The Taste of Diaspora

Like all tourists, when I came to the UK I wanted to make sure that before I left I had tried the most popular British of foods. Hungry and curious, I immediately starting asking around, what is the most popular British Dish? Apart from the obvious bangers and mash, mushy peas, hot cross buns, time and time again people claimed that I must try chicken tikka masala. After some investigation I found that this dish was voted the most popular dish in the UK. Also in 2009, motions were being made in the parliament to grant this dish European union status of protected origin in Glasgow, UK. And so I thought hey, that sounds like an opportunity to eat a new tasty meal, and then blog about it after. I was told that you can order this dish in any pub in the UK. So I tested the theory. I went to the closest pub which happened to be the Sunnyside Hungryhorse which is not more than a hop skip away from park campus.

Sure enough, on the menu was the dish I was looking for. So I ordered the chicken I am happy to report that it was deee-lish!

So what does this tasty dish have to do with diaspora? The answer is EVERYTHING!

If you saw the dish before you knew what it was called, you would immediately know that this is not a traditional English dish. Why? Not only because there is actually spice present in the dish, but there is curry. Not only is the chicken smoldered in a tasty curry coconut and masala sauce, but it is also served with naan bread and mango chutney. Naan bread and mango chutney is not traditional English food, but common sides served with South Asian dishes. Being that this particular South Asian dish (just as one example) has made it on the menu in many British pubs, this points to the adoption of South Asian cuisine and culture into British dominant society. This further points to groups of people who have migrated to the UK in the form of a diaspora. The certain ethnic group responsible for the introduction of this fabulous dish are the individuals who migrated from South Asia. The presence of this dish in a traditional style British pub (that is, not specializing in ethnic cuisine) signifies and illustrates evidence of Northampton and the UK in the larger pictures diasporic history.
Diaspora is not just about one group moving into the host society and adapting the ways of the host society, but is also about the host society changing as a result of the newcomers. In this day and age, ethnic cuisine is all the rage everywhere you go. When you are in America you will see countless signs for traditional Japanese, Chinese, Indian or Thai cuisine. In Europe I was pleasantly surprised to see many restaurants specializing in traditional American diner food. Not only is the spread of food to different parts of the world great business but it also often tell-tale of the history of the evolving make-up of a nation of peoples, often pointing to diasporic histories. Therefore, the introduction of new foods is a great example of how a host society can be enriched by diasporic peoples. Chicken tikka masala on the menu in a British pub is a great example of cultural hybridity or Avtar Brah's third space. Also since this dish, which may have been modified in order to cater to the palates of the British is neither fully south Asian nor British but a product of the two cultures mixed in the form of a tasty dish!

A Great Novel

As I posted in the begining of the term, I have a keen interest in South Asain Diaspora; so I decided to pursue this interest and read a novel that had to do with South Asain Diaspora in the UK. Amritvela was written in 1988 and is a very early illustration of the ideas that are present in modern diaspora theory. One major theme in diaspora literature illustrated very well in this novel is the struggle for beloninging that a diasporic individual often faces with difficulty. I loved this novel and if you are interested in South Asain diaspora, or diaspora in general, you should read it too!! Heres a little synopsis of the novel as it pertains to themes relavant to the study of diaspora.

Leena Dhingra’s novel, Amritvela (1988) is about a women’s struggle with her personal identity and spirituality. In this novel, the reader is able to follow Meera’s personal growth by witnessing Meera’s interactions with family and friends, as well as through the journal that Meera keeps. The story begins when Meera, who has lived in London for her whole teenage and adult life, decides to return to India in search of finding answers about who she is and where she belongs. Meera, a middle-aged woman, has not visited India since her parents death when she was at eleven years of age. At the beginning of her journey, Meera holds high hopes of finally finding the place where she feels she truly belongs and hopes to find answers to some of the questions that have been left unanswered her whole life. To Meera’s dismay, she finds out that India, in reality, is not quite the way she had cherished her memories of- and that maybe she had been gone too long, and has become more English that she fully noticed. This means that Meera has idealized her Indian homeland in has created a vision of India that is now in the past, and no longer a reality. At the end of the novel Meera, in a moment of Amritvela, finds peace and decides to return home and let herself truly settle in England, while keeping her heart closely tied and loyal to India. Throughout the novel, Meera recognizes that her inability to let go of her former homeland, which is India, as an idealized place, has created a homing desire as well as disabling her from fully settling in England, leaving her in a bitter struggle to resolve her identification as either British or Indian.

