When nostalgia comes and your heart asks for India...listen to it and always give what it asking for (even if it is without leaving Madrid).
If you are in the Spanish capital, you can go to Madrid's Indian quarter and get lost in its narrow streets, from where you will travel to India without boarding a plane.
Lavapiés: Madrid's Indian quarter
When I talk about the Indian quarter of Madrid, I am referring to the district of Lavapiés. This neighborhood, which dates back to the 16th century, has always been home to the working and humble classes of the city. Many years ago in this neighborhood there was a fountain where the Jews of the time washed their feet. This is the name of this enclave of cultural diversity. On Lavapiés Street you can still see the plaque with the name and the illustration of the fountain with two people washing themselves, a tribute to its origins.
Today in the neighborhood neighbors of more than 90 nationalities live together totaling some 40,000 people, of which 30% are foreigners. Most immigrants come from Bangladesh, followed by neighboring India and many other countries such as Morocco and Senegal.
The arrival of Indians in Little India in Madrid
The Indian community began to settle in the neighborhood in the late 1980s. and began to open stores and restaurants that have now been delighting people from near and far in Madrid for years.. Many immigrants, not only Indians, chose this area because the rents were lower compared to other areas of the city due to its precarious state of maintenance in those years. Fortunately today it is a well-kept and lively area that has caught the attention of the locals and where many Madrileños want to put down roots. Indians and other foreigners made Lavapiés their home and a place where you can immerse yourself in the local culture without leaving its customs and bringing diversity to Madrid with its own culture and traditions..
Life in Madrid's Indian quarter
When you get out of the metro at Lavapiés station you start a sensory journey with an Indian essence but with nuances of many other cultures.. Some buildings are decorated with colorful works of art and murals in a variety of styles. In its streets coexist stores of exotic products, travel agencies with signs in Hindi, Urdu or Arabic and restaurants that give us aromas of spices and curries of the most varied. You can hear the bustle of the neighbors where multiple languages are mixed among which I detect Hindi and makes me feel at home.
In this neighborhood in the mornings you can see (and join the feast!) Indian neighbors having breakfast with the typical dal with roti and puri sabji , delivery drivers unloading tons of the most curious spices and ingredients. Its streets are filled with color to celebrate the festival of Holi, are illuminated during Diwali (also known as the festival of light) and are silent during the month of Ramadan. A place where cultures and different religions coexist giving the neighborhood a self-identity made up of many identities from around the world.
Today Lavapiés is the neighborhood with the greatest cultural diversity and number of immigrant neighbors in all of Madrid and has become the trendy neighborhood of the city for its diversity, energy and leisure and gastronomic options that cover typical foods from all over Southeast Asia. Moreover, in this picturesque neighborhood Indian restaurants coexist with the traditional Castilian taverns, because with respect everything moves forward and complements each other.
If you want to buy spices and all the ingredients you need to prepare your Indian recipes, I recommend you the Spice Bazaar , they have everything you can need...even Henna and Indian products for hair and skin. And if you want to sweeten your walk through Madrid's Indian quarter with a typical delicacy, stop by Safa's Sweets (they also have savory snacks such as samosa etc).
Indian influence in other neighborhoods of Madrid
I must say that in recent years, the Salamanca neighborhood has become a new reference if you want to travel to India through flavors. A place where the protagonists of its streets are the Indian restaurants in Madrid very carefully designed. I love this neighborhood but for me the Indian neighborhood in Madrid will always be Lavapiés, because the soul of a place is not only made by some newly created establishments but by the essence of its people, the sense of community and togetherness of neighbors who once emigrated in search of a better life and in this neighborhood they created the home that has seen the birth of their family. In short, Lavapiés is the place where Indian community life takes place in the city..
How to get to Little India in Madrid?
The nearest subway stop is "Lavapiés" on Line 3.
Map of the Indian quarter of Madrid
I hope you enjoyed my article on the Litlle India in Madrid and that you enjoy this sensorial trip to India.
Namaste 🙂
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