Studied to be a doctor, work as chef — Chinmay from India about life in Bishkek

13:00, 18 августа 2024, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Anastasia BENGARD

Chinmay Badodekar is originally from Surat, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. He first came to Kyrgyzstan in 2013, received a medical degree and opened a restaurant where he works as a chef. The man shared his impressions about his life in Bishkek with 24.kg news agency.

— Why did you decide to get a medical education in Kyrgyzstan?

— My dad is a pharmacist. He wanted me to become a doctor, but medical education is expensive in India. Initially, I entered the Tver State Medical University, where I studied for one year. There is a six-year course of study, the first three years are in English, and then — in Russian. It is difficult. In Kyrgyzstan, there was an opportunity to study entirely in English, so I transferred here in my second year.

— Did you know anything about the country before that?

— Honestly, no. I came on the advice of one of the agents. I knew that many students were coming here; at that time, in Central Asia, only the International University of Kyrgyzstan had all five courses in English. This was the main criterion, because it is very important to talk to patients and understand them in the final years.

All the students went home during the vacations, and I stayed to work as a cook in an Indian restaurant. I liked cooking. At the same time, I studied the possibility of opening my own restaurant. I invited my mother to Bishkek, and she liked it here. In 2014, my mother and I opened our first restaurant in Bishkek. We started working, everything was going well. My dad also came two years later. Soon the owner sold the premises, and we had to change the building. In 2019, we opened our second restaurant.

— Did your medical degree come in handy in your life?

— Yes, it did. I received my diploma in January 2019, went to India and started working in a hospital as a therapist, while mom and dad continued to run the family business in Bishkek.

Practical medicine is different, of course. The weather in India is tropical, so diseases are different, which do not exist in Kyrgyzstan, such as malaria. I was gaining experience, but the coronavirus pandemic started, which took my dad. It was not possible to transport his body to the homeland, and he was buried in Kyrgyzstan. My mom was left alone, there was no one to look after the restaurants, so I quit my job in India and came back to Bishkek. After my father died, we decided to leave only one restaurant. My mom is the director, I am the founder and chef, and my wife is the financial director. I’m not involved in medicine yet.

— Was it difficult to get started?

— The most difficult thing was to find premises and an understanding landlord, plus the language barrier. But since then I have learned Russian, now I am learning Kyrgyz. When I was studying medicine, this subject was not taught, and current students learn Kyrgyz too.

— Are there many fans of Indian cuisine in Bishkek?

— About 70 percent of our clients are locals, the rest are foreigners.

— What dishes can you recommend to your guests?

— Curries with chicken, lamb, fish, Indian pilaf (biryani).

Almost 70-80 percent of the population in my state are vegetarians. We have a wide range of vegetarian dishes. Our samosa appetizer, by the way, is similar to Kyrgyz samsy, but it is not with meat, but with boiled potatoes.

I have also tried Kyrgyz national cuisine. Since I do not eat beef, I order plov with lamb and dishes with chicken. I really like boso lagman with mutton, plov and shorpo with flatbread.

— You have opened an online store. What do you sell?

— We officially order spices, cookies, snacks from India. Recently, okra, a popular plant in Japanese, Turkish and Indian cuisines, has been on sale. Several people from India and Pakistan have taught how to grow this plant in Osh and Jalal-Abad. There are plans to open a physical store. When people see and taste it once, they are more likely to want to buy the product online.

— You came to Kyrgyzstan almost 10 years ago, have there been any changes since then?

— People have become more modern and understanding. I used to be always asked: ’Why did you come here? India is densely populated, I guess, because of that? Or did you have no money there?" Now people understand that foreigners come for education, employment or just to see the world.

— What regions have you visited?

— I have been to Ala-Archa, Kashka-Suu, Issyk-Kul, Karakol, Osh. I really liked them all. We also like to walk on the square in Bishkek. I would like to go to Naryn, Jalal-Abad, where okra is grown.

— In May, after a mass brawl and protests against foreigners, many students from Pakistan and India left Kyrgyzstan. Did you have such thoughts?

— No, I did not. We were working those days, but we closed the restaurant early. Later, many customers, kind and understanding, apologized in general for what happened. But we all understand: people are different and such things can happen in any country. We plan to stay in Kyrgyzstan because my dad is buried here.

— What do you miss being far away from your homeland?

— Sometimes I miss India. Food is very popular in our culture, there are Indian restaurants in many cities around the world, our cuisine is diverse. Fortunately, I have a restaurant and I cook myself whatever I want, we often update the menu. My mom and my wife are nearby, my sister sometimes comes to visit us, and from time to time we go to India.

— What surprises you in Kyrgyzstan?

— I once had my cell phone stolen in a restaurant, I filed a statement, and the police found it two months later. This is very rare in India, there are a lot of people there.

People are helpful and kind. Once I bought a scooter to deliver food from the restaurant and at night I went to deliver the order. I got into a road accident. Residents from the nearest house called an ambulance, nothing was stolen from me, the scooter was given to my friends, everything was safely resolved. What else I like: there are video cameras at intersections, people are used to not violating traffic rules. I also encountered the fact that if someone throws garbage, other passers-by will make a remark to him or her.

We have heat and high humidity in our homeland, and it is nice here. In general, we like the country, we feel safe. I also noticed that women are respected in Kyrgyzstan. Once I got sick, my wife had to go to the pharmacy at night to get medicine, I did not worry about her.

— What advice can you give to your compatriots for a more successful adaptation?

— I would advise students to learn in advance the cultural differences, the climate, to dress for the weather, to know at least basic Russian and Kyrgyz, and to talk more quietly. We are used to speaking loudly, and people think we are swearing. Although I can say that today’s students come already prepared.