Amar Nath Sehgal (1922-2007) began life as a metallurgical engineer but became one of India’s foremost sculptors, a brilliant exponent of modernism who was also a well-regarded poet, and spent a significant part of his life between Luxembourg and New Delhi. When he passed away, he bequeathed his studio (and living space) in the quiet New Delhi neighborhood of Jangpura to his younger son, Rajan, and his body of work to Raman, the elder one.
Rajan Sehgal, who’s in the financial world and based out of Dubai, could have just put the studio on rent and earned a monthly cheque from it, but he chose instead to turn it into a private museum, an ode to the father he and his brother adored and looked up to. It was his vision of giving the studio an afterlife and his brother’s generosity in parting with the paintings and sculptures his father had left behind for him that led to the creation of the Amar Nath Sehgal Private Collection.
And over the years, it has become a space dedicated to the creative work of a humanist who was mentored by Jawaharlal Nehru; Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, the founder of modern Dubai; Rai Bahadur M.S. Oberoi, the trail-blazing hotelier; the writer Mulk Raj Anand; and the artist B.C. Sanyal, who was also his teacher at the Lahore College of Art.
What does all this have to do with food and We The Chefs? In the words of Prima Kurien, art gallerist-turned-home chef who is curating an evening of Kerala cuisine with a Progressive flair for We The Chefs at the Private Collection on August 30, “Rajan Sehgal is a great foodie. That is putting it very mildly. He’s a food connoisseur.” Rajan, according to Prima, is keen to curate activities at the Private Collection to create some excitement around it and get people to visit the place.
And food, clearly, is an unmissable hook. Rajan himself has organised food walks through neighbouring Bhogal, an area dominated by Punjabi families who had migrated to Delhi in the wake of Partition, and is famous for its chhole-bhature and chaat shops as well as restaurants set up by Afghan refugees. The next big move had to be a curated dinner in the shadow of Amar Nath Sehgal’s sculptures and paintings – and for We The Chefs it was an opportunity that was too good to be missed. The idea is to open up exciting new venues for people to go and enjoy a good meal. The Chef’s Table, an idea honed to perfection at the We The Chefs Experience Centre in Gurugram, can now easily be replicated across Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.
The Chef’s Table, ‘From God’s Own Country’, being presented for We The Chefs by Prima Kurien invokes memories of the wood-fired kitchens in the monsoon months. The word ‘petrichor’ in its sub-titles recalls the “distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odour” that is associated with the season’s first rainfall. The menu consists of a heady mix of Syrian Christian (Suriani), Moplah (Mappila) and toddy shop specialities, which make it as eclectic as Amar Nath Sehgal’s contributions to art and literature.
For the non-vegetarians, Prima’s feast will include:
- Steamed Prawns and Melon Slices on Skewers (flavoured lightly with curry leaves, white pepper and baby green chillies)
- Toddy Shop Mutton Roast on Flaky Malabar Paratha
- Moplah Biryani with prawns served with aubergines pickled in jaggery, tamarind and sesame oil
- Appam topped with Pork Vindaloo
- Fish Moilee served on a bed of Puttu (roasted pounded rice and freshly grated coconut steamed in moulds)
- Prima has lined up the following for the vegetarians:
- String Hoppers with Curry Sauce and Garnishes
- Baby Appams with Stewed Vegetables (in coconut milk) topped up with Pickled Lemon
- Steamed Matta Rice with Rasam and Plantains and Lentil Mash topped with Roasted Papadam
- Neichoru (kaima rice cooked in ghee with spices) with Theeyil and Okra Mapas, Pachadi and Aubergine Pickled in Jaggery and Tamarind
- For dessert, the guests will be served Cooked Down Toddy with Whipped Sour Curd and Toasted Coconut (these are pancakes with reduced jackfruit and grated coconut and a hint of cardamom and nutmeg).
Prima said she has “re-assembled the old flavours differently with a sense of fun and play”. And she concluded by noting: “As I am getting older, I am getting more playful without going over the top.” Amar Nath Sehgal would have definitely approved of it.