Madhushree Ghosh is the author of “Safar.” The book follows the four waves of South Asian immigration to the American West.
It also explores how food traveled with those communities, along with her own journey to the U.S.
Ghosh said she came to the U.S. 30 years ago. She said homesickness from New Delhi inspired her to write about food.
“More than the smell, it's a noise. And there's chaos there,” Ghosh said. “It's a vibe, which is why I think this represents home to me.”
Growing up, her father taught her how to knock on fruit to choose the ripest one. Her mother made masala chai and sweets every day at 4 p.m. Ghosh said many of her stories led back to those memories.
“It always had to do with my childhood. It had to do with how I was growing up or the horrendously awful food that I used to make when I came here for grad school, because I didn't know how to cook," she said. "And then going back home and asking my mother how to h operate a pressure cooker so I could make some dal.”
As she pursued her education in America, Ghosh said she learned more about different aspects of her culture and the struggles tied to immigration in her community.
“The book came about because I started asking myself, like, what do these waves mean?," she said. "And these waves have to do with the laws that this country changed whenever they wanted to. It's happening now.“
Gosh said she also wants people to think more deeply about where their food comes from and the journey it took to reach the dinner table.
“It's easy to laugh at a child when the child says a chicken breast comes from the grocery store. But you have to ask yourself, why does the child think that?” she said. “It’s because you don't know where it came from or you never taught this child that. Respect the farmer who grew it, respect the earth that sustained it.”
Through her writing and conversations with others over the years, Ghosh created a supper club called Khabaar Co. Over dinner, guests talk with changemakers, such as food activists, chefs and writers. She said sharing a meal can open people to new perspectives.
“How do you talk about food enough for somebody to be interested in a culture that they have absolutely no clue (about) and, in fact, they had no interest in before this.”
Ghosh found that food can create conversations around difficult histories, such as colonization, but it can also uplift communities.
“So it's very important for me to tell that story, but when you talk about food, you're also talking about comfort, you're talking about longing and you're talking about belonging,” she said.
There is an abundance of recipes scattered throughout the book, teaching readers how to cook things like Desi tacos, various curries and rotis, all of which connect back to the waves of South Asian immigration
Ghosh said whether readers take away history or recipes from the book, she wants them to connect with her and with the people around them.
“I hope people go back and look at ‘Safar’ and find my journey to be similar to theirs, the questions that they've had about their identity similar to mine.”
The official book release event is June 11 at 6 p.m. at Library Shop in Mission Hills.
