Pushpesh Pant is an Indian scholar, academician, professor, historian and food critic who has taught at leading universities for more than 4 decades and has written cookbooks and articles for various leading publications such as Forbes, Open, Outlook, The Times of India, and The Tribune.
Wiki/Biography
Pushpesh Pant was born in 1947 (age 75 years; in 2022) in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. He completed his education in Delhi and Agra. After that, he started teaching and teaching at Delhi University before retiring as a professor of International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father is a doctor, and his mother is a housewife. His mother was, in fact, a polymath who was a good cook and had expertise in various dishes from many parts of India.
Wife & Children
He has a son who also has an interest in food and has made documentaries about food.
Award
He was awarded the Padma Shri by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee in 2016.
#PresidentMukherjee awarded Padma Shri to scholar & writer Prof. Pushpesh Pant pic.twitter.com/kfmsHMaVAF
— President Mukherjee (@POI13) March 28, 2016
Book Written by Pushpesh Pant
- Food Route: Cuisine Along the Grand Trunk Road from Kabul to Kolkata (co-author: Huma Mohsin)
- Indian Vegetarian Cookbook
- Mantra of Victory: The Leader’s Path to Success
- Ajanta and Ellora: Cave Temples of Ancient India
- Cooking? Amazing India
- Gourmet Travel in India
- Classic Punjabi Cuisine (co-author: Jiggs Kalra)
- International Relations in the 21st Century
Facts
- According to Pant, food is a part of one’s life, and he believes that those who are serious about their food are serious about their life. In an interview, he shared this understanding with the example of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who once performed poorly at a function when his choice of food was not served. Pushpesh Pant says,
The great musician Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was invited to sing somewhere. His host, however, was a vegetarian and for three days he was told to eat vegetarian food. When it’s time to perform, he sings, but not in a way that pleases anyone. After that, his host came to him and said, ‘Ustadji, we have heard such great things about the power of your voice. That sometimes you sit by the sea to practice your alaap and you drown despite the roar of the waves. Then what happened today?’ Ustad paused for a moment and then replied, ‘Ey khaana toh ey gaana (For food like this, music like this).”
- Atul Kochhar, the Indian Michelin star chef who works at the Benares restaurant in London, considers Pushpesh Pant a hero and says that he brought old Indian facts and theories and his food to the chefs of his generation.
- He prepared the menu of Aangan, an Indian specialty restaurant, at Hyatt Regency, Bhikaji Cama Place with his friend and renowned chef Jiggs Kalra in the 1990s. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
“My relationship with Jiggs started because he knew his research was not very solid. So he wanted to have someone whose research skills were impeccable. He made me work as hard as I did for my Ph.D. We’ve been out on field trips, there’s been a lot of archival research, a lot of reverse engineering…It’s not just about defining the menu and the recipes, but also getting the ingredients, getting the chefs and making sure the hotel can deliver those recipes consistently. the same standard.”
- Her father is very fond of paan.
- He has appeared in many episodes of Raja’s TV series, Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyaan, which documents the history of Indian cuisine. The show highlights the royal culinary tradition of India.
- He has given many classes on art, culture and international relations to BYJU IAS candidates.
- British historian Edward Anderson once said that Idlis are the most boring thing in the world. Later, in an interview, while responding to Edward’s comment about Idli, Pushpesh Pant said,
“I think idli is a beautiful and perfectly balanced food. It has lentils, it has rice and it gives you a really interesting mix of vegetable protein. It is a steamed food, it does not require too much oil to make, also it is easy to digest. “The batter you prepare to make idli on the first day can be used to make the softest idli, the second day you make a less fluffy dosa, the third day you use it for uttapam, so the cycle continues.”
- When historian Audrey Truschke tweeted vile remarks about the Hindu Lord Rama and the epic Ramayana, Pushpesh Pant wrote in an article,
“I am an atheist, a beef-eating Indian Hindu, with a rather thick skin – not easily offended by the most vile abuse meted out to Bhagwan Ram and Sita Mata. But how long can one remain silent when repeatedly provoked by self-promotion as a scholar – an Indian or a ‘foreigner’?”
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
