But really, must one know the antecedents of a curry to enjoy it with a pint of beer?

Yet, the history that is caught between the covers of a textbook, divvied up by kings and
kingdoms, battles and conquests, pottery styles and the size of granaries and baths, rarely
takes into account the people who lived through it.
People who may have enjoyed their aubergine curries and mango chutneys before a mighty
river dried up and the monsoon winds went rogue. People who emptied out of towns and
cities in search of better lives and better food.
And at least one person who forgot to wash the dishes one night, about 4,000 years ago.