Andrea Gutierrez came to India to study Yoga under Pattabhi Jois in Mysore. She began to learn Sanskrit there and became immersed in aspects of Indian life, including the fascinating cooking practices! She soon realized she needed a sophisticated knowledge of Sanskrit to understand the history of Indian cuisine, so she returned to the US to complete a PhD at the University of Texas at Austin. She started studying Tamil language as an additional entry to the texts and early history of India, and as a way to bring South Indian traditions more fully into her research.
