Food memoir Shadrachulu is an ode to Deepthi Tanikella's family memories

The Hindu

30-04-2025

The third story in Deepthi Tanikella's debut book, Shadruchulu, is titled 'Osmania Biskoot'. A heartwarming tale of her grandfather's tryst with an Irani cafe when he came to Secunderabad. 'The chapter is a tribute to thatha and the relationships he shared with the family,' says the Bengaluru-based storyteller.
'Osmania Biskoot' is one among the book's six stories, each dedicated to the six tastes savoured in the Ugadi pachadi: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and spicy. 'These tastes are similar to the emotions we deal with, and each chapter has a story linked to an emotion, followed by a recipe,' shares Deepthi.
And giving life to each of these stories are six full-page illustrations by artist Mounica Tata, who used Deepthi's family pictures, old recipe books, and letters as inspiration. 'We both sat down and went through old photographs, diaries, and I figured Deepthi wanted to bring back that era's nostalgia in the book. I knew my trademark comic art style wouldn't work for the illustrations so I went in for warmer tones of terracotta and mustard, and brought in smaller details like a pearl necklace and ribbons that Deepthi is seen wearing in one childhood photograph,' says Mounica, who has also added fun, spot illustrations on the recipe pages.
'This isn't a traditional recipe-heavy cookbook, so I added drawings connected to the story. For instance, the Omo washing powder illustration depicts the time Deepthi's mother was a door-to-door salesperson for the brand.'
Deepthi adds that the stories take a fictional turn to bring in her perspective. In 'Osmania Biskoot', for instance, the story highlights thatha leaving behind a letter for Deepthi with three wishes. The last one: to make and serve everyone the biscuits for his final rituals.
'I introduced the character of Reshma aapa who went on to teach me how to make the biscuits. This idea stemmed from my grandmother who was an orthodox woman. My father and his seven brothers had friends from all religions, and would introduce them to her to make her comfortable.'
For Deepthi, writing Shadrachulu (published by Notion Press) was no cakewalk. Not because of the work that goes into the process of writing a book and then getting it published, but because it was a way to channel grief. Grief that came from losing her 27-year-old brother in 2004, followed by the demise of her parents. 'It wasn't easy,' she tells me, 'Letting trauma lead me was not something I was willing to do, so writing this book was like catharsis.'
The seed for Shadrachulu was sown a few years after Deepthi lost her brother, but triggered after her mother passed away in 2022. 'I thought that if I don't do it now, then when? How will my children know about my family? says Deepthi. 'Growing up, my Nana (father) was always in the kitchen. They both enjoyed their roles: my mother was bold and outgoing and handled tasks such as paying bills and going to the bank. The kitchen was my father's zone.'
Soon after her mother's passing, Deepthi recalls trying to make avekai pachadi, and how she came across 'a tiny book in Amma's handwriting with detailed recipes of food and gardening'.
'I made the pachadi and put out a video on Instagram about my story,' shares Deepthi, who also made her profile public in the hope of finding like-minded individuals who connected grief with food. 'The next morning, I had 15,000 followers, with many reaching out with similar stories.'
One story that stuck was of a woman who had lost her mother as a child, but remembered the taste of the sivangi pulusu she used to make. 'I helped her recreate the dish, and it was an emotional journey,' says Deepthi, who has bridged this very connection between food and emotions in her book.
Be it the chapter that speaks of the love letters her parents exchanged while they were engaged to be married and Nana took over the kitchen to break societal norms, or dedicating the usirikaya murabba chapter to her late brother. 'While these are my life's stories, a few, like the usirikaya pachadi, are fictionalised in the sense that it is my perspective on how my parents felt after he passed.'
Deepthi says she had started writing down her memories for many years, but was not ready to put them out in the world. 'I love storytelling; and I learnt it from my father, and my uncle, who writes stories in the Telugu film industry. My mother used to tell me often that I have the gift of writing, but was doing everything but that! Even my father who had many writer friends said he did not want to push me. Shadrachulu is a tribute to them,' says Deepthi, who has coincided the book's launch with her company, Pinch of South.
'There is no exclusive archive for South Indian food and I hope to change that. We are launching a podcast on women in the culinary world in South India, and hope to tell the story of food brands in the coming years.'
While Deepthi's long-term plan is to turn these six stories into short films, she believes the banyan tree metaphor fits this phase of her life perfectly. 'Just like the mycelium are always under the shadow of the banyan tree, I was under my parents' wings. It was only after they moved on, did my writing journey begin, and I now realise this is what I'm supposed to do. I'm loving it,' she concludes.
Priced at ₹599 for the paperback, and ₹799 for hardcover, Shadrachulu is available on Amazon and Flipkart