Santosh Desai

“As an index of social change, perhaps we should follow the popularity of the slap as some sort of measure of our belief in social hierarchy. The slap carries with it all the accumulated power of the past; it uses an entire social class as its accompanying army. As we relate to each other as individuals not necessarily embedded in our respective hierarchies, perhaps we will punch each other more frequently. In some truly ironic way, that might be good news.”
― Santosh Desai, Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India

“One can think of street food as a moving map of a city’s culture. It translates culture into the language of the tongue on a continuous basis. As a city collects its inhabitants from a wide range of migrants, street food gradually alters its character to reflect the tastes of its residents. It is a testament of both the city as it was and as it is becoming.”
― Santosh Desai, Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense Of Everyday India