Food & foodways

Āhāra explores what people grow, cook, share, offer and choose not to eat. What do our meals tell us about place, season and belonging?

Regional cuisines, agricultural calendars, festival foods and temple kitchens provide different starting points. Food also brings questions of identity, belief and exchange: there is no single diet that represents everyone in India.

Follow food and community through Samāja, ideas about fasting and non-violence through Darśana, and ingredients travelling between places through Pravāsa.

Reading food traditions

We make room for varied foodways, including meat, fish and plant foods, and for differences within communities. Dietary beliefs are described in their traditions’ terms, without presenting them as universal health advice. Survey claims need a named dataset and a clear definition; historical food practices are not medical prescriptions. See our approach to evidence and attribution.