Beyond Momos: Imaginary Homelands and Tibetan Food in India Bad Table Manners

Beginning with a brief history of Tibetans in exile, this episode explores how food can create imaginary homelands, even if it means that authenticity itself needs to be invented and reinvented. Three Tibetans in the diaspora, Jamyang Phuntsok, Tencho Gyatso, and Nima Dorjee, are the guests on this episode. Through conversations that range from personal histories to current food interests, we will talk about gastronomy and memory, tsampa as a potential political tool, and what role food can play for a community in exile.
Topics covered in this episode:

Min 0:00: The idea of home as connected to food
Min 1:42: Meet Jamyang Phuntsok
Min 1:58: Meet Tencho Gyatso
Min 2:40: Meet Nima Dorjee
Min 4:34: An overview of Tibetan food in India
Min 6:30: The popularization and adaptation of momos
Min 10:09: Politics of tsampa
Min 16:32: On authenticity in the context of exile
Min 21:05: Chinese influence in Tibetan food
Min 23:01: Food and solidarity

Learn more about this episode of Bad Table Manners at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at WhetstoneRadio.
Guests: Jamyang Phuntsok (@jongtrukh), Tencho Gyatso (@simplytibetan), Nima Dorjee
Ethereal Relaxation by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/8719-ethereal-relaxation
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license