Interview: Natasha Sharma - “Above all, my childhood memories are about food”
The award-winning author’s latest children’s book, Biji’s in the Kitchen is an unconventional story about a motorcycling Punjabi grandmother
Biji is a lot like our own grandmothers and yet she is not. She’s free-spirited and cool, rides a bike but is not so great in the kitchen. Tell us a little about your own Biji who inspired this book.
When my paternal grandmother, my dadi, would go into the kitchen to cook something, I wanted to run a mile! While her culinary skills left much to be desired, her constant endeavour to create a delicacy each time she picked up a ladle was matched with boundless enthusiasm. Her spirit of always experimenting within and outside the kitchen and breaking stereotypes is what I have tried to capture in Biji’s in the Kitchen. She was the style icon in her family, knew how to drive a jeep and a motorbike, finished her graduation alongside my father and practised her English writing skills with me. She led by example, showing me that we have the ability to do whatever we set our minds to, while also treasuring simpler moments of shared fun and uproarious laughter. My hope is to share her joie de vivre with a child reading the story.
The book gives readers a peek into Amritsar’s local food culture. Tell us about growing up in the city.
Amritsar is a haven for food and I am often sending out my “Insider’s Ready Reckoner” on where to eat in the city, what to buy, where to visit and what to carry back! Growing up in a small town lent itself to languid weekend afternoons and a pace of life when I did many things but there was always time to curl up with a book or to assist the gardener in mowing the lawn. I am sure I got bored but I never recall being at a loss for things to do. Boredom begot creativity in the absence of gadgets. Every evening was spent outdoors, playing with the neighbourhood children. I was either on my cycle, playing hopscotch, four corners or any of the games we cooked up.
Above all, my childhood memories are about food. All Ambarsaris have their favourite dishes and special places to get them. Hot summer afternoons are linked to slurping barf ka golas (ice lollies). As the season turned, sour savoury dumplings – khatte ladoo on the streets, roasted sweet potatoes and water chestnuts, jaggery halwa and piping hot puri aloo – became the focus of breakfast conversations and evening tea parties. Towering glasses of lassi in the summer jostle with jalebis, tandoori chicken and channa kulchas any time of the year. I suspect the story will lead to a few hunger pangs and perhaps a visit to Amritsar!
The Partition narrative in the book is an important one and you touch on it very subtly. What do you think is the best way to introduce today’s children to the story of Partition?
Our generation grew up with grandparents, many of whom had lived through the independence struggle and we heard first-hand narratives of it. As generations pass, books become critical in carrying stories, whether they are real or fictionalized accounts, and encourage children to read about and discuss this further. In Biji’s in the Kitchen, when I refer to Biji dreaming of food combinations while on a hunger strike to protest non-violently for independent rule, I hope it will open a space for questions and conversations.
Children these days don’t seem very attached to their grandparents. They’d rather have a gadget to rely on. Parenting styles have also changed, thanks to nuclear families. The bond that earlier generations shared with their grandmothers no longer seems to exist. What do you think about this?
Nothing and no one can replace the love a grandparent showers on a grandchild. It truly is a special bond. It is, of course, harder when grandparents do not reside in the same city but effort with logistical planning on all sides to visit allows for the connection to grow and keeps that bond strong. My children have both sets of grandparents living away, but we meet at frequent intervals and gadgets provide the ability to connect over video calls, reducing that distance. They have special rituals every time they meet – favourite activities, games, and stories they have wanted to hear multiple times over.
What has stayed with me from my time with my grandparents are the quiet, easy moments, and the reader will find those in the book and perhaps reflect on their own. From sitting together and eating strange food combinations to sifting through my grandmother’s dressing table drawer, a space of wonder with chance discoveries of candy – it was truly magical.
Nostalgia and memories are a big theme in the book. Mango mood and Swad, jalebis in hot milk, chutney on toast, etc – these are things that we grew up eating. Do they resonate with the children of today?
A few of those food combinations hold strong in my home even today, passed down as a matter of legend or woven into the fabric of stories we have shared of our childhood hunger pangs or food pairings we created on school trips. My children have, however, been resolute in their refusal to try my childhood concoction – toast with jam and ketchup. That apart, children seem to have a natural affinity for weird combinations and my daughter would claim that Schezwan sauce goes with everything!
Some of the references from nostalgia, especially the candy, were the result of the illustrator and I have a lot of fun with this story. I hope that energy comes through on the page. Pulse candy might be the choice today and chutney on toast might take on another form, but we all create our rituals and have our comfort foods and I hope to hear all about theirs from the children of today.
Arunima Mazumdar is an independent writer. She is @sermoninstone on Twitter and @sermonsinstone on Instagram.
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