Dr. Sriparna Chatterjee
Volume-XII, Issue-II, January 2024
Volume-XII, Issue-II, January 2024 | ||
Published Online: 31.01.2024 | Page No: 276-282 | |||
Culinary Culture and
Identity of a Place: Socio-Political Analysis of Street Foods of Kolkata
Dr. Sriparna Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, Department of Political
Science, Matiaburj College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India | |
India cherishes a great tradition of foods and has remained a destination of culinary delights for food lovers across the world. Street food carries an important connotation, especially in the urban context. From creating job openings for thousands to endorsing and retaining the popular culture of an area - it decorates the urban canvas with numerous colours. Primarily the street food business was meant for the marginalized and socio-economically backward classes and their target customers too belonged to the lower strata of society, Over time the street food business has become a popular one attracting both vendors and customers from different layers of society blurring the class division. With the advent of globalization, the street food business has received a new zeal and the Government is also taking the initiative for its promotion and betterment. The paper will attempt to explore the nexus between culture and street food and try to reveal how significant role street food business is playing in glorifying the popular culture, heritage and identity of a place. An attempt to scrutinize the impact of globalization and global culture on the exclusive character of street food will also be made. The idea of city space, the responsibility of authorities, and the policies and programmes spinning around street food will be another vital sector of investigation. City Kolkata is the area of the case study to evaluate the hypotheses and look for coherent decisions. | |
Keywords: Street foods, Gastronomic tourism, Popular culture, Identity, Policy, Globalization. | |