Often people forget that academic inquiry is much more about asking the right questions than finding the correct answers. And that was precisely the focus of a talk called The Gastronomic History of Nationalism, which took place at CSMVS earlier this week, conducted by historian and director of Kolkata's Victoria Memorial Hall, Jayanta Sengupta, who was visiting the city.

Having taught in Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and later at the University of Notre Dame in the US, Sengupta — who has done extensive research in the field of nationalism in India, dipping into culture and therefore food over the years — was hoping to initiate a larger inquiry into the intersection between food culture and society, through this talk.