The country's new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra as defence minister in the interim government
world3 days ago
The India Club, a historic London curry house with links to India's freedom struggle, will close its doors for the last time on Sunday after failing to stop a hotel redevelopment plan.
With a non-descript entrance up a precipitous stairway on a busy stretch of The Strand in central London, the restaurant was set up four years after India's 1947 independence by members of the British-based India League, a campaign group advocating freedom for India from Britain's colonial rule.
For decades, the India Club has drawn regulars craving a masala dosa or bhuna lamb, but also many Londoners of Indian descent.
"For many students, journalists and travellers, it was a home away from home, offering simple and good quality Indian food at affordable prices as well as a convivial atmosphere to meet and maintain friendships," Indian lawmaker Shashi Tharoor, whose late father Chandran helped set up the India Club, said.
Manager Phiroza Marker told Reuters the India Club had experienced its busiest days this week and that she was looking for an alternative space nearby for the restaurant, whose formica tables and mustard yellow walls give it the atmosphere of a colonial-era Indian coffee house.
Retired civil servant Ian Angell, who has been an India Club regular for nearly a decade, said its closure was very sad news.
"There's a sense of history about the place and it's very difficult, if you have to move somewhere else, to replace it like it still feels the same," he said at the Club's bar.
"It's such a great shame," he added, sitting below portraits of Indian independence heroes Gandhi and Nehru.
ALSO READ:
The country's new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra as defence minister in the interim government
world3 days ago
Under the old regime, jokes about elections, the dollar or even mentioning the president's name could mean arrest or worse
world3 days ago
Last minute delay comes amid heightened political crisis; Han accused by opposition of acting against the will of people
world3 days ago
France has been mired in political deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections this summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority
world3 days ago
Ankara is in close touch with Syria's new leaders and focussing on the voluntary return of Syrian refugees
world3 days ago
Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Toby Warnes told local media it had never been the union's plan to cause major disruptions on New Year's Eve
world3 days ago
The 50,000-year-old female mammoth has been nicknamed 'Yana' after the river in whose basin it was discovered this summer
world4 days ago
The aid group raises an alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory
world4 days ago