The Dalit Kitchen in Marathwada: Food, Memory, and Resistance in Shahu Patole’s Narrative

This paper offers an in-depth examination of Dalit Kitchen in Marathwada by Shahu Patole, a groundbreaking work within Dalit literature that brings together culinary traditions, caste dynamics, and cultural identity. More than a collection of regional recipes or a memoir of gastronomic nostalgia, Patole’s narrative functions as a politically charged cultural archive. It foregrounds the lived realities of Dalit communities in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, revealing how food operates simultaneously as a source of nourishment, a bearer of memory, and a powerful metaphor for social exclusion and resistance. Through the lens of food studies, subaltern theory, and Dalit autobiography, this paper argues that the Dalit kitchen, as described by Patole is not a passive domestic site but a vibrant space of agency, struggle, and self-definition. It critically interrogates caste-based food taboos, the Brahmanical notions of purity and pollution, and the socio-cultural hierarchies that shape culinary preferences and access. Patole’s text elevates the everyday act of cooking into an act of cultural assertion, documenting the ingenuity, resilience, and creativity of Dalit communities, particularly women, in transforming meagre resources into nourishing meals. The paper situates Patole’s work within a broader corpus of Dalit narratives that use personal memory and vernacular storytelling to challenge hegemonic historical accounts. By writing in Marathi and employing colloquial idioms, Patole preserves the authenticity of oral traditions and resists the aestheticization of Dalit experiences by dominant literary canons. Ultimately, the paper contends that Dalit Kitchen in Marathwada reimagines the kitchen as a radical site of expression where stories simmer alongside spices, and where every dish served is instilled with the flavour of resistance, survival, and reclaimed dignity. This work expands the boundaries of both food writing and Dalit literature, asserting the cultural and political significance of what is often dismissed as the mundane.