Finding Modak in St. Kitts and Nevis

Truth time: I didn’t know where St. Kitts and Nevis was until Neel, my spouse, went to the island for work. I’ve heard of it, but make me point where it is on the globe and I’d be clueless.

When I landed in St. Kitts, it was already the beginning of September and I wondered how many Indians are on the island. My calendar said 7th September is Ganesh Chaturthi.

I grew up in Assam, near a place called ‘Ganesh Turning’ in Kahilipara. In those days of the 1990s, it was a bus-stop, and today, it still is somewhat of a neighbourhood landmark.

Ganesh Turning started off as a bend around the hill, a small stone slab smeared with vermilion for a Ganesh deity. Everytime we walked around the bend, it was taught to us to bow our heads in reverence. Slowly, the locals started giving offerings to the deity and there was a priest who did prayers for us. Present day, Ganesh Turning is not just a turning of the road, it’s a substantial temple and Ganesh Puja is held spectacularly in the temple. On the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, trust every Kahilipara neighbour to go to the temple to get some prasad.

I always liked Ganesh Chaturthi because it meant the beginning of the Puja season. When I shifted to Maharashtra, I participated in the local fervour with shouts of Ganpati Bappa Morya, the drumbeats of dhol tasha and pandal hopping, celebrating with friends and ordering modaks.

Modak is said to be Lord Ganesha’s favourite food; turns out it’s also one of mine. Traditionally made, modaks are steamed rice cakes filled with coconut and jaggery. Think of the Assamese tekeli pitha with more filling and shaped like a momo! These days one gets modak in all flavours but I still like the traditional ones made of rice and jaggery.

I remember, last year, I was in the UAE during Ganesh Chaturthi. I was very new as an expat and I didn’t know where to get traditional rice modaks. Somehow, after staying a decade in Maharashtra, I became obsessed with getting modaks for the Chaturthi. After quite a bit of online research, I found that a sweet shop delivered modaks. With a modak in hand in Dubai, I finally felt closer to home.

This year I am in St. Kitts and Nevis, a tiny island in the Caribbeans with a total population of 47,657. That is less people than some of the building societies in Indian metropolitan cities. The thought of getting modak in the western hemisphere is a task unto itself; to find it in a tiny island nation will be next to impossible. This year, I tried not to think too much about the festivities.
 

 

I enjoyed the island life, eating Johny cakes for breakfast and watching large Caribbean cruise ships dock at Port Zante carrying day-tripping and sunburnt tourists to the port to get a taste of St. Kitts.

It was in one of these souvenir shops in Port Zante that I met Yogi Pujari, the shop manager. Neel and I did our hellos and like a tourist, I went about scanning the knick knacks in his shop. Of course, both parties knew that both parties are Indian, but when you are abroad, you approach your compatriots cautiously.

You do not want to call a Trinidadian of Indian origin ‘Indian’ and start off on the wrong foot. But Pujari broke the ice when he asked, “Are you guys from Kolkata?”. A usual guess when strangers hear us speak in Assamese. Pujari is from Mumbai, he said. And that was all that was needed to start a conversation! By the end of the introductions, they figured that both Pujari and Neel stayed in Santa Cruz around the same time.

Pujari then told us his story. He had come to St. Kitts 15 years ago, in 2009.

How did he even know of St. Kitts?!

Pujari said he didn’t.

All he knew was there was a job at his friend’s uncle’s shop in St. Kitts and he came over. When he arrived, there were a handful of Indians on the island. A rough estimated 100 Indians. The government had just started doing major developments around the island. He pointed to the ground and said “This was all water. Now it’s a port!”

Did he like life here?Without a pause, he said yes. No hesitation whatsoever. You could see he was content, it was a nice change to see someone so happy with his life situation. “Island life suits me. I man this shop during the day and at other times, I chef around.”

He went on to tell us how he has started his tiffin business in the island. Both he and his wife, Shyamal, cooks the meals, his wife helps with the deliveries. He told us how when he first came to the island, there was no Indian food to eat, and he had to go to the nearby island of Sint Maarten to get Indian supplies. Now the island has a small community of 500 Indians and Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi are no longer festivals that make you feel lonely, the diaspora has grown and everyone celebrates their Indian-ness.

Pujari said he and his wife are celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi this week, hence they are providing vegetarian tiffins this week.

Will he give tiffins to us too? Of course, came the reply.

Believe me, the anticipation of having homemade Indian food abroad is a very giddy one. We exchanged numbers. Although there are 3-4 Indian restaurants on the island, it would be lovely to eat homecooked Indian food.

At some point, his wife, Shyamal, comes in from her daily round of deliveries. A lovely Marathi girl from Mangalore, she talks animatedly about life in the island and back home in India. How her mother-in-law had come to the island during Ganesh Chaturthi a few years ago and hated it because she missed the Indian fervour of celebration. She gave us tips on where to find which vegetables, that she now grows methi at home so she can make methi paratha for her clients, that a lot of masalas are now available in local supermarkets, especially Ram’s supermarkets (started by an Indian entrepreneur in St. Kitts). She talked about her Ganesh Chaturthi preparations and what she would be preparing the day of the festival.

I had to ask the important question, “Will you be making modaks?”

Her eyes sparkled at the mention of modaks. “Yessss!” She enthusiastically said.

At her answer, my eyes sparkled! “Can I pre-order some?”

“Of course!”

After this encounter, from the very next day, we started ordering food from the couple. I can vouch for her black chana curry and her dal. And tasting her sewai brought tears of happiness. It felt like how our mothers prepare, not too sweet, loaded with milk with the aftertaste of elaichi.

I am waiting for her modaks today. It is Chaturthi. Neel praised about her food so much that what started as three lunch tiffin orders on Day One is now eleven lunch tiffin orders on Day Two. A lot of Neel’s colleagues are Indians and they too are craving homemade meals after two months of tour. Imagine their surprises when they open their meal-boxes today and see a homemade modak, right on Ganesh Chaturthi!

And that’s how, my friends, I ended up finding modaks on Ganesh Chaturthi in a remote island in the Caribbeans!

St. Kitts and Nevis, you offered me modaks on Ganesh Chaturthi. You will be my favourite island forever!