"It's an oasis, it's Dishoom"

Towards the end of last year a real live bona fide poet came to Dishoom and loved it so much he wrote a poem about it! We were truly touched.

The poet happens also to be the father of one of our staff (Prerna) whom you may remember from her lovely peacock Diwali chalk rangoli. Joe, the poet in question, lived in Bengal for many years and has written one of the authoritative translations of Tagore’s famous Gitanjali (which is an incredibly beautiful work). He’s also a fantastic chap.

TO A NEW RESTAURANT

It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom,
a new jewel in St Martin’s Lane.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom.

It could be London’s ritziest room.
Sit in splendour and rest your brain.
It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom.

It’s something else. From India’s loom
an offering to drive you insane.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom.

Oh man, the food. A bride and groom
each couple will become again.
It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom.

A red wine in the cunning gloom
downstairs . . . you have not lived in vain.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom.

Ganesh, observe a café boom,
from where upon the wall you reign.
It’s Covent Garden’s latest bloom.
It’s an oasis. It’s Dishoom!

Joe Winter
November 2010

Read the café stories

Suggested Reading

See the journal

Dishoom Loves. Issue VIII.

The sun is momentarily out again. Calendars are fast filling up. There’s many a thing to do and many a friend to meet. And if we may kindly add to the excitement and the plan-making, here’s our list of what we’re looking forward to in September. 

Memories from the Fringe

While we were at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we caught Evening Conversations, an engaging show by Sudha Bhuchar. We caught up with her after the show to talk about her journey and her views on South Asian representation on screen, which you can read below. And for those who didn’t walk down the cobbled streets of the city or stumble into an impromptu performance this year, we highly recommend it for 2024.

Dishoom Loves Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Each year as August dawns, the streets and rooms and corners of Edinburgh fill with music, art, laughter and song. Wander into grand halls and pokey pubs, as the morning sun rises or in the dark of night, to see creations of every kind as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In honour of this wonderful celebration of the performing arts (and as a little treat), here’s a special edition Dishoom Loves, covering all the acts we’ve circled on our festival programme.

76 Years on, there is still much learning to be done

For anyone looking to learn or read more on Partition, this page holds a series of resources, for all ages, created by people knowledgeable and knowing about such matters. It is by no means definitive – we have simply found them to be useful, inspiring and accessible.