Little India Walking Tour with SharedCity

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SharedCity is a new London venture specialising in cultural walking tours in areas with immigrant communities. I tagged along on a recent saunter through Little Indian (aka Ealing Road in Brent).

If there’s one thing about living in London it’s that even after a decade there’s still plenty to discover (and I feel I’ve done a considerably better job of routing around this town than most). Take Ealing Road for example. Who knew it was such a buzzing place for a taste of authentic Indian culture? Well, thousands of mostly Guajarati immigrants, obviously … and the team behind SharedCity … and surely lots of other people too. Just not me, until now.

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I got so much out my stroll along Ealing Road with SharedCity. I loved every bit – from visiting the ornate and impressive Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir “Wembley Temple” to browsing the aisles of Venisons saree shop and its basement Sanskruti by Venisons shop with its many cultural and religious items for the home. Foodie that I am, I very much enjoyed the end of our tour recapping what we experienced over a vegetarian thali at local favourite, Asher’s Africana Restaurant. I even tried paan for the first time from Panachand Pan House.

I don’t think I would have had quite as thorough a visit to the area if I’d gone on my own. I certainly wouldn’t have had the ‘backstage access’ at some of the venues or insider’s knowledge offered by my guides.

At a time when Brexit dominates the news and even leading advocates for the UK to remain in the European Union seem to focus mainly on how bad it could be to leave rather than how great it will be to stay an EU member, it’s refreshing to come across folks who proudly share, celebrate and eagerly explore London’s immigrant heritage and the vibrant cultural collage that makes it such a dynamic and unique city. We (and I say this as an immigrant myself) live on an island in a thriving global city – and should be thrilled about all the good things this affords us. I found my tour of Little India with SharedCity to be fun, educational and particularly relevant given current affairs.

SharedCity offers a variety of tours across London priced from £20. Find out more at sharedcity.co.uk.

About tikichris

Chris Osburn is the founder, administrator and editor of tikichris. In addition to blogging, he works as a freelance journalist, photographer, consultant and curator.
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