Migration, memory and the making of flavours
How do flavours travel across borders? What happens to recipes when communities migrate and adapt to new landscapes? These were some of the questions explored at Crossing Borders / Sharing Flavours, a talk presented by the Kolkata Centre for Creativity featuring food anthropologists Amit Sen and che
By Sundas Jawed
How do flavours travel across borders? What happens to recipes when communities migrate and adapt to new landscapes? These were some of the questions explored at Crossing Borders / Sharing Flavours, a talk presented by the Kolkata Centre for Creativity featuring food anthropologists Amit Sen and chef-researcher Amrita Bhattacharya.
Blending anthropology, culinary history and lived experiences, the series examined food as a cultural archive shaped by migration, trade, colonial encounters and memory.
From the culinary journeys of the Bengali diaspora in the Andaman Islands, Myanmar and the UK to changing food histories within Bengal itself, the sessions traced how dishes evolve with people, revealing the ways in which tastes, techniques and traditions transcend geographical boundaries. ‘Borders rarely stop flavours from travelling’ “People migrate, but flavours migrate with them,” Bhattacharya observed. “Food is often the first thing communities hold on to when everything else around them changes.” Reflecting on the resilience of culinary traditions, she noted, “Recipes are never frozen in time; they evolve with every journey.” Amit Sen added that migration is “not just about the movement of people, but also about the movement of tastes, memories and techniques.” The duo emphasized that adaptation lay at the heart of the diasporic experience. “Diasporic cuisine is not only about losing authenticity, but about creating new meanings while staying connected to one's roots,” they said.
When people migrate, it is not just ingredients that travel with them; the ideas and cultural practices associated with food migrate as well.
Concepts such as eating a particular shaak during a specific season, or pairing certain vegetables together, are carried across borders and passed down through generations.
These traditions evolve in new environments, but they continue to preserve memories of home — Chef Amrita Bhattacharya Who buys the groceries controls the cuisine The politics of food within a household often begins not in the kitchen, but at the grocery store.
As was discussed during the session, the person who decides what ingredients enter the home frequently exerts a subtle but significant influence over what eventually appears on the dining table. “Whoever buys the groceries controls the cuisine,” the Amrita remarked, pointing to the power dynamics that shape everyday eating habits. “In families formed through migration or intercultural marriages, this can determine which culinary traditions are preserved and which gradually recede,” she added.
The act of going to the bazar, the speakers argued, is far from a mundane chore.
It often determines whose food memories and preferences acquire greater visibility within the household. “The person doing the shopping decides whether mustard oil or olive oil enters the pantry, which fish will be eaten, its way into the basket, and whether fish will be cooked in the style of one side of the family or the other.
Over time, these seemingly ordinary choices influence which dishes become part of everyday life and which are relegated to special occasions or disappear altogether,” Bhattachraya added. “In a multicultural household, the politics of the pantry can be as important as the politics of the table,” they noted.
Access to familiar ingredients, willingness to experiment and even the division of domestic labour all play a role in determining whose side of the family leaves the stronger imprint on the household palate. “The question of who goes to the market is often also the question of whose culinary heritage gets reproduced,” they observed.
How movement shapes memory and taste In contemporary India, migration continues to reshape culinary traditions in ways that are both visible and subtle.
From inter-state movement and international migration to intercultural marriages and climate-induced displacement, food remains one of the most enduring carriers of identity.
Inter-state migration, driven by education and employment, has transformed urban food cultures.
Cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad have become melting pots where migrants from across the country bring their regional tastes.
As a result, dishes once associated with specific states are increasingly becoming part of everyday life elsewhere, while ingredients and techniques travel with the people who use them.
Marriage migration, particularly in intercultural and inter-regional households, has created new culinary hybrids.
A Bengali-Malayali or Punjabi-Tamil household, for instance, often negotiates between different spice palettes, cooking oils and staple foods.
Over time, these domestic exchanges determine which traditions are retained, adapted or passed on to the next generation.
International migration has also given rise to diasporic cuisines.
Indians living abroad frequently recreate familiar dishes using locally available ingredients, producing variations that reflect both nostalgia and adaptation.
These influences often travel back to India, shaping contemporary tastes and dining trends.
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