Gary Mehigan’s face lights up on the computer screen on being told that our paths had accidentally crossed during his Calcutta trip in the autumn of 2022. “Which pandal was that?” he asks, with the confidence of one on point with his Puja vocabulary. On learning it was the New Town one, he breaks into a grin. “Yes, I did some dancing with the dhunuchi there, my useless dancing. I am an enthusiastic dancer, not a good one.” Mehigan speaks to t2 from Dubai on a video call about his romp around town and tour around the country, covering six of India’s biggest celebrations across different regions and religions. The former judge of Masterchef Australia is promoting his latest television outing, India’s Mega Festivals, airing on National Geographic on Wednesdays at 8pm and repeating on Thursdays at noon and on Fridays at 8pm.
How long were you in Calcutta for the Durga Puja episode?
It takes eight to 10 days to cover what we need. I remember getting into the hotel lift at night with an American couple. They looked so shell-shocked that I asked if they were okay. They replied: “Oh my God, we have never experienced anything like this in our lives!” It seemed they thought they had left it a bit late in their lives to really enjoy Durga Puja to its fullest. They couldn’t believe how big it was! I heard there are about 22 million people in Calcutta and during Durga Puja, it swells by about eight million, so that’s just incredible.
How many Pujas did you visit?
Mehigan with a Pulikali (play of the tigers) dance troupe in Kerala during Onam
We did quite a few. The Chetla (Agrani) pandal was one of my favourites. Everything was organic and sustainable. Everything was made out of banana plants — the flowers, the stem — and I was really struck by that. Amongst all the colours and the gaiety, those intricate details stood out. It was wonderful. The biggest one was St Peter’s Basilica.
That was Sreebhumi. You were lucky to have got in.
Yes. We got a prime position on the observation deck amongst the important people. Somebody told me a million people go through the pandal a day. And I was like, no way! Then when I actually saw the crowds I realised that part of the excitement and celebration for people is actually that community queuing up and the anticipation of getting in.
Is that the most significant part of Durga Puja in your view?
Yes, the crowds are fascinating and all the pandals are magnificent. The pride the community has in all this is evident. But for me, it’s the devotion and emotion when people finally get to pay their respects to Durga that is the most striking. After all the queuing and jostling, chatting and laughing, when they finally get to see the Goddess, then you get a sense of how important that moment is for everybody. That’s the reason to celebrate Her and to pay their respects even if it’s only for a minute or two. At the heart of all of this is the power of that emotion.
You must have seen the original St Peter’s Basilica. What did you think of the pandal replica?
It was remarkable when you consider the craftsmanship and the effort to make it happen. You stand there with your eyes open wide and wonder: “Is this for real?” It was hard to explain to people when I got back to Australia that there was a reproduction of St Peter’s Basilica; it’s three-quarter size and a million people go through to worship the Goddess, and it looks real. But when you take a picture of a mountain and then you get back from your holiday and show it to all your friends, the picture never looks as impressive. It’s like that.
You also went for immersion, right?
My favourite moment of the first season was travelling through the streets of Calcutta on the back of an old rickety truck, with the Goddess behind me being held in place and the drums beating. All the women were in another truck behind us and we were travelling through the streets to immerse the Goddess in the Hooghly. I sat watching the sun go down and the birds circling above and people paying their respects to the Goddess Durga as She was going past.... When the director said we were done and asked me to hop off the truck, I said: “No, I’m staying here and enjoying the whole experience.”
What was the brief of the show?
It was to showcase the fervour and frenzy of these wonderful festivals. You can’t even count. If you say there are 20 main festivals across the year, even that’s an underestimation. Our brief was to explore the culture, the story, the history and obviously the communities. We covered the Hornbill festival in Nagaland, Id in Hyderabad and Delhi, Onam in Kerala... all of these are completely different festivals with different belief systems, communities, people, languages.
Could you weave in your forte of food into all of this?
They’re completely inseparable, the food and the festivals. Onam is a celebration of harvest. It is all about Onam sadhya, anything from 26 to 32 little dishes on that banana leaf surrounding that gorgeous pearl-white Kerala rice. Calcutta was all about the sweets — mishti doi, rasgulla and sandesh. We went to Balaram Mullick (and Radharaman Mullick) and saw sandesh being made. Hornbill food was fermented and foraged, completely foreign to whatever I knew Indian cuisine to be — no turmeric and coriander, none of these typical spices. It was a very different cuisine — insects and locust larvae! As a chef, I bear in mind that if it’s something unfamiliar, I have to put it in the context of where I am. In the context of Nagaland, that smoky and unctuous flavour of the Naga pork made perfect sense as did eating of insects. Vegetarians might be squeamish about that but one should always think about it in the context of the history and culture.
And what about the other episodes?
I couldn’t be there for the Ganpati shoot because the turnaround time before Durga Puja was too close. Id was about feasting and fasting. It was one of my favourite festivals actually. Sitting and watching thousands of people pour into Jama Masjid before sunrise in almost silence, but in a happy and celebratory way, was quite emotional. You’re waiting for the day to end to break the fast. It brings all the family together as also people from different walks of life. We spent time with a multi-generational family, starting their fast in the morning, talking and contemplating their day without food and water. And at the end of the day, when they break fast, they often do it with just a date and at that moment that date is probably the sweetest piece of food you’ve eaten in your life.
