How WhatsApp voice notes revolutionised recipe transmission in South Asia. Words by Maryam Jillani. Illustration by Kruttika Susarla. Plus voice notes in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, and English.
Maryam, this was such a pleasure to read. Voice notes are such a connection to family, place, and being present and I love the focus on recipes passing through in this form.
Interesting article, I'm looking forward to trying Maryam's book and her blog (which seems like an important intermediate format between an informal voice note and a glossy recipe book). I'm also a big fan of the blog Fatima Cooks.
I live in the Middle East and voice notes are a way of life here, especially given the language differences. Some people hate them but it's very practical when working in multi-lingual teams. I am impressed that Maryam was in Quetta!
I used to have a love/hate relationship with them too until I began to work on the book, and had to toggle between languages. I would love to read more about how they are used in the Middle East.
Voice notes really come into their own here where there are language differences or you have many people who are all speaking the same second language, usually English. Being able to speak into a microphone instead of facing the invisible but imposing barrier of having to spell and write it quite liberating for people. Also, there is a demographic who cannot read or write, especially in a second language like Arabic or English, so being able to rely on their conversational knowledge of the language helps to facilitate and get things done. Being full literate in your first language, yet alone a second language, is an underestimated privilege that is often overlooked. I don't want to be so melodramatic as to say it gives a voice to the voiceless, but the idea is there. What I like about voice notes especially in the context of writing and telling other people's stories is that it gives the writer a palpable measure of the subject's intention through tone, volume, emphasis and those other 'tells' that we rely on when we are talking to people that does not come through with text alone. My feeling is that latter point is also underestimated. I will follow up with a second or third question--and I will shift the nature of those questions--because of the way that I heard someone give an answer. Because I heard joy, or exasperation, and that tells me to press further in that direction.
I had to “endure” years of cooking by my mother’s side and thousands of tellings off to learn her craft. Oh how voice notes would have been welcome then.
She has just learned to create voice notes. I am now inundated with short messages taking absolute rubbish mostly. 🙈Perhaps I will ask her to recite some recipes instead. There are many I still don’t know how to make and her marbles are starting to get lost so perhaps it will help her - and me - as a little project.
Why can't they just email the recipe. Revolutionize is an exaggeration. Wasn't thrilled with this article. Needs a good edit. Or may be it's irredeemable.
People don't write any more. Write it down on paper and take a photo and attach.
I fear WhatsApp has cheapened how we communicate. But yet don't really communicate. See The Parasite. We're connected but really we aren't.
Going back to bed with my pile of cookbooks. Run away from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is essentially a waste of time. Mostly. Giving a false sense of connection breeding loneliness. And misinformation.
The article is an attempt to make sense of something that's essentially futile.
Write it down. Properly. Or make a phone call, take the time and explain. While you do it write it down. Edit. Rewrite, correct and adjust till it makes some sense. That's the only way to breach the abyss.
Blog in the written word.
Don't get me started on the passive aggression on the recipe exchange.
People are still using cookbooks and watching cooking shows! This is about the informal passing down of recipes from one generation to another I believe. Many of our moms and aunts and grandmas didn’t grow up typing away at keyboards and touchscreens. They’re late adopters. Voice notes give them a more accessible way to communicate with the newer generations. I live far away from many of my family and because of time differences we cannot always get a chance to have a phone call but I know if I voice note my aunt while she’s sleeping asking for a recipe for a dish my nani used to make, she will reply when she wakes up! South Asians and many other cultures in fact have a long history of oral storytelling and tradition keeping. This is yet another way of keeping it alive. Sure maybe some people should be in charge of getting this oral history written down too but I’m not about to get mad at people for voice noting each other.
Maryam, this was such a pleasure to read. Voice notes are such a connection to family, place, and being present and I love the focus on recipes passing through in this form.
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reading ❤️
Interesting article, I'm looking forward to trying Maryam's book and her blog (which seems like an important intermediate format between an informal voice note and a glossy recipe book). I'm also a big fan of the blog Fatima Cooks.
Thank you for reading!
Beautiful - this is how I make my lassi ni kadhi and daal makahani via precious notes from Pupee Frida in Bham to me in Nanjing, China!
I live in the Middle East and voice notes are a way of life here, especially given the language differences. Some people hate them but it's very practical when working in multi-lingual teams. I am impressed that Maryam was in Quetta!
I used to have a love/hate relationship with them too until I began to work on the book, and had to toggle between languages. I would love to read more about how they are used in the Middle East.
Voice notes really come into their own here where there are language differences or you have many people who are all speaking the same second language, usually English. Being able to speak into a microphone instead of facing the invisible but imposing barrier of having to spell and write it quite liberating for people. Also, there is a demographic who cannot read or write, especially in a second language like Arabic or English, so being able to rely on their conversational knowledge of the language helps to facilitate and get things done. Being full literate in your first language, yet alone a second language, is an underestimated privilege that is often overlooked. I don't want to be so melodramatic as to say it gives a voice to the voiceless, but the idea is there. What I like about voice notes especially in the context of writing and telling other people's stories is that it gives the writer a palpable measure of the subject's intention through tone, volume, emphasis and those other 'tells' that we rely on when we are talking to people that does not come through with text alone. My feeling is that latter point is also underestimated. I will follow up with a second or third question--and I will shift the nature of those questions--because of the way that I heard someone give an answer. Because I heard joy, or exasperation, and that tells me to press further in that direction.
I had to “endure” years of cooking by my mother’s side and thousands of tellings off to learn her craft. Oh how voice notes would have been welcome then.
She has just learned to create voice notes. I am now inundated with short messages taking absolute rubbish mostly. 🙈Perhaps I will ask her to recite some recipes instead. There are many I still don’t know how to make and her marbles are starting to get lost so perhaps it will help her - and me - as a little project.
Why can't they just email the recipe. Revolutionize is an exaggeration. Wasn't thrilled with this article. Needs a good edit. Or may be it's irredeemable.
People don't write any more. Write it down on paper and take a photo and attach.
I fear WhatsApp has cheapened how we communicate. But yet don't really communicate. See The Parasite. We're connected but really we aren't.
Going back to bed with my pile of cookbooks. Run away from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is essentially a waste of time. Mostly. Giving a false sense of connection breeding loneliness. And misinformation.
The article is an attempt to make sense of something that's essentially futile.
Write it down. Properly. Or make a phone call, take the time and explain. While you do it write it down. Edit. Rewrite, correct and adjust till it makes some sense. That's the only way to breach the abyss.
Blog in the written word.
Don't get me started on the passive aggression on the recipe exchange.
Will try to reread to see if I'll change my mind.
Sorry.
People are still using cookbooks and watching cooking shows! This is about the informal passing down of recipes from one generation to another I believe. Many of our moms and aunts and grandmas didn’t grow up typing away at keyboards and touchscreens. They’re late adopters. Voice notes give them a more accessible way to communicate with the newer generations. I live far away from many of my family and because of time differences we cannot always get a chance to have a phone call but I know if I voice note my aunt while she’s sleeping asking for a recipe for a dish my nani used to make, she will reply when she wakes up! South Asians and many other cultures in fact have a long history of oral storytelling and tradition keeping. This is yet another way of keeping it alive. Sure maybe some people should be in charge of getting this oral history written down too but I’m not about to get mad at people for voice noting each other.