In this extraordinary book, Nandita Haksar recounts her culinary journey in search of answers to the fundamental questions posed by the recent controversies over food what can we eat, who can we eat with, what foods are forbidden or denigrated and what this says about our country. In this memoir by an unashamed Indian, Haksar writes about how food shaped her awareness of politics, patriarchy, nationalism and socialism, from her childhood during the Nehruvian era onwards. She takes us on a thoughtful journey through India, from her Kashmiri Pandit family settled in Old Delhi and Lucknow, to human-rights activism on behalf of Nagas in Manipur; from grappling with feminist ideals, to considering the impact of a globalized food industry in Goa.
On a wider scale, she explains how our tastes and attitudes to food are shaped by caste, race, gender and class, exposing latent prejudices and bigotry. Haksar explores questions posed by food anthropologists and ecologists and revisits debates between Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi on inter-dining. She also addresses the present controversies over beef-eating, vegetarianism and ideas of Hindu vs. Muslim food, in a milieu where debate is silenced.

With wry accounts of sharing meals with Burmese and Iraqi refugees and arguing about bourgeois vs. proletarian tea in the Naxalite movement, the book also contains memorable recipes from the many people she has eaten with. At heart is her question that if Indians cannot imagine sitting with each other and sharing food with a sense of equality and respect, how then can a national unity be built?

Review

‘Highly readable, Flavours of Nationalism holds a mirror to society with pretences of liberalism.’—The Tribune

‘Nandita Haksar’s book deftly tackles how food practices and taboos sustain cultural and national identities… It is an amazing travelogue through time, which simultaneously and seamlessly is personal, cultural, and political.’—The Hindu BusinessLine

‘The Flavours of Nationalism looks at norms related to caste, class, gender, and religion in India through its varied yet unique culinary cultures that reflect in the personal as well as the political spheres and give the nation a distinctive taste… It is a memoir which deserves to be read.’—Daily Pioneer

' In a society where dietary preferences are being scrutinised by self-styled guardians and protectors of tradition, Haksar’s book makes for illuminating reading. An exploration of the deep-rooted connection between society and food, it is also an important reminder that not all is well with modern-day India.’—Hindustan Times