Reading this made my mouth water. As an Indian eating with your hand is so natural but I also feel self conscious about doing so anywhere outside my home or back in India, where you can eat with hands even in restaurants. Let's make it normal.
Thank you so much for sharing this reflection! We also loved Lara's call to action on normalizing eating by hand...and we learned a lot from her deep dive into the spiritual and colonial forces that have shaped the concept of "table manners" over the years.
I loved this essay. Thank you for writing it. I'm from an entirely different culture (Scottish) but we were not raised with "proper" table manners and the times I was reprimanded by other kids' parents for bad table manners... ugh. I've greatly enjoyed eating meals with friends who are of cultures who eat with their hands. It makes me feel more connected to both food and people. I eat all kinds of food with my hands at home when I'm alone, too.
Also, salmon is culturally very important to the Indigenous people of where I live (Coast Salish). I sometimes avoid it because of the bones but you made me realise that eating with my hands is the answer.
Reading this made my mouth water. As an Indian eating with your hand is so natural but I also feel self conscious about doing so anywhere outside my home or back in India, where you can eat with hands even in restaurants. Let's make it normal.
Thank you so much for sharing this reflection! We also loved Lara's call to action on normalizing eating by hand...and we learned a lot from her deep dive into the spiritual and colonial forces that have shaped the concept of "table manners" over the years.
Just wow, so full of personal, yet so enlightening words. Food really is a performance, it is totally true. Thank you Lara
I loved this essay. Thank you for writing it. I'm from an entirely different culture (Scottish) but we were not raised with "proper" table manners and the times I was reprimanded by other kids' parents for bad table manners... ugh. I've greatly enjoyed eating meals with friends who are of cultures who eat with their hands. It makes me feel more connected to both food and people. I eat all kinds of food with my hands at home when I'm alone, too.
Also, salmon is culturally very important to the Indigenous people of where I live (Coast Salish). I sometimes avoid it because of the bones but you made me realise that eating with my hands is the answer.
These are such beautiful reflections! Thank you for sharing. Us editors also call Coast Salish territory home and I love that point about salmon.