A literary luncheon

Ananya Bahl

“Good prose is like a window pane” — these words by George Orwell have inspired the works of writers ever since he penned them. In Bikaner, the artistic, vibrant, and downright-stunning Narendra Bhawan, done up as an ode to Narendra Singhji, the last reigning Maharaja of Bikaner, takes this quote a notch higher: in this case, replacing the said “windowpane” with a plate. For lovers of literature and gastronomy, the hotel’s “Literary Lunch” is an unmissable experience as guests will feel like they’ve been invited into the worlds of some of their favourite novels. 

The meal is designed as a sit-down culinary experience with an elaborate seven-course menu, spanning not just multiple cuisines but also various themes explored in seven novels. Each dish is evocative of these fictional worlds, as if one can taste the words being read out. There’s also a sense of bonhomie as guests at the table are given a chance to read out a passage before its representative dish is brought out. The serving style itself, is artistic, to say the least, as waitrons — reminiscent of old-world hospitality — deftly arrange the various elements of each dish before guests.

A passage from Sylvia Path’s only novel The Bell Jar opens this gourmet sequence. It’s about a child’s passion for anchovy and vichyssoise courtesy her headwaiter grandfather. The dish brought out is gorgeous: a direct reflection of the novel’s name and incorporating an extremely pleasurable amalgamation of goat’s cheese, anchovy pâté and “pomegranate blood”. Next up, is a classic serving of cognac-infused chowder, straight out of the iconic Moby Dick. The dish gives diners a taste of the sea — something that’s intrinsic to the book — as much as it warms one’s heart. A mention of the baked cheese-on-melba, inspired by Émile Zola’s Le Ventre de Paris, is mandatory. The conjugation of sweet and salty elements makes the dish a fantastic whole, a bite of which transports one into a world where creamy pleasure coincides with the sweet sensation of fruit. Hitting the proverbial “sweet spot” is the final course that’s made up by meshing together candied rose petals with lime curd, resulting in a curious and creative white chocolate pudding, inspired by James Joyce’s Ulysses. The dessert makes this meal complete and is a happy ending to this literary-cum-gourmet endeavour! It’s only fitting that such a delightfully glorious experience finds a home at a hotel like Narendra Bhawan — both are carefully-curated, indulgent and offer creative takes on otherwise-mundane activities.