When a food vendor asked for some sauce and curry powder from English Soldiers in Post-war Berlin, culinary magic happened. Here is a thread about a German icon you might not be familiar with. #travellingsOftheIndianCurry 1/n
On a scale of 1 to 10 Berlin Street food must be somewhere at the very top, its various nooks and corners are teeming with joints and cafés serving all kinds of food from the doner kebab to the Japanese vegan waffle. 2/n
The item, however, which can be considered at the center of Berlin’s gastronomic pleasure is something called the Currywurst. 3/n
The magic happens when a grilled sausage is cut into pieces and mixed with curry powder, tomato paste, and other spices and is accompanied by some French fries to form the perfect comfort food. 4/n
The story of the curry powder is an ingenuity of the colonial era and though most Indians would most likely denounce its usage preferring to work with original spices, the powder’s global patronage cannot be denied. 5/n
In 1949, Berlin was a divided city. Filled with construction workers, migrants from other cities and towns, and foreign soldiers, the city was struggling to get back to its feet. 6/n
In the midst of this, a young food vendor, Herta Heuwer from West Berlin, in her bid to add some innovative flavour to her bland fried sausages, traded alcohol with someone from the British sector, for some curry powder. 7/n
Heuwer started selling the curry powdered sausages to the construction workers in the borough of Charlottenburg where it first became popular. It was filling, cheap, and easy to get and soon everyone wanted to taste it. 8/n
Heuwer patented the sauce under the name Chillup. At its height, her shop sold more than ten thousand packs of currywurst every week. Over the years, the snack’s origin has been disputed. 9/n
In Uwe Timm’s novel, The Invention of Curried Sausage, a woman called Lena Brücker is said to have perfected the Currywurst sauce a couple of years before Heuwer did hers. 10/n
The city of Hamburg has also laid claim to the famed snack, saying the ketchup which is integral to the dish landed first in the Ruhr region with the American GIs. 11/n
Whatever may be its origin, there is no denying that the snack is a German icon with its own dedicated museum – the Deutsches Currywurst Museum, including a song by German Musician Herbert Grönemeyer. 12/n
Around 800 million sausages are consumed every year in Germany. The snack’s growth and popularity reflect the German people's mentality to move beyond the past and embrace something new and make it their own. Make sure to have one when you are in Berlin. 13/n
A determined immigrant left his country for India to start a new life created a brand that gave Indians a place to eat and meet during the British Raj, when many places didn't allow Indians to enter. This is the story of Dorabjee & Sons, one of Pune’s most loved restaurants. 1/12
Established in 1878 as a small tea stall selling bun maska and Irani chai, Sorabjee Dorabjee started selling full meals only because the locals asked for it. Today, the restaurant is run by Darius Marazban Dorabjee, Sorabjee Dorabjee’s great grandson. 2/12
In 1878, there was only one restaurant in the Pune Cantonment area called El Moretos, which did not allow Indians to enter. Dorabjee & Sons not only welcomed Indians, but also introduced Parsi food to them. 3/12
This doctor on the left is not just any doctor. The year is 1969. The place is King’s College Hospital, London. And, she is Reita Faria—the first Indian and Asian woman to win Miss World. A woman of beauty, brains, and unstoppable elegance.
12 photos, endless elegance. 1/13
Born in the heart of Matunga, Mumbai, August, 1943, Reita Faria's story begins in a middle-class family where beauty and ambition ran deep. Her father worked in a mineral water factory, her mother ran a beauty salon—little did they know, they were raising a future legend. 2/13
Long before she wore the crown, Reita Faria was dominating sports in school—throwball, netball, badminton, and even hockey. Her competitive spirit was unstoppable even back then. 3/13
That man in Aradhana, sitting beside Rajesh Khanna in a jeep, playing the mouth organ while the hero sang Mere Sapno Ki Rani to Sharmila Tagore on a moving train.
A scene etched in our memories. But his legacy? Much bigger than you think. Thread 1/15
He was Sujit Kumar and he was not just another character actor in Bollywood. Originally from Varanasi, Sujit never planned on acting. He was studying law until fate intervened. Director Fani Majumdar spotted his talent in a college play and urged him to join films. 2/15
His early years in Hindi cinema saw him in small, sometimes uncredited roles. He toiled in the shadows, waiting for his moment. That moment arrived with Ankhen (1968). 3/15
On this day in 1948, bullets were fired—but they could never kill an idea. Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, yet his legacy lived on. In 2003, this ad film titled GANDHI, created by Y&R Roma for Telecom Italia was released.
Watch it. Feel the goosebumps. 1/11
In the late 1930s, Gandhi stands before a modern webcam, his voice carried across the world through telecommunication devices. Millions listen as he speaks of love and peace. 2/11
Gandhi sits in a simple hut, turns on a webcam, and begins speaking. Though alone, his message travels across the world—projected on skyscrapers, giant screens, mobile phones, and PCs—reaching massive crowds and intimate spaces alike. 3/11
Versailles. The name conjures images of opulence and grandeur—home to the iconic Palace of the French monarchy, just a short ride from Paris.But there’s another story buried in its streets. This is where a genius from Bengal once called home. Today is his birthday. Thread. 1/15
About just 5 mins drive from the palace lies Rue des Chantiers, a quiet street in Versailles. There, at No. 12, is a modest house with a red door. At first glance, it’s unremarkable. But look closer. Between two windows on the first floor, there’s a nearly unreadable plaque 2/15
It reads in French: Michael Madhusudan Dutt lived here, 1863–1865.
Michael Madhusudan Dutt. The first great modern Bengali poet. A rebel who questioned rather than comforted. A pioneer who reshaped Bengali literature with his daring vision. 3/15
“Kumbh ke Mele mein bichde huye bhai” - a Bollywood catchphrase born from the fictional plot where families separated at the Kumbh Mela & then dramatically reunited. But behind these stories was a real-life hero who spent his life reuniting countless families. Thread 1/19
For 71 years, Raja Ram Tiwari was on a singular mission: to help people who had become separated from their families in the overwhelming crowds of the Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. 2/19
Held on a sprawling site of thousands of acres, the Mela sees millions of pilgrims gather for a sacred dip in the holy rivers. Amid such chaos, families inevitably get separated, and that’s where Tiwari’s “Khoya Paya Shivir” (Lost and Found Camps) came in. 3/19