Known as a city that absorbs cultures as easily as it absorbs itself into people, Bengaluru welcomes borrowed traditions just as naturally as it welcomes people from across the world who seek a slice of home, and Thanksgiving is no different. Hence, for many expats in the city, the last Thursday of November remains a special day, shaped by nostalgia, longing and a little improvisation. In many homes, cafes, and other corners, the American table and Thanksgiving spread are recreated alongside people holding on to the essence of gratitude and familiarity, even when they are oceans away from home.
US-born Kevin Konecky, vice-president and head of battery engineering at Spiro, an electric vehicle company, is grateful for the city’s accommodating nature, as he says, “Living overseas gives a different perspective on being thankful. I’m very thankful for my supportive Indian girlfriend, co-workers, Indian friends and global expat community here in Bengaluru. I’ve received so much help and support from local Indians and the global community in Bengaluru. It reminds me how people from such diverse backgrounds can come together and celebrate.”
For Dawn Hinke, Vice President-Investment Banking at JP Morgan, who has lived in the city for the past 18 years, Thanksgiving has shifted from sprawling potlucks in California – 25 people around a noisy table, to quiet dinners with her immediate family in ooru. In the early years, she attempted the full spread herself, only to discover that sourcing ingredients was an expedition. “You had to shop weeks in advance. Turkeys were rare, stuffing was impossible, even baking a turkey, which takes 7-8 hours, on gas was a challenge,” she laughs, adding,” But the meaning hasn’t changed. It’s still about family and thankfulness. Maybe the table looks different, but the heart remains the same,” she adds.
Yet some dishes remain close to home, like her mother’s mashed potatoes, stuffing made from a pre-packaged mix, and green beans baked with crispy onions.
Whereas across town, Rachel Swallwood, who runs Ethic Attic Cafe in Indiranagar, is busy preparing a Thanksgiving feast this year, which she calls a ‘Friendsgiving’ supper club. For her, the holiday smells like her grandmother’s kitchen in New York. “I miss my family, but hosting this dinner lets me give others the Thanksgiving feeling they might be missing,” she says.
Her menu in Bengaluru is improvised, but it remains close to traditional food. “I can’t find the exact sweet potatoes I grew up eating, so I use the closest variety here,” she says.”This year, I ordered two small turkeys because we couldn’t get a bigger one. And my cafe staff, they usually cook Indian food. They’re learning oven-based cooking just for this dinner. We used to eat these tiny hot-dog rolls, instead of the turkey, so they’re on the menu.” Still, she brings an Indian twist to the spread, for instance, adding ginger-garlic flavour to her mashed potatoes.
Rhiannon R, a member of the Bangalore Expats and Socials community, who moved from Texas almost an year ago, says, “For me it’s a moment to reflect on the Indigenous people of the US before the colonisers came, I try to keep that in mind when I’m celebrating Thanksgiving, just to honour them and the journey they went through,” adding, “This year, I had a cranberry sauce at an early Thanksgiving feast, which tasted different yet delicious. I love to see how India does other cultures’ food.”
Essgenics’ founder Swati Eesshita Chatterjee’s Thanksgiving is quieter but no less heartfelt. “Back home, Thanksgiving was about togetherness and small family rituals with my daughter. She reflects, “Thanksgiving has become about grounding myself. It’s about creating warmth wherever I am. In place of a traditional table, I light a candle. In place of turkey, I cook something simple and grounding. A diya, a familiar spice, a quiet corner of it becomes my blended version of the day. It is less about re-creating America and more about re-creating a sense of home within myself, wherever I am.”
Apart from the dishes, Thanksgiving is also about the traditionals and personal rituals wrapped around it. Rhiannon says the one tradition her family refuses to skip is watching football. “There’s always a football game going on by the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving every year, so it’s really a day to sit around, watch the game and eat food throughout the day,” she laughs.
Swallwood agrees, “After eating, we’d all play Monopoly or card games – nobody would want to clean up,” she says. She recalls one of her grandmother’s favourite rituals, too – breaking the wishbone after carving the turkey. “It’s silly, but those tiny things stay with you,” she smiles.
It’s also a moment in the year when the holiday season sets in and living rooms starts glowing with festive lights, as Rhiannon notes, “The last Thursday of November is also the day when most people bring out their Christmas trees to usher in the holiday season.”