On Thursday, Jan Brothers, a well-known company in the Nawayat community of Bhatkal, inaugurated its new and luxurious head office on the 8th floor of the Gold Souq Metro building. The inauguration took place with prayerful words here in Dubai.
Situated in close proximity to the New Gold Souq, this location not only serves as the head office but also houses the wholesale showroom of Jan Brothers. The move to the Gold Souq Metro building follows the company’s presence in Dera Fakhri Market, Al Raas, and the Gold Souq.
Moulana Irshad Africa officiated the inauguration ceremony with a prayer, blessing the new head office.
The event saw the participation of Jan Haroon Rasheed, the caretaker of the company, Jan Maktoum, CEO of Jan Brothers, along with other company officials such as Jan Fauzan and Jan Abdul Azim. Additionally, Jan Muhammad Nabit, Jan Muhammad Nihal, Jan Muhammad Shaman, and various other staff members of Jan Brothers graced the occasion.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / December 28th, 2024
A museum in Bhatkal is a treasure trove of Nawaiti culture and heritage.
Ajaib Shabbir with a writing desk which also acts as a jewel box | Subhash Chandra NS
Bhatkal (Uttara Kannada):
There stands a heritage building in Bhatkal. This 150-year-old edifice is home to a very unique museum. Within its halls is a trove of artefacts, which visitors want to touch and feel. But Ajaib Shabbir stands guard with his eyes roving around, warning people against doing so. “Do not touch anything! Just look at them,” he repeats every now and then, concerned about the safety of the property. In the museum is the collection of a community’s culture, that of the Nawaitis.
The old house — a unique Nawaiti museum — was opened by the Navayathi Mehfil. On entering, visitors are greeted by a replica of an old boat with a mast. On entering another room, there are old brass, porcelain, and other artefacts made of tin and iron. Just below the high-beam lamps, hang at least two dozen lanterns collected over a hundred years.
“These have been collected from various people in Bhatkal, who have preserved them like treasure. I requested them that these be displayed in a museum and they obliged. Many families like those of Damudi Abdulla and Saeed Shoupa, and others, donated their collections. A few even lent them,” says Shabbir, whose brainchild is this museum.
Pointing out to some of the lanterns, he says these were our means of lighting before the advent of electricity in Bhatkal, sometime in the 1960s. Then turning to a visitor, he describes a writing desk nearby, saying, “This would act as a writing desk and a jewellery box. It’s a 100-year-old design. You can hide your valuables and lock it, and then cover it with materials for writing to use as a desk.”
Moving on, there are areca cutters, hookahs, and coconut graters in designer brass, which look like they are from another era. Explains Shabbir: “The use of these tools in households stopped several decades ago… Maybe when I was a child. These are all very valuable.”
The porcelain products displayed at the museum are among his most valued possessions, and he reminisces how his forefathers collected them from various places. Lifting one of the exhibits, he says, “This plate is from Holland. It was in the possession of a family here.” He adds, “We have materials from Italy, Yemen, England and other European countries, contributed by various families. We are all proud of them,” he says.
Large copper pots, both carved and uncarved, pans, kettles and other products are displayed too. The latest exhibit to join the collection is about 50-years-old, while the oldest is at least 150 years. “We do not look at our exhibits as old articles. They are aimed at explaining how we lived in our past, and the place we came from. That’s why we placed a replica of the ship in which legendary historian Ibn Batuta came to Bhatkal. We consider him as our pioneer,” said businessman and philanthropist Jaan Abdul Rehman Motisham.
Replicas of several old mosques have also been highlighted in the museum. One of the mosques, said to be the second oldest in the country, has undergone several changes except to crucial parts inside, and in its dome.
“These are some replicas of old mosques, how they were in the days gone by,” he says, adding that this museum is a symbol of co-existence as both Muslim and Jain communities have been living in harmony here. Likewise, the Basti constructed by Chennabhaira Devi, the queen of Gerusoppa, is a living holy spot where the devout come and worship.
Preserving culture
The Navayathi Mehfil, which began the museum, came into existence 20 years ago, with an aim to preserve Nawaiti culture, language and social life. The language spoken by the community is a unique mix of Marathi, Urdu and Konkani.
Communal harmony
Nawaitis share a special bond with the Jain community, and both have coexisted in Bhatkal for centuries. According to studies, Nawaitis claim that they have a 1,400-year-old culture. Accordingly, they came with horses for trade and immediately liked Betkal (the name for ancient Bhatkal), the place where they landed. According to Ajaib Shabbir, their culture matches with Yemenis, Arabs and Jains. They consider Ibn Batuta, the great traveller who visited the court of the Vijayanagara Rayas, as their pioneer.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Subhash Chandra NS / Express News Service / February 05th, 2023
This sleepy and now maligned town on the Karnataka coast boasts of a unique cuisine embracing Konkan and Middle-Eastern influences
Bhatkali biryani is topped with fried onions, curry or mint leaves.
