101 Dishes for the Emperor: How shared histories are made

Often the most beautiful and meaningful lessons of life come to us by way of our childhood stories.

Stories that our parents, teachers or our grandparents tell us, stories that flow down the generations till someone in the family decides to write them. These stories lend magical words and visuals to transform aural characters into testimonials; often a kid-lit.

Once a story is a literary asset one is curious not only about the story but also about their storytellers too. Similar curiosity arises when one encountered 101 Dishes for The Emperor, a slim but gorgeously produced children’s book.

"101 Dishes has many layers but first and foremost it’s a story of two women of Pakistan and Indian ancestry. Their friendship and creative collaboration result in a fantastic kid lit, an exemplary revival of storytelling through short texts and illuminations; a replica of Mughal storyboarding"

Adorning the pale yellow cover is a young boy looking curious, a grand emperor regally riding an elephant, a few minstrel personalities dotted about, and a dog following an elephant. 

The story tells of a boy Anwar, his mother Paro and the powerful emperor. Anwar invites the emperor and his entourage for a simple but delicious meal cooked by Paro. What follows next is the storyline of this particularly vibrant illustrated kid-lit.

In the age of fancy graphic novels and Marvel superheroes, the story of a ‘desi’ superhero who doesn’t know he is, in fact, the hero is evocative enough to explore the backstory of the publication.

101 Dishes has many layers but first and foremost it’s a story of two women of Pakistan and Indian ancestry. Their friendship and creative collaboration result in a fantastic kid-lit, an exemplary revival of storytelling through short texts and illuminations; a replica of Mughal storyboarding.

Longtime friends Zahra Hassan - a British Pakistani illustrator - and Soni Zuberi Shah - a British Indian author based in London - decided to come together to produce the book. The collaboration, a reflection of their united creativity has a wider purpose of retelling the shared history of South Asia to the world.

Zahra, a modern-day miniaturist, also believed that the book could be a terrific showcase for contemporary Mughal miniature art that would kinder young adults to become more imaginative and align towards knowing about South Asia's various schools of paintings.

Soni shared the backstory of 101 Dishes to The New Arab. "My father was a great storyteller and would recount stories from his childhood in the oral tradition that was passed down from his grandparents and their elders, including one about a Mughal Emperor passing through their village and tasting their recipe for a delectable urid dal - a type of lentil popular in the Indian subcontinent.

"The story's universal values speak of sharing, kindness, community and the love of good food. This was the inspiration for my first published children’s picture book, 101 Dishes for the Emperor. The book's central character is an audacious young boy named Anwar, who in many ways represents my father, whilst the boy’s mother Paro represents my mother who is a fine artist and a great cook. The story is set in 16th-century Mughal India, as that is the time the incident would have taken place."

Soni has always been drawn to the shared history of the Indian subcontinent, “Over the years I have been fortunate enough to visit India and Pakistan, enabling me to reconnect and appreciate my ancestral heritage which crosses the divide between Pakistan and India. I attach importance to the beautiful people I have met and to the incredibly rich and diverse places I have visited”.

Fatima became connected with Soni because she believed in her brilliance, “Many illustrators in the UK are skilful, famous and would have loved to present this beautiful story, but Soni wanted me to take this project due to my training and my style, which she thought would match the background of her story”.

In a freewheeling conversation, Soni revealed how she had met miniature painter Dr. Fatima Zahra Hasan at the Royal College of Arts in 1996 when she was finishing her PhD. Soni then bought “The Mystery of Aliph”, a part of Zahra’s final show. “I really admire her style, work ethic and of course passion for Indian and Persian miniature painting!”, quips Soni.

"Over the years I have been fortunate enough to visit India and Pakistan, enabling me to reconnect and appreciate my ancestral heritage which crosses the divide between Pakistan and India. I attach importance to the beautiful people I have met and to the incredibly rich and diverse places I have visited"

For Fatima, their common belonging mattered, “We both belong to the same land once called the Indian Subcontinent, and our life experiences are similar. Soni and I decided to do the book for the 75 years of independence of India and Pakistan."

Soni was also certain that the book must have language versions for the young readership in South Asia, “Although I wrote 101 Dishes for the Emperor in English, I purposely produced in dual language versions too: English with Hindi, English with Urdu and English with Bengali, so that the commonalities in our shared heritage can be celebrated.” Her decision has helped the distribution of the book reach much wider worlds. 

Like the final outcome, their collaborative process had many influences. Soni expresses her satisfaction as she opens up to discuss how it all went, “We took inspiration from similarities in landscapes and the architecture of Delhi and Lahore. Zahra studied homes and rural scenes from several miniature paintings and real life. She even used artistic license to work in a photograph of the courtyard of my ancestral house into a collage depicting Anwar’s home – a detail that has brought me great personal delight!”

Fatima confessed for her part how she “fell for the story’s simplicity and the message it gave to humanity only to be impressed with its timeless appeal and charm”.

Pages of illustrations clearly indicate how Fatima was influenced by various schools of miniature paintings: Punjal Hills, Kangra, Guler, Mughal, and Persian. Fatima also used scale to create an animated effect. This in turn was interplayed with the textual narrative that would help place the characters according to their importance in the story.

The publication has received support from the Arts Council of England, London’s Waterman’s Gallery and Theatre, and also from Horse & Bamboo Theatre in Lancashire.

Soni adds, “Yes, many good things have followed from this project idea from the initial book launch last year, from art exhibitions of the paintings in two UK cities to art workshops, several storytelling sessions in local schools and libraries, recipe books, and an audiobook that was launched on Amazon read by British Indian actress Sheena Bhattessa. We are planning to develop a stage version of the book for children. We'd really like to collaborate with creatives from both India and Pakistan, including actors, directors and musicians.”

“100% of proceeds from the sale of the recipe books being divided equally among three food banks in Hounslow to feed those in need. The 55 Dishes for Hounslow recipe book project is one small action which provides a free meal to those that might need it," Sonia adds, with Zahra concluding: Art undoubtedly bridges the physical, mental or emotional divides and works magic to mend hearts.”

Nilosree Biswas is a filmmaker, author, and columnist.

Follow her on Twitter: @Peachtreespeaks