This episode presents a micro-history of contemporary Indian kitchen design, as told by Manju Sara Rajan, the editor of a prominent design magazine, and Madhav Raman, an award-winning architect in New Delhi. We look at what lies behind the urban, aspirational dream of two kitchens — one visible and one concealed — which has roots in a historical wet and dry kitchen binary. We also look at what interventions open and modular kitchens have made in this history, and what it means for gender and caste politics that still lie at the heart of Indian kitchen design. How do urban Indians negotiate the waves of aromas and the inevitability of oil splatters that come with making Indian food with their desire to showcase their Scandinavian-inspired kitchens in India all at once? We talk about how in urban India, the aspiration is really to have it all.

Topics covered in this episode:


Min 1:25: Meet Manju Sara Rajan

Min 1:58: Concept of the wet and dry kitchen

Min 4:30: Meet Madhav Raman

Min 4:57: Economic liberalization in India

Min 9:50: How the new apartment kitchen transformed the way people cooked

Min 13:53: The front-of-house and back-of-house split 

Min 17:25: The fridge’s place in the Indian kitchen

Min 23:06: Vastu-compliance

Min 25:04: Future of Indian kitchen design

Min 26:01: Gendered labor divide

Min 30:07: How COVID affected Indian kitchens



Learn more about this episode of Bad Table Manners at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at WhetstoneRadio.

Guests: Manju Sara Rajan (@manjusararajan), Madhav Raman (@anagramarchitects)