Of Nikolaschka Pillais and Old Monk Jaggas…
A moment’s silence please. In
memory of Capt. Kapil Mohan, the creator of the legendary Old Monk Rum.
Why? You may ask. After all
you were not asked to mourn the passing of bigger legends like William Grant.
Nor did you shed tears when Johnny Walked into the sunset, never to return.
Come to think of it, the list of alcoholic names that are spelt with an RIP is huge,
but only when Capt. Mohan died, did an entire nation slip into grief.
Strange I thought at first,
but on more serious deliberation, it kind of made sense. Old Monk, referred to
in different contexts as ‘Budda’, ‘Mother’s Milk’ and such has a unique if
symbiotic relationship with the aging youth of India. And grief is the minimum
courtesy we have to extend to its creator on his passing.
Old Monk undoubtedly was a
legend built on the foundations of the Indian Army. The fact that it was supposedly
staple diet for the Jawans, gave it a very patriotic and macho flavor. And its ‘fire
in the belly’ reputation was stoked by stories of how the Rum could be used as
a substitute for petrol in the hardy Bullet Motorcycles.
While it can be argued that
simple economics was the cause for its success, I guess in all fairness we all
need to dip into our memory banks and take a deep gulp of sorrow. And try to retrace
how it entered our lives.
My first memorable encounter
with Old Monk was courtesy of my dear friend Vijit Pillai who one day
introduced a whole bunch of us to something he called Nikolaschkas.
While we later found out that Nikolaschkas were brandy based
and involved slices of lime doused with heapfuls of sugar and coffee, Vijit’s
version used Old Monk Rum, Shot Glasses and a very macho gulping down of the
concoction. And was, for a very long time a party favourite.
So thank you old friend. Many of my memories are peppered
with this very Russian sounding drink. But then I moved from Hyderabad to
Chennai and had to wait for a few years before I found drinking buddies who
could contribute to my life story.
It was in Bombay that Anil Jagga came into my life. And Anil
was everything Old Monk promised you could be. Hardy, rustic, raw, spirited.
And it was Anil who introduced us to an amazing 6 o’clocker of a drink and that
too in a restaurant close to the agency. (BALWAS became notorious many years
later but that’s a different story).
So every evening, just as soon as it was proper for us to
leave office, we’d walk down to Balwas and our orders would always be the same.
Tandoori Chicken with Roti. Old Monk Rum (Large) with Coke.
The gang was almost always the same. And the conversation a
typical combination of shop talk and bitch.
Anil Jagga passed on many years ago but somehow it is his
face that comes to mind when I think of Old Monk.
So here’s to you old Jagga…the original ‘Budda’. I’m sure you’re
keeping Capt. Mohan entertained with your stories.
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