Entries tagged with author of color/non-white author

Crossposts: http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/948740.html

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The Kerala Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections from South India, by Lathika George

A cookbook/food memoir, emphasis on the former, about the cuisine and associated folkways and traditions of the Syrian Christians of Kerala.

George’s family lived in Mumbai (then Bombay), but visited Kerala often, and her mother made an effort to cook in the Syrian Christian style. This gives George an unusual insider/outsider perspective. The short essays which bookend the recipe sections are evocative, well-written, and atmospheric, sometimes explaining traditions like the baths and oil massages given to new mothers by means of an account of her own pampering after the birth of her daughter, sometimes telling stories about her childhood and family.

If you like Madhur Jaffrey, you will probably like this, though George comes from a completely different food tradition. If you’re already familiar with non-Christian Kerala cuisine, the Syrian Christian version has a lot of overlap; if you’re only familiar with other Indian traditions, the food and culture depicted will be nearly completely unfamiliar. I’ve been to Kerala once, and was bowled over by the beauty of the landscape and the deliciousness of the food. Reading this book, I longed to return.

The book was published in the USA, and the recipes suggest where to find ingredients there, as well as local substitutions for ingredients that can’t be found. I didn’t try any of the recipes, but some of them look fairly easy and many of them look absolutely delicious. It’s also very enjoyable to read for pure food porn.

The Kerala Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections from the Syrian Christians of South India (Hippocrene Cookbooks)

Crossposts: http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/948372.html

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Walking Where We Lived: Memoirs of a Mono Indian Family, by Gaylen D. Lee

I found this in my father’s library while visiting his house in Mariposa, near Yosemite. It’s an evocative and enlightening book which tells, in alternate chapters, the history of the Nim*, who are California Indians from the area I was staying in, and the personal history and experiences of the author, who grew up practicing many of their traditional ways. The non-historical chapters are arranged by seasons, beginning with spring and ending when winter begins to warm into another spring.

Lee’s style is alternately scholarly, poetic, personal, and frank. He wrote this, the first personal account of the Nim by a Nim, partly because the existing written material on them, compiled by white anthropologists, was misleading or outright wrong. Some information is left out because it’s “none of anybody’s business;” other material, mostly involving the medicinal or food use of local plants, is deliberately vague to prevent foolish and inexperienced people from accidentally killing themselves.

The history is the usual tale of stolen land and broken treaties, attempted cultural genocide and fighting back. (One of the lighter bits quotes John Muir’s horror at the incredible filthiness of some Indians he encounters while hiking in the woods; Lee points out that they were in a mosquito-infested area, and the Indians had sensibly covered themselves with a natural repellent – mud!) The personal narrative is written in a more intimate voice, sometimes earthy, sometimes funny, often moving. Lee’s love for his family shines through every page.

I liked this a lot, and I think anyone who likes memoirs or nature writing would enjoy it. My father, who doesn’t read much narrative non-fiction, was fascinated by it, and we had several long conversations about it as we hiked in Yosemite. If you have a particular interest in California history or California Indian culture, it ought to be essential reading.

*The I in Nim has a diacritical I can’t reproduce, but is pronounced like the u in put. Also, Lee explains that while the Nim and the Mono speak the same language and so have been lumped together by anthropologists, they do not consider themselves to be the same people. So the subtitle is a bit odd. Possibly it was added by the publisher.

Walking Where We Lived: Memoirs of a Mono Indian Family

Crossposts: http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/948160.html

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Rana Kumbha: Amar Chitra Katha comics

I discovered while on vacation at my parents’ place that they have some Amar Chitra Katha comics that I’ve either never read, or forgotten about. Hours of fun!

This one retells, in a somewhat scattered and hectic manner, the story of Rana Kumbha, the Rajput ruler of Mewar in the mid 1400s.

It begins with three treacherous officers plotting the assassination of Kubha’s father.

Traitor # 1: “The Rana has insulted us. Some time ago, in the presence of all the chiefs, he pointed to a tree and asked me what it was called.”

Traitor # 2: “He wanted to remind us that our grandfather was a carpenter.”

In the next 18 pages, traitors attack, Kumbha’s step-mother grabs a sword and fights to the death, his father is also killed, he escapes, there is a thrilling horseback chase, another king flings his turban on the ground and vows to wear only a simple head-dress “till this foul deed is avenged” (I could not for the life of me see a difference between the turban (pugri) and head-dress (phenta) as drawn), a lioness attacks, a sneak attack on a fort is nearly foiled when the drummer trips and drops his drum, a traitor is killed in his tent (“Yes! I am here to avenge the murder of Rana Mokal.” “Aargh!”), another traitor disguises himself as a woman to escape and then leaps from a very high cliff while riding a horse, and there’s a huge battle.

As I said… in 18 pages! If you have never read Amar Chitra Katha comics, you are really missing out. They are very easily and inexpensively available from their website.

The rest of the story, despite several more battles is a bit anti-climactic. Especially when after multiple dramatic vows to not rest until the final traitor is brought to justice, his fate is revealed in a footnote saying, “Years later, Mahpa sought and obtained Kumbha’s pardon.” Also, Kumbha has no personality. But the very eventful first half makes it all worthwhile.

Script by Jagjit Uppal. Art by H. S. Chavan & Dilip Kadam