HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR SANDWICHES? With a smear of butter? A dab of jam? Or both? Kids like it slathered with Nutella. The Aussies swear by Vegemite. There are peanut butter-and-jam fans, too. Frankly, I thought about sandwiches circuitously as I remembered my father’s take on the storyline of serialised novels in the Manorama weekly.
He preferred straight writing in the Malayala Manorama newspaper, but wanted the weekly’s stories to be layered, much like a club sandwich—different textures and flavours packed between two slices of bread (or two cover pages). THE WEEK’s twin anniversary edition would have pleased him in that respect.
Speaking of layered lives, I often think of Malik Ambar, the peshwa and later de facto ruler of the sultanate of Ahmednagar. Born in Ethiopia (or, Abyssinia to my generation), he was sold into slavery and was changed hands in Yemen, Mecca and Baghdad before reaching India and eventually lording it over the impregnable Murud-Janjira fort in Maharashtra. I am told that his memory is sacred to the Sidis in Gujarat to this day. Layer after layer—from Chapu the slave boy to Ambar to Malik Ambar.
For one cover story, Senior Correspondent Nirmal Jovial travelled to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Diu, Goa and Karnataka to revisit the memories of African-origin people who came to India as slaves, soldiers and traders.
Across the water from my home, these memories live in Fort Kochi, where mothers used to hush squalling babies into fearful silence by invoking the name of Kappiri Muthappan or the kaffir elder. To keep the African spirit from banging on doors in the dead of night and defiling communal ponds, people used to leave offerings of chicken curry and country liquor on banana leaves. The youth of today would not know the horrors—both real and imagined—that roamed India before electricity chased almost all of them away.
In the other issue, Senior Assistant Editor Pratul Sharma takes you to Harappa on the centenary of the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation. I was pleasantly surprised to know two things: 1) the discovered settlements of the Indus Valley Civilisation are spread over 6.8 lakh square kilometres, and 2) studies are continuing with new technology; he cites findings by techie Bahata Mukhopadhyay in 2023.
Then there is much more in the twin issue, like Special Correspondent Anjuly Mathai’s take on political cartoonists, Correspondent Niladry Sarkar and Photo Editor Salil Bera’s account of how Manipur and Mizoram became powerhouses of Indian football, and then there is Senior Assistant Editor K. Sunil Thomas’s observation on how the restaurant scene in India is becoming more vibrant.
Another bit of joy is that Chief of Bureau Namrata Biji Ahuja and Senior Special Correspondent Sanjib Kr Baruah presented the ideas discussed at THE WEEK Maritime Summit 2024 to Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister of State Shantanu Thakur. The ideas went from the discussion table into an official document, which is now with the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways. Thank you for your support, dear reader.
In closing, let me ask you this: Did you look at the Indus Valley cover? I was surprised to walk into the art room last week and see muddied workstations, with blocks of clay sitting near Apple systems. Senior Assistant Art Editor Binesh Sreedharan sculpted the seals and lettering by hand before they were photographed. Well done, Binesh. The Harappans would have been proud of you. So are we.