God-send opportunity!
Believe me a few days before the Kandrus (Bakers) went on strike a friend of mine vowed to ‘divorce’ his Kandur or Nan-Vai after he saw him Thurring Lawasas (flattening the pieces of dough for a thin layered Roti called Lawasa in local parlance) with a Dough Pad made of an assortment of rags which also had pieces of some lady’s garment in it.
 The gentleman started brooding over it as to whether the piece of cloth was from a worn-out Shilwar or Kameez! Shell-shocked he returned to his family to share his harrowing experience. There and then his God-fearing wife decided to switch over to home-made Phulkas rather than feeding her family with the costly dirty stuff! Another dirty example comes from: Last week a customer went back to his Kandur to lament that he had discovered a dead fly in his Chochi Woer, the kandur had this to tell “Du Ropiunis Chochi Waeris Manz Nerhei Adda Kath? (Did you expect to get a sheep out of the Rs.2.0 Chochi-woer?”
  With apologies to my Kandur friends, I believe that most of the Novo-Kandrus, (whose forefathers were not in the profession) and who have descended on to the City from rural areas of Kashmir or are coming from far off places in Kishtwar or Poonch district hardly believe in hygienic practices and instead feel clinging dirt as something inseparable part of their life. May be in near future we have them from Bihar or UP. For them using a discarded Zanan Pyjama for Dough-Pad making or cleansing the working table or the Tandur with such a garment is something normal. It is this tribe that makes the sizeable number of Kandrus today. With present tribe of people entrusted with the job of ensuring hygienic production of foodstuffs, you can’t expect anything better than this. Let me tell you the health authority has several ‘Stampers’ in position who affix stamps on meat slaughtered on gutters to pass it as hygienically slaughtered or healthy one for a ‘fee’. How can you expect them to discipline the Mokaer Kandrus(dirty bakers)?
 The Hartal by Nan-Vais is therefore a Godsend opportunity to those who believe in Paaki-Safai or absolute purity to switch over to an assured clean Roti-Lawasa or home-made Roti. For one thing is certain that most of the present day Nannwais are not the descendents of the pious Sofis who accompanied Hazrat Shahi Hamdhan (RA) to Kashmir during his three reported journeys from Central Asia. And these Novo-Kandrus do not even wash their bodies before going in to bakery save offering Nimaz.
 Tail Piece: Another friend had this nostalgia of his to share with me: A Tuleli apprentice telling his Waza-Wasta, “Dodda Rusus Manz Haz Cha Wariah Machi Gaemacha, Ath Keh Karaw? (Sir a large number of house flies have gone in to the milky gravy. What to do with it?). Prompt came the instruction: “Yi Rus Phyian Sa Fata Fut, Machi Alg Kadna Khaetra” (Strain it immediately to separate the house flies). And the Tuleli apprentice obliged by straining the gravy through a dirty linen! With his eyes wide open, my friend walked out feigning illness to excuse him-self from taking the ‘sumptuous’ Wazwan!
SAGEER AHMAD

Of darkroom orphanage, spotlight publicity
There’s an orphanage in posh City suburb. It is run by a local Masjid Intizaamiya. Some of the Intizaamiya members happen to KhawajSahibs, who predict that running orphanage could fetch them equally posh fame in the society(if not elsewhere).
 The KhawajSahibs are trying best to project the orphanage in the best possible way by raising hoardings gelled with smiling faces of the orphans, or by speaking about their “commendable job” on the loudspeaker. As for their person, the KhawajSahibs happen to be having nice Havelis with all facilities of life.
 But then there’s something wrong with the orphanage. Its run in a single near darkroom for the past near two years. Though the dozen odd poor kids manage to live there, the plight worsens as winter approaches. Leave apart running hot and cold water facility, they don’t even have bathroom facilities. This seems to have made their lives miserable. Same has been diagnosed by doctors in the form skin infections, who examined them during an inspection.
 But then for the past two years none has cared much about the issue. Now snowfall is the only “hope” for the poor kids when the Masjid would start the Hamam and they could get access at-least to hot water. Well then the snowfall could mean another happiness for the kids. Their schools will be shut and they may, like past winter be sent home for vacations till spring comes and they return to the near darkroom!
M HYDERI

Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 Nov 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 IST