New Books Network Rituparna Patgiri and Gurpinder Singh Lalli eds., "Food, Culture and Society in India: Social, Political, Economic and Cultural Perspectives" (Berghahn Books, 2025)
Dec 13, 2025
Rituparna Patgiri, a sociologist and co-editor of the volume exploring the interplay of food, culture, and society in India, shares fascinating insights. She discusses food as a form of communication that shapes identity and social meaning. The conversation covers culinary hierarchies, gastro-nostalgia, and gendered labor in kitchens, revealing deep cultural ties. Rituparna highlights how digital media impacts food representation, democratizing voices from the margins. She emphasizes the book's empirical diversity and its contributions to evolving food studies.
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From A Tweet To A Book
- Rituparna Patgiri describes how a Twitter tip led her to a Berghahn series and the book proposal.
- She recruited co-editor Gurpinder Singh Lalli over Zoom and used an open call to gather fresh voices.
Food As Social Communication
- Patgiri argues food functions as a system of communication beyond biology.
- What people eat and avoid sends social messages that shape identity and territory.
Culinary Other As Political Claim
- The book deconstructs the "culinary other" by showcasing marginalized food histories across India.
- Previously silenced cuisines (e.g., Dalit, Northeast) are now asserting identity through food.
