Accelerated industrialisation, global trade, mass immigration, and modern education brought rapid changes to the foodscape of colonial Mumbai. A critical aspect of this foodscape was the inception and evolution of public eating places. The European ruling class and the Indian working and middle classes turned to public dining for pleasure and to satisfy their basic needs. Clubs, khanavals, taverns, European-style restaurants, and Maharashtrian upahargruhas provided meals to Bombay's growing urban population and travellers.At our Online Talk #EatingOut, research scientist and food historian Chinmay Damle examines the emergence and development of public eating places in colonial Mumbai focussing on the intimate links between urbanisation and the rise of the city’s khanavals and restaurants; the effect of caste, class, gender, race, nationality, and the notions of purity and pollution on the modern eateries; and the role played by these eateries in shaping the public culture of the growing metropolis.

About the speaker

Chinmay Damle studies the intersecting histories of food, agriculture, and communities in India when he is not working in a chemistry lab. He is especially interested in the food history and practices and their interactions with the social, cultural, political, and economic norms in modern Maharashtra. He was part of the team that republished the annotated version of the first Marathi cookbook, ‘Soopashastra.’ He has written a series of articles on the food history and culture of ancient and medieval India. He has been a regular columnist for Hindustan Times since December 2020, where he writes about the various aspects of food in colonial Pune.