Tanaz Godiwalla, Parsi Cuisine Caterer
The Bhonu Queen

There will be very few food lovers in Bombay who will not have heard of Tanaz Godiwalla. And not a single Parsi in the world who wouldn�t know of Godiwalla Caterers. In any case most will have eaten at least one �lagan-nu-bhonu� prepared by her for a Parsi wedding and most probably the feast partaken would have been at Colaba Agiary.

Meet Tanaz, the cherubic, twinkley eyed, honest, down to earth, hard working, and surprisingly shy, young lady who single handedly caters to 80% or more parties and weddings of the Parsi community of Bombay.

Godiwalla Caterers was established as a family business. It was Tanaz�s parents, Freny and Bejan, who started it way back in 1965. Unfortunately Bejan died in 1991, which is when Tanaz got into his shoes and took charge of the company. Until then, all she used to do was go after school to the baugs where these functions were held and hang out, help, do odd jobs.

The Parsis usually celebrate important occasions with a jashan (prayer ceremony) which is performed at an Agiary (Fire Temple). After the jashan, they eat. In royal style at the Agiary grounds, a sit-down dinner, al fresco, in a splendid surrounding - fairy lights in trees, a live band playing. It is never less than a four course meal, preceded by a few good �parsi pegs�, which is nothing but extra-extra-large pegs of whisky.

Tanaz is the one who keeps everyone�s spirit intact. Most people will not miss an opportunity to eat lagan-nu-bhonu, which translated is wedding food. And what comes from her kitchen is to die for. Saas-ni-machi that melts in the mouth, pulao-dal which fires your senses, topli-ma-paneer that cools it down, chichen farcha that is oh-so-unbeatable.

She has the capability of catering for a 1000 people or more. Her staff of 200 men and women are proficient at it. The food is always slow cooked and using wood fire, in heavy bottomed, huge, old fashioned utensils.

�Of course I love food, can�t you tell?�, she enquires impishly. �In any case my figure speaks for my business. In addition to Parsi food. I love Chinese and Continental. They are my two favourite.

Tanaz is always around at every do. Personally supervising the cooking and later over-seeing the service, making rounds between the long rows of tables, seeing everything is alright, occasionally stopping at a table to talk to a guest.

Today with no family support (she lost her brother too) managing such an outfit is a remarkable achievement for someone who hated accounts, knew nothing about computers and lost her mother, the backbone of the company, and her biggest back-room support in 1998. �That was a huge setback. But I managed to survive. I learnt computers, changed my operation styles and taught myself accounts�.

From October to March is a busy time for Tanaz, there is probably not a single evening that is free. The �marriage season� lasts in Bombay till around mid April, which is when it starts to get warm. That�s when Tanaz takes off. It�s holiday time for her. Six whole months of it. �I go abroad twice in these six months. I love to travel, specially go on cruises � to Scandinavia, Alaska, to the Baltic, to the Greek Islands. And I always travel to where ever, through Paris�. It�s where her sister Roxanne lives, with her scientist husband. Incidently, Tanaz has four passports attached together, full of visas � to every where in the whole world! She has a bunch of good friends and they take off together. In India her favourite destinations are Kashmir, Kerela and Goa. Goa for food!

�Of course I love food, can�t you tell?�, she enquires impishly. �In any case my figure speaks for my business.

In addition to Parsi food, I love Chinese and Continental. They are my two favourite. But Excellensea has the best sea food in town. And I love China Garden. Though I also eat out at Lings Pavilion, Kamling and Basilico. But basically I am a rice lover. I love any kind of rice and all sorts of preparation.� And her best meals are at home, in her bright, airy, cheery, top floor apartment in Mazagaon, prepared by non other than Kalibai, who has been around ever since Tanaz was a baby. �Her real name is Saraswati. She used to grind masalas, and sacks full of coconuts. She used to bathe me at the baugs. When my mother died, I asked her to come live with me, she happily did, she is like a grand mother to me.�

�I love watching television. It�s how I like to pass time. But not serials, I watch channels like National Geographic and History. And I love music from the 80s and the 90s.�

So what is new in Tanaz�s life? Well she has decided to get into shape. Just joined a gym, and will hit the treadmill once she is back from her half yearly holiday, which is in Spain this time.� I have started and stopped so many, many times its not funny. But this time I am serious. I guess I have to regulate my time. Can�t be eating lunch at 4 pm and dinner at 4 am��

But there is something newer in her life. She has just bought 22 acres of land in Deolali along with some friends, and soon she will be a grape grower. �It�s a lovely place, on a hillock, soon we will have a grape plantation on our land�, she says excidedly.

And serve her own brand of Godiwalla wines as well, maybe?

PHOTOGRAPHS BY FARZANA CONTRACTOR