Land of Milk and Honey: Travels in the History of Indian Food

Year 2007

ISBN No. 9781905422340

No.of pages 112

Subject Knowledge and Society, Social Science

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A culture as ancient as India's, as layered and as plural, inevitably rejoices in a fascinatingly rich history of food, feeding and eating. The most ancient scriptures prescribe and proscribe on the subject, life cycle rituals are intricately bound up with it, and the symbolism of food is part of everyday life. "Land of Milk and Honey" tells the stories of India's food. Rich in detail and discovery, the essays included here range from the rituals of propitiatory meals - from feeding the gods, the priest, the son-in-law or the dead - to the historic symbolism of milk, and from the probable 15th century Portuguese origins of the traditional sweets of Bengal to the intricate variety of art connected with food and ritual.

Table of contents

Author's Preface1. How Bengal Discovered Chhana2. Food, Ritual and Art in Bengal3. The Propitiatory MealSelect BibliographyIndex