Zubaan Talkies: Food Cultures of the Northeast India

The podcast Food Cultures: Thinking About the Future of Food is part of the “Food Cultures” series which was recorded online during the Covid19 pandemic. In this podcast, our host Xonzoi Barbora and guests Chichano Humtsoe (in Dimapur), Shishir Anan “Tuki” Choudhury (in Guwahati) and Wynona “Nona” Khyriem (in Shillong) talks about their lived experience with food. Chichano talks about dealing with food crisis during the Covid 19 pandemic in Chittagong where she is a student, Shishir talks about the foods she love and will miss when she goes away to study elsewhere while Wynona talks about her new venture as a caterer in Meghalaya. This discussion was part of the 2020 programming for Zubaan’s Cultures of Peace: Festival of the Northeast project, run in collaboration with Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Regional Office, New Delhi.

The podcast Food Cultures of Nagaland is part of the “Food Cultures” series which was recorded online during the Covid19 pandemic. In this podcast, our host Xonzoi Barbora and guests Longshibeni “Longshi” Kikon and Ishani Borthakur talks about their lived experience with food. Longshi talks about dealing with food crisis during the Covid 19 pandemic while Ishani talks about her learnings as a student of agricultural science. This discussion was part of the 2020 programming for Zubaan’s Cultures of Peace: Festival of the Northeast project, run in collaboration with Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Regional Office, New Delhi. 

The podcast Memories of Managing Food During Conflict is part of the “Food Cultures” series which was recorded online during the Covid19 pandemic. In this podcast, our host Xonzoi Barbora and guests Vizokhole “Vizo” Ltu from Kohima (Nagaland state) and Lallianpuii “Liani” from Aizawl (Meghalaya state) recalls the food scarcity people faced during the Indo-Naga political conflict in Nagaland and Mizo National Front (MNF) movement in Mizoram, and the food management systems that they had to adopt during the crisis. This discussion was part of the 2020 programming for Zubaan’s Cultures of Peace: Festival of the Northeast project, run in collaboration with Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Regional Office, New Delhi. 

The podcast Agriculture and Farming in Arunachal Pradesh (also Why Did Mother Stop Sending Us Rice?) is part of the “Food Cultures” series which was recorded online during the Covid19 pandemic. In this podcast, our host Xonzoi Barbora and guest Tongam Rina discusses agriculture and farming practices in Arunachal Pradesh – the traditional knowledge, the changes that are taking place and the adaptations happening. This discussion was part of the 2020 programming for Zubaan’s Cultures of Peace: Festival of the Northeast project, run in collaboration with Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Regional Office, New Delhi.

The podcast Cultures of Food and Rice Goddesses of Manipur (also The Goddess That Ran Away to the Hills) is part of the “Food Cultures” series which was recorded online during the Covid19 pandemic. In this podcast, our host Xonzoi Barbora and guest Thingnam Anjulika Samom explores the legend of the Rice Goddess Phouoibi in Meitei culture, while also touching upon native food cultures and changing food habits in Manipur. This discussion was part of the 2020 programming for Zubaan’s Cultures of Peace: Festival of the Northeast project, run in collaboration with Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Regional Office, New Delhi.