15 Jun 2019

Army rations: The Intersection's 'War and Peas'

From The Podcast Hour, 12:55 pm on 15 June 2019
The Intersection logo (Supplied)

The Intersection logo (Supplied) Photo: Supplied

Feeding an army during wartime's always been a huge logistical challenge. And those challenges were magnified for the Indian army in the Second World War.

With the army having to rapidly grow its numbers, it lowered height and weight requirements for new recruits. So lots of malnourished, food-deprived soldiers started joining up. And army ration packs also had to cater for the food habits and dietary restrictions observed by India's different religious and ethnic groups.

From an Indian podcast called 'The Intersection', which explores stories at the meeting point of culture, science and history, we share some of an episode called 'War And Peas'. And 'The Intersection' is presented by Padmaparna Ghosh and Samanth Subramanian.