Can we Save Indian Street Food in Pandemic?
- Diksha Shrivastava
- Apr 6, 2021
- 2 min read
As we witness the changes in our lifestyle, we also see the changes in our relationship with street food.
Indians have quite a unique relationship with street food but the pandemic and the lockdown that came with it forced people to maintain a distance from this street food. While in the initial phase of the lockdown, Google reported a 107 per cent increase in the searches of pani puri recipes and a lot of people even tried these recipes at home but the homemade pani puris certainly cannot replace the special pani puris that are available in the food stalls and soon there came a time when people started craving for the taste of Pani puri of that thella near there home.
Image 1: Bhopal’s famous Gol Gappe from Sharma Chaat Bhandar.
It looked like the virus would change our eating patterns and so it did. But as we learn to live with this virus and the new normal it has imposed, we have also learned to consume street food with safety.
Streets are usually the most crowded places and can become potential hubs for viruses but so do malls and other eateries. It becomes important for us to save India’s street food culture not because of the taste we have developed but because of the street chefs behind these stalls.
Image 2: Bhopal’s Shahpura Street Food Lane to become Second ‘Clean Street Food Hub’ on the lines of Indore’s ‘56 Dukaan’
A great percentage of street chefs come from small villages in search of their livelihood and when we choose to eat in restaurants and malls, we deprive these people of the money they would make.
One cannot deny the fact that we need to be more conscious especially in times like these when staying healthy is of utmost importance. But to protect our local economy and the lives of street vendors we can ensure that the food they cook is clean, hygienic and healthy. Various organizations are coming forward intending to prepare street food vendors for a post COVID world such as NASVI (National Association of Street Vendors of India). Street vendors are given training and awareness about the nutritional aspects of food and are being trained regarding the measures they need to take to maintain hygienic conditions. In this way, we can easily protect the Indian street food culture as well as enjoy the savoury dishes.
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