THEMES

Theme 1

Contamination

My very first theme stemmed out from the song Hard Rain by Bob Dylan. While researching on the song and brainstorming the ideas that the singer tried to convey through the lyrics, i came across words like pollution,lies, warfare etc..
I could only think of one word... "Contamination"
I left the idea of the song behind and started elaborating on Contamination.

Theme 2

Food

• Basic need for survival. satisfaction of physiological and pshychological needs.

• Cooked or raw.

• Texture of food - adding of different ingredients to a recipe adds different textural quality to food. Contrast in texture makes food more appealing.

• Contrast in taste makes the food more or less appealing.

• Food taboos.

• Food manners determines the social status,ethnicity and wealth. Therefore, FOOD HAS BOTH MATERIAL AND SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF FOOD

• Food habits are not random.It exhibits patterns which is significant to people and the place.

• Food is an especially appropriate mediator because when we eat,we establish in a literal sense,a direct identity between ourselves(culture) and our food(nature).

• Human kinds place in the realms of culture and nature is being moved too much towards culture.Culture is identified with a 'nightmare' of dirty noisy urban living in contrast to 'pure',peaceful and 'natural' rural living. "Health Food" is a prepackaged embodiment of a 'pastoral dream for their urban consumers'.

• It is interesting to see how food holds different meaning for a child and an adult.For example,sweets are regarded as good by a child but for an adult it is a harmful source for the body.

• Health and Whole foods for the contemporary generation - The attempt to change the food symbolism from cultural to natural. Since health foods are grown naturally it is not 'contaminated' by chemical fertilisers. It is fresh and not refrigerated and is considered as 'uncontaminated by the western culture'
  

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=669136





CHANGING CULTURE OF INDIAN FOOD

• Food is supposed to be a remedy for some of the health problems that food itself has caused.Diets are framed by class,culture and imperial relations.

• HOW AUTHENTIC IS INDIAN FOOD?? India is the most diverse society in the world. India has heavily borrowed from virtually every corner of the world.Many food items which is supposed to be Indian,came in late in the day.Chillies,which are a very important ingredient of an Indian kitchen has supposedly some from South America. 'Idly' a staple diet of South India was supposed to be introduced by Indonesian Kings who traveled to India to look for wives.Idly resembles the Chinese rice balls.Biriyani and pulao came into India with the Arabic and the Persians.

• It is cultural openness of this country to the strange and the unknown which,has led to diverse culture and hence the cuisine.

• Ceremonial food in India now is seeing more of mughal and punjabi food.

• EMERGENCE OF FAST FOOD - MacDonalds and Pizza Hut are becoming popular.But the concept of fast food runs back to the late 19th century with the colonial invasion,in the presidency towns of Calcutta,Madras and Bombay. Cutltets,chops,samosa,dosa were for the 'daily passengers' who went to work and needed snacks.

• The concept of customizing cuisines is also becoming popular. The mixing up of cuisines like punjabi or bengali cuisine with chinese cuisine to come up with punjabi chinese or bengali chinese is a rising trend in India.

Ref: The Changing Popular Culture of Indian Food:Preliminary notes by Ashis Nandy
Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies.Delhi