MUSIC OF THE BREAD: THE BRUN Strange might it seem but i heard music (beautiful subtle rhythmic sounds) created from freshly baked hot loaves of bread, the famous hard and crisp ‘Brun’ from Bombay. The creator of this unique music is also the owner of one of the rare surviving Parsi bakeries / restaurants, Mumbai’s Yazdani - he is 78-year-old Merwan Zend for whose life music and food are both a very important part. Mr Zend can burst into song at the drop of a hat and he carries his little mouth organ wherever he goes and obliges anyone with a tune. Once a boxing champion, Mr Zend has refused to succumb to the Parkinson’s disease. Having Parkinson’s does not stand in his way at all. His day begins at seven in the morning, overseeing the daily activities of the bakery and making sure that the customers are served well. Mr Zend runs the Yazdani bakery (during the First World War time it was a Japanese bank) along with his brother. Recently, Ms Gagan Gill, the well-known poet-writer-editor from Delhi was in Mumbai and one morning i took her to the Yazdani for a cup of tea and brun maska. We were lucky to have found Mr Zend there and he so generously invited us to listen to his music. While we were still under the spell of a curious wonder, he asked his man to get two loaves of brun, and there it was – the rarest of the rare music he created by pressing tactfully the convexes of the sensuous loaves – never ever had i heard such beautiful subtle sounds of music that still keep resonating within me! You can see the two bruns in the photo – and perhaps listen to the music too! Photo-left: Mr Zend Photo-top right: Gagan Gill, Mr Zend, Amrit Gangar Photo-bottom right: Mr Zend, Amrit Gangar
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 00:36:23 +0000
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