Let India not duck a murgi museum

Now that a famous restaurant in Beijing has unveiled a museum dedicated to its world-famous Peking (roast) Duck, Indians could consider establishing a tandoori chicken museum somewhere in the country. Of course, setting it up may be a murgi business since nothing can be done with poultry sums as it may then turn out to be a turkey instead. More so as there are several claimants to the national (cooked) bird status here in India — unlike the Peking Duck's unparalleled position in China. So, rather than any individual restaurant appropriating the national kukkad mantle, a better idea may be to institute a national repository encompassing the chicken in all its avatars, to avoid a north-south — and even east-west — divide on the matter, as has happened in the case of the national language.

Indeed, Punjab would be the first to cry fowl if tandoori is given a leg up over butter chicken. And there is every chance that aficionados of Mughal cuisine will muscle in with Murgh Mussallam and Delhi will go to pieces if tikkas are not given their place in seekh history. Nor is there doubt that the south will want to kozhi up with Chettinad's curried bird or Kerala's peppery one, and the west with probably Goan Cafreal or Xacuti. Hopefully, however, these will not be reason enough for anyone to chicken out of a murgi museum.