Executive Chef Suvir Saran to share secrets of Indian cooking for Danbury’s One Book, One Community

Danbury’s One Book, One Community project (OBOC), coordinated by the Danbury Library, Danbury Public Schools and Western Connecticut State University, will bring the aromatic flavors of India to Danbury with the expertise of Executive Chef Suvir Saran.
Chef Saran, co-owner of Dévi Restaurant in New York City, will present “Indian Cuisine Through the Ages” on Saturday, October 4, from 1 to 2:30 pm at the Danbury Library. Chef Saran’s talk will cover influences from European, Central Asia and Southeast Asia cuisines; religious plurality, castes and class, nobility and aristocracy, and the role of gender in the Indian kitchen.
A drawing will be held for two audience members to each receive a gift certificate for “A Tasting Menu for Two, paired with wines” at the Devi Restaurant in New York City. Chef Saran’s two cookbooks will also be available for purchase and autographing.
In addition to the talk, for those who enjoy eating Indian cuisine, the Library is hosting a bus trip to Dévi Restaurant in New York City on Sunday, October 5th. Along with a three-course Indian celebratory meal, participants will enjoy a talk by Chef Saran on “The Role of Spices in Indian Cuisine.” The talk will include folklore and tales surrounding the use of spices, the health benefits of spices, and flavor notes and nuances of using spices. Tickets are $65 per person and include transportation, lunch, talk and gratuities. The bus will leave promptly at 9 am and return at approximately 5 pm. For trip details and tickets, contact the Community Relations department at 203-796-8061.
Suvir Saran is the author of two widely acclaimed cookbooks, American Masala: 125 New Classics From My Home Kitchen (2007) and Indian Home Cooking (2004). Saran established new standards for Indian food in America when he teamed up with tandoor master Hemant Mathur in 2004 to create the authentic flavors of Indian home cooking at the 75-seat restaurant Dévi in New York City, for which they earned a Michelin one-star rating. A respected food authority, Saran is making great contributions to furthering appreciation of Indian food in America. He serves as Chairman, Asian Culinary Studies, World Cuisines Council for The Culinary Institute of America. And, with a focus on health and wellness, he works side-by-side with the chefs of Sodexho to bring Indian flavors and cooking techniques into their kitchens across America.
In 2008, Saran and partner Charlie Burd collaborated with Wade Ceramics Ltd. of England, a 200-year-old producer of high-quality porcelain goods, to create the American Masala Collection – a line of stylish, yet highly functional ceramic kitchenware, cutlery and tabletop products inspired by the colors, textures and traditions of Saran’s native India.
Saran has taught all over the country for such culinary centers as Sur La Table, Institute for Culinary Education, Williams-Sonoma, Central Market, Cooks of Crocus Hill, The Kitchen Store at J.K. Adams and Apron’s Cooking School at Publix. He has spoken at conferences at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA); “Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives” conferences organized by Harvard Medical School Osher Institute and CIA; and the 39th Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, among others. When he is not traveling, Saran enjoys working on his 68-acre American Masala Farm in upstate New York. For more information, please visit www. suvir.com.
The mission of the OBOC project is to promote literacy, to support intergenerational and multicultural book-centered discussions, and to foster a sense of community by bringing people together through the reading of the same book. The inaugural year book selection is “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri.
For a complete list of events, visit online at danburyonebook.org or stop by the Danbury Library for a brochure. Funding support for the OBOC project is provided by Branson Ultrasonics Corp., FRIENDS of the Danbury Library, Savings Bank of Danbury, and Union Savings Bank. Media Sponsors are The News-Times, El Canillita, Tribuna Newspapers and Yankee PennySaver. Project Supporters are Barnes & Noble, Borders Books & Music, CityCenter Danbury, Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce and the India Association of Greater Danbury.

