Will idli- dosa-uppittu  soon  become the fashion  in Italy while Indian  urban youngsters prefer pizza over our indigenous cuisine? That would not be surprising, judging from the popularity that Jaya Murthy's cook book is enjoying in far-off  Pisa in Italy. In the last 23 years that she has been in Italy with her mathematician husband Venkateshamurthy and her son Deepak, her love for everything Indian has, if anything, intensified.

In Pisa, when she enrolled for a Masters degree, she had to write her dissertation in Italian. She mastered the language but chose as her subject  the novels of R K Narayan (who, like her, was also from Mysore) . She followed this up with a cookbook  in Italian on the richness of Indian vegetarian cooking ("Le Richete Vegetariane Indu") giving not only recipes but explanations about the nutritional benefits of traditional Indian vegetarian specialities like Kosumbari  and  payasa  in a style that Italians could easily understand. The cultural-religious symbolism attached to our festive and daily menus was also explained, and the book quickly sold out. A second printing is now on the way.

"There is a sizable vegetarian movement in Italy, and people are genuinely interested in things Indian," says Jaya, who is currently in Bangalore planning  her second  book on Indian cookery covering a wider variety of  recipes (including idli-dosa and chirotee). Most of the ingredients, she explains, are available in Italy (including items like kadley hittu !) and replicating the recipes is not a problem. 

Her Italian collaborator on the books, Angela Fiorentini, is an Indophile who did her doctorate in Gandhian studies in  India.  Jaya was introduced to her  by an  Italian professor during her  studies at Pisa university and the two co-authors  have been friends for over sixteen years now.

Jaya has also translated Kannada novel Hambala, into Italian, and is now following it up with a translation into Italian of  Sudha Murthy's novel Dollar Sosey. Jaya speaks with enthusiasm about the growing following that things Indian enjoy, in her country of domicile - she has given over 40 lectures on Indian culture and Hinduism, and describes her audience as "receptive" because books on Indian heritage like the Upanishads and  the Bhagavad Gita  are already available in Italian. Bollywood movies too enjoy a huge following among Italians, she says.

By-two coffee anyone?
Her efforts at building bridges between the two countries go  beyond mere translations  and  lectures  —  if there is a reference to Bangalore in a novel, she adds a footnote saying "If you go to Bangalore, don't forget to look  for 'one-by-two coffee', a practice unique to the city".  If there is a reference to Mysore pak, she explains what it is, and how it is made.

It is this kind of personal touch that makes her writings doubly interesting  for her Italian readers.

The popular Rai TV channel  not only covered her book releases but also went on to film a documentary at her house, for which she transformed her residence into a "mini-India",  complete with puja artifacts, music, rangoli  and  a lip-smacking traditional Indian menu.

Her son Deepak  to whom her first book is dedicated, is equally fond of things Indian, and  both husband and son have been very supportive of her work, whether it is writing books or  promoting awareness abroad about the richness of  Indian heritage. In spite of her long stay abroad , Jaya who graduated from Mysore University, has chosen to retain her Indian passport and citizenship.

Living in Pisa, she still  keeps track of  Kannada magazines like Taranga and Sudha, and dresses only in sarees. At the same time, she is equally at home conversing, collaborating  and writing in Italian.

When I visit her in her Pisa home, she welcomes me with a plate of hot uppittu and  steaming cups of 'Indian coffee', and it  all tastes doubly delicious because it comes from a passionate Indian in pizzaland, that too in a city that showcases Italy with its famous  leaning tower.