Pazhaiya Saatham: The Menu as Archive and a Culinary Memory

Abstract

The present paper examines how a dish called Pazhaiya Saatham that is included at a restaurant in Pondicherry acts as a site of culinary memory and cultural archive. By using the theory of Sasha Gora and Pierre Nora, the paper will analyse how the menu operates beyond the commercial purpose as a commodity to become a symbolic archive of food heritage. The findings of the study will suggest how the incorporation of Pazhaiya Saatham (which was once in everyday food practice) becomes a marker of our lost/forgotten heritage and culture and will recall the menu to recontextualize the lived memory within a culinary space. While many studies have been done on food as a cultural artefact, this study will demonstrate how a contemporary culinary space actively participates in shaping the culinary/cultural memory with a hands-on example.