Oral Treasures Podcast Food Forward India

Mangoes play such an integral part of our lives. Starting as a food source, to religion, politics, art, colonialism, economics, international relations! You name it! We got to visit Sujatha Gardens, an urban farm/orchard, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, while on our rural escape research trip in February. Even though it wasn't mango season just as yet Rupam and Shashi filled us with many lovely facts and folktales and even the funniest stories of their monkey menace. We hope you enjoy this episode of stories, facts and mythology. 

Do you have a special personal story about the mango you would like to share? DM us on twitter or Instagram, send us audio notes! or you can even email us at info@foodforward.in

Many thanks to our contributors:

Rupam & Shashi Kumar of Sujatha Gardens, for taking us into their home and sharing with us insightful stories, ideas and delicious food.

Eileen Gordon, [& Tedx Napa] for sharing the snippet of her talk where she tells us how the mango came to inspire her to start dirt to dine adventure camps for kids. Eileen Gordon, CEO & founder of Barnraiser. Eileen has created and grown brands in tech, food, hospitality and media for over 2 decades, with her experience spanning icons such as Apple, where she drove market-defining educational curriculum, to multichannel lifestyle brand NapaStyle, and tech startups in education, knowledge networks, and financial services.

Dr Kurush Dalal, for the Akbar and Birbal story. Dr Dalal is an archaeologist, historian and food anthropologist.

Some References:


Mango: The National Fruit of India; The Heritage Lab India
In Myth and Literature, the Mango Remains King; New York Times
Handbook of Hindu Mythology
Mango - India’s Gift to the World! Live History India
How to read the Indian mango season
An informal network of grafting experts to help communities conserve and use wild pickle mango (Mangifera indica) diversity in the central Western Ghats region of Karnataka, India; Biodiversity International
A memory, a mango, and a mission | Eileen Gordon Chiarello | TEDxNapaValley

Audio Credits:

"Lotus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Indore by Kevin MacLeod
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4988-indore

If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please write to us at info@foodforward.in

Our first stop on our first rural escape in Telangana (in February 2020) was at the Peddamaduru a village in Devaruppula Mandal in Warangal District of Telangana State, India.   One of the communities in Peddamaduru is the Goud Community know for their toddy tapping. Toddy or palm wine locally known as kallu is an alcoholic beverage made from fermenting the sap of palm trees. Toddy is drunk as medicine, in celebrations, to honour guests and is a very important tradition and a way of life to the community here

Dr Sai Bhaskar Reddy Nakka, who was our introductory guide to the village, is an International Environment and Development professional. He is an ardent campaigner of 'Open Knowledge,' and he is against patenting technologies meant for the common people. One of the notable achievements is doing research and designing 50 'Good Stoves.' Another important area of contribution is on "Biochar" - using charcoal produced from biomass for good. Introduced Biochar for the first time in India, now being followed by communities, institutions as a means of soil management and sustainable agriculture.

Learn more about his work here. https://www.saibhaskar.com/

Many thanks to Sampath, Youth Leader, and the people of Peddamaduru for welcoming us into their homes, sharing with us their food and culture.

Like what you heard? Follow us for more stories on Instagram. 

Have something to share? Write to us at info@foodforward.in

Hi There!

Oral Treasures is a podcast series by Food Forward India, an initiative to discover and appreciate Indian food and food culture. In this trailer episode Chef Garima Arora, founder of Food Forward India and the first Indian women to have received a Michelin star walks us through what the future episodes will be like and how you can join us virtually on our adventures!

See you back soon, to uncover more oral treasures!

P.S. 

Curious to know more about Food Forward India?

Head over to our Instagram or read about us here in the news!

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Intro/Outro Music Credits:

"Lotus" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/