The debut of Big Burns Supper in India was marked with haggis, tatties and some toasts with the finest Scotch whisky at the British Council. By Ankita Jain
A bagpiper in kilt may be a regular feature in Scotland but beyond the borders it’s somewhat a rare occurrence. The piper joined the crowd as we settled ourselves in one of the round tables for the inaugural Big Burns Supper at the British Council. It was a celebratory ritual to mark the birth and work of Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns, whose ploughboy, true-to-the-grain poems, songs and humanist literary works touched hearts across the globe. In the Indian context, we all know of how our own poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore was inspired by Burns and adapted the melody of Auld lang Syne for Purano Shei Diner Kotha. Further underlining the Indian connection was the faculty and alumni of the University of Edinburgh which has had a knowledge partnership with India for over 150 years and is now collaborating with the neurosciences institute (Centre for Brain Development and Repair) in Bengaluru for finding a cure to Alzheimer’s disease.
Burns suppers are hedonistic affairs with bagpipes, feasting, dancing and drinking interspersed with poetry readings and reinterpretations of the poet’s legacy in the modern world. So amid haggis, tatties and some toasts with the finest Scotch whisky, the debut in India began with the speech of Alan Gemmell, Director of British Council India. He talked about the first supper which was held in memoriam at Burns Cottage by Robert Burns’ friends on July 21, 1801, the fifth anniversary of his death, and have been a regular occurrence ever since. Going through the rituals, he mentioned how the guests are seated and grace is said, using the Selkirk Grace, a well-known thanksgiving said before meals in the Scot language. “Some hae meat an canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, And sae let the lord be thankit...”
The guests stand up as the main course, the haggis (a meat pudding containing sheep’s heart, liver and lungs; minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach) is brought in. They welcome the diner’s star attraction, which was delivered on a silver platter by a procession comprising the chef, the piper, the whisky bearer and Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner. During the procession, guests clapped in time to the music until the haggis reached its destination at the table. When the music stopped, guests were requested to take a seat and Sir Dominic asked one of the ladies at the high table to address the haggis as is custom. She recited the classic Robert Burns poem, Address to a Haggis. Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o the puddin’-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye worthy o’ a grace As lang’s my arm…
This was followed by cutting it open. The recital ended with the reader raising a piece at the edge of a knife in triumph which the guests greeted with enthusiastic applause. At the end of the poem, a Scotch whisky toast was proposed to the haggis and to the piper while the guests settled down for the meal.
Of course, we were served specially crafted vegetarian haggis with whisky sauce, followed by the traditional Scottish dessert, Cranachan. Everything available was washed down with the “water of life.”
“Haggis is a traditional Scottish sausage made from a sheep’s stomach stuffed with diced sheep’s liver, lungs and heart, oatmeal, onion, suet and seasoning. Most haggis is part-cooked before being sold and needs to be simmered in boiling water for one to two hours. But here, we have cooked a vegetarian haggis based ingredients such as carrot, swede, leek, celery, oatmeal, barley, lentils, onion, mushroom, kidney beans, chick peas, and spices, packed into a vegetarian (non-edible) plastic casing and boiled,” said the chef.
Cock-a-leekie soup was another favourite among the guests. It is a Scottish broth of leeks and chicken stock. “The original recipe added prunes during cooking, and traditionalists still garnish it with a julienne of prunes. The dish, said to be a peasant dish, is mentioned as early as the 16th century and is often served at Burns Suppers or St Andrew’s Night Dinner (November 30) as well as an everyday soup in winter. The ‘Auld Reekie’ cock-a-leekie soup has a special ingredient-Scotch whisky. According to Scottish tradition, cock-a-leekie soup evolved from cockfighting,” the chef shared. He further added, “The story goes that after the fight was over; the cock that lost was boiled in a pot together with some leeks, and then everyone who had watched the spectacle shared the soup.” Alan Gemmell gave a speech, remembering some aspect of Burns’ life. He spoke about his love affair with Mary Campbell, for whom he wrote the song Highland Mary. A toast to the immortal memory of Robert Burns then followed.
Speaking at the event, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh said he was very impressed by an India in change and had full faith in its talent pool from prestigious institutions like the IITs. “The nineteen century marks our first association with India. Since then we had the larger concentration of Indian students in the United Kingdom. The one thing which I recall of our partnership with India is before Dr. Kalam visited our university, I had resided here with him. And it is part of our tie-up with the Indian government that leading Indian and British neuroscience students are working together,” said Sir Timothy. “In just ten years, my drives from the airport have changed. There are a lot many swanky cars now,” he added. And unlike China, which by the way he believes India will catch up with in a few years, he likes the way youngsters preserve tradition here. “In China, a wedding is completely White. In India, a wedding is still your wedding full of bluster and colour.”
The evening ended with The Burns’ song, Auld lang Syne, most commonly played at the end of Scottish events. There are various meanings for the title of the song, but it’s about old times, or the time that has passed.
Photo credit: Pankaj Kumar