Oh! How I hate going to Southall here! I wish I could tell! Although people call it- Little India, I dread if most of them have seen the real India!
After going for the first time, I had decided that I will never visit again. It reminded me so much of Janpath, Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar markets in New Delhi, India, minus the stray. :) Yet, the memories of having mouth-watering Indian dishes weakened my determination.
Reaching Southall, we went to a temple which was within walking distance of the rail station. Unlike regular temples in India where for a rule, I never saw Durga ji with Ram and Sita ji's statues in the same room, I was taken aback when there were 6 of my fav gods ( in their own rights) , darned in their finest. In this particular moment of Godly confusion- I bowed to Radhe-Krishna- as it was my grandfather who had introduced him first from an array of pictures of Gods and Goddesses, while I was a kid. I felt happy inwardly as I had done justice (First come, first serve basis!) Yeah!
Phew! Hinduism- Too many Gods! Too many practices! Too much confusion!
So now, coming back to the Bollywood inspired Southall - It has a large Asian community made up of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. After relieving ourselves off the godly responsibilities- we began our hunt to feed the very hungry and growling stomach. Found a nice Punjabi dhaba (although it was a restaurant, it did not look like one!) and ordered everything that we could take in. Starters were mango shake (mangoes are damn costly here and then you can't even sniff la Indian style to judge its sweetness) and then chicken and vegetable samosas and Dhokla and finally ending with pulao and mutton korma. After eating so much desi khana in pardes, I did not want to spoil the taste with some sweet dish! So paid the bills and then walked out back to the rail station, feeling content and as happy as a foodie could be.
I still do not want to go to that place again as I can cook most of the dishes now. I know that my mum will be really happy and dad surprised - as I had once added sugar to balance the extra salt in my fried rice. :)
Talk about how circumstances can change you.
Cheers
After going for the first time, I had decided that I will never visit again. It reminded me so much of Janpath, Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar markets in New Delhi, India, minus the stray. :) Yet, the memories of having mouth-watering Indian dishes weakened my determination.
Reaching Southall, we went to a temple which was within walking distance of the rail station. Unlike regular temples in India where for a rule, I never saw Durga ji with Ram and Sita ji's statues in the same room, I was taken aback when there were 6 of my fav gods ( in their own rights) , darned in their finest. In this particular moment of Godly confusion- I bowed to Radhe-Krishna- as it was my grandfather who had introduced him first from an array of pictures of Gods and Goddesses, while I was a kid. I felt happy inwardly as I had done justice (First come, first serve basis!) Yeah!
Phew! Hinduism- Too many Gods! Too many practices! Too much confusion!
So now, coming back to the Bollywood inspired Southall - It has a large Asian community made up of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. After relieving ourselves off the godly responsibilities- we began our hunt to feed the very hungry and growling stomach. Found a nice Punjabi dhaba (although it was a restaurant, it did not look like one!) and ordered everything that we could take in. Starters were mango shake (mangoes are damn costly here and then you can't even sniff la Indian style to judge its sweetness) and then chicken and vegetable samosas and Dhokla and finally ending with pulao and mutton korma. After eating so much desi khana in pardes, I did not want to spoil the taste with some sweet dish! So paid the bills and then walked out back to the rail station, feeling content and as happy as a foodie could be.
I still do not want to go to that place again as I can cook most of the dishes now. I know that my mum will be really happy and dad surprised - as I had once added sugar to balance the extra salt in my fried rice. :)
Talk about how circumstances can change you.
Cheers
Mini,
ReplyDeleteYour blog on Southall is hilarious! It is true to life for every Indian away from home.
Do keep posting such interesting blogs and allow us a reason to tickle our funny bones.
Regards,
Leena
Thanks Leena. :)
ReplyDelete