Kalpana Padmakar’s aspirations are clear: a bigger hotel serving her fish-based delicacies—“someday”
—Kalpana Padmakar, who runs Koli Katta, a small kitchen serving Koli-style fish, rice, and chapatis.
Everyday Locavores
A series spotlighting the people who enrich and sustain our local food systems in various ways. Through short-format visual essays, we offer you a glimpse into their everyday lives, work, pleasures, and realities.
“There’s a stark difference in how people live here”
—Ram Nivas, who runs a bhelpuri-sevpuri-jhaalmuri stall
“They’ve started dumping cement there. It results in smaller, less meaty oysters that take longer to form”
—Ratna and Alka, Koli fisherwomen, Mumbai
“Being the eldest daughter in my family, I learnt to cook early on”
—Awule Lasuh, who cooks office lunches for 30+ employees
“There is no first aid, or protective gear to stave off such injuries. There are no toilets, no shade”
—Jamuna Khatuwa, a coastal fishworker in Bakkhali, West Bengal
“Every homestay has a cook now. Tourists rarely come to eat here”
—Sushila Panwar, who runs Aunty Ka Dhaba, a roadside eatery and convenience store
“I hadn’t even driven a car when I began with the tractor”
—Ratish, who pushes and moors fishing boats
“Two years ago, I did not know my rights”
—Kavita Devi, 35, a domestic worker and active member of Delhi Gharelu Kaamgar Union
“We feel sad when they’re taken; we’ve raised them from birth. If they have kids, you’re constantly reminded of the loss”
—Jagdamba Dhuliya, who runs a goat farm in Jagatpur village