1) A question - is/was leavened bread in and of itself polluting to high caste Hindus in the area, or was it that leavened bread was only cooked by so called "polluted/ing" people?
2) I was struck reading this about the linguistic similarities between Pao, Bao and Pav.
there's a theory that the 'soor' - aka coconut toddy - that was used to leaven the bread in the absence of yeast was also considered unclean by orthodox "caste Hindus."
Belated thanks for this beautiful piece!
This was such an insightful, interesting read. Brilliant!
This was fascinating.
1) A question - is/was leavened bread in and of itself polluting to high caste Hindus in the area, or was it that leavened bread was only cooked by so called "polluted/ing" people?
2) I was struck reading this about the linguistic similarities between Pao, Bao and Pav.
This thread cleared it up a little - https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/d5am14/any_relation_between_pav_and_bao/f0kwb71/
But I hadn't realised that "Pav" comes directly from "Pao." Apparently, Bao is totally unrelated.
there's a theory that the 'soor' - aka coconut toddy - that was used to leaven the bread in the absence of yeast was also considered unclean by orthodox "caste Hindus."
Such evocative writing - conjuring up such a big, wonderful world to experience and so little time.