“Today, I invite you to be a tourist in your own city. No passport or plane ticket needed. Come, walk with me through the Gerrard India Bazaar.” This is Gulshan Alibhai’s welcome to her neighborhoood, opening her Toronto Tedx talk delivered in February 2020. My invitation is to listen to her entire commentary. Take a minute now, it’s important.
When you speak with Gulshan, you immediately understand you are listening to a truly special human being. We talked well past the time I had informally allotted for the interview, me scribbling notes that will go far beyond a single blog post. (Reader, be excited, this will not be the last Gulshan Alibhai story.) I came downstairs after our phone call and stood somewhat stunned in our living room. “Aaron, I just met an extraordinary person.”
But, first, I need to write this post. So here we are.
As Gulshan explains in her Tedx Talk, she met her husband at Lahore Tikka House when he first opened it, before it became the defining neighborhood icon that it is today. Since then, through his passing and her shift from social worker to social entrepreneur, the restaurant has been a defining piece of heritage for Gerrard India Bazaar. A bit of a legend, a recent Toronto Star piece told the story of Lahore Tikka House and Gulshan’s decision not to sell to a developer, despite financial pressures exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.
Support for Lahore Tikka House has been far reaching – from a nurse who drove from Hamilton to pick up a meal, to a hand written note she received from a customer who lives in Montreal. “It has been such a year of exception,” Gulshan reflects. “When I was thinking about selling, it was so humbling to hear these stories of people who feel grounded in this community.” She reflects with generosity and grace, “It’s been humbling to know what this restaurant means to people, and they came to support us and kept our doors open.”
It’s not hard to understand why. Walking into Lahore Tikka House feels homey and familiar to those who are familiar with South Asia – and likely even those who aren’t will instinctively feel the authenticity even if they don’t specifically recognize it. The colorful table decorations, the ordering style, the chairs, the intergenerational community coming together for meals, the rickshaws in the parking lot, and certainly the tastes and smells evoke a very specific sense of place. And it is a place that Gulshan deeply loves. The entire experience, really, can best be described as a love letter.
Gulshan describes her food with intricate detail. When I ask what her favorite dishes are, there is no quick answer but rather a conversation that follows. The Palak Paneer is first. “Do you like spinach? If you like spinach, you have to have the Palak Paneer. With the sesame naan. And of course the chick peas, the chana masala. And really you should try the veggie combo, it has everything in it and everything is so good. You can see the ginger, you can see the coriander, you can see the onion.”
She takes great pride in the legacy of authenticity left by her husband. “My husband I wanted people to understand that food is medicine, to understand what each ingredient does… I am so proud that I can keep the food authentic, halal meat every day, fresh produce every day, authentic for 25 years, fresh naan in the Tandoor. Authentic and fresh and whole. I applaud my husband for keeping true to that and I have to applaud myself for not taking short cuts.”
Now, it seems impossible to imagine Gerrard Street without Lahore Tikka House. But it hasn’t always been easy, and it isn’t easy now. While the restaurant is beloved, it faced an uphill battle to get going. Construction to build what we all know today was delayed, Gulshan shares, partly by skepticism of a Pakistani restaurant becoming so prominent in the neighborhood. Plans for a rooftop patio and garden reminiscent of South Asia were met with community resistance. Everything about Little India seems vibrant and valued, but beneath the surface, Gulshan says, there is still a darkness. These days, on top of the pandemic, the property taxes are crippling and Gulshan bemoans the lack of specific support to protect neighborhood ethnic enclaves. She is both struggling to determine how she will hold on to Lahore Tikka House and endlessly creative. Maybe something else on the second floor. Maybe a green project for the roof. Maybe something on the patio weekend mornings. Coming next: Netflix is filming scenes for an upcoming series in her dining room. But the property taxes are so high, it’s a struggle to see how it all comes together.
Gulshan reflects with affection on the growing diversity of Gerrard Street, and with grace on the obvious changes. She isn’t one to cling to what is familiar for its own sake, rather contemplating several times in our conversation on the ever present nature of change, and loss, and creation. She’s excited to see new stores opening up, and as I list other businesses I’m thinking about interviewing for the blog she lists the owners by name, suggests ones I don’t know, offers introductions. Lahore Tikka House’s relationship to Red Door Family Shelter is very important to her. But her affection isn’t without nostalgia, and her grace isn’t without a bit of grief. She loves her community.
And one of her favorite things is welcoming school groups for field trips. When it is safe, she hosts elementary school students to learn about her food, her culture, her business approach. She shares the way her business reflects her family, her social work, her values. She loves offering her home to children who will integrate it into their world view. Each meal is an invitation and a love letter. And Gulshan welcomes us to be part of it.
The Backyard Projects 