Hosted at Serendipity Arts Festival 2024
Facilitated by Vikram Doctor

On the surface, Gobi Manchurian is just another beloved Indo-Chinese street food classic. But in Goa, this dish carries a story far beyond its crisp-fried florets. In this insightful workshop, journalist and food culture commentator Vikram Doctor unpacked the complex social, cultural, and labour histories embedded in a plate of Gobi Manchurian — particularly in Goa’s urban foodscape.

The session explored how, in some Goan towns, Gobi Manchurian has faced outright bans — not for its taste, but for what it represents. Largely consumed by migrant workers from other parts of India — the very labour force taking on jobs many locals increasingly avoid — the dish has become a visible marker of changing demographic and labour dynamics in the state.

Key highlights included:

• A deep dive into how street food dishes can act as cultural signifiers, carrying layered narratives of identity, migration, and belonging.

• Conversations about labour, class, and urban anxiety in Goa, and how certain foods become entangled in these tensions.

• An examination of the movement of food traditions through people, and how what’s on our plates often reflects larger patterns of economic and social change.

• Reflections on how food bans and cultural discomforts reveal underlying frictions within urban communities negotiating old and new identities.

Through this lens, a simple street food dish opened up conversations about the city’s evolving culture, who gets to belong, and how food mirrors these shifts.

About Vikram Doctor:
Vikram is a senior journalist, columnist, and food writer whose work often explores the intersections of food, history, labour, and identity in India’s changing urban landscapes.