Why Sonia and Rahul’s marmalade may leave some in a pickle

After touching visuals of mother-son bonding over oranges, sugar and a pateela, 30 bottles of marmalade stood on the kitchen counter of the most mysterious home in Lutyens Delhi: 10 Janpath, the residence of Sonia Gandhi and, lately, of her son Rahul again. It is not known when the video aired on 31 December was made but whom those 30 jam jars, bearing the handwritten tag ‘With Love from Sonia & Rahul’ went to, must have Congress circles in a tizzy. In this Lok Sabha election year, who will be having multigrain sourdough toast spread with the most exclusive narangi murabba of the season? As both jam makers credited the absent Gandhi—Priyanka—with the recipe, she should get at least a couple of jars. That would leave just 28 for the general quota including the extended family and friends, not to mention the 36 non-Gandhi members of the Congress Working Committee and assorted other groupies. However, since the tags said ‘Sonia & Rahul’ with nary a Ji or G in sight, it seems abundantly clear that no Congress functionary from former PM Manmohan Singh and current party president Mallikarjun Kharge to lesser worthies are on that shortlist. Only those on first-name terms with those Gandhis are evidently the recipients and there cannot be too many people in that category. So, most hopefuls will have to be content with the vicarious pleasure of the video. To imply proximity, the really desperate Gandhi bhakts could make marmalade on the sly by trying to cadge the recipe off the 10 Janpath kitchen staff seen hovering solicitously in the video. As they are probably the ones who plucked most of the fruit, chopped all the peel and stirred the pulp for ages till it turned jammy, they would know the recipe better than even PriyankaG. But sadly, like all 10 Janpath denizens, they are unknown and unapproachable. As he lived in UK for a while, Rahul Gandhi probably knows that Paddington Bear, Britain’s favourite teddy, offered the famous marmalade sandwich that he always keeps in his hat to Queen Elizabeth on her Platinum Jubilee—in a video, as it happens. And he was gamely informed by the late monarch that she keeps one in her handbag. That makes marmalade arguably the poshest jam in the world. Maybe that video is what inspired the Gandhis’ video jam session. Most Indians, of course, do not know what marmalade is, much less know how to pronounce it. Some more know about it now thanks to the Gandhi video, but most desis are only familiar with achaars and chutneys. And as oranges are not generally used for either, marmalade sales are not expected to spike suddenly even though India is among the places where oranges originated and its name in many languages are derived from the Sanskrit word for it, naranga. Curiously, many believe the word ‘marmalade’ is an English corruption of the French phrase Marie est malade or ‘Mary is ill’, dating back to when Mary Queen of Scots was prescribed an orangey concoction for seasickness. Another myth connects marmalade to a Spanish vessel carrying Seville oranges being supposedly shipwrecked in Dundee, Scotland in the 18th century. The battered fruit was then made into jam, peel and all, by a thrifty Scotsman. The latter tale, however, does not account for the odd name for the chunky orange conserve that became a prime ingredient in the famous Dundee cake. In fact, the word traces its roots to the Portuguese word for quince—marmelo—which was the original fruit made into marmelada or marmalade. Though oranges were not native to the region they soon became cheap and plentiful and eventually replaced quinces as the fruit of choice but the jam’s name obviously stuck. Oranges spread westwards from India and China (another place of origin) via Arab and later Portuguese traders. They flourished in Mediterranean regions including Italy which is now Europe’s second-largest producer after Spain although not the Piedmont region where the current prime occupant of 10 Janpath hails from. But ornamental orange trees—like the ones in the Gandhi garden—abound in Italian cities and towns and are also harvested in winter. As Sonia Gandhi reminisces in the video about her palate slowly getting accustomed to Indian flavours (to the extent that she now craves “arhar dal and chawal” when she returns from foreign climes) the orange trees may offer her a poignant memory and taste of home. Incidentally, Indira Gandhi’s breakfast at home always included toast, and marmalade may well have been her preferred bread spread, given the years she spent in Britain as a student. That could also explain why RahulG made a video featuring marmalade despite it being so little known in India. Jam for most desis is the cloyingly sweet, runny, red concoction by Kissan, the staple of school tiffin boxes. But at least his bright idea provided a glimpse into the life of India’s most private public family, though the homely pink plastic shopping basket on SoniaG’s kitchen counter may have struck a more responsive chord than her orange marmalade. Had this been UK and, say, King Charles and his son Prince William were filmed making a batch of royal marmalade, eagle eyes would have identified and disseminated information on whatever could be seen in their kitchen to the aam janta. But this rare peek into the most private cucina in India has not led to any similar info frenzy about the fancy cooking range and chimney, and the pateelas, knives, electric kettle, mixie, and OTG seen behind the jam jars. SoniaG’s oranges can never rival Nagpur’s perhaps, but thanks to RahulG’s jam epiphany, Lutyens Delhi could become Marmalade County if the allottees of its high-security compounds take a cue from the Gandhis and put their ornamental citrus trees to similar use. Imagine the jostling then for VIP marmalades from, say, Raisina, soon to be the abode of the First Three Citizens of India. Meanwhile, information is still awaited on the recipients of S & R Marmalade. The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.