Nostalgia and memories of one’s favourite foods are the most familiar indicators of the important role played by food in social relationships and identity politics. Craving for food, the rituals behind the procurement and preparation of food, and finally, the inner bliss attained at its consumption—this is the visible theme of Sir ka Saalan. Originally written in Telugu by Mohammed Khadirbabu, the book was translated from English to Hindi by Sushil Joshi and evocatively illustrated by Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh. It is part of a series titled Different Tales published by Eklavya Publications and Paraag, with Sushil Shukla as the Series Editor.
However, what does not catch the eye of the readers at first, but dawns in their minds later, is the fact that Sir ka Saalan is a different tale—a regional story that portrays the life of children from those marginalized groups of society that we do not frequently hear about. Set in Ongole in coastal Andhra Pradesh in India, the book opens with the child/narrator reminiscing how his grandfather, who would send fish through the sea-route to the city of Madras in the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu, was a sturdy man as he was raised on a staple non-vegetarian diet. The reader is subtly drawn, therefore, into the plot that centers around a unique dish, named Sir ka Saalan, which literally means the curry made out of a ram’s head.
The characters in this story are—the narrator, who is lured by his father to go and get the ram’s head in exchange for a movie ticket; his father, whose favourite dish is this ram’s head curry and at whose wish it is being prepared; the butcher, Mabasha, who is a goldsmith but who cuts and sells meat on Sundays to earn an extra buck; the unnamed couple who are the experts in diligently cleaning the chopped ram’s head by smoking it; the narrator’s aunt (mother’s sister) who is coaxed into coming over just because she is the in-house expert in breaking the skull and removing its brains, and the narrator’s mother, who is the reluctant cook of this ram’s head curry.
The beauty of this story, which revolves around the narrator’s childhood memory of the singular exercise of the cooking of the ram’s head curry is that it neither simply illuminates the relationship between food and nostalgia, nor is it just a tale of a family life and moments. Instead, it draws attention to the simple fact that in India, consumption of animal products represents an important cultural marker on which the entire Indian society is structured. The reality is that in many Dalit, minority, Muslim families in India, non-vegetarian food is central to their cuisine and despite their economic marginalization they pool in all resources and relationships within the community to bring it to their table daily.
This book is a poignant read in the context of all the politics on food choices that have recently added to the climate of intolerance in our country. It is a reminder that the poor and marginalized will always find their heaven in the act of togetherness when all family members sit around and share a hearty meal, like the narrator’s family does at the end of this story.
Priyanca Mathur is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Education (CERSSE), Jain University, Bangalore.
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