'Climbing the Mango Trees' by Madhur Jaffrey

‘Climbing the Mango Trees’, Madhur Jaffrey (2.5)

I found this book to be a bit milquetoast for me. It came across as a privileged memoir of the idyllic and not particularly interesting life of an Indian chef/actress.  She describes her storybook life growing up near New Delhi during the 40’s and 50’s. Even though this covers WWII and the partition of India and Pakistan, she keeps it light and fluffy.  Only one member of her family (a selfish Uncle) comes across as anything less than a perfect example of family harmony.  I will admit that seeing ‘The Lunchbox’ while I was reading this may have tainted my opinion. While it was hard to imagine a wife cooking her husband a hot lunch each day – that is then transported on bike and train to be hand delivered to his office every day – the contrast was startling to Ms. Jaffrey’s experience. In elementary school, their servants would deliver their hot lunch and set it up for the three daughters to eat – including tablecloth, plates and silverware! The one element of the book I enjoyed was her weaving into the story the smells and foods of her childhood. She ends the book with pages of exotic recipes. She did transmit her love of the food and the warmth by which it was prepared (by family and servants), though the book ended rather abruptly and it wasn’t clear how she became an actress, chef and author.