KOCHI: Every Indian household, without an exception, would have at least that one cursed member whose medical reports have eternally transformed the hitherto ‘taken-for- granted’ humble laddoos and exotic chocolate cakes into forbidden temptations.
While the rest of the family go about their meals with wild abandon, this condemned representative of the clan has to make do with satisfying sweet cravings with recollections of tastes once familiar and attainable. Welcome to the world of diabetes — the condition that has taken our nation by storm and crowned us as ‘the diabetes capital’.
Today, sugar is viewed through the lens of suspicion. We look desperately for alternatives to sweeten our tongues. We try to ignore the dessert counter at buffets, mustering every ounce of mental strength to walk past it without a pause and somehow, make it to the salad section. We make new year resolutions to banish it from our lives for specified periods. Yes we, the newly converted health freaks, are slowly and steadily declaring our personal wars on the sweetest discovery of all time.
You would then be surprised to know that the same sugar was a much sought-after symbol of luxury and fine living, centuries ago and was even lauded for its medicinal properties. Sugar sculptures graced many banquet tables, pronouncing the wealth and power of the host. It all started with sugar being used as an artistic medium for religious purposes.
The Ming Dynasty in China used a technique called sugar painting to create animals and figures. The Ottoman Empire, in the 16th and 17th centuries, made figurines from sugar to be used for festivals. But, all credit goes to the Europeans to turn it into a show of wealth in the medieval period.
The sweetest period was the Renaissance period indeed. Sugar was a very expensive commodity back then and only the rich could afford it. Confectioners were entrusted with the task of making magnificent sculptures with sugar, shaped in the form of palaces and cathedrals as well as heroes like Venus and Hercules from mythologies.
Until the 18th century, these sugar sculptures were very popular at all grand feasts as a display of money and status. Renowned artists were called upon often, to create these sugarcoated luxuries. These edible delights had late expiry dates, which enabled hosts to also gift them to honoured guests, to be relished later. How elaborate the sculpture was depended on how exclusive the occasion was. When Henry III of France visited Venice, the sculptures at the banquet were created with pure white sugar and resembled marble!
Luxuries, they may have been, but their history certainly was not so sweet. It was this demand for sugar that enabled the slave trade and the horrific working conditions in the sugarcane plantations. Sugar however, continues to inspire contemporary artists as a medium, primarily due to its flexibility.
Berlin-based artist Joseph Marr uses sugar for his sculptures and has even had visitors licking his creations at his shows! Sugar may have played havoc with the lives of those who overindulged, but when life is hard, it sure feels good to spice it up with some sweet sugar!