Press Release
Markings Publishing bring together the flavours of pre-partition Pakistan & India with a
first of its kind Hindi-Urdu cookbook, printed and published in Pakistan: “Zaiqay Frontier
Kay - Dera Ismail Khan Kay Bhulay Basray Pakwan”
[Karachi: 12th February 2013] Markings Publishing are proud to present their sixth title, bringing
together the rich flavours of the sub-continent with ‘Zaiqay Frontier Ke - Dera Ismail Khan Kae
Bhulay Bisray Pakwan’, translated as ‘Flavours of the Frontier - Forgotten Recipes from Dera Ismail
Khan’. Written by the late Pushpa Kumari Bagai, the book is a collection of Bagai’s coveted recipes
with an introduction by her daughter Dr. Anjali Malik, a Professor of History at the Delhi University.
Indeed Bagai was the custodian and exponent of a very special culinary tradition; the vegetarian
cuisine of the Hindu Pathans of Dera Ismail Khan - a tradition which survived the horrors and rigours
of the Indo-Pak Partition, when families such as Bagai’s were uprooted overnight from DI Khan to
Delhi, forced to leave behind a life of privilege and pleasure. It was through Bagai’s preservation of
the dietary customs of DI Khan’s Hindu Pathans in Delhi, that many families within her community
were provided with a nostalgic comfort through cuisine that helped preserve their sense of identity.
‘Zaiqay Frontier Ke - Dera Ismail Khan Ke Bhulay Bisray Pakwan’ is in essence a cross-border and
cross-cultural initiative, being jointly printed in Lahore and Lucknow, with its Hindi-Urdu translation
undertaken by Abbas Sial, a Derawal currently residing in Sydney, Australia. It is being released in
both India and Pakistan simultaneously this February 2014. Further, in India, the book is being
introduced by iconic media personality Vinod Dua whose family also hails from Dera Ismail Khan.
‘Flavours of the Frontier: forgotten recipes from Dera Ismail Khan’ includes a diversity of 80 recipes,
ranging from culinary delights such as ‘doli wali roti’, ‘daal ke samosay’, ‘chane ki daal ka halwa’ and
‘boondi ki subzi’ where each recipe is original and reflects the history and culture of the Hindu
Pathan community of DI Khan. Within the book, the introduction encompasses a brief history,
providing the cultural and social context to the recipes along with imagery of key ingredients
throughout the book, a description of the cooking process and images of the final presentation of
each prepared dish.
Speaking about cookbook, CEO Markings Publishing, Kiran Aman said; “Our history and culture
stands distinguished in all forms, perhaps more specifically in language and cuisine. The concept
behind the collaboration for this book was to explore and present unique recipes, reviving them for
the Pak-India palate and sensibility. It is about the preservation of flavours, tastes and traditions that
have been passed down from one generation to the next.”
“My mother-in-law was a fantastic cook. Her cooking became the bond that kept the family
connected with their roots in distant Dera Ismail Khan, in North West Pakistan, near the Afghan
border. My mother in law learnt how to cook from her own mother in law, who shared with her the
unique and special recipes and dietary customs from the region and for the ensuing half century and
more, till her passing away in March 2012, she was a worthy bearer of the tradition of that distinctive
cuisine of the Hindu community of DI Khan. A couple of years ago we persuaded her to record these
distinctive recipes so that they could be accessible to all those who loved her cooking in India and in
Pakistan, and she embarked enthusiastically on this project. She had cooked intuitively and was not
used to specific measures for the various ingredients that went into the different dishes hence in
order to accurately document the recipes she actually tried out each of them before penning them
down. Sadly, she did not live to see her recipes published as a cookery book. She had so wanted
them to be disseminated and distributed, to share the joy she herself derived from food.” said Dipa
Singh Bagai.
Published by Markings with Recipes by Pushpa Kumari Bagai, Edited by Shanaz Ramzi, Cover
Illustration by Ayesha Durrani, Photography by Adeela Badshah, Kohi Marri, Nakul Malik and Atul
Bagai, ‘Zaiqay Frontier Ke - Dera Ismail Khan Ke Bholay Bisray Pakwan’ is currently available to
purchase for PKR 1,500 at leading book stores across Pakistan.
For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/markingspk
For further press and publicity queries please contact Zubair Mallick, zubairmallick@lotuspk.com, + 92 302 848 99 44 or
Osman Rehman, osmanrehman@lotuspk.com, +92 300 843 55 66
Press Release
-ends-
For further press and publicity queries please contact Zubair Mallick, zubairmallick@lotuspk.com, + 92 302 848 99 44 or
Osman Rehman, osmanrehman@lotuspk.com, +92 300 843 55 66