Southall ahoy! :)

With the end of the course fast approaching, my classmates wanted me to take them to an Indian suburb of London for a taste of what India is like. This is what happened.


This is not India folks! This is London's very own mini-India or Punjab town!
Welcome to a stroll around Southall.


Raksha bandhan (click link for info about the festival) had just passed by and these were all the left over rakhis.




I treated my American and European friends to our very own desi paan! It hit them...like lightning !:)



Fantastic desi food at (almost) desi prices! I was relieved that the whole group found the food great...



There was a wide range of joothis to choose from at affordable prices. And two in the group bought them.


How about some hot jalebis on the street? They were VERY, VERY, VERY SWEET.







No evening is complete without a few drinks, right? So off we went to Glassy Junction Pub. This, people, is a special pub...loud bhangra music, Bollywood songs on TV, maps of Punjab on the wall, both Asians and Whites enjoying a pint of Indian beer and...






....it's just amazing, isn't it?!








I could'nt resist buying mangoes ( tastes yum!) and two recent Bollywood
soundtracks! I never thought I would buy Bollywood soundtracks in London at a price I can afford. And for those of you who have seen - what is with Saif Ali Khan and his bare-chested -Calvin-Klein- jock- baring- pose on the cover of the 'Salaam Namaste' soundtrack?

I was really happy I organized this outing. It's as close to an Indian experience you can get in London. The streets were booming with Indian music. There was a palpable energy one feels, which is uplifting. The other big plus point is that it feels safe and is clean compared to other Indian suburbs of London. The fact that there were many non-Asians is a proof to what I am saying.

A big THANK YOU to Jag - he was just amazing with all of his recommendations. It worked like magic. Read and listen to his version of Southall here!

As for Aj and myself- it felt like we were in Delhi again...happiness...!