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October 25, 2009 | Liquor and non-vegetarian fare at Gandhi Restaurants in UK | London: Even as it’s been almost six decades since
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, the Western world is making the most of his name, as his name is being used to promote all kinds of branded items from Mont Blanc pens to restaurants. However, believe it or not, joining this list is a chain
of restaurants named after Mahatma Gandhi, which has come up in the United Kingdom
and could startle Gandhi followers. The Gandhi restaurants located
in different parts of London are serving non-vegetarian food and alcohol, the
two entities that Gandhiji detested in life. Immigrants from Bangladesh manage almost
all these 'Gandhi' restaurants. Zalal Uddin can be termed as the pioneer of these
'Gandhi' restaurants in the United Kingdom. He tells that he opened his restaurant
'Gandhi's' on the Kennington Road in London 27 years ago when Richard Attenborough's
'Gandhi' film was released. That restaurant was a major hit as Gandhiji was a well-known
Indian all around and it was easy to relate the restaurant with Indian curries.
On serving alcoholic beverages and non-vegetarian food under the tag of “Gandhi”,
Zalal Uddin said that his restaurant caters to the European customers, thus alcohol
has to be served. "He wasn't a drinker and wasn't a non-vegetarian eater. We respect
his wishes. We opened business in European country, we cater for the Europeans
and that's what they expect you to serve here. Otherwise, we will not be doing
any business. And the customers used to come and tell me that how wise of me of
calling this restaurant ‘Gandhi's Restaurant’ and naming my restaurant after the
great man. Everybody knows who was Gandhiji and they really appreciated it and
it was an instant hit. Believe me, everybody used to know my restaurant as a name
of Gandhi's," said Zalal Uddin, owner of Gandhi's Restaurant, Kennington Road
, London. The gourmets among who's of who in British politics, be they the Tories
or the Liberals, are regulars at Zalal Uddin's Gandhi's Restaurant. Recently when
the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was having hectic parleys with his treasury
bench on the credit crunch issue, a lot of Indian curries like Balti to Chicken
Jalfrezi were ordered from the Gandhi restaurants. Antony and Tim, two professionals,
are regulars at the Gandhi Restaurant and enjoy their vegetarian Thali (set
plate meals) as well as Chicken Biryani, relished with beer. "I knew he (Gandhiji)
was a vegetarian. I suppose, …he was Indian, also I guess, he didn't drink alcohol.
Probably not for me... I am more likely to be engaged in passive resistance than
I'm to become a vegetarian or stop drinking alcohol," said Tim, a connoisseur
of Indian food. In London , there are three Gandhi restaurants and a few more
in Cambridge and Kent. Azad Miyan, also from Bangladesh and the manager of Gandhi's
Restaurant on the Grays Inn Road in London said that it was the popularity of
Gandhi, which prompted the naming of the restaurant after India 's most respected
freedom fighter. "Gandhi was always a popular man since obviously long time ago.
Even a lot of people came before in England. So Gandhi was popular before everyone
came. When you call the name of Gandhi, They used to say from India. This is
like Indian curry. That's what it is ...They think putting the name of Gandhi
makes popular the curry," added Azad Miyan, Manager, Gandhi's Restaurant. However,
admirers of Gandhi and followers of his philosophy don't approve of naming restaurants
that sell non-vegetarian food and alcohol after Mahatma Gandhi. According to John
Rowley, one of the Trustees and Coordinator of Special Events and Projects of
the Gandhi Foundation in London observed if Mahatma Gandhi were alive, he would
have found it highly immoral. Sir Richard Attenborough is the President of the
Gandhi Foundation. "Advance capitalism is extremely skilled in linking names with
products which actually have no rational or appropriate link. I think people are
simply intent on making a profit by associating as a word of goodness of Gandhi's
name with the goodness of the product, said John Rowley, Trustee and Coordinator
of Special Events and Proj |
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