Stories from around the dining table

CHENNAI: For author Malvika Singh, food is about the people, places, conversations and moments that stay with us long after a meal is over.

This forms the heart of Cooking for My Firefly, the second volume of her memoir trilogy, which will be explored at a reading session called ‘At the Table with Malvika Singh’, presented by Prakriti Foundation on September 15.

“Cooking for My Firefly is a memoir about how we grew up,” says Singh, recalling a time when eating together as a family was “sacrosanct”.

The dining table, she says, was the centre of the home, a place where people talked about world affairs, personal problems, celebrations and aspirations.

“We had extended family and friends dropping in and we had potlucks,” she recalls. Going to a restaurant was reserved for special occasions. “Those days, life had different priorities and it revolved around food, eating and drinking. There were exchanges, embraces and arguments, and you agreed to disagree. There was excitement all around, with ideas being exchanged and people coming together.”

That instinctive approach extends to her recipes. “The recipes are all based on instinct. I believe you cook because you want to cook, experiment and try something new. It’s like painting. I think cooking is instinct, imagination, flavour, texture, mood, memory, all these things put together,” she says.

Her memories range from simple meals of ‘dal, chawal, a sabzi and a fish or a meat or a chicken’ to tandoori chicken and Kali Dal at Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, or kebabs and jalebis around Jama Masjid. “And food, therefore, was comfort,” she says. “You gave a bit of yourself to whatever you made.”

Dedicated to her husband Tejbir Singh, or Jugnu, the “Firefly” of the title, the book also carries memories of their life together. Malvika recalls how he influenced the way she approached food and entertaining.

“You’re going to the kitchen and you make sure that every dish you put on the table has a different flavour, a different texture, something that sets it apart.” What began as an insistence on variety became an important part of how she approached a meal

But her memories extend beyond food. “I was very fortunate to live a life that encompassed almost all disciplines,” she says, recalling her engagement with film, theatre, craft, textiles and travel. She describes traditional skills as a form of “information technology” carried in people’s minds, warning that much of this knowledge is being forgotten.

Her own life, including her years as a journalist “always on the beat” and meeting people rather than sitting in an office, feeds into the memoirs she is creating for her grandchildren. “I want to share my life with my grandchildren,” she says. Ultimately, she adds, the books are about “memory, people, families, special recipes, imagination. It’s all of that. It’s about life.”

At the Table with Malvika Singh will be held on September 15 at Amethyst Cafe at 7 pm. Entry is free and RSVP is mandatory.