Food In Our Lives & Mallika-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak Hai

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives.”
- Oscar Wilde
Good food does that and more. We talk about food in this episode – its salience in our celebrations, its magic in evoking memories, being a marker of our identity, in experiencing the divine and as an expression of love. There’s no stopping our appetite to talk about food. From Gandhi’s letters and Vivekananda’s wanderings to Naipaul’s distaste and Rushdie’s memories, in the chaats of Assi Ghaat, the mahaprasad of Puri, in films like The Lunchbox and Maya Bazaar – food is everywhere in our culture.
We serve up a platter that should sate you.
In Spotlight, we talk about life and times of Begum Akhtar. From the penury of a childhood spent in Faizabad to being the toast of musical soirées across India, Begum’s trailblazing career gave dignity and respect to light classical singing forms like dadra, thumri and ghazal. The strong classical roots of her gayaki combined with an easy, assured style and an arresting stage presence made Begum a cultural phenomenon of post-independent India. A Begum Akhtar disc playing in the living room reflected a refined taste. We pay our tribute to the tour de force that was Begum Akhtar.
Plus, our usual discussion on what we are reading, listening and watching.    
 
Episode Highlights:
00:00 to 25:00 – Introduction, Food in Culture, Celebration of Food, Onam Sadhya, Bhojohari Manna 25:00 to 45:00 – Food as Memory, Midnight’s Children, Guide, Bawarchi, Maacher Jhol and Caribbean Chutney Song 45:00 to 65:00 – Divinity of Food, Food in Puri, Udupi, Kashi, Chaat, Malaiyo, Karejwa, 65:00 to 100:00 – Food as Identity, Gandhi and Garlic, Veg/Non-Veg divide, Premchand’s Pandit Moteram Ki Diary, the great Rosogolla debate, The Mistress of Spices, Golmaal, Mithun’s Rice Plate and Halwa-waala 100:00 to 120:00 – Food as an Expression Love, A Love Supreme, The Abundance, The Lunchbox, Aamish, Ganashatru, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Juice, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye 120:00 to 145:00 – Introduction to Begum Akhtar, What Makes Her Unique, Early Life, Ghazals 145:00 to 174:00 – Post independence Fame, Singing the Great Poets (Ghalib, Momin, Faiz, Kaifi, Shakeel), Thumris and Folk Songs, Disciples and Legacy 174:00 to 180:00 – Recommendations  
*अन्न ही जीवन है और जीने का मुख्य आधार है*

हजारों साल पहले लिखे गए उपनिषदों में वर्णित यह ब्रह्म वाक्य, अनेक युगों का साक्षी होते हुए, आज भी एक शाश्वत सत्य की तरह हमारे साथ हैं।  सदियां बीत गईं, पीढ़ियां आई-गईं, दौर बदलते गए लेकिन हमारा आहार हमारी जिंदगी का मुख्य आधार बना रहा।

इस बार के एपिसोड में बात हमारे आहार पर, कि कैसे हमारे पॉपुलर कल्चर ने अन्न और आहार की महत्ता को दर्ज किया है। रामायण और महाभारत के काल से होते हुए आज के दौर तक हमारे साहित्य सिनेमा और संगीत के जरिए खाने खिलाने की बातें

हमारे उत्सव-त्योहारों में, त्रासदियों में, समाज को जोड़ने और तोड़ने में और हम सबकी रोजमर्रा की जिंदगी में, पॉपुलर कल्चर के संदर्भो के बहाने आहार पर एक