Reading Comprehension
Text I
The following is an excerpt about the Parsi community in India and their food.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
“Aavoji, aavo, aavo! Welcome to Delhi! Let me show you my beautiful city.” The booming voice of Nowrosji Kapadia could be heard across the length and breadth of the platform. It was Nowrosji’s favourite pastime: a walk to the Old Delhi railway station to greet the Frontier Mail as it chugged into Delhi from Mumbai to Peshawar. With this refrain, an eager Nowrosji would cajole Parsi visitors off the train and take them home for a meal and often persuade some to stay overnight or for a few days. He would use this opportunity to tell them about the advantages of shifting to Delhi. Though his wife Jer Bai would occasionally object to unknown visitors, she was always overruled. This was the beginning of the community of Parsis in Delhi....
...Writing about Parsis in the Delhi of old is not easy. There are memories of my grandparents and parents — a collective memory of generations past and people long gone, yet here in spirit....
During festive gatherings, the women went to town with the food; outside catering was unheard of. The poorer members of the community never knew who had paid for what. This tradition continued in the northern cities of Lucknow, Kanpur, and Allahabad well into the ‘70s. Sadly, that kind of life has almost gone forever.
Food preparations began two days in advance. Dar ni pori (rich pastry stuffed with sweetened lentils) and malido (halwa) were carried in big vatus (pots) and served with puris. Anyone who has made malido can vouch for the fact that you need strong biceps; it is an exhausting exercise. The first time I made it under my grandmother’s supervision was also the last. I could hardly move my arms for the next two days! Since then, I gained a healthy respect for my dainty grandmother.
The menu was extensive. Breakfast would start with either sev—brown vermicelli cooked in milk and served with fresh cream—or ravo, semolina pudding, Mithu dahi or sweetened curd made with full cream milk was an absolute must. This was followed by bafellaeeda, hard-boiled eggs, and kheemo kaleji, mutton mince with liver. For lunch, there was almost always smori dal chawal and macchi no patio — white boiled rice with yellow dal offset by a tart and tangy fish curry.
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