Talnayo Rotyo - Vadas doused in oil, roles and traditions

Naomi Fargose

SYBA 2019

Rotyos

It was the summer of 2016. I had recently finished my 10th boards and had a four month long vacation staring at me. Moreover, we had shifted into a new locality and my mother left no stone unturned in getting me out of the house to "make new friends". There was a wedding in the village and by the end of the day I found myself walking to the house of the bride to help with the tradition of cooking तळणाची रोट. 

Weddings, I realized, are the nexus of music, food, dance and most importantly, people. On entering the bride's house, I was guided to the backyard where a shamiana had been set-up for all the cooking that was to happen. Very similar to a vada, the तळणाची रोट has twice the amount of oil and is made out of urad dal and rice flour. The making of this food item, however, is confined only to a marriage celebration.

It isn't a food dish that is cooked and consumed regularly. Receiving a bunch of rotyos signifies the commencement of the countdown to a marriage. This तळणाची रोट, though a very simple dish in itself, is one that I chose to associate my identity with due to the historical and community contexts that accompany it. To understand the relation between food, community identity and individual identity better, I will share the steps involved in  making these rotyos.

The bride on the day of her first bann, adorned with a flower
"jhela" : a symbol of married life.

Step 1 : पैली शिटी आन आंबो पाडणे (First wedding bann and felling the mango tree)

The priest announces the marriage in the church, three weeks prior. On the next day, the bride's father goes around in the village, informing the people and asking men, in particular, to help join in the felling of a mango tree.

As the men chop the branches, the women sing traditional songs celebrating the happy occasion. The women then spread the chopped wood for drying while the men happily indulge in alcohol. A spirit of togetherness and solidarity is observed amongst everyone in the village, right from the corporate employee to the daily wage farmer who come together for this ceremony.

Men kneading dough for the vadas.

Step 2 : डाळी टाकणे ( Kneading dough trays)

In the week preceding the marriage, the wood from the mango tree felled earlier is gathered and on a decided date, night onwards, is used to light fire for the making the rotyos. The tradition of making talnayo rotyo is restricted to the night since everyone in the village works throughout the day in the fields. Moreover, emphasis is placed on the availability of the villagers rather than those of the family's immediate relatives. This creates a very strong sense of community while ensuring that everyone in the village stays on good terms with each other.

On the decided day, in the afternoon, a group of men are called over to knead the dough for the rotyos in large trays. Some of these men are famously known for their 'kneading skills' and are specially invited by the bride's father. Here, we can see the hierarchies that exist between the villagers in terms of kneading abilities. A very apparent division of gender roles is seen at this step where only the men are allowed, or as an unwritten norm - expected to be involved in the kneading of the dough. This is made on the basis of the assumption of men having greater physical strength. Once again, the women sing traditional songs describing the event. The lyrics of some of these songs involve prayers for the dough to rise well, for providing the men kneading with strength and for the groom's family to like these rotyos.

The cooking going on in full swing under the shamiana.

Step 3 : तळन (frying)

After about seven to eight hours, when the dough rises, four to five huge kadhais are filled with oil and the dried wood of the chopped mango tree is used to light the fire. One person, usually an elderly woman who cannot work as much as the others, is given the responsibility of distributing the dough to everyone from one vessel. Around one kadhai sits a group of about five to six women who mould the dough and put it for frying. Every group is allotted with two men with huge spoons who are responsible for stirring the oil, collecting these rotyos and transferring them to the basket near-by. Gender roles here are so highly ingrained that one cannot question why at this stage. Power dynamics around the kadhai exist in very peculiar ways. Only the very experienced group of women sit the closest to the kadhai. The newbies are first expected to master the shape of the roti and get it approved by an elderly woman. Though young teenagers aren't as involved at this stage, their participation is highly appreciated. Young girls sit besides their mother and grandmother, who teach them how to make the perfect roti. Similarly, young boys are called upon to observe the men handling the spoons. It is here where the seeds of gender roles are first sown.

Frying the vadas. Notice that only the men are in charge of the ladles.

Sorting and packing the rotyos for distribution.

Step 4 : पुड्यो आन वाटणी (Packaging and Distribution)

Amateurs and youngsters like me are generally allotted this task of packing the rotyos into bags and carrying them to the groom's house for distribution. At this step, there is usually a family relative assigned with the youngsters to guide them. The number of rotyos in each bag differs according to the receiver's relation and proximity to the soon to be married couple's families. The groom's family's packages are filled with a complimentary sweet dish. These special packages are given to members of the bride's family who personally handled them over to the groom's family. Here, we see the power dynamics in terms of how much significance is given to a given relation. The arrival of these packages at the groom's house is a matter of great pomp. A larger number of rotyos is said to signify both, the expertise of the bride's family as well as an idea to the number of relations the groom has.

Earlier, it was mandatory for solely the bride's family to send these rotyos to the groom's side and was seen as a display of the power and influence. However, in recent times, both the bride and groom's families have started exchanging these rotyos with each other. Though the roti, in itself, doesn't hold as much value, the entire process of involving people, adhering to rituals and carrying them ahead as a tradition, gives this dish the importance that it holds.

Being a mediocre dish with relatively cheap ingredients, its production is affordable to almost all families. The sole aim behind making this dish is to initiate the celebrations leading to the marriage, create cohesion amongst the parties involved and ensure the carrying forward of old traditions, rituals and stories by every generation.

The importance of this dish for me is linked to the ways in which it helped me place myself in the larger society. By participating in the making of these rotyos, I was accepted into the new locality. Bonds were formed around the kadhai and I was termed as an able, social being by the villagers which further gave me and my family the recognition of being 'one of the villagers' and not some 'other'. Due to my consumption of this dish, I was allowed to posses the community identity, that of being a vasaikar. As Michael Pollan summarizes, "Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well." 

Being an active participant in the production and consumption of rotyos,

I gained for myself, an identity.

Of who I was, am and could be.

Cause irrespective of your house and street,

"You are what you eat."

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