In Indian summers, the people who work outdoors rarely have the luxury of staying still, let alone staying cool. Construction workers, road labourers, farm hands, vendors and daily wage earners keep moving under a sun that can feel punishing by late morning. For them, food is not just about taste or habit. It is survival, stamina and a small line of defence against fatigue, dehydration and heat stress. Across cities, villages and work sites, certain foods keep appearing in lunch boxes, roadside meals and shared steel plates because they are affordable, familiar and practical. They are the kinds of foods that cool the body, replace lost energy and sit well in the stomach. Here are 7 foods Indian working class eats to survive extreme heat.
