“Eating for a living is a serious danger,” says Zac O’Yeah, Bengaluru-based travel writer and novelist of Swedish origin. His latest book, Digesting India, is a testament to how lethal this exercise can be on one’s innards. “I travel with aspirin, imodium and antacids,” he says. “But even that doesn’t always save you.”
Part memoir, part travelogue with lashings of history, literary references and unbridled fun, this collection of eight essays takes the reader on a whirlwind ride through India and the food (and alcohol) it holds. From a rather beer-sozzled traipse through Bengaluru’s colonial history to a (very) brief brush with asceticism at the Gandhi Sevagram Ashram in Maharashtra, a glimpse into the highly-cosmopolitan cuisine cultures of New Delhi and Goa and detailed descriptions of dubious dives, dangerous curries and deadly lavatory experiences, Digesting India will leave you chortling and hungering for more. Edited excerpts from an interview:
