my brightly colored little train heads up into the hills from Kalka station known as the gateway to the Himalayas
25:10my worldview starts to improve
25:13the unnaturally bright colors of India start to pleasurably saturate my brain the views from the window of ridiculously deep valleys
25:30hundred-year-old bridges it's well breathtaking
25:37my fellow passengers too are irresistibly charming the school kids in their uniforms cheer in unison every time we pass through the
26:00one of the tunnels
26:07I pretty much forgotten about my hunger until the whistle stop at Barol
26:27this place is named for a Colonel Barog the British engineer tasked with building the line up to Shimla
26:38thank you
26:39the station and the adjacent tunnel bearing his name are rumored to be haunted
26:44it's delicious
26:46already behind schedule and plagued by cost overruns Barog screwed up
27:01when he realized the two ends of this tunnel didn't meet in the middle he shot himself
27:08it's the kind of personal accountability I'd like to see more of frankly
27:12or is that just me
27:15but all my snarkiness fades as I reflect and one can't help but reflect on what it took to dig drag blast and tunnel one's way up this route back in the day
27:28back in the beginning making the trip to Shimla required a somewhat uncomfortable three-day trek up the mountain by foot or horse or hand carried palanquin
27:38the stats are impressive
27:45the climb of around 5,000 feet
27:49over a hundred tunnels
27:51more than 800 bridges
27:56an engineering feet a job that when you consider the time defies imagining
28:07in the building of this railroad many died many many died
28:13that's the only thing that was taking place a lot of course
28:15that's not really happened
28:16by it
28:20the infringement has to be the same
28:25the entire path of the ship
28:27that was probably the same
28:28by the main event
28:29that was a very important part in the building of this apartment
28:30of the park
28:32of the park
28:33of the park
28:35of the park
28:37of the park
28:39of the park
28:41When you look at that painting
29:11When you stand out front in the garden and look out at the view
29:22Can you picture the way it was?
29:25I've been to many places where it reminded me of what similar would have been when the
29:31British first came and settled there.
29:36I have a penchant for such places.
29:41It is a kind of a throb that I feel.
29:45Fond memories of British rule, maybe not what you'd expect to hear.
29:50But Kawa Ratinjit Singh, that's Reggie for short, his family was different.
29:56Indian royalty with palaces, the 1% of the 1%.
30:01So life for Reggie as a young boy was, relative to the millions and millions of others his
30:06age, enchanted.
30:18Shimla is from a time before partition, when nearly the entire ruling class of British India
30:24would move to hill stations in the hotter months.
30:36Shimla was once known as the queen of all hill stations.
30:42Here, the colonials created England in miniature, complete with Tudor architecture, rose gardens,
30:52afternoon tea.
30:54My grandfather, it's very difficult to describe what did he do.
30:57Well, quite frankly, he did nothing.
30:59But he entertained hugely.
31:01Garden parties, fancy dress balls, elephant hunts.
31:17The remnants of British rule can still be seen and felt.
31:28This is particularly true of one house, Chapsley.
31:34My family was very fortunate that they were able to buy this house because it was a famous
31:42house.
31:43The house was purchased by Reggie's grandfather, the last Maharaja of Kapoorthala.
31:48Those Brits really left beautiful buildings.
31:56From a distance, it looks much the same as it must have when the Maharaja slept here.
32:07Check out the pub.
32:11Locked in a constant battle against time and nature, barbed wire does little to keep Shimla's
32:29ever encroaching monkey population at bay.
32:45Stripped of their wealth and their kingdoms, the one time royals all across India have had
32:51to either sell their estates or, like Reggie, turn them into hotels and guest houses in order
32:56to hold on.
32:59ring a buzzer and a servant appears.
33:06Then they bring hot water bottles at night, put them under the covers.
33:14Butters keep popping in, build a nice fire.
33:20A great facet of my childhood was how my grandfather entertained.
33:29His table came to be known as perhaps the most famous in northern India because he was a gourmet
33:35connoisseur of food.
33:40A great day.
33:50Tonight, dinner at Chapsley, an elaborate Anglo-Indian menu from Reggie's childhood.
33:59My fellow guests, two of Reggie's friends, Raja Basin, a historian on the subject of Shimla,
34:05and Rakesh Varlalsud, the barrister.
34:08There's so much history here.
34:10I mean, while I take a dim view of colonialization, it's very hard to resist the charms of a house
34:17like this.
34:18That's quite understandable, actually.
34:20You've got a hundred years of very, very intense history funneled into a very small place.
34:27This house used to house the Secretary of State to the ground.
34:32What am I eating?
34:33This is eggs.
34:34I love Florentine.
34:36Oh, that's good.
34:49This was a small town.
34:50A small town with a very, very big government.
34:53Simla enjoys the unique distinction of having been the summer capital of India and, surprisingly,
35:00it was the capital of Burma during the war days.
35:03So here you have this tiny little village up on the hill, connected to the rest of the
35:09world by a narrow mountain path.
35:12And they rule approximately a fifth of the human race for eight months every year.
35:19In today's context, it would almost seem bizarre.
35:25Mogatani soup, classic example of what we think of as Indian food in the West, but not
35:30at all.
35:31This was originally a soup made by Indian chefs to accommodate British tastes.
35:35Is that correct?
35:36It was something what you would call halfway between a regular daan, a lentil, which you
35:42would eat, and a broth.
35:45Glassy chops.
35:46Mutton, glassy chops.
35:48Basically meat cooked in its own fat.
