Try GOLD - Free
Change of hearth
Hindustan Times Noida
|November 16, 2025
Pasta, rajma, candy bars... much of what we eat today has been shaped by violence in some form. As borders are redrawn, the world is seeing new evolutions: in Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bolivia. Three books trace how food changes, in refugee camps and conflict zones. As well as, the joy, love and resistance that a hearty meal can hold
About 90 years ago, people risked prison for the sake of pasta.
Benito Mussolini launched a campaign against the staple in Italy, in the 1930s, and tried to promote rice instead. Rice grows abundantly there (Italy is currently Europe's largest exporter of the grain), while most of the wheat needed for pasta is imported.
When word went out that their ruler wanted people to switch, pasta simply went underground. Restaurants took it off menus but still served it; grandmothers secretly made it for their families.
Mussolini eventually gave up his attempt to ban Italy's favourite meal.
Food has always found a way around despots. Every ancient recipe we know has survived wars and displacement. Tucked into our favourite comfort foods are tales of rebellion, resilience and survival.
Yet, cuisine is also a fragile thing. Rewrite the lines in a recipe, and something may be lost forever. Raze a particular forest and a dish may never taste the same again.
Treat a culinary culture with disdain, and its people may lose some of the pride they felt in it.
So it is with India's Dalits and Gaza's embattled people; in refugee camps home to Syrians and Ukrainians, the Uyghur and Sudanese.
Much of what we eat today has been shaped by violence, in some form.
Did you know that the rajma in rajma-chawal is a foreign import?
This story is from the November 16, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times Noida.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Hindustan Times Noida
Hindustan Times Noida
Heavy on the drip
Poet-core is in. So is colour. Big men, it’s your moment to shine. Here’s the plus-size guide to rocking this year’s runway trends
3 mins
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
INDIA EQUITY FUND INFLOWS ACCELERATE IN MARCH DESPITE WEST ASIA WAR
Individual investors doubled down on stock mutual funds in March, pouring in record amounts in monthly recurring plans despite geopolitical tensions and market volatility.
1 mins
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Shetty upsets Christie, in Asian C'ships semis
Sitting courtside, coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama wore a slight smile on his face as he witnessed his new protégé Ayush Shetty dismantle his old pupil Jonatan Christie's game.
1 mins
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Starmer says he is ‘fed up’ with Trump and Putin’s impact on UK energy costs
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed frustration over rising oil and other costs linked to the Iran war, drawing parallels between the actions of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
1 min
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Mandal's legacy and path ahead for social justice
April 13 marks the death anniversary of Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal, who passed away in 1982.
2 mins
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Shapoor Mistry pushes for listing of Tata Sons
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group has once again weighed in on the matter of the Tata Sons listing, making the most of the disorder created after two vice-chairmen of Tata Trusts broke ranks this week to back a public-market debut for the holding company of the diversified Tata Group.
2 mins
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
U.S. LIKELY TO EXTEND RUSSIAN OIL WAIVER TO TEMPER IRAN WAR SHOCK
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump's administration is likely to extend as soon as Friday a waiver allowing countries to buy some sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
1 min
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Meenakshi bags silver, 3 men in gold medal bouts
Meenakshi Goyat added a third silver to India’s tally in women’s 53kg while three men’s freestyle wrestlers advanced to the gold medal bouts in their respective weight classes at the Asian Championships here on Friday.
1 min
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Hit the escape button
There’s a Maldives for oligarchs, for party animals, for adventure lovers, for families. Want the relaxed vibe of the islands of before? That’s now here too
5 mins
April 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Noida
Who moderates the moderators?
The government may not always act disinterestedly, and leaving this to platforms owned by firms headquartered abroad isn’t a defensible proposition
2 mins
April 11, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size
