English

Winter is the time of abundant harvest in Sikkim. Rosy red radishes, pillowy cauliflowers, dewy looking cabbages, plump carrots beckon you at every vegetable stall. Most beloved of all are the leafy greens that are not just eaten fresh but preserved for the leaner months. Walk through any settlement in Sikkim during this season and you'll spot bamboo trays laid out in ... —Khushi Pradhan

Krishnamani would sit in the far-left corner of the covered porch of her modest one-room house, her gardening scythe resting beside her right thigh within reach. The curved iron blade and its wooden handle varnished by years of being held gave off a dull sheen in the light of the kerosene lamp. This was her spot in the house. After the day’s labors she would... —S. Satish Kumar

To all appearances, it seems that a monotony finds life within our ongoing civilisation. However, those who are in the business of people’s history know how amazing folkways are. They are full of turns and variations. And things like homes, umbrellas, and shirts, right down to entire kitchens, burst headlong into this tale of changes. Going beyond... —Amrita Bhattacharya

All eyes are on a big pot on an iron tripod over an open fire. When the lid rattles there is a collective gasp of admiration. Just then someone places a heavy stone on the lid and the rattling stops. ‘Go to sleep, move back.’ A mother’s voice or an aunt would try to shoo us away. At such times we held our breath. We hugged our knees... —Mamang Dai

I don’t remember eating the way some of us look at the plates these days. We calculate whether we’re consuming enough calories, fibre, healthy fats, or protein. A wave of protein consciousness has swept over many people on social media. Once seen as the fetish of bodybuilders, athletes, and the domain ... —Gopal MS

কনভিভিয়ালিটি। উৎস: ল্যাটিন শব্দ কনভিভিয়ের, যার অর্থ একসঙ্গে থাকা এবং খাওয়া। শব্দটি এখন প্রয়োগ করা হয় বন্ধুভাব, উৎসব, এবং প্রীতিকর সামাজিকতা বোঝাতে। একাধিক মানুষের সান্নিধ্যে আহার, অথবা কোন আনন্দ উৎসবে আহারের সান্নিধ্যে একাধিক মানুষের জমায়েত (শ্রাদ্ধনুষ্ঠান কে নিশ্চয়ই কনভিভিয়াল বলা যায় না, যায় কি?) একা একা খাওয়ার যে অভ্যাস, দায় পড়ে অথবা স্বেচ্ছায়, সেটাকে তাহলে কি ... —হিয়া চ্যাটার্জি

मिलनसारिता के लिए अंग्रेज़ी में शब्द है – कॉनविविएलिटी। यह लैटिन भाषा के ‘कॉनविविएिर’ शब्‍द से बना है, जिसका अर्थ होता है साथ रहना और साथ खाना। इस शब्द का अर्थ है मित्रता, उत्सवधर्मिता और सौहार्दपूर्ण सुखद सामाजिकता, जोकि भोजन के इर्द-गिर्द विकसित होती है। भोज, जिसमें लोग सम्मिलित होते हैं और लोग, जो किसी विशेष अवसर पर ... —हिया चैटर्जी

Conviviality. A word derived from Latin word conviviere, meaning to live together and eat together. The word, which has come to mean friendliness, festivities, and pleasant sociability, assumes the presence of food. Eating, which is accompanied by people, and people who are accompanied by food on ... —Hiya Chatterjee

My first memory of being hungry is connected to a road journey. Many years ago, when our Shillong-bound bus had stopped somewhere between the hills and the valley, before any designated stop, something unfolded before me. Beyond the regular stoppages, these buses often indulged in unannounced intermissions. As it was... —Suranjana Choudhury