Abstract
The interaction between matter and meaning in food is an integral feature of food cultural studies. It explores how the materiality of food, its sociocultural meanings intersect with human experience, shaping identities. Food materials with its physical properties undergo transformation with culinary techniques signifying cultural meanings and symbols. The sensuousness, edibility, consumption and power dynamism of food creates memories, identities, hegemonic structures, tastes and preferences. This paper explores Anita Nair’s novel Alphabet Soup for Lovers, to understand the dynamism of food in everyday life, of how matter and meaning interact in and through food. It also explores the embodied experience of food in everyday life, for expressing affection and intimacy, for evoking pleasure and nostalgia, and influencing relationships. The analysis of food helps discover its agency and how it invests people with power. Komathi, the narrator, is a cook who has been in Lena Abraham’s home for more than three decades. Lena lives with her gentlemanly lawyer husband KK who has begun a homestay. Shoola Pani Dev, an actor, comes to stay there to escape the glitz and glamour of his celebrity world. Komathi’s past and Lena’s present are narrated by the former as she discovers in her attempt to learn the English alphabet, an item of food for each letter, going from A to Z, all related to culture, tradition and heritage of various communities and identities. The study thus provides an overview into Indian food culture, its materiality, sensory experiences and power dynamism.
Presenters
Preethi Sara JosephAssistant Professor, Department of English, Mar Thoma College for Women, Perumbavoor, Kerala, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
FOOD, DYNAMISM, CULTURE, MATERIALITY, EXPERIENCE
