“I have a problem — one that makes me pay, one that often makes the security check personnel at the airports suspicious of me. I am often pulled to the side and taken to a different room, where the only other people are new parents carrying the limited food their baby eats. This time, it happened at the Frankfurt airport; I translated the stranger-couple’s chuckle and concluded what they were thinking: “Why does a girl need a tube of tomato paste?” Or, well, they thought nothing at all, their hands overflowing with small yogurt cups. An agent slowly wiped a small, white, adhesive cloth-like thing over the tube to detect particles or residue of things… Well, the tomato paste was harmless. Or so I thought.”
🔗 Link in bio
For our forthcoming issue, we’re inviting perspectives, narratives, arguments, and musings that challenge and test the idea of hyperlocal through the prism of nature (and how it nurtures produce), climate change, culture, global trade and commerce, biodiversity, diets, diversity, folklores, and importantly from the nuanced, lived-in slant of people and their habits.
We’re seeking pitches for the fourth issue of dhoop and looking to commission a wide range — from longform feature stories and uniquely opinionated pieces to shorter dispatches that ask critical questions around the theme of hyperlocal, and attempt to answer, at least some of it.
We are accepting pitches till 8th March.
On chilly winter mornings, rows of delicate purple flowers line the fields of Pampore, near Srinagar, where farmers weed out the flowers with orange pistils the world knows and loves as saffron. The spice, highly regarded for its labour-intensive harvesting process, unique depth, and rich history grows only in specific high-altitude areas of Kashmir and comes with a Geographical Indication tag. It also carries the badge of being a quintessential, local ‘Indian’ gem that is exported the world over, but dig a little deeper and you’ll see, saffron — with an origin story that traces back to the Mediterranean — is not even native to India.
If origin doesn’t make something truly hyperlocal, what does? Could it be the destination? Indigenisation? Re-territorialisation? Or, Naturalisation? Is local something you are born with, or is it something you simply become?
From avocado toasts becoming as commonplace as baingan and the deep embedding of tomatoes into Indian cuisine, where our kitchens are unimaginable without it to imported, speciality products weaselling their way into our grocery lists — ‘hyperlocal’ takes on a new meaning in the age of ready-to-eat meals, girl dinner, and air-fried everything. As diets homogenize, food is becoming more universal than unique. Then, what is the relationship between hyperlocal and the human?
For our forthcoming issue, we’re inviting perspectives, narratives, arguments, and musings that challenge and test the idea of hyperlocal through the prism of nature (and how it nurtures produce), climate change, culture, global trade and commerce, biodiversity, diets, diversity, folklores, and importantly from the nuanced, lived-in slant of people and their habits.
We’re seeking pitches for the fourth issue of dhoop and looking to commission a wide range — from longform feature stories and uniquely opinionated pieces to shorter dispatches that ask critical questions around the theme of hyperlocal, and attempt to answer, at least some of it.
Send us your pitches!
#dhoop
“When people move from one place to another, they carry a palette, if not specific ingredients. This palette compels craving, a taste of home, an embodied taste. As cuisine is influenced by the movement of people, it is also directly influenced by climate. Local cuisines are specific to the climate of a place, hence, they become an extension of terroir. But what is terroir when the climate is constantly changing? How can we imagine what’s local when what’s currently growing in a place, might not grow in the near future? For example, “In Maharashtra, farmers in drought-prone regions have shifted to pomegranates from grapes due to falling ground water levels, along with increasing input costs or In south Gujarat, many farmers have shifted to aquaculture. They used to grow paddy and other crops, saltwater ingress in fertile soil made it impossible for them to continue.” The practice of taking action in response to actual or expected climate change and its effects is called Transformative adaptation. When food of a place needs to evolve with the constantly changing climate, what does place of origin even mean? Then adapting to the changing environment, migration, and newer foodways is resilience.
The Ramgarh lake has been non-existent since 2000. There are no lores connecting the digestion to this man-made lake-water now. We evolved and moved on, but we are still finding ways to revive the lake - maybe because there’s some truth to this belief.
We still eat kachoris, equally fearlessly. The last one I had was a rather fancy kachori at The Johri, paired with a glass of a crisp white wine from Italy.”
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An informal, casual, get-together where you can have fun and chat about food, systems and everything around it. So many of us are doing valuable things in our own silos, and missing out on the nuance and richness that comes from collaboration and talking to each other. Maybe you’ll find something that sparks your interest or you’ll just have a great evening with like-minded people.
Join the table of industry folks and enthusiasts, catch up, pass the salt, and hang out over good drinks.
Venue: @wineyard.goa at @sadhana_dell_arte
RSVP on Urbanaut
LINK IN BIO 🔗
This tote fits everything under the sun ☀️
This bag is a limited edition experiment — created with felt, canvas, colours and text. We want to make going to sabzi mandis cool again!
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The bag is crafted from a sturdy 528 GSM canvas, giving it both form and durability. Each side features a pan and pakkad, cut from coloured felt fabric. These elements extend beyond flat surface, and have a three-dimensional tactility. The handle carries the visual language we developed for the third issue of dhoop—a continuation of the theme. It has two pockets (yay), one of them has a zip for all the important stuff.
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Washing machine friendly.
This tote can fit everything under the ☀️
Dropping sooooon!
We want to make going to sabzi mandis cool again!
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#somedhoopforyou #totebags #madeinindia #designedinindia
