Pralhad Keshav Atre, noted author, educationist, and playwright; Kakasaheb Limaye, editor of the Marathi newspaper “Jnanaprakash”; and Vasant Desai, music director and singer also graced the event. Speeches were made by many praising the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar towards ending untouchability.

Some three hundred men and women belonging to various castes had assembled for the feast. On the menu was “jhunka-bhakar”, served with “thecha”, a delectable condiment of green chillies, peanuts, garlic, and coriander, and sliced onions. “Jhunka”, a popular dish in Maharashtra, North Karnataka, and Goa, is made using chickpea flour. The consistency of the dish varies according to region and caste. It is usually served with “bhakari”, a flatbread of jowar. This “sahabhojan” was the first in Pune to be held at a locality dominated by the Dalits where “jhunka-bhakar” was served. The idea of serving “jhunka-bhakar” at “sahabhojans” was the brainchild of Anant Hari Gadre, who was present that day at the feast organised by Rajbhoj and others.

Gadre was a man of many talents. The journalist-playwright also strived hard to eradicate untouchability. Shankaracharya Dr Kurtakoti had bestowed upon him the epithet “Samatanand”. Born in the small village of Deorukh in Konkan in 1890, Gadre came to Pune in 1904 to study at the New English School. Later, he enrolled himself at Fergusson College and soon realised that he was not cut out for formal education. He spent several years dabbling with various professions, including running a shop that sold perfumes.

His deep dissatisfaction with his life came to an end in 1914 when Lokmanya BG Tilak returned to Pune from Mandalay. He met Tilak and started following the political events in the city. The next year, Achyut Balwant Kolhatkar started the Marathi newspaper “Sandesh” in Mumbai. Gadre was appointed its “special Tilak correspondent”.

In 1923, Kolhatkar attended a “sahabhojan” at Damodar Hall in Parel. Gadre had accompanied him. It was his first experience attending a “sahabhojan” where men belonging to the so-called “lower castes” dined with the “upper castes”. He witnessed how men from the so-called “lower castes” were hesitant when asked to sit beside the “upper castes”. They had never imagined they would be “allowed” to dine with them. He was moved when he saw many weeping while eating together.

“Sahabhojan” was considered an effective tool to break the taboos surrounding food and caste. Food was a weapon to humiliate and shun Dalits. Dalit narratives are replete with stories of being unable to eat with the so-called “upper castes”, of being refused food or being given, at best, leftovers which would be dropped into their hands; of being thirsty until someone could be found to pour water into their cupped hands. They were rarely allowed to use common wells or tanks in villages and cities.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, after his release from the Cellular Jail in Andamans, had been organising “sahabhojans” at Patit Pavan Temple in Ratnagiri. When Gadre attended a “sahabhojan” arranged by Savarkar in Ratnagiri, he was convinced that he had to play an active role in holding these community feasts. He started by trying to participate in “sahabhojans” whenever possible.

But Gadre’s moment of awakening came when Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, on October 13, 1935, declared in a gathering in Yeola, “I will not die as a person who calls himself a Hindu!” Gadre, like thousands of others, was deeply moved and decided to break the barriers of caste by organising “sahabhojans” on a larger scale. Serving “jhunka-bhakari” at the “sahabhojan” was his innovation.

Till then, “shira-puri” or “kadhi-bhat” was served at most of the “sahabhojans”. But “kadhi”, thickened yoghurt gravy with gram flour and spices, and “shira”, toasted semolina and sugar, were considered “upper caste” and “elite” by several members of the so-called “lower castes”. The ingredients necessary for cooking the dishes – ghee, sugar, milk, yoghurt – were expensive and mostly unaffordable to them. “Jhunka-bhakar” was rustic. It was an everyday meal for peasants, workers, and millions of others. According to Rajbhoj, “Harijans” participating in the “sahabhojans” where “shira-puri” was served would sometimes accuse him and other “Harijan” organisers of being influenced by Brahmanical customs and traditions.

“Jhunka-bhakar” was also associated with bravery and valour. Those relishing “shira-puri” or “kadhi-bhat” were considered timid and cowardly. During a “sahabhojan” organised in May 1936 at Kolhapur, Madhavrao Bagal, noted writer, social reformer, and freedom fighter, declared that “jhunka-bhakar” was the “real food of a Maratha”, and that the dish had fuelled the Maratha warrior to fight the Mughals who relished “royal” dishes like biryani and pulao.

Food patterns often connect people to their cultural or ethnic groups. It is unclear how and when Gadre decided to appropriate “jhunka-bhakar” as the dish fit for a “sahabhojan”. In the early 1920s, a few Maratha organisations had started arranging lunches where men from the Maratha community would bring “jhunka-bhakar” with them. These events were organised at the Holi festival. Everybody would bring “jhunka-bhakar” tied in a cloth and eat together. However, these events were limited to the Maratha caste and were meant to keep Maratha men and youth away from obscenities associated with the festival. Gadre could have likely borrowed the idea from these Maratha community meals.

Many “sahabhojans” organised by groups like the Hindu Mahasabha included some Hindu rituals. Various anti-caste activists disliked being part of these rituals that they found largely alien. Gadre’s “jhunka-bhakar sahabhojans”, in the initial years, were devoid of any religious rituals. They often included song and mimicry performances. “Jhunka-bhakar” was usually served to all by volunteers belonging to the so-called “lower castes”. Hundreds of spectators would gather around the venue to have a look at the “sahabhojan”. However, some considered the mere act of looking at the “sahabhojan” sacrilegious.

Even though Ambedkar believed that “sahabhojans” alone would not help eliminate untouchability, he praised Gadre for his efforts. Gadre, in five years after 1936, organised approximately two hundred “sahabhojans”. Helping him were Atre and Balasaheb Patil, the editor of a Kolhapur-based newspaper. Inspired by Gadre, several “jhunka-bhakar sahabhojans” were arranged, especially by the Congress and “Harijan” leaders at Nagpur, Karachi, Lahore, Belgaum, Indore, and several other cities in the Bombay Presidency and the Central Province.

Food can inspire and strengthen the bonds between individuals and communities. Eating together means sharing and participating. At the “sahabhojan” celebrating Gandhi’s birthday, men and women ate “jhunka-bhakar” together that day. It was a baby step towards practising equality and treating human beings with respect.

Chinmay Damle is a research scientist and food enthusiast. He writes here on Pune’s food culture. He can be contacted at chinmay.damle@gmail.com