Pakistani tadka for Indian shooters
Vinayak Padmadeo
New Delhi, July 27
They say good food is essential for good mood. The Indian shooters who are camped in Chateauroux, France, have found a Pakistani food joint to satiate their longing for Indian food after not liking the food served in the Games Village.
The Indian shooting contingent have to make do with bland Indian food like dal and chawal, while the rest of the spread is continental. The vegetarians have the least choices. A member of the shooting team baulked after finding out that the same serving container was used for chicken and beef portions.
The team then searched online and found Taj Mahal, a restaurant run by Pakistani owner Atif Noman. The trap team, which includes Prithviraj Tondaiman, Shreyasi Singh and Rajeshwari Kumari, and a few from the rifle team have at least one full meal there.
“I only eat vegetarian food on Saturdays and they don’t serve that in the Village. They have fish or eggs in their vegan spreads. Everything is so bland so we found this restaurant and it serves good food,” trap shooter Prithviraj told The Tribune from Chateauroux.
“To be fair to the organisers, they do not have this concept of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. So we found this place and everyone is flocking to this place. The other day, I found high performance director Dr Pierre Beauchamp and a few shooters there. Palak daal, chicken and fish biryani are what the team mostly orders. He has become a friend and sometimes we order before getting there,” he added.
Noman too was happy to host his Indian friends. “They have been coming here for a few days now. It feels good, Indians hai, zabaan apni hai, gup shup bhi ho jati hai isi bahane (We speak the same language and so we can chat also),” Noman, who hails from Punjab in Pakistan, said.
“Who doesn’t miss Indian food? Whenever we go abroad we find such joints,” rifle coach Suma Shirur said.
It is not only the favourite joint for people living inside the Village; it has also caught on with the support staff that does not have the accreditation to stay inside. Anant Singh, who is the personal coach of Shreyasi Singh, too frequents the restaurant. “It is a small restaurant but serves good food,” he said.
