Southall

Adventures in Diversity

So today I had planned on waking up early and going to Camden market again or to Hyde park.  When I finally rolled out of bed the clock said 1pm.  Soon after the sunny skies turned to rain (Not in London you say! What a shock) and because I left my newly purchased umbrella on the tube and my backpack is still wet from my last adventure in the rain, I have decided to stay indoors for the day.  I though I could pass the time by describing my visit to Southall yesterday.

Southhall is an town close to Heathrow in the South-West area of London.  It is where a large number off immigrants settled after the British empire began to crumble in the mid 20th century.  We are studying this school in my "South Asian Immigrant Experience" class, and this trip was a scouting expedition of sorts.  Our teacher Sunil led 3 of us on a tour.  Our first stop was at a Sikh temple that look a bit like a converted grocery store.  We entered the building and Sunil explained the rules to us.  To enter the place of worship we had to take our shoes off and cover our heads.  We each got a scarf from the bin and after a few struggles my noggin was securely fastened.  We then entered the temple and walked down a red carpet to the alter, a small gold temple with a priest who was, I learned later, waving a wand made of horse hair to keep the air clean above the holy book.  After an offering of a 5 pence piece and a bow I took a seat against the wall.  I was the only white person in their but I didn't feel unwelcome of get any stares.  After a few minutes we left and went down the road to another temple that was a little better suited to give us a tour and recieve 20 students the next week.  This building was quite impressive.  ( I will have pictures next week, I was travelling light so no camers)  The place was enourmous and designed to let the maximum amount of natural light in.  It was early afternoon on a cloudy London Friday but there wasn't a single bulb burning in the place.  The best part for my was the huge 2 story stained class window.  It was bright orange and blue and depicted fire and swords.  We had a quick tour and learned a little more about the Sikh faith.  I don't feel that I know enough to describe it properly, but I will be getting a more in depth overview in the coming week.  After the tour we went to the kitchen, which is apparently open 24 hours a day and provides food to anyone who wants it.  No one can question why you are there even if you go back for 10 servings.  This falls in line with the Sikh philosophy of sharing what you have with others and the universe.  The place and the people were really nice.  They were all very hospitable and welcoming, but not in a "look how good our religion is, don't you want to join us?" kind of way.  Sikhism is not an evangelical religion, but they are very welcoming to anyone who is curious.

After the temple we went down to Southall market.  I was a huge mingling of cultures in one place.  Sunil, who is from New Dheli, felt right at home and was pointing out all the interesting spots.  The place is such a mix lifestyles but it is pretty harmonius.  I say a Sikh temple that was right next door to a Mosque.  There were many stores that mixed cultures right on their shelves.  Religious stores sold artifacts of the Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh faith.  I was introduced to pan for the first time.  It was interesting to say the least.  A bunch of herbs and other things are wrapped up in a leaf which you then place in your mouth and slowly chew for the next 1/2 hour or so.  Mine tasted a bit like roses and sugar water.  It is supposedly good for digestion and most people in India start their day with one.

The best part of the trip for me was the grocery store.  Both Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus all shop their so their was a huge mix of different foods.  The stores all sell pork, beef and other meats.  The Hindus walk past the beef to buy other meats while the Muslims and Sikhs  bypass the pork to buy the meats that are allowed in their religions.  I picked up a bottle of good hot sauce, which I have been missing since I got here.  Everything was so cheap which was nice after living and eating in London where a good curry and a beer can cost more than 2 large pizzas back home.

Sorry there are no pics this time.  I will bring my camera when we go back to Southall next Fri.  Tomorrow, providing I can get out of bed at a decent time, I plan on hitting the Imperial War Museum, and maybe the Sherlock Holmes museum while I am at it.