Each Indian community has its own ethos regarding food, though for almost all of them this is largely influenced by the dissemination of Aryan ideas regarding food coming from the north. The Aryans thought that food was a part of cosmic harmony that produced in the eater feces, flesh and manas, or mind and thought (these are in order from densest, read basest, to lightest). Foods were classified into different categories depending on whether they were being generally referenced or used for religious ceremony (with only uncultivated foods allowed during a fast or ceremony). Ideas of pollution influenced many beliefs about food, eventually leading to the system of Brahmin cooks, since as the highest caste all could eat the food they produced (while none would ever eat food cooked by one of a lower caste). Within India there were also smaller religious sects of Jews, Christians, Parsis and Muslims, all of whom seem to have followed their religious constraints on the consumption of food (pork and shellfish banned for Jews, only fish on Friday for Christians, and certain Hindu adaptations for the Parsis). Food was a constantly changing part of life, ceasing after deaths, carefully monitored during pregnancy and used in very pointed ways in celebration of marriage. All in all, food was a central part of life for all those living in India, and today remains so to a certain degree.
