Feast for the Senses

Aruna Ganesh Ram explores the power of food to create memories in her new performance piece.

4 min readDec 21, 2016 12:10 AM IST

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Aruna Ganesh Ram (extreme right) during Memory Recipe.

In her 2015 performance art piece, A Moment of Memory, Aruna Ganesh Ram prepared a tomato chaat on the hands of audience members, using the palm as a plate. The Bangalore-based actor-director explores food and art more closely in her new work, Memory Recipe, which is being staged at the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa till December 23. In an evocative moment, people sit at three tables and stare intently at empty plates lit up from beneath. The air is full of the sounds and smells of the kitchen. “No food is served but the audience begins to fill the empty plates with personal histories and associations of eating,” says Ram.

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Excerpts from an interview:

What triggered the idea of this performance work?

Chef Manu Chandra, one of the curators of Serendipity Arts Festival, and I were trying to create an experience by which people would not consider food only as a means of sustenance or enjoyment. We asked ourselves, ‘How can we get people to look at food as art?’ In Memory Recipe, people do not eat but we enable them to create recipes and sensations of meals in their minds.

How have you treated the concept?

This is an intimate performance of 12 people and lasts 15 minutes, though I plan to develop it in future. Three performance spaces are designed as a pub, a café, and a restaurant but the idea is to create the experience of what it feels like to be in a restaurant kitchen, where the pressure cooker whistle is shrieking and the exhaust fan is whirring and the air is filled with the smell of a wok being tossed. As the performance progresses, I, as the performing chef, try to enable people to transcend physical and mental spaces — from dreamscape to nostalgia, among others.

How is the audience response?

It has surprised me. In one session, they started drumming the table. In another, a lady said that she wanted her husband to attend a show to know what she experiences in the kitchen. There was a sequence in the pub in which a man, a professor of Vedic studies, started chanting as he was transported to his familiar food surroundings.

What are the challenges before a performer in an immersive theatre experience?

In an immersive piece, the audience is not passive. The whole idea of the audience disappearing into the darkness is what I want to change. For performances, such as Memory Recipe, I create a structure but the challenge is to respond to the piece as the audience shapes it. When a woman wanted to click a selfie, I realized that, that’s what we do in a café — we take pictures of ourselves, our companions and the food. So, I said, ‘Why not?’ We try to embrace the developments in the piece.

Where did you train in immersive theatre?

I have been working with youth and children’s theatre for 15 years, but it was when I began my postgraduate studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London that I had my first immersive theatre experience as an audience member. A group called Secret Cinema had presented Shawshank Redemption and I underwent the feelings of being a prisoner, right from being locked up to being abused and given bad food. I thought that this was the kind of theatre I wanted to do.

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Memory Recipe is being staged at the Old GMC Complex and Courtyard, Goa, till December 23.

Dipanita Nath

Dipanita Nath is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. She is a versatile journalist with a deep interest in the intersection of culture, sustainability, and urban life. Professional Background Experience: Before joining The Indian Express, she worked with other major news organizations including Hindustan Times, The Times of India, and Mint. Core Specializations: She is widely recognized for her coverage of the climate crisis, theatre and performing arts, heritage conservation, and the startup ecosystem (often through her "Pune Inc" series). Storytelling Focus: Her work often unearths "hidden stories" of Pune—focusing on historical institutes, local traditions, and the personal journeys of social innovators. Recent Notable Articles (December 2025) Her recent reporting highlights Pune’s cultural pulse and the environmental challenges facing the city during the winter season: 1. Climate & Environment "Pune shivers on coldest morning of the season; minimum temperature plunges to 6.9°C" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on the record-breaking cold wave in Pune and the IMD's forecast for the week. "How a heritage tree-mapping event at Ganeshkhind Garden highlights rising interest in Pune’s green legacy" (Dec 20, 2025): Covering a citizen-led initiative where Gen Z and millennials gathered to document and protect ancient trees at a Biodiversity Heritage Site. "Right to breathe: Landmark NGT order directs PMC to frame norms for pollution from construction sites" (Dec 8, 2025): Reporting on a significant legal victory for residents fighting dust and air pollution in urban neighborhoods like Baner. 2. "Hidden Stories" & Heritage "Inside Pune library that’s nourished minds of entrepreneurs for 17 years" (Dec 21, 2025): A feature on the Venture Center Library, detailing how a collection of 3,500 specialized books helps tech startups navigate the product life cycle. "Before he died, Ram Sutar gave Pune a lasting gift" (Dec 18, 2025): A tribute to the legendary sculptor Ram Sutar (creator of the Statue of Unity), focusing on his local works like the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue at Pune airport. "The Pune institute where MA Jinnah was once chief guest" (Dec 6, 2025): An archival exploration of the College of Agriculture, established in 1907, and its historical role in India's freedom struggle. 3. Arts, Theatre & "Pune Inc" "Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak were not rivals but close friends, says veteran filmmaker" (Dec 17, 2025): A deep-dive interview ahead of the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) exploring the camaraderie between legends of Indian cinema. "Meet the Pune entrepreneur helping women build and scale businesses" (Dec 16, 2025): Part of her "Pune Inc" series, profiling Nikita Vora’s efforts to empower female-led startups. "How women drone pilots in rural Maharashtra are cultivating a green habit" (Dec 12, 2025): Exploring how technology is being used by women in agriculture to reduce chemical use and labor. Signature Style Dipanita Nath is known for intellectual curiosity and a narrative-driven approach. Whether she is writing about a 110-year-old eatery or the intricacies of the climate crisis, she focuses on the human element and the historical context. Her columns are often a blend of reportage and cultural commentary, making them a staple for readers interested in the "soul" of Pune. X (Twitter): @dipanitanath ... Read More

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