As a native Konkani speaker married to a Malayali, the cross cultural element hit home. Our story is a little different, since the core ingredients are similar, and ours is more of a nuclear setup, we have a fair share of both cuisines in the house. My wife's copy of the Rasachandrika occupies prime spot in our cabinet :-)
Couple of other points - if Karnataka and Maharashtra have soft cultures (I'd say "malleable"), then Konkani could be called a "solute" culture. It dissolves into whatever is the dominant culture of the land (or house). The most famous Konkani speakers of the world, especially in the literary and arts world, are all famous in a language other than theirs. You'll rarely find a Konkani speaker who's first language is Konkani. We don't have our script, or our own literature. So some of this is probably self inflicted.
Second, because Konkani culture (especially the GSB /CSB one that I'm more familiar with) is so soluble, it retains the charm. A forcing of any sort now would be antithetical to what this stands for. There are so many Konkani identities to begin with, that any one identity will be an inaccurate representation. In that sense, it's probably the most suitable culture for the integrated 21st century, where one can have a public persona and a private, more personal one.
PS: The "hagalakaayi gojju" also triggered an anecdote of an aunt from Bankikodla, married to Mumbai asking a vegetable vendor for "paach rupayachi hagalakaayi" and the vendor replying "tumhi paach rupaye dya, kiti pan hagun deto"
I feel the same way about family recipes. There are so many unique dishes that every family has passed on through generations which is usually a concoction of influences from various places the family has lived in, and they end up getting lost at some point 😢
Definitely. My mom used to have a small handwritten notebook of her mother's recipes. There was stuff in it that I had no idea existed in the old-Mysore region. She used to prepare them once in a while. I remember a dish called "Carrot Karjikaayi." which was like a bona with a carrot-coconut stuffing. Yum!
Lovely post!
As a native Konkani speaker married to a Malayali, the cross cultural element hit home. Our story is a little different, since the core ingredients are similar, and ours is more of a nuclear setup, we have a fair share of both cuisines in the house. My wife's copy of the Rasachandrika occupies prime spot in our cabinet :-)
Couple of other points - if Karnataka and Maharashtra have soft cultures (I'd say "malleable"), then Konkani could be called a "solute" culture. It dissolves into whatever is the dominant culture of the land (or house). The most famous Konkani speakers of the world, especially in the literary and arts world, are all famous in a language other than theirs. You'll rarely find a Konkani speaker who's first language is Konkani. We don't have our script, or our own literature. So some of this is probably self inflicted.
Second, because Konkani culture (especially the GSB /CSB one that I'm more familiar with) is so soluble, it retains the charm. A forcing of any sort now would be antithetical to what this stands for. There are so many Konkani identities to begin with, that any one identity will be an inaccurate representation. In that sense, it's probably the most suitable culture for the integrated 21st century, where one can have a public persona and a private, more personal one.
PS: The "hagalakaayi gojju" also triggered an anecdote of an aunt from Bankikodla, married to Mumbai asking a vegetable vendor for "paach rupayachi hagalakaayi" and the vendor replying "tumhi paach rupaye dya, kiti pan hagun deto"
Edited to add Chitrapur Saraswat. I was just thinking of South Kanara - my blind spot. Thanks!
Yeah. I figured that's what you meant, but if I went to battle on that point, I thought I would be diluting my main point :-)
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Wonderful observation.
LOL at the last para. :)
I feel the same way about family recipes. There are so many unique dishes that every family has passed on through generations which is usually a concoction of influences from various places the family has lived in, and they end up getting lost at some point 😢
Definitely. My mom used to have a small handwritten notebook of her mother's recipes. There was stuff in it that I had no idea existed in the old-Mysore region. She used to prepare them once in a while. I remember a dish called "Carrot Karjikaayi." which was like a bona with a carrot-coconut stuffing. Yum!
Ooo sounds delicious. Do share the recipe if you have it. Would love to try it ☺️
Alas, I don't have it and my mother is no more. I wonder what happened to the book. Likely lost when we sold the house.
Sigh!
Enjoyed this post very much, Arun! Among other things, it brought back that epic scene from Ratatouille. And Billy Collins is simply the best! :)
Thank you so much, Vaishnavi.
Billy Collins is always a delight, isn't he? Such easy-to-understand/accessible poetry, but has so much heart and so profound.
Enjoyed this post very much, Arun! Among other things, it brought back that epic scene from Ratatouille. And Billy Collins is simply the best. :)