Robert Spellman discovers a taste of Gujarat India in his native London on a Wembley Immersive India Tour.
Part of the privilege and thrill of living in London is the opportunity to experience the completely new, just a tube ride from one’s home. I recently travelled up the Piccadilly Line to spend a half-Saturday in Alperton, an area of Wembley I didn’t know, to be shown around the capital’s Gujarati community.
My knowledge of London’s Indian culture is sketchy at best, and has been largely driven by dining. So I was intrigued to hear about the Immersive India Tour, which touches upon Gujarati cuisine but goes further. The tour has been expertly devised by author and host Vaishali Patel, who lives in Harrow and is of Gujarati descent.
Immersive India Tour
Our walk is entirely based on the section of the Ealing Road that commences from Alperton station, and not long after setting off we come to a stop and get a question. “Limestone!” says Vaishali, over our wrong answers. “The stone was carved in Gujarat, shipped here and assembled.” Before us, against bright, freezing January skies, is the Shree Sanatan Hindu temple, a glorious sensory shock that’s stood on this otherwise ordinary Wembley road since 2010.
Inside, picture-taking is forbidden and we walk and whisper in the sandalwood-scented air. Forty-one deities are displayed amid pillar carvings of the natural world according to Hindu scripture, and groups of women sit chatting here and there. Vaishali tells stories about the gods, like Ganesh, who acquired that elephant head after his father Lord Shiva decapitated him in a fit of pique because Ganesh wouldn’t allow him access to his wife, Parvati, who was bathing. Hinduism counts millions of gods, Vaishali informs me.
Our little stretch has been a destination to Vaishali since childhood, so the creation of the tour seemed logical after she studied at the Tour Guiding Academy. The three-hour stroll has been thriving since late 2023.
Next we’re taken to Star Pan Parlour (sic) to have paan handmade for us. I’m handed a betel leaf wrap of fennel seeds, dried coconut, rose petal preserve and menthol – a palate cleanser, I’m told, but on chewing my sinuses are afire with bittersweet perfumes. It’s certainly a livener, and something I’d repeat, albeit in moderation. The kiosk shares its space with a launderette and internet cafe, rather like today’s pop-up collaborations. “We’re ahead of the curve here,” smiles Vaishali.
More manageable treats await us at Ambala sweet shop, where Vaishali puts pistachio, cashew and carrot halwas before us and we’re tasked at guessing the flavours, while at Festival trinket store, thousands of “puja” (devotional) items and Hindu figurines coloured red, turquoise, orange, silver and gold create an intense field of colour. Finally, we head for a late lunch at Sakoni’s. Gujarat is one of India’s most vegetarian states and we try classic snacks like potato bhajiya and also patra rolls, which are spiced colocasia leaves that are fried and eaten with coriander chutney. Light, delicious food.
On the way back to the tube station, some market traders are handing out bunches of unsold bananas to passers-by. It is done with smiles and a warmth I’ve not encountered in my home town for some time.
For more information visit: https://www.immersiveindiatour.com/