Amritvela was about Meera’s process of personal and spiritual change and growth, concerning who she is as an individual. This theme present in the novel is consistent with Stuart Hall’s (2003) theory of identity in that Hall explains that, “identity is a ‘production’ which is never complete, always in process” (p 222). It is also consistent with the definition given by Jana Evans Braziel and Anita Mannur (2003) who state that ethnicity is, “always in a state of flux; far from being static, unchanging and immutable”. As the novel is wrapping up, and in a conversation between Dr. Shankar and Meera, the doctor he explains, “The promise and idealism you remember- it’s all still there and can be found there are many India’s you know! And India exists in you too – trust that, and other things will become more clear” (Dhinga, p 153). What Dr. Shankar may have been trying to convey to Meera is that India may be different than how she remembers it, but it is important to remember that one can keep Indian in their heart even though they do not live there; furthermore, she can preserve the culture of India even while she is living in England. In the closing scene of the novel, as Meera is in the plane on her way back to England, Meera writes something in her journal that gives the reader the biggest hint of her newly found self-identification, “I am on my way home. From my home in the East, to my home in the West, safely through my space my home in the clouds. Yes, I have come and I am going home. For now I can sleep safely on the plane. For a plane is always safe: whichever way I am going, it always carries me home” (Dhingra, p 177). This quote, and final statement in the novel, powerfully illustrate Meera’s resolution (for now) about her former troubling question of belonging.


References

Dhingra, Leena. Amritvela (1999).

Hall, Stuart. “Cultural Identity and Diaspora.” Theorizing Diaspora. Ed. Jana Evans Braziel and Anita Mannur. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.

SHOE MUSEUM

When I first arrived at Northampton University and I took a stroll around campus I found the campus to be not much different than the campus of my home University, which is the University of the Fraser Valley. For all intensive purposes it was a pretty average school. I recognized the social sciences and humanity courses such as sociology and psychology and business. I also noticed that there was a good selection of science and math courses and as well as applied/professional courses such as tourism and early childhood eduction. What immediately struck me as odd was the program that was available which dedicated solely to the study of leather. I was left wondering, why on earth would a university this small have a program so specifically dedicated to the study of leather? An entire bachelors degree in science on the study of leather?


It was during a tour of Northampton town center, as we approached the Northampton Shoe Museum, that a member of staff from the University let me know that Northampton has had an interest in leather in for many decades. Therefore, the leather sciences program available at the university is evidence of, and a run-off- of Northampton's former legacy in dominating the leather tanning business within the UK as well as within the world.  Upon entering the shoe museum I was informed that one of the main attractions in Northampton is this wacky shoe museum. So what does Northampton's legacy as being a former leader in the production of leather have to do with this wacky shoe museum? The answer is leather.

So here is the story:

Historically as well as presently, many shoes are made of leather. Therefore, since Northampton was packed full of skilled workers who specialized in the tanning of leather, this meant that Northampton was the cite that many shoes were made! Northampton, not a large town neither presently, nor in the height of the leather shoe making era, housed eleven leather production factories. This meant that most of the residents worked in these factories producing none other than SHOES. Unfortunately as the leather production business evolved, new ways of tanning leather which was much more efficient and easier was developed in the United States and Germany. Also contributing to the decline of the booming leather and shoe industry in Northampton was, and continues to be, labor undercuts from factories in countries such as India. Although the leather tanning industry is not what it once was, the legacy of Northampton's great leather tanning skills lives on through the leather technology program at the University as well as the Northampton Shoe Museum!

History lovers note: Northampton Shoe Museum is a Must See... and not just for the shoes!!

Northampton Shoe Museum contains an intriguing collection of historic and present day shoes from all around the world. My favorite was the biggest shoe in the world which was created for an elephant! However this wacky museum carries a much larger significance for the people of Northampton than just housing outrageous shoes. The presence of Northampton shoe museum marks an important part of the diasporic history for both the U.K as a state, and more importantly Northampton as a town, by commemorating the large labor market which once flourished in Northampton surrounding the shoe and leather production business. 

