Project Idea: Food

You will find all kinds of references to food in the epics (keep an eye out and jot down anything you notice in your reading notes!), and there are many ways you can weave food and stories about food into a class project.

Research Tip: The best research for this project is to pay attention as you are doing the reading for class to see what references to food you notice, starting with the divine kheer (rice pudding) which allows Dasharatha to give birth to four sons at the start of the Ramayana, or the story of Hanuman and the sun-mango. Wikipedia is a great reference, with articles about the foods of India in general, along with specific articles like modaks (the god Ganesha's favorite food). You can also check out the articles about important religious festivals to see the foods associated with them.

Past Projects:

• Guide to India: Food and Travel
• Food and Culture: An Indian Scrapbook