Indian spirit spices up Luxembourg

Pallab Bhattacharya

LUXEMBOURG: Spicecurry, The Star of Asia and Optimistic Club — they are not merely names but living testimonies to the love for India in the heart of Europe here.

When Jaffer Sherwani gave up a career in teaching in London and opened The Star of Asia, the first Indian restaurant here in 1974, he did it because he wanted to keep alive Indian cuisine in a country full of European food.

Jaffer’s son Ali Sherwani today runs “Desi Vibes” radio show mixing Indian classical with jazz and strains of music from other parts of the world and his grandson Shanu shares their entrepreneurial skill and passion for music whose album KinkySoul is slated for release at the prestigious music fair MIDEM starting in Cannes, France, on Sunday.

In 1992, banking professional Madhu Ramachandran moved to Luxembourg having little hope of holding on to his passion for cricket but managed to locate the Optimistic Cricket club in a football-crazy country as he knows how the Gentleman’s game is like a religion back in his homeland.

The smell of Indian spices wafts across the Spicecurry cooking classes conducted by Sunita Trevida as a group of foreigners watch her preparing mouth-watering dishes.

Anitha Kohli takes time off from teaching art to give lessons in Hindi to foreigners — just for the love of her national language.

They are among nearly 300 Indians who have brought with them a range of talents that combines business with their traditional culture, adding to the multicultural cauldron that this country already is with its three-language system — German, French and Luxembourgish.

The Sherwani family, which hails from Hyderabad, is in Luxembourg for over three decades, taking part in the economic changes in this country and retaining the legacy of its homeland.

In fact, the Star of Asia restaurant epitomises a confluence of populations in Luxembourg. You visit on any evening and you find Germans, French, Luxembourgers and of course Indians enjoying biryani, naan, aloo gobi and all other forms of Indian dishes--vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Ali is the President of Indian Association of Luxembourg and organises cultural events on important occasions including Diwali.

For Madhu Ramachandran, the shift to Luxembourg could have meant his association with cricket until he discovered the Optimistic Cricet Club where most of the members are British nationals. He now chairs the club and is a strong reminder for him of a sport that is next to religion back in India.

Like Ramachandran, most of the Indians in this country are employed in banking and other financial institutions, multinational corporations, restaurant management and independent entrepreneurship.

Sunita Trevida’s cooking classes in “Spicecurry” can be viewed as a continuation of the cultural heritage represented by the Star of Asia or the Optimistic Club. Most of her students are young professionals.

It is the love for Hindi that has inspired Anitha Kohli to move away from art canvas and spend some time teaching Hindi not only to children of Indians in Luxembourg but also to foreigners, including French and Portugese. What is it that attracts them to Hindi? For some, it is the business, for others it is the subject of linguistics and there is a group who would like to appreciate Hindi films better.

Luxembourg is considered the culture city of Europe primarily because of confluence of cultures of Germany, France and Austria over the centuries. Its theatrical productions are characterised by a range of languages and styles and international artistic influences.

From the middle of 15th century to the early part of 19th century, Luxembourg was ruled successively by Burgundians, the Spanish, the Austrians and the French.  If Luxembourg acts as a stage for cross-cultural existence, so is the Indian association in the country. The executive committee of the association includes not only Indians but also Pakistanis, Portugese and Luxembourgers.