A modern-day sadhya brings two star chefs and a historian together, as they use food and artificial intelligence to tell stories set in Travancore, in the world of one of India's finest painters, Raja Ravi Varma. Expect lust, betrayal, murder... and a surprising banana-leaf spread
AI-generated image: While the menu strays from a traditional Onam sadhya, it aims to represent more than just the Malayali community of Kerala. It looks to highlight the state’s diversity, which includes, for instance, its Muslim and Christian populace too.
When you think of an Onam feast, it’s unlikely that you will expect blood spatters on your plate.
Enter the world of Raja Ravi Varma, one of India’s most celebrated artists, who was born into an aristocratic family at the Kilimanoor Palace in Travancore, now part of Kerala. Screens set across The Bombay Canteen in Mumbai will use artificial intelligence (AI) and digital art to transport those who walk in to the palace courtyards of the 1800s, for an Onam with a twist.
In a ‘dinner with a show’ experience, historian Manu Pillai will orate the hidden histories of Kerala, using AI images for visual effect, and along with each story, diners will be served a related food item, crafted by chefs Hussain Shahzad (executive chef, Hunger Inc, which runs The Bombay Canteen) and Manu Chandra (founder-partner at Manu Chandra enterprises, which runs Lupa in Bengaluru).
While the menu strays from a traditional Onam sadhya, it aims to represent more than just the Malayali community of Kerala. It looks to highlight the state’s diversity, which includes, for instance, its Muslim and Christian populace too.
“There’s a particular story centred on a Raja Ravi Varma painting, which is about a murder that took place in Travancore, in the royal family,” Shahzad says. “So the key ingredient of that dish is also the key ingredient of the murder—jackfruit. It’s a take on the steamed rice dumpling of the Malabar Muslim community, which you don’t often find in mainstream restaurants. The dish tells the story of the murder in different ways too.”