Bhatkal is a small port town on the Arabian Sea, near Mangaluru. Between the 8th and 15th centuries, it was one of the chief ports on the western coast, specializing in the trade of rice, sugar, spices and horses. Yemeni horses would be brought from the port of Hormuz in Iran to Bhatkal, and traded across the country. Over the centuries, traders from Iraq, Iran and Yemen settled in Bhatkal and formed the Navayath (newcomers) community. Some of them intermarried with the locals, many of whom belonged to the Jain community, and were influenced by their customs, languages and culture. This, in turn, led to a unique and multicultural food practice.
In recent times, however, whenever Bhatkal shows up in the news, it is with reference to radical Islamist elements and polarization between religious communities. As a result, the spotlight is rarely turned on this unique cuisine. Other than the Bhatkali biryani, little else is known and even less represented in mainstream restaurants, even in its home state of Karnataka.
The Alibaba Cafe and Restaurant on Bengaluru’s busy MM Road in Fraser Town is one of the few places that is changing this trend. The décor seems straight out of an Arabian Nights tale. Coloured glass lanterns hang from the ceiling and the mud-plastered walls are reminiscent of a Yemeni village home. There are Indian references too. The restaurant’s heavy wooden door has a lotus motif and large copper cooking pots in the corner look curiously Mangalurean. Shaad Hassan Damudi, the owner, greets visitors while taking orders on the phone in rapid-fire Konkani.
Damudi is from the Navayath community and his restaurant’s menu reflects his heritage. “What you see on the menu here is centuries of cultural amalgamation between the various communities, resulting in a very unique cuisine,” Damudi explains. The meat-heaviness is also reflected in the star dish on the menu—the Shaiyyo biryani, made from vermicelli (shaiyyo) instead of rice. The vermicelli adds a uniquely Konkani touch to the distinctly Middle-Eastern flavours of the dish, featuring layers of delicately spiced meat and a generous helping of browned onions. Shaiyyo is sun-dried in vast quantities in early summer, so it can be prepared and enjoyed throughout the long west-coast monsoon. “Navayath cuisine tends to have milder flavours than traditional south Indian coastal cuisine,” says Damudi. “We use local Byadagi red chillies, known for their bright red colour and slightly sweeter taste.”
Any conversation about Bhatkali food always turns to Bhatkali biryani, made with basmati rice flavoured with saffron and whole garam masala. Tender pieces of mutton, chicken, fish or prawns are cooked separately with spices. Some even describe it as a korma and rice dish which is assembled in layers and finally topped with fried onions, curry or mint leaves.
Seafood is a staple of Bhatkali cuisine. Fish, prawns, mussels, clams, oysters and squid, available in plenty along the Konkan coast, are combined with local spices to create preparations like the laun miriya mhaure, where sliced fish (typically seer) are cooked in a traditional salt and red chilli paste, or shinonya nevri, steamed mussels stuffed with a spicy rice and coconut mixture.
Aftab Husain Kola, a Bhatkal native and a food and travel writer, says that although modern influences have crept into traditional Navayath cuisine, many of the old traditions of seasonal food have been preserved. He also throws light on some of the other Navayath home specialities like haldi pana nevri, rice pancakes steamed in turmeric leaves, and mudkuley, tiny steamed rice-flour balls in a delicately spiced curry. The community also gets together during weddings and festivals, for dawats or feasts which celebrate Navayath fare.
The wide range of Bhatkali desserts reflects the cultural intermingling of communities. Shaufa pana (dill leaves) feature in a variety of desserts, from poli (bread) to appo (pancakes), even puddings. Saat padra navariyo, a baked, layered dessert, reminiscent of Goa’s bebinca, and tariye khawras, a semolina, coconut and cashew pudding, are unique to the region. Some of the desserts have interestingly Middle-Eastern hybrid names too. Al basra poliand aflatoon poli are two such delicious concoctions—baked pancakes made with combinations of milk, coconut, egg and sugar. The Bhatkal version of kheer is godan—it has various manifestations, but the base always comprises coconut milk and jaggery.
The culinary diversity of this little coastal town is quite mind-boggling and more conversations about this and other aspects of Bhatkal’s rich culture could present an alternative narrative to those of terror and violence.
Aflatoon poli
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp refined flour
2 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
1-2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp broken cashews
1 cup coconut milk
K cup condensed milk
2 tbsp ‘ghee’
Method
Add the refined flour to the milk and stir over a low flame until it thickens. Leave aside to cool. Add in eggs, sugar, nuts, coconut milk and condensed milk, and mix thoroughly.
Grease a baking tin with ‘ghee’ and pour the mixture into it. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. Check if it is done by inserting a toothpick into the pancake; it should come out clean. Remove from the baking tin and serve warm.
source: http://www.livemint.com / LiveMint / Home> Leisure / by Sriram Aravamudan / September 02nd, 2018
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