https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i3.086
Curating the Mango in Cultural Space: The Indian Spectrum
ANANYA JODHA
Research Scholar
Department of English
Central University of Rajasthan, India
ananyajodha@gmail.com
DR. BHUMIKA SHARMA
Associate Professor
Department of English
Central University of Rajasthan, India
sharmabhumika@curaj.ac.in
Abstract: Food, culture and space possess close bearings to one another as food is produced, consumed and symbolically packaged within a specific cultural and spatial context. The nature of this interconnectedness makes possible the demonstration of how people perceive, live, experience and make sense of reality. Food within the realm of culture exceeds its utility as a simple product for nourishment; it becomes a symbol of identity, tradition, etiquette, hospitality and affordability; food becomes literally consumable, symbolic and politicised. Culture, with food as its crucial aspect, emerges out of a space; space acts as the apparatus through which and within which all cultural phenomenon take shape. The paper aims to explore the cultural spaces of India, with mangoes as its central component of analysis. It aims to explore the mango-centred spectrum of culture through an in-depth dissection of India’s urban and rural spaces. Within the context of urban spaces, the International Mango Festival 2025 held in Delhi is taken into account. Within the rural spatial context, R.K. Narayan’s fictional rustic village of Malgudi becomes the point of exploration. The theoretical framework of the paper constitutes of food studies, cultural studies, literary spatiality, Edward Soja’s Thirdspace theory and Jean Baudrillard’s concept of Hyperreality and Simulation. The paper establishes the relevance of mangoes as a food/fruit that exceeds beyond a savoury delight and translates into a symbol and becomes politicised. Moreover, it establishes the role of space in the meaning-making process of the human mind, induced by material reality and subjective psychological perceptivity.
Keywords: Food Studies, Spatiality, Cultural Studies, Identity, Urban and Rural Landscapes
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