PhD - Geography | University of North Carolina - USA
PhD - Sociology | M.S. University - Vadodara
The history of the Parsi community in India can be traced back to about 1300 years ago, when there was large-scale immigration of Zoroastrians from Western Asia to India due to religious persecution. Parsi culture has been woven into the cultural fabric of the country over several centuries. In recent years, the Parsi community in India has been facing a cultural decline due to the decrease in numbers of the community and a lack of attention given to the preservation of cultural texts. This project aims to contribute to the preservation and ease of access of the Parsi culture in Pune through the cultural mapping of one of the most celebrated aspects of the culture: Parsi cuisine.
The prominence of Irani eateries in Pune is a testament to this. Irani food is often considered a must-try for visitors of the city, with bun maska and Irani chai having become flagship dishes in Pune cuisine. Within these dishes is the story of Parsi immigration. This project will put the seemingly intangible cultural resources/practices of Parsi cuisine in the spotlight. Culinary histories allow us to engage with complex material histories, as well as modern conceptions of Pune’s heritage through an angle of analysis that can privilege the stories of immigrants and minorities who brought iconic Puneri staples to the city. Through the stories of these cafes and their community, we will map both spatially and temporally the history and contributions of the Parsi community to the cuisine and culture of Pune and explore how the study of food can be used to analyse a community and culture that has preserved the evidence of acculturation which can be analysed through the study of food.
As a measure against cultural homogenization, our goal was to document and showcase the diverse manifestations of Parsi cuisine in the city of Pune. We collected information about Parsi eateries in the city, and interviewed many of them to highlight their personal stories, motivation, and approaches. For effective and engaging communication, we presented our archive as a web-based interactive storymap.
