In this episode, Shabnum is joined by Masterchef star, author, and celebrated Instagram blogger Hetal Vasavada on the unique place food holds in our culture. Desis have a complicated relationship with food. We all know that our mothers and grandmothers will force feed us until we're about to explode, but are also the same women that will berate us for gaining weight. What we don't always talk about though is the social capital that food has in our culture. There are certain gender norms associated with food, and food is distributed as a means of celebration - often in a way that has a debt associated to it. We also cover on the episode how food for Desis usually goes beyond social into the realm of political capital. Indian Independence is owed in large part to a series of hunger strikes, and hunger striking as a means of political protest is a custom that continues to this day. We also say a lot with food by using it as a means of ascertaining caste or religion. Join us in this conversation as we explore the many ways in which food holds more than just nutritional value for us!
Host: Shabnum Gulati
Guest: Hetal Vasavada
Illustration: Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Music: AnAkkiN on Soundcloud