Had you actually fasted?
Yeah, yeah absolutely. In Hyderabad, it was 40°C and we were working, fasting. I punctuate my whole day with food. I wake up in the morning and think about dinner. It drives my family nuts. But from sunrise to sunset that day, I wasn’t hungry, to be honest.
You also covered Holi.
We were in Brajbhoomi where they celebrate Holi for 40 days. Their connection to Radha and Krishna is almost as family members. They talk to them first thing in the morning. Someone told me his mother prepares breakfast for Krishna before she makes it for the family.
What was the food angle there?
Brajbhoomi is all vegetarian. We would eat Dahi Gujiya on the streets. In Mathura, we found a street food seller outside the Dauji (Maharaj) temple where we would order aloo tikki, dhokla and kachori, with a sauce that was strong in asafoetida, and sip tea. I was standing there on the street and watching thousands go by. In the temple, they have foot-deep tesu water in which men throw water on women and women rip the shirts off the men and whip them with the wet shirts in a flirtatious, almost sexual, representation of the relationship between Radha and Krishna. It (Huranga) is a celebration of divinity that I have never seen anywhere else.
We also followed the story of the making of thandai, the sweet aromatic drink with poppy seeds, almonds and rose petals which I saw people convert to bhang and drink during Holi. It is a part of that transcendental, letting-go spirit.
You also went to Kerala for Onam.
At the feast, on one side of me was a very wealthy family. And on the other side, a young man on his own and I asked them individually: “What are you doing here?” The young man said he had moved to Kerala to find work and he had come to the temple because it gives him a sense of belonging and Onam is the one time in a year that he can mix with the whole community. The wealthy family on my other side said they came because it was important to be part of that very community. They donate food, they donate time, they take their children and it’s every walk of life all thrown together. You can eat with people you’ve never met before, you’re there for the same reason.
(l-r) Gary Mehigan checks out the flower market at Mallick Ghat, Mehigan en route to the immersion of the idol with the Banerjee family
You have come to India so many times. Do you stock Indian ingredients in your kitchen?
I cook Indian dishes regularly and my spice cupboard has at least 35 spices. A few months ago I made Medu Vada. I got recipes from three chefs, tried each one and made my own version. If you look at my Instagram page, what I love is how the Indian audience always jumps in and says what I am doing is wrong. Some go “No, don’t put pepper” and some go “Yes, put pepper”! (Laughs) I also make Fish Moilee, dosa, appam, different types of gravy, samosa and kachori. My most regular is Bombay sandwich — that’s three slices of bread, red and green chutney, potato, tomato, grated cheese in three layers and toasted.
And do you replenish your spice cupboard on these trips? Or do you grow some?
I don’t grow spices. In Melbourne, the climate is a bit cold for cardamom and nutmeg but I’ve got a lovely curry tree. I used to bring spices back from India, but the import regulations into Australia now are really tight. They know me at the airport. The last time I came in from India, they took all the coriander, nutmeg, mace and cardamom.
Which city are you from?
I live on the Mornington Peninsula, which is about an hour from Melbourne. It’s surrounded by vineyards and farms. And when I come to India, it’s completely the opposite, which is the thrill. My last visit though was to Ladakh. That was beautiful up in the Himalayas. We followed Uh, Hemis, which is part of the second season of the show. That will be coming on screen hopefully next year.
So you are already working on the second season?
Yeah, we are in the process of filming. I’ve got three more visits to make. For the second season. I’m coming back to film Dussehra and Diwali, in October and November.
Mehigan makes a wish on Id
All these years of MasterChef Australia meant shooting indoors, in a kitchen, or at best barbecuing in the courtyard. Now that it has come to an end and you’re doing shows that involve much more than food, are you having to reorient yourself as a host?
I think it couldn’t have happened at a more perfect time in my life. I’m sure for this show, they should have a young, athletic hero of a host that can jump out of airplanes and do all these crazy things. But I get involved in everything. I am insatiably curious. If I did this show when I was 25, I would not have enjoyed it so much and just skimmed across it, like young people do. For example, we were rowing in the Aranmula Boat Race in Kerala. In one of the teams with 50 men in a snake boat. And I was enjoying every time that paddle goes in the water.
How young are you now?
Fifty six. When I am welcomed into a group like that, I want to spend all day with them. I want to talk to them, find out what they do. And funnily enough, they’re half-naked, chanting and rowing, but when you speak to them, you find out they are IT engineers, community leaders or fruitsellers. I love that kind of human story.
So when people ask if I miss MasterChef, I say, “Not really. We did it for 11 years. I’ve been a chef, a restaurateur, a host on MasterChef — all at the same time. And now, it’s almost like I’ve been set free. Now, I think India has been the perfect foil to really express the next phase in my life. If I can do Mega Festivals for the rest of my life, I’m doing it.