[original] Food as Cognition: Contour Maps of Ahmedabad

Brief Description:
Creating contours to map the interplay between food spaces, social interactions and transformations through time.

Description:
The plurality of any city is represented in the multiplicity of food consumed. We create a consciousness of the city between the study of plurality in space and time. Thus, exploring the constructs of food as transaction, food as object and the semiotics of food we hope to provide for an understanding of the cognitive geography of Ahmedabad. Food becomes a vehicle not only for a new geography but new perspectives of urbanism. We hope to

• contour the interplay between formal and informal food spaces
• construct food spaces and social interactions centered around them
• provide an architecture and economies of food as production and consumption
• study the gastronomy of festivities.

Within the paradigm of study, we understand that food is an index of change. The study will attempt to present a rich image of food and its interplay with people through space and time. Spaces, localities and people communicate their identity with the consumption and production of food. Hence, exploring relationships between raw, processed, and cooked food as well as the other vectors and the transformation of symbols through time, we hope to create a Panchang of food. Time is a basic axial principle for understanding history, seasons, and schedules. Time helps us grasp both auspicious and inauspicious.

The scope of the study would also include attempts to understand the reconfiguration of food systems during and in response to a crisis. Thus while looking at Gujarat Riots as a case study, we would analyze its impact on food distribution (raw materials and transportation) and consumption (food havens). It is also an initial expectation that we would be able to compile a comprehensive resource (or digitize and obtain materials) of writings, images, film etc. relating to topics of interest.

Names of Authors:
The study is being performed by a team of students and faculty of DA-IICT with some support from friends at NID. The constitution of the team involves Prof. Binita Desai (faculty for design and animation at DA-IICT), Prof. Shiv Visvnathan (a social scientist), Praneet Koppula Reddy (alumnus of DA-IICT working in HFI), Mohit Gupta (alumnus of DAIICT working in MSR) and Ranjit Singh (alumnus of DAIICT working in DAIICT).