Food and Beverage: “A Brief History of Anpan” by Sanat Ranadive

A Brief History of Anpan

for J.

In Bangkok, spirits are given
bottles of Strawberry Fanta
as offerings, I say and you nod
Yes, I’ve seen that.
When I want to ask you
if it’s meant to mimic
blood, or if they just like the sugar,
so you can pause and respond
mournfully, Either way,
sacred foods taste better,
I don't. Instead
I try to remember all the pujas
where my job was to pass pedha
wrapped in paper napkins
to those smiling aunties and uncles,
strictly giving and receiving
with the right hand.
Sacred foods taste better,
but they always come with rules.
When I want to ask you if anpan was sacred
before it was served to the emperor,
and if Yasube
Kimura could already taste the anko
dissolving on his tongue
like the samurai
as he was left nothing but a baker,
I nudge my plate over
and ask only if you want a bite.

A pause. Your hand

extends.

About Sanat Ranadive

Sanat Ranadive is a high-school student from California currently living in Berlin. His writing has appeared in DREGINALD and Couplet Poetry. You can find him in Preußenpark eating mango sticky rice while gossiping with his sisters. Or on Instagram @sanat.ranadive.