The House of Zaikanama was founded on a simple premise: that food is among the most consequential and least studied forms of historical evidence.
Its work moves across archives, oral histories, field observation, and experimental reconstruction. Meals, ingredients, and domestic practices are treated as historical sources that record labour, hierarchy, and everyday life.
Food refuses disciplinary boundaries. The practice draws on history, anthropology, material culture studies, and the environmental humanities to examine how food systems, eating practices, and culinary knowledge have shaped the societies that produced them. Change and continuity, across time and geography, are the central concerns.
It works independently, outside institutional affiliation, to pursue questions that do not fit within a single field or academic tradition.
Why a “House”
The word House is used deliberately.
Historically, houses have been places where knowledge circulates informally: through kitchens, through conversation, through daily practices that rarely enter formal records.
The House of Zaikanama gathers these traces. It functions as a container for research practices that approach food historically while remaining attentive to the domestic worlds in which food is produced and shared.
Founder
Aali Kumar is a historian who specialises in the colonial history of the Indian subcontinent and is the founder and director of The House of Zaikanama.
Before establishing Zaikanama, she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at a college within the University of Delhi for over a decade. Here, she taught undergraduate students, and it was through her classroom interactions and teaching pedagogy that the methodology of Zaikanama gradually emerged.
It initially took shape through educational festivals, events, and lectures within the college, but eventually Zaikanama became an entity of its own.
Her current research draws on Urdu vernacular archives. These sources often preserve domestic detail that formal records overlook: recipes, household instructions, and passing references to meals. Small traces that open windows into everyday life. This is one thread of her many research interests and upcoming projects.
Questions of caste and gender remain central to the work. In the context she studies, both are tightly bound to food. They shape labour, access to the kitchen, the order of the table, and the boundaries of the household.
The Core Team
Meena Kumar
Director of Events & Operations
Meena Kumar is a core member of Zaikanama and the backbone of its events. With strong managerial and organisational skills, she ensures that every aspect of planning and coordination comes together seamlessly. Her thoughtful approach and dedication behind the scenes make Zaikanama’s events smooth, memorable, and truly special.
Ayushi Kumar
Culinary Director & Curator
Ayushi Kumar is a core member of Zaikanama and the heart behind all the major curated dishes. With a background in Law and an MBA, she combines discipline with creativity in the kitchen. Cooking has always been her passion, and at Zaikanama, she turns that passion into experiences that delight the senses. Every dish she prepares is crafted with care, attention, and love, making her an indispensable part of the team.
Sakshi Sharma
Head of Research Operations & Archives
Sakshi Sharma is a core member of Zaikanama and leads its research and archival work. With a background in ancient history, her interests lie in social and cultural histories, with a particular curiosity for scripts, manuscripts, and the ways in which the past is recorded and remembered.
At Zaikanama, she is responsible for developing research frameworks and shaping the intellectual direction of the initiative. She also works closely on translating this research into visual form, designing the website and visual material, ensuring that each idea is not only well-researched, but also thoughtfully presented.