“If Bela Aunty’s eyes were a window, her soul was blazing with fire, leaping brilliant flames of fire”
It’s the year 1942, and Quit India Movement is at full swing. Amidst of this Zenobia, Mehul and Sakina get embroiled in the freedom movement. Mota Pappa (Sakina’s Grandfather) had good business relations with a British man who left India leaving his business under his care. Over time he acquired a four-storeyed flat in Chowpatty and became a strong advocate of British rule. Conversations around freedom flow when their mothers share recipes and form a cooking club. The budding Satyagrahis are reduced to a bunch of carriers of food. Meanwhile, in a relatively smaller Chowpatty flat, someone is spying on the children who are charged to take part in the freedom movement.
The story is narrated from the POV of Sakina Chinwala and revolves around her big rambling family. The pages are smeared with humour and innocence. The timeline of historical events is cleverly interspersed with the plot making it informative and engaging. I loved how the idea of freedom was simplified by stating how a guest takes control of the house. Speaking about the characters Sakina was the sensitive one who aspired to be a freedom heroine, Zenobia, the inquisitive one and Mehul, the know-it-all. Mehul’s character provided much insight into the freedom movement.
The Chowpatty Cooking Club is a delightful little story of a quaint community that left no stone unturned to take part in the fight for freedom. The novel emphasises how women and children were an integral part of the freedom struggle movement.
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