A Look Inside The Kitchen - Feeding The Farmer/Dancer

Otherwise a cross dressing dancer belonging to the Meena community from state of Rajasthan in India, today Chaina has donned the role of a cook and a homemaker. A role seldom taken on by the men in this community, but Chaina plays it effortlessly and gracefully. His wife is away and the children are home. He has to cook for around 15 people. That includes the construction workers on site today. It is a busy day for Chaina who has to not just look after the kitchen but also manage the farms and oversee the building of his new pucca home. His current home is hardly a home; a makeshift straw shelter with no walls.

They eat around 1pm. Before that it's just tea for the adults & milk (maybe some biscuits for the children). This meal consists of a simple homegrown wheat ‘double roti’ or flatbreads, rice & sugar, ghee (clarified butter) and daal (lentil preparation). The meal is a true farm to table experience. The rotis are delicious, unlike any we have had in the city.

The wheat is from his farm and the ghee has been made from the milk of the buffalo that was owned by him until 2-3 months ago. On regular days, one double roti is enough to fill empty tummies. But today is a heavy lifting day. They are laying the foundation with big, heavy stones. All the lifting happens with bare hands. So, it’s 3-4 flatbreads per person today. Not to forget the tea that is flowing endlessly between the teapots and the cups.

Interestingly, wheat, which is most commonly consumed in northern India now, was once a foreign crop. Native crops such as bajra, jowar, corn, bore the brunt of government policies and subsidies it offered with the introduction of wheat. The ratio of wheat to bajra production in the state today is about 9:1.

The villagers consume what they sow. It’s spinach or pigweed in the winters, that is grown in almost every home. For the summers, potatoes or dips made of tomatoes/chillies. When there is an abundance of milk, ghee can be made from it and the villagers prefer to eat bati (round dough balls, soaked in ghee) instead of rotis.

Dancers in general eat raisins during the performance season. It causes them to sweat less and keeps the body cool. Chaina particularly enjoys green grapes. They don't enjoy eating outside. Basic home cooked meals are what keeps them full and satisfied.