Chutnification is the adoption of Indian elements into the English language or culture. The word “''chutnification''” was coined by

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

in his novel, ''

Midnight’s Children ''Midnight's Children'' is a 1981 novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a postcolo ...

''. Chutney is a sauce or a dry base for a sauce, originating from the Indian subcontinent. Rushdie’s ''Midnight’s Children'' is not the first novel to exhibit or employ chutnification. More-or-less, all the

post-colonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

writers tried this in some way or other. For example, Chinua Achebe’s seminal trilogy ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the ...

No Longer at Ease ''No Longer at Ease'' is a 1960 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is the story of an Igbo man, Obi Okonkwo, who leaves his village for an education in Britain and then a job in the Nigerian colonial civil service, but is conflicted bet ...

Arrow of God ''Arrow of God'', published in 1964, is the third novel by Chinua Achebe. Along with ''Things Fall Apart'' and '' No Longer at Ease'', it is considered part of ''The African Trilogy'', sharing similar settings and themes. The novel centres on Ezeu ...

'' as well as

Ngugi wa Thiong’o Ngugi or Ngũgĩ is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: *Ngugi wa Mirii (1951–2008), Kenyan playwright *Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (born 1938), Kenyan writer *David Mwaniki Ngugi, Kenyan politician and member of the National Assembly of Kenya *Jo ...

’s ''

Petals of Blood ''Petals of Blood'' is a novel written by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and first published in 1977. Set in Kenya just after independence, the story follows four characters – Munira, Abdulla, Wanja, and Karega – whose lives are intertwined due to the ...

'' were written long before Rushdie’s ''Midnight’s Children''. But those novels were more busy at ‘creating’ history without proper documentations to challenge the historylessness the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

or Swahili Community was ‘suffering from’ therefore remain in the ‘fictions only’ category.

References

{{reflist Food preservation