{"product_id":"culinary-culture-in-colonial-india-a-cosmopolitan-platter-and-the-middle-class-hardback-9781107042810","title":"Culinary Culture in Colonial India; A Cosmopolitan Platter and the Middle-Class (Hardback) 9781107042810","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eCulinary Culture in Colonial India\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Cosmopolitan Platter and the Middle-Class\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis book discusses cuisine to understand the construction of the colonial middle class in Bengal, India.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eUtsa Ray (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781107042810, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 5 January 2015\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e280 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.8 x 16.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.6 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThis book utilizes cuisine to understand the construction of the colonial middle class in Bengal who indigenized new culinary experiences as a result of colonial modernity. This process of indigenization developed certain social practices, including imagination of the act of cooking as a classic feminine act and the domestic kitchen as a sacred space. The process of indigenization was an aesthetic choice that was imbricated in the upper caste and patriarchal agenda of the middle-class social reform. However, in these acts of imagination, there were important elements of continuity from the pre-colonial times. The book establishes the fact that Bengali cuisine cannot be labeled as indigenist although it never became widely commercialized. The point was to cosmopolitanize the domestic and yet keep its tag of 'Bengaliness'. The resultant cuisine was hybrid, in many senses like its makers.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eList of images, maps and tables\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 1. Introducing 'foreign' food: changes in the gastronomic culture of colonial Bengal\u003cbr\u003e 2. The cosmopolitan and the regional: understanding Bengali cuisine\u003cbr\u003e 3. Aestheticizing labor? An affective discourse of cooking in colonial Bengal\u003cbr\u003e 4. Constructing 'Bengali' cuisine caste: class and communal negotiations\u003cbr\u003e 5. Fashioning the 'Bengali' middle class: dilemma of the regional and the subregional\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e About the author.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Social \u0026amp; cultural history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Social \u0026amp; cultural history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Social%20\u0026amp;%20cultural%20history%20%5BHBTB%5D%22\"\u003eHBTB\u003c\/a\u003e], Asian history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Asian history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Asian%20history%20%5BHBJF%5D%22\"\u003eHBJF\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45913221628184,"sku":"9781107042810","price":52.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9781107042810i_5104d64d-1a69-42ff-9805-e5cfa61ac23d.jpg?v=1691361559","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/culinary-culture-in-colonial-india-a-cosmopolitan-platter-and-the-middle-class-hardback-9781107042810","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}