35:51And it would have a lot of curry on it.
35:54It's a misnomer.
35:57This meat is not actually mutton.
35:59It is chivron.
36:03Here, back before the rail line, it would be a difficult trip.
36:07Yes.
36:08But once they were up and running, I mean, there were many servants to look after your
36:12every need.
36:13You had a fireplace, a hearth in every room.
36:15And people on the regular payrolls whose only job was to shoo monkeys off the grounds.
36:21Wow.
36:22You would be carried around in palanquins, a little box in which you sat in a curtained
36:27box.
36:28This man would go stamping his staff in the ground, and the bells would jingle.
36:32And the common folk would give way.
36:35And normally they were not even supposed to look in the direction.
36:39It was bad manners.
36:41Right.
36:42It wasn't easy for the people who built the town.
36:45It was India that paid the bill for all this grandeur, for all this pump, for all this
36:50show.
36:51They did it at our expense and with our money.
36:56At the end of the meal, there's coffee, brandy and cigars in the sitting room.
37:02As one does.
37:03Or, once did.
37:05I hope you enjoyed the dinner too.
37:12Oh, very much.
37:13It was delicious.
37:14Really wonderful.
37:15A lot of history in this house.
37:18And one can be forgiven for maybe briefly forgetting what it took to build this lost kingdom.
37:31And how much the world has changed around it.
37:34And how much the world has changed around it.
37:38The monkey temple looks down on Shimla, overrun by its namesakes.
37:45Twisting up further into the Himalayas, I find the way that the world has changed around the
37:52world.
37:53The monkey temple looks down on Shimla, overrun by its namesakes.
38:08Twisting up further into the Himalayas, I find myself in a place known as the land of the gods.
38:18Nearly every village credited with having its own deity.
38:23Getting there, you might well have an opportunity to meet one of those deities.
38:33As you tear around narrow, guardrail-free mountain roads.
38:38Overlooking terrifying drop-offs.
38:40I could do heights.
38:42Like, you know, I've done the jumping out of planes thing a number of times.
38:46But I feel it.
38:47You know, like looking over a precipice like that one.
38:50I feel it on my knees.
38:52You know, like if my knees could vomit with terror, they would be.
38:59They'd be vomiting with terror right now.
39:02They should have little underwear stops on this road, you know, where you could like,
39:06get a fresh pair.
39:07Every couple of miles, it's like, ooh, that was scary.
39:11Overloaded buses, water trucks with worn brake pads, aggressive truck drivers can come
39:18wailing around the corner at any time.
39:21And they do.
39:22About every two minutes.
39:24Squeeze your cheeks tight and close your eyes.
39:28Oh, the enchantment of India.
39:34The remote locations of these isolated mountain villages has kept old traditions alive.
39:47Village fairs serve as an opportunity for families who live very far apart to get together, play games, eat, and partake in religious rites honoring local deities.
39:57Quite a ride getting here.
39:58Yeah.
39:59How do you enjoy that road?
40:00White knuckles.
40:01Meet Hashim.
40:02He runs motorcycle tours through these parts.
40:03The Himalayas is the holy grail of motorcycling.
40:08We're traveling almost 1,500 kilometers on a trip.
40:09It's so unbelievably beautiful and diverse.
40:10What do we got here?
40:11Vegetable curry?
40:12Yogurt-based curry.
40:13Quite typical in these parts.
40:14Vegetables again?
40:15Surprisingly, not a problem.
40:16That was good.
40:17This is one of the few places in the world that I could eat vegetarian every day.
40:18Yeah?
40:19I'd still be happy.
40:20Most of the people in this community, farmers, farmers, farmers, farmers, farmers, farmers,
40:24What are they growing?
40:25They do a lot of corn, potatoes, peas, and vegetables.
40:29It's so unbelievable.
40:30It's so unbelievably beautiful and diverse.
40:31What do we got here?
40:32Vegetable curry?
40:33Yogurt-based curry?
40:34Quite typical in these parts.
40:35Vegetables again?
40:36Surprisingly, not a problem.
40:37That's good.
40:38This is one of the few places in the world that I could eat vegetarian every day.
40:41Yeah?
40:42I'd still be happy.
40:43Most of the people in this community, farmers, farmers, farmers, what are they growing?
40:46They do a lot of corn, potatoes, peas.
40:53And weed.
40:54People growing marijuana here.
40:55Yes.
40:56Loads of it.
40:57Loads of it.
40:58As an export product or for personal use?
41:00Everything.
41:01Mix of everything.
41:02So you think you want to go check out the fair a little bit?
41:06Yeah, let's take a walk through town and see what's going on.
41:10Predominantly an occasion for all these mountain villages to come together and specialize
41:15because people are busy in their farms.
41:18They're not going to come and walk down and socialize with people.
41:22But this, you know, because it's autumn, everyone is done with all the agriculture.
41:27Right.
41:28Now they're just bedding down for winter.
41:29There's a lot of romance in the air.
41:32I've been to Mumbai, Kolkata, Sundarbans, Rajasthan, Kerala.
41:43This is a part of India that's different than any other part.
41:46Look, it's fascinating.
41:47It's beautiful.
41:48Oh, yeah.
41:49Sweet.
41:50Wow.
41:51It's moving.
41:52Yeah.
41:53Yeah.
41:54Wow.
41:55It's moving.
41:56Yeah.
41:57It's moving.
41:58Yeah.
41:59Sweet.
42:16Wow, it's moving.
42:29End of the rules.
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