'Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!': Butter chicken stalwart Pritam's book out

y say sometimes that food is way to a person’s heart. And Kulwant Singh Kohli succeeded in winning people over with his delicious fare at popular Pritam restaurant in Mumbai's Dadar. legacy of hotelier, who passed away earlier this year in June, has been immortalised with  book Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan! that was unveiled on Thursday. When former Home Minister and ex-Maharashtra CM, Sushilkumar Shinde and Goverr of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, grace launch event, one can understand  impact that Kulwant Singh Kohli might have left on m. His grandson Abhayraj Singh Kohli, opened up on launch event, terming experience as ‘touching’, while revealing several anecdotes. From book being discussed over a meal, Gopinath Munde naming his daughter Pritam after hotel, and company’s plans to open a delivery platform under Kulwant Singh Kohli's name, Kohli Jr spoke about several things in an exclusive interaction. 

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“ book happened over a meal, ex-Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has been a friend of my granddad since he was a senior inspector. He said, ‘I need a table at your restaurant’. My granddad replied, ‘Why do you want a table? Come over, we will sit toger?’ So he, along with some editors of Marathi newspapers came over; over drinks and dinner, y said that my granddad has a lot of kwledge and experience of how Bombay came to be Bombay, how people have come to Bombay with thing and made ir lives from here. y felt a book or at least a column should be written on this,” Abhayraj Singh Kohli, Director of Pritam Group of Hotels, tells Republic TV. 

This was mooted in October 2017, and from January 2018, Kulwant Singh Kohli had started writing a column for Loksatta. Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan! is a compilation of all articles that he has written for newspaper. Plus, a few more.  

Kulwant Singh Kohli has been kwn as someone who gifted Butter Chicken to Mumbai. However, food will play only a mir role in book. Abhayraj Singh Kohli shares, “It is basically about different people that touched him in his life. Be it actors, people who came for dinner, or producers who came to Bombay with thing, and made ir life. All se contacts were built from restaurant. book does t have much about food.” 

t just Sushilkumar Shinde, Kulwant Singh Kohli hobbbed with bigwigs of Maharashtra’s political arena. Late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde, who served as a minister in PM Narendra Modi cabinet, was so fond of restaurant that he named his daughter Pritam after restaurant.  “When Munde had come over to restaurant, that’s when we found out that his wife was pregnant with Pritam. So he decided that be it a girl or a boy, we will name child Pritam. He was extremely close to my grandfar, because his wife, who is Pramod Mahajan’s sister (Pradnya Munde), used to tie a rakhi to my grandfar also. So Pramod Mahajan ji, Gopinath Munde ji and my granddad were three best friends,” Abhayraj Singh Kohli says. 

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Bollywood love

Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan! is t Hindi cinema connection to Kulwant Singh Kohli and Pritam Hotel. t just politicians and high-ranking officers, Pritam Hotel used frequented by major Bollywood stars of that era like Dharmendra, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Dev Anand, Jagjit Singh and Yash Chopra. Kohli reveals, “At that time, entire film industry used to shoot around here because all studios were out here, around Dadar and Parel. Later on, industry moved to or side of city. Some of stars still do come, but how those living nearby would come, that does t happen anymore.” 

Kulwant Singh Kohli’s grandson reveals that emotions did run high at book launch. “Yesterday's event was very touching for all of us. My far and my uncle spoke how book was something he (Kulwant Singh Kohli) always wanted to see. Sushilkumar Shinde spoke about memories with my granddad. Also, my dad did t kw Marathi, and person who used to translate his work, spoke about how many hours he would spend with my grandfar and how y got close.”  

Kohli Jr credits Kohli Sr for everything, “My grandfar was basically my role model. So whatever I am today and whatever I do today in business is all because of him. He kept me very close to him and trained me completely.  My work ethics is all because of him.”  

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book was also t an afterthought after Kulwant Singh Kohli’s death and had been close to finalisation much before that, Abhayraj Singh Kohli revealed. In fact, y were already in process of book’s English and Hindi translations, which will soon hit shelves. Professor Nitin Arekar has been credited as a writer on book.  

love for Kulwant Singh Kohli has t diminished one bit, even after his passing. “Even today, we get fan mails from people, from a lot of people that he has touched throughout his life. number of people he met in his entire life is unbelievable. He was also Sheriff of Bombay. People keep coming in, and as time goes by, you realise how many people’s lives he touched. It is really humbling."  

Ar tribute to Kulwant Singh Kohli is an indicator of growing times. “We’re looking at starting a new delivery platform, for butter chicken and more, under his name. So we’re looking at how to go about that right w. This will be pan-Bombay,” Kohli signs off. 

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