6th September, 2018 will be marked in Indian history as the day when love won. At 11:30am, the Supreme Court scrapped Section 377 – the notorious law that criminalised homosexuality.
This was a truly ground-breaking, life-changing and special moment for India, so we decided to throw a proper party to celebrate.
We were absolutely delighted to then team up with the brilliant Gaysians and The Unmistakables to throw the #377 Scrapped Party – a big-hearted celebration of freedom, love and respect on Thursday 27th September.
The night was chock-full of entertainment from the very-best South Asian LGBT+ community, including DJ sets from LOIAL (aka Reeta Loi), DJ Ritu and Hungama, performances from the brilliant Shiva Raichandani and Mawaan Rizwan. (It was seriously cool.)
IT HAS BEEN an annual December habit of mine, these past ten years since we embarked upon this restaurant business, to sit alone, with myself, and reflect on the year gone by. I am grateful to be here in the Permit Room in our restaurant in Shoreditch scribbling and writing, the oddly enjoyable taste of splintering wood from my chewed up pencil smoothed by my decently strong drink.
These are the last few days, the dregs of 2019. It’s my habit to sit here in the Permit Room at this time. I am the be-stubbled and dishevelled regular, cherishing his precious drink at the end of the bar. Weary, I sit here pondering the year, attempting to figure out what it was trying to teach me. What wisdom can I glean from it?
I love to truly understand and appreciate the origins of a dish, and learn how communities have adapted a recipe over time to make that dish unique to them.
We have arrived at a very sad, but inevitable and clear choice. As of now, all Dishooms are now closed to diners.