The role of food in South Asian immigration story
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The neighbourhood of Harlem in New York has been known as an African American area for a long time. But it was also a place where many immigrants came from the English and Spanish-speaking Caribbean and South Asia. Young mostly Muslim men who were a part of the ex-maritime Indian workforce moved to the neighbourhood from the 1920s to the 1950s. South Asians were an important part of Harlem, working downtown alongside African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and West Indians. They had jobs in hotels, restaurants, and factories, and some of them also sold hotdogs, saving money to open Indian restaurants. These restaurants had a social role. They were places of interaction where people from different parts of the world who lived in Harlem bonded. It was an important communal place for the ex-seamen of the Indian workforce. The restaurants were also integrated into the daily lives of African Americans and Puerto Ricans living in Harlem.
In the Theater District in midtown Manhattan, the clientele was different. It was mostly the most adventurous non-Indian customers of the theatergoing crowd who had a growing need for Indian food. Orientalism surely impacted the interest in South Asian cuisine, it was seen as 'exotic' food.
Prof. Vivek Bald gives the example of the Bengal Garden, an Indian restaurant which opened in 1948. Habib Ullah and his wife Victoria ran the restaurant. They involved family members in their business and efficiently divided the labour, which was a success. The clientele and workers were from racially and ethnically mixed backgrounds. For example, Victoria was Puerto Rican. Indian restaurants were a success among the large Caribbean population because they had been serving the community for years, creating a sense of familiarity with South Asian food. However, they had trouble making the restaurant fully work because too few Anglo-Americans were willing to try the food, and there were too many Indian restaurants. Habib Ullah still gained experience from running the Bengal Garden, and he helped other immigrants open their own restaurants.
Today, the history of South Asian migrants in New York is often forgotten. I wonder why their story, in particular, is not told.