London's coolest quarter
Derived from `Sewer's ditch',
Shoreditch in London's East End still remains the hang-out of bohemians,
artists and the `cool' kids. Here's a look at how this neighbourhood has
evolved
Can you read that?', asks
my tour guide Kevin Caruth of Urban Gentry, while point ing to a street sign. I
can just about make out the language -Bengali -and am surprised to find this
vernacular signboard in London's East End. I search for the English version
that reads, `Brick Lane.' With that begins my tour of some of the most historic
and hippest parts of the city. As we crossed the sign, it was like walking into
an alternative space. This is two places at once -London and Bengal (East and
West i.e the modern state of Bangladesh, and India put together); it's also
where migrants hold on to age-old tradition, while hipsters wear the
non-conformist tag.
Walk down the alley and
restaurants lure you in with roshogulla and malai chom chom; where familiar
words like `khup bhalo' take on a British accent. It was recognisable yet
completely alien to this non-diaspora desi. The Bengalispeaking community here
carries a curious past: Brick lane earned its name from the fact that brick
earth deposits were used on the roads in this area that connected this eastern
part of the city with the north. By the 19th century, the neighbourhood had
seen some development and attracted the Jewish community who faced religious
and political persecution in other parts of Europe.Many of the Jews had landed
in London to make their way to America. But having found employment as cloth
traders in nearby Spitalfields Market, they stayed back. Soon this part of the
East End became a Jewish hub. In the 1970s, Banglas were added to the mix.
The political turmoil in
Pakistan, and formation of Bangladesh in 1971 led many to seek out other shores
and they too narrowed in on Brick Lane thanks to reasonable rents. Predictably,
they brought along bags full of fragrant spices and some finger-licking-good
recipes. The result was that a large number of Bangladeshi restaurants popped
up, and the lane was nicknamed the `curry lane'. In the late 90s, Brick lane
was officially re-christened Banglatown by the local authorities.
Around the same time,
Banglatown and the district it lies in, Shoreditch, donned another avatar; a
trendy one thanks to the first wave of gentrification that touched the
neighbourhood. The textile industry had long declined, yet the remnants stood
as abandoned warehouses. The council decided against tearing down the heritage
structures, instead converting them to lofts. Cheap and big, they made for
perfect studios and attracted artists. As the creative made Shoreditch their
new home, they added a dash of colour: murals with political messages on street
corners; trippy graffiti on once drab walls. The neighbourhood was transformed.
More recently, Shoreditch
has seen a second wave of gentrification with capitalism added to the creative
mix. As I walk down the street, I find that not far from the ethnic restaurants
are some of the quirkiest eateries in London.There's Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium.
This is a place with about a dozen resident felines that roam free, brush up
against you, or turn away from you, while you enjoy a treat of high tea and
scones.
Kevin also leads me to
plenty of peculiar stores: Boxpark, a pop-up shopping mall fashioned out of
shipping containers; the irreverently named `Son of a stag' that specialises in
denim and stocks up on designers from across the globe; `Barber Barber' that
advertises `clean cuts' and `close shaves' on its storefront and is one of the
few hair salons with its very own bar; Rokit, a vintage-clothing store, where
the 60s and 70s live on, and where a tutu doubles up as a lampshade.
All along the streets are
alfresco bars where 20-somethings sip on colourful cocktails in jam jars. The
spunky graffiti on the walls sums up Shoreditch best when it says, `Don't be
like the rest of them, darling.' Ironically, there is homogeneity in the crowds
walking the street: trimmed beards, rolled up jeans, scarves and vintage
sunnies.
In the midst of the coolth,
Kevin mentions that `Shoreditch' may have been derived from `Sewer's Ditch.'
Historians assert that the name came about as a result of the many drains in
this former boggy area. To add a bit of drama, there's Jack the Ripper.The
notorious and hitherto unidentified serial killer of the last century worked
these streets.Today, visitors need not fear him as they go on tours of the many
sites where his victims' mangled bodies -he liked to rip apart their intestines
-were found.
Shoreditch's reinvention
has attracted business-men and their investments, shoppers and their credit
cards, and curious tourists who want a taste of gentrification. But there's a
down-side: a real estate boom and a surge in rents, which could result in the
`home of the persecuted' becoming inaccessible to the working class. I walk
into a hole-in-thewall art gallery, and strike up a conversation with the
attendant, Salim. On learning that I am from India, he says he is too: `a
British-Indian from Dhaka'. I gather that his grandparents migrated to the UK
in the 1960's.I don't correct him, for borders are fluid, particularly in
Shoreditch. The crowds that call this area home, have together created a
cultural patchwork.
BEFORE YOU PACK
GETTING THERE
Fly Virgin Atlantic
(code-sharing Jet Airways), from Mumbai to London. Special student deals are
available till the end of 2016.
OTHER QUIRKY ATTRACTIONS IN
LONDON:
DRINK SHOP DO, KING'S
CROSS:
It's a cafe, restaurant and
activity centre, all at once. Drop in for a jewellery making session, or just
to sip a cup of tea. What's more, everything is on sale; from the chair you're
sitting on, to the china you're being served in.
PRET A PORTEA, BERKELEY
HOTEL, LONDON:
Drop into this uber-chic
tea room to enjoy sweettreats shaped like the latest goodies off the ramps of
London: edible Jimmy Choo shoes; pastries shaped like a Fendi bag.
|
Kiran
Mehta
|
MM 6NOV16
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