Happy 75th Independence Day, Ancient Modern India!

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Celebrating Indian Independence Day when on August 15, 1947 the United kingdom proclaimed the Indian Independence Act and the country began its transition into a republic (January 1950).

Independence came with partition along religious lines when British India was divided into the Dominions of India and Pakistan. 

There is could be no more fascinating story of colonial rule and obsession than this one.

For how this played out in the culinary world, in which the British fell in love with the country and the cuisine and blended it into their own, please see our article in //localfoodeater.com/bombay-bugle-brings-first-anglo-indian-cafe-in-la/

Thank you, many decades worth over, for the sheer enjoyment of films I see over and over.  

And for the life-changing spiritual and health practices even if I never made the connection to their origin and couldn’t identify Indian food if it was in front of me then.  How wonderful to have discovered the best of the foods, especially southern Indian food, now!

 I magically found out about yoga by way of a Sunday newspaper magazine and  still use the book (see it here).  From the first time I tried yoga, it was as though I had been doing it all my life (or lifetimes!)

The music!  My super-athlete dad, a major figure skating and ski film fan, took me to see Ravi Shankar concerts. 

More recently my favorite guided evening and nightly meditation are from Heartfulness in India.  And I always get such a kick out of the British expressions used in them.

And  film.  I’ve probably sat through days at a time of the APU trilogy (7 hours with the director’s bio) and seen every Merchant Ivory film  Thank you @TableConversation for the congenial, sophisticated  cookbook by Merchant.

 
And yes, the controversial Jinnah film is a recent find. It gives more insight and depth to both sides.   I was sad to learn his daughter Dina, just passed away at the age of 98.  I had dreams

Watch the TCM schedule for an airing of it and the sweeping David Lean film, Gandhi. The Jinnah film was not allowed on screen in India for some time because of the British lead actor.

Thank you, many decades worth over, for such beautifully designed and crafted fabric (shown here in the clothes I sewed). The cloth industry in Bengali once accounted for 12% of all cloth internationally! (For my other silhouette “loves” of the “Nehru” tunic and jodhpurs, please see //www.gentlemansgazette.com/jodhpurs-guide-pants-history-style-where-to-buy/and //www.utsavpedia.com/ethnic-innovations/nehru-jacket-where-tradition-meets-fashion/

The skirt of “madras” fabric was worn by an unknowing Beverly Hills fashionista), meticulously made as always in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. 

Madras cloth is named for the region that made it famous. Bermuda shorts made madras internationally fashionable at about the time of Independence and they are to this day, like jodhpurs! Both tell the story of class and creativity in colonial India.

The story: official Madras plaid, per the U.S. Federal Trade Commission must be made in Chennai (formerly Madraspatnam or Madras. The name was first used by a shirt maker in 1844 to describe the fabric that had been in use already for 5,000 years in its home country of India, known as a humble fabric used for laboring class clothing or pajamas. There is it often looked down upon as a reminder of slavery and oppression to some, yet a symbol of affluence to others in power. You only need to know that “The plaid was so valued that it became possible to trade the fabric for slaves.” For the full story please see//petermanningnyc.com/blogs/news/guide-to-madras-plaid

These days the region named Chennai is as well loved for its the wildly long dosas and other regional dishes!  Read about the delicious dishes you can try at Annapurna Restaurant in //localfoodeater.com/tag/annapurna-culver-city/

ttps://localfoodeater.com/tag/annapurna-culver-city/

And finally, the people, the links that spark vitality and inspiration into the bridge between cultures. Here are only a few of them from the past seven years.