A Taste of India
For my religion class at school I had to participate in a diversity walkabout, which I experienced dinning at the authentic Indian Bombay House. Half a dozen of my friends joined me on this excursion and we were all excited to get a taste of India. Prior to this project, I had eaten Indian food once before at a more rundown and unknown place called Curry in a Hurry. However, that was years ago and my memory escapes me, plus I did not really experience diversity or engage anyone there. Instead, my friends and I entered Bombay House with the intention of socializing with the employees and having a good time. Afterwards, I was glad I partook of this project because I was subject to a new atmosphere and have walked away with something.
It was a breezy night on March 1st 2012 as my friends and I exited the automobile where our attention is harnessed by a glowing red sign that read, Bombay House. This restaurant is located just off foothill right near the old K-Mart but before the freeway entrance. I have lived right by this place my entire my life but I had never been in it at all. It is amazing how diversity can be right under our nose and we may not even know it. Our entire pact consisted of specifically Joshua Oelsner, Hunter Cornelsion, and myself as well as some others who all came with the intention of doing what we were doing for our walkabout.
As soon as we walked in, I smelled what I initially thought was curry, but whatever it was it was definitely something Indian. All the employees that worked there were straight out of India and were wearing beige dress shirts with black turbans. Aside from the appearance of the workers they also spoke in their Indian language. The decor of the place was very eastern with depictions of Indian art and popular cultural images. Once I had taken all this in it made me feel like I was in India. My friends and I remained in the lobby for ten or fifteen minutes so that they could arrange for us a table. During this I ran into two older friends in my community I knew who were eating there also. Yet, one of them was a professional chef and told me the food at Bombay House was amazing, which it was. He told me to order the garlic naan bread which we did and it met our expectations. When we got seated we all looked at our menus and realized most entrees had curry in them. We not only knew that curry was a necessity in Indian cuisine but if we are to experience India we must try it. I ordered the fish curry and my other friends ordered lamb and shrimp. All of this came with plenty of rice that was very good but still not like the rice I am used to. Nonetheless, everything we ordered there was very good and left us with a positive feeling.
Besides eating at Bombay House, we also made an effort to speak with a couple of the employees who waited on us. We spoke with our waiter about various things and in a nut shell he told us that he had been in the United States for fourteen years and loved it very much but still had a passion for India. I also assumed every Indian was a Hindu and I asked my waiter if he was, but he replied that he was Sikh. I really did not know anything about Sikhism but after hearing this it gave me a basis to go home and look it up more on the internet. I also learned, especially after watching the film on Mohandas Ghandi, that India is a very divided country religiously. Nowadays, it is home to Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and others. We asked our waiter where he is from in India and he told us from a village in the North which I do not remember. However, upon asking him where the best place to visit in India is he replied in a sarcastic and friendly manner, “that would be my village.” Not only was our waiter extremely helpful and nice but so was the rest of the workers which definitely affect the atmosphere and left me with an incentive to return.
This experience was beneficial to me because it was something new that I was not familiar with. I have never been less exposed to eastern or Asian cultures like the Indians and this was a good opportunity to fix that. I have a more knowledgeable and positive outlook on India now and I am encouraged to travel there and experience some more because I know what a unique and cultured place it is. I will try to use my experience at Bombay House as a prototype for whenever I try something new. At first I did think much or expect getting much out of going to this restaurant but the results proved to be positive.
In conclusion, I am glad I experienced Bombay House and I will try to visit the restaurant more often. Morality and Justice are themes that relate to experiences like my walkabout because they teach us more about ourselves and other people. Regardless of where people come from they always have something in common. It is a moral obligation to be accepting of others and what they offer. In our pursuits we need to focus on maintaining justice and giving everyone their merited respect and recognition.
