Abstract
The publication of Soopashastra by Ramchandra Gupte in 1875 established the cookbook as a genre in Marathi writing. The cookbooks that followed, Gruhinimitra and Rasachandrika, were testimonies to the changing material conditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Western India. This period witnessed the introduction of print technology, combined with access to education, both in the vernacular and in English, following the advent of British rule. These processes led to the development of distinct identities, like linguistic ones, among the middle classes. This paper delineates the processes that led to the development of a gastronomic identity among educated, upper-caste, middle-class ‘Maharashtrians’. Drawing on close readings and critical analysis of cookbooks from this period, the study aims to establish that the beginnings of ‘Marathi’ cuisine were fragmentary in nature. Although these cookbooks came to define and standardise ‘Marathi’ cuisine as a whole, this activity was largely undertaken by upper-caste men and women, who wrote from the vantage point of their community affiliation. Thus, instead of presenting an inclusive picture, Marathi cookbooks largely spoke of individual community cuisine and avoided blending inter-community recipes but gladly incorporated Western recipes. As such, Marathi cuisine did not uniformly represent the diverse social groups of the region and was coloured in hues of exclusive, Hindu, upper-caste tones. This trend continued into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, subjecting Marathi cuisine to a reductive expression of its diverse culinary cultures. Nearly 140 years after the first Marathi cookbook was published, Marathi cuisine still awaits inclusion.
Presenters
Maithili TagareStudent, Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Marathi, Cuisine, Cookbooks, Exclusion