Exploring South Asian Diaspora in Britain Through Film

          For our research placement the other two Canadian girls at Northampton University and I have chosen to work with a charity organization called Dostiyo.  Dostiyo is support group for south Asian women (here is the link if you are interested in finding out more http://www.dostiyo.org.uk/).  Dostiyo also has sister organizations who work with south Asian men as well as south Asian girls.  When we heard about this organization we thought it would be the perfect organization to be placed with since our topic is diaspora.  Working with this organization has been great, so far we have been able to eat lots of fabulous south Asian dishes as well as take part in activities such as yoga and Bhangra dancing.  The clientele of Dostiyo is almost, if not entirely first generation immigrants to Britain.  So what is it that makes the south Asian migration story so much more difficult than that of my own family story?  In talking with these ladies and hearing their stories I began to reflect upon the notion that I have no idea what it is to be a person immigrating to a country, which is very different than that of my own.  I have no idea what it is to be a visible minority, and I have no idea what it is to have a culture and set of traditions that further sets me apart from the dominant culture of my host country.  In attempting to gain a better understanding of the specific experiences of the south Asian diaspora to Britain, I watched a few, British films with south Asian diaspora themes such as Bend it like Beckham(2002), Bhaji on the Beach(1993), and Anita and Me(2002).

Of the three films, my favorite film was Anita and Me (2002).  This story, which was based on the novel written by Meera Ryal in 1996, is told through the eyes of a very intelligent 10 year old girl named Meena, who lives in a small town in England in the mid-seventies.  Throughout the film Meena is in conflict with what she is, and what she wants to be.  What she sees in own house and family, and what she sees in the other families in the neighborhood.  Anita, who is a beautiful white girl, attracts Meena instantly and he realizes that the wants nothing more than to be accepted by Anita and be her best friend.  The major challenge for Meena to overcome in this story is how she is going to fit into British culture, being that she is so visually different from the rest.  The dominant themes in this movie are culture, and the search for a personal harmony that works for Meena and racism.  Related dominant sub-themes in this film include clash of cultures, cultural hybridity and growing up.  Culture and racism are looked at through the eyes of ten year old Meena, who wants nothing more than to fit in, which is the same as every child her age.         

Author Ryal created a significant juxtaposition between the characters of Meena and Anita.  Throughout the movie Meena wishes for white skin and blond hair, physical characteristics that Anita, a girl who lives in the same town embodies.  She sees Anita, beautiful white skinned and blonde and admires her and how life seemed so easy for this girl.  However throughout the movie you realize that Anita has her own obstacles which Meena does not recognize and is too young to understand.  Scenes showing Anita’s family always include fighting and neglect.  Later in the movie Anita is found fornicating with a boy from the town in the forest and explains to Meena that she is getting married, as she shows off her ring that is the tab from a can of pop explaining that they are in love.  It becomes known to the audience that Anita has far less than the picture perfect life that Meena thinks that Anita does, and at the end of the movie Anita is left abandoned by her family.

I think that this significant juxtaposition was two-part.  Firstly, I think that Ryal was trying to recognize and expose the feelings that many second generation immigrants feel as they grow.  The purpose of this was to shed light on the challenges many immigrants face and to let the immigrant audience know that they are not alone in these feelings.  She did this through the character of Meena who expressed her annoyance and embarrassment with the cars full of fake relatives piling into her house and poking her cheeks.  One point that stuck out for me was when during their celebrations when the children were asked to sit in the circle and do something nice.  The other children did short acceptable Indian dances.  It is apparent that Meena thinks that this activity is stupid and doesn’t want anything to do with it.  Finally Meena recites a song from the Radio and although she did a great performance her family is shocked.  Going back to idea of juxtapositions, I’m sure that Anita would have loved the family time and attention that Meena was getting and taking for granted.

The second major overarching theme in this film is British racism towards south Asian immigrants.  Meena and Anita have a huge falling out in the middle of the movie when Meena finds out that her supposed best friend was present during the beating south Asian man, which resulted in his death.  This was the paramount act of racism and let Meena know what Anita, although she was friends with Meena, racist.  The biggest point of conflict between these two best friends when they are arguing near their favorite water hole and Anita says, you’re different Meena, you’re not like the rest”, Meena gets very angry and shouts, “I am the rest!”.  The two start wrestling and Anita is thrown over the edge and into the pool of water.  At the end of the film Meena makes a sort of peace with her best friend Anita, but the overall problem of racism is not solved.  In the end life goes on as it does, racism is there.  The problem or racism is left unresolved but Meena’s personal conflict with culture is solved for now when she comes to terms with the idea of a balance between the traditional Indian ways of her family and that of the world of British culture that surrounds her.  She realized that it doesn’t have to be one or the other. 

I think this film is a very wonderful film and anyone interested in exploring south Asian diaspora in Britain should watch it.

-Until Next time, 

Tara :)