Culture - The Locavore

19 min

India’s Food Waste Pickle: A Crisis That’s Graver Than You Think

Sharmila Vaidyanathan

Contrary to popular belief, household food waste is not the most significant contributor to wastage in the food system. Journalist Sharmila Vaidyanathan reveals how food is lost during every stage of its production and distribution, how preventable these losses are, and the gaps in the system.

8 min

Culture

This Bengaluru Neighbourhood Acts as a Bridge to North-East India

Joshua Muyiwa

In Bengaluru’s Kalyan Nagar, Prithiraj Borah finds that food isn’t used to censor, but rather corral people into communities. Joshua Muyiwa talks to the sociologist about his project that explores the ideas of food and belonging, and the complexities of the North-East identity.

17 min

Culture

The Dispute Over Guava Jelly: What Indian Women’s Cookbooks Tell Us About Their Lives

Sohel Sarkar

With women's education in India taking off only in the 1860s, it isn't surprising that cookbooks were authored by men until then, in tones ranging from disciplinary to mansplaining. When women began to write these themselves, they did so on their own terms.

6 min

Culture

Rum-and-Plum Cakes & Bread for Shahi Tukda: Bengal Bakery is Loved by All of Lucknow

Sonakshi Srivastava

As Christmas arrives, Abdul sahab’s rum-and-plum cakes are sought after by all of Lucknow. Now the third-generation owner of Bengal Bakery, his traditional baking and tahzīb perfectly embody the city’s…

10 min

Culture

What Makes Joida a Hotspot for Tuber Diversity?

Mukta Patil

Sumeet Kaur, founder of Spudnik Farms and tuber enthusiast, talks to Mukta Patil about these resilient root vegetables, how the Kunbi community preserve and worship them, and making mudali bharta at home.

14 min

Culture

How ‘Local’ is the Mid Day Meal?

Zoya Naaz Rehman

Zoya Naaz Rehmaan explores whether the Mid Day Meals in different states consider the everyday dietary habits of the students they cater to.

10 min

Culture

Discovering Gular, the Lesser-Known Fig, and Other Lessons About Lost Foods

Priti Saxena

The gular fruit does not exist. Or at least, that’s what the stories say. Historian Priti Saxena, a brief resident of Bihar, discovered gular close to her home in Patna. Intrigued by the mythical narratives around this food, she began tracing its social life over time.

11 min

Culture

Bittersweet: Five Voices on Food and Queerness

Oishika Roy

What does food have to do with queerness? Oishika Roy gathers perspectives on eating, desire, chosen families, and the delicate intersection of food and love.

17 min

Recipes of Revolt and Resistance: Artist Rajyashri Goody Challenges Deep-Rooted Casteism

Khorshed Deboo

Through her practice, artist Rajyashri Goody probes the perversions of caste in India, and how food forms a locus where the interplay of power and powerlessness is unfortunately most evident.

9 min

Culture

Following Judima in Dima Hasao: A Rice Wine Story

Dejna Daulagupu and Dolly Kikon

Judima is a rice wine predominantly brewed by Dimasa women in Assam. Based in Tereh Village, Khimkho Hojai—a self-reliant farmer—brews it for her household, with help from her husband.

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