Magnum Photos Blog

India Spice 

June 5, 2015 
by Alex Webb 
“Pepper it was that brought Vasco da Gama's tall ships across the ocean…first to Calicut and later… to Cochin… we were 'not so much sub-continent as sub-condiment,’ as my distinguished mother had it.”
? Salman Rushdie, The Moor's Last Sigh

Spices are no longer the impetus of conquest and colonization they once were, but they continue to suffuse cuisines worldwide. Spices have long defined the rich, complex South India cuisine— known for its hot red chilies and saffron-hued turmeric that are produced in the region—spices that also seem to be echoed throughout this multilayered culture. Photographing in the streets of Kerala, I remembered seeing turmeric’s deep yellow floating past as a shimmering shawl—and, turning the corner, encountering the delight of a red chili-colored head scarf. — Alex Webb

This story was shot on assignment for Expo Milano 2015, which has Feeding the Planet - Energy for Life as its primary theme.