A spicy dish from Burma naturalised in Madras
The article explores the cultural significance of 'Atho', a Burmese dish that has become a staple comfort food in Chennai (Madras). It highlights how the dish serves as a bridge for the Burmese-Indian community to maintain their heritage.
Why it matters
It illustrates how migration and food culture intersect to preserve identity and community bonds in urban environments.
People marry into money. Adbul Rahman married into “Atho”. And the latter situation translates to money saved by the plates. “I have never had to pay for a plate of Atho after marriage,” Rahman chuckles.
Rahman is the son-in-law of Abdul Ajeez, whose eponymous Ajeez Atho Shop at Arrababu Street off Rajaji Salai in George Town has the effect of a speed governor on an environment geared to movement and bustle. The milling crowd on Rajaji Salai contrasts with the stationary, slurping crowd around Ajeez’s shop. Customers, their work bags slung over their shoulders, tuck into plates of Atho as if it were their comfort food.
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