LIVING WITH VALUES:
Honesty and humility together destroy ego

Consider those who pull your ears (in other words, advise you) at times to be your real friends. We are often unable to look at ourselves objectively, and at such times, certain souls become instruments for drawing our attention to necessary change. How many of us realize that our own face loses its sweetness the minute we start talking about someone else’s weaknesses? Why not finish with stories and situations, so as not to leave behind a permanent bad taste?
Learning requires the virtues of humility and maturity. To be humble, I must be truthful in my thoughts, words and actions. I can only please GOD, my Lord, when I am honest. When the Lord is pleased, Dharamraj (the Supreme Judge) cannot wield any authority over me. Always remember that truthfulness is the main quality required for those who are to be kings in heaven; falsehood guarantees a soul place amongst the subjects.
To speak with arrogance is falsehood; to be impressed by another’s external status or background is falsehood; to reject a person because of a behavior or weakness is falsehood. When honesty and humility come together, all ego is destroyed. We really have to make a deep effort to ensure that not a trace of ego remains.
My love for other souls needs to be filled with truth. The power of knowledge and yoga only work when they are practiced with honesty. I will automatically receive co-operation from others when I act honestly. No one likes to witness arrogant behavior. So pay sincere attention to your self in these matters.
Honesty means having a clear and clean memory track; no waste or negativity should to remain. My humility needs to be so deep and strong that it is absorbed into the memory track, keeping me free from everything except positivity and purity. The more I remember the pain or difficulties of the past, the more my mind will be spoiled and my intellect will function poorly.
A mature soul doesn’t need to go into expansion. Its words are essence and they bear clarity. Such souls act on the basis of wisdom received from God. They never force their views upon anyone saying, “What I say goes...” They are humble enough to present their ideas and to leave others to decide the proper course of action. When I am honest, I learn to be mature and humble. Looking at these qualities, other souls will come to trust my opinion and my words, because I speak the truth, and I do it lovingly. It is arrogance on my part to speak at length, trying to explain (or rather, force) my views upon others, when I can do it just as well with fewer words. By justifying my actions, I am actually sustaining my ego and failing to see that I too am at fault to some extent.
The more you speak, the more others feel you are repeating yourself, and they begin to react to your words. So, maturity entails the ability to speak less and to speak only with love and clarity. If souls are reacting to or rejecting my words, let me be humble enough to change my approach. Just as we are always eager and ready to listen to even just a few words from Baba and the seniors, let me prepare my character and attitude in a way that everything I share is valuable and acceptable.
If you want to please the Innocent Lord, you must have an honest heart. When you simply say “Yes” to the Supreme Father and He is pleased and says, “I am your Companion and I will give you such company.” If I am not honest, Father will not be happy and I will be affected by the vibrations of others. I should not be influenced by others’ vibrations - my vibrations should transform others. My face should not change because of the vibrations of others. We have to return home, and so we must be able to pack up in an instant – to be ever-ready – and to say “Father, I’m coming to you now.” Father has told us to practice this, and to let bodiless-ness be natural to us.
GOD is the One doing all the work. I am just His puppet. A puppet doesn’t have to prepare or rehearse anything; someone else makes it dance. When you feel like you are Supreme Father’s puppet, your face sparkles. Father is placing the sign of soul-consciousness on your forehead. Let your vision give others the vision of Father. Let the smile on your lips finish all problems. Let no wasteful thoughts be visible upon your face, no wasteful words come from your lips – in fact, let there be no waste whatsoever. Angels are always seen in a gathering, always light. As you become light, become a light house and give light to others.
Peace is not found on pilgrimages, in temples, by doing rituals, chanting or by going on holidays or picnics. Peace is found when we go into the temple of the mind, stop looking at others and find out who we are inside. To say “‘I am peace” is a comfort to your heart and mind. And this comfort, together with the qualities of honesty, cleanliness, simplicity, and working with humility and truth, allows peace to develop.
Some people feel peace and in it can easily feel love; others experience love and through this find peace. Some are struck by the realization of who is responsible for creating sorrow in their minds and this impels them to make changes and later they feel peace/love/joy. So check your actions and desires, as they make you happy or unhappy and, through these feelings, cause pain, anxiety or unease in the mind.
Be flexible, open and easy - support others by being flexible. Then you are light, your heart and your mind are light and, physically too, you are light. Spiritual light is on the inside and you receive might from God and everything is right. There is might inside - from God.
Om shanti.

For further information or to learn RajYoga / Meditation, Positive Thinking Foundation Course, Stress Free Living, please e-mail: BrahmaKumaris World Spiritual Organization at learntomeditate@hotmail.com. Brahamakumaris World Spiritual organization is a nonprofit group. All events are free of charge as a community service. Websites: www.bkwsu.org, www.Peacevillege.com and www.ghhny